Thinking of buying a 1995 Discovery diesel

Watch out for the gearbox... The R380 is a superb unit but the early ones were prone to failure (I'm on my 3rd 'box now). '96/'97 was when they managed to sort out most of the problems and even better still, they have now moved away from using ATF to lubricate them (MTF94 or something is what's now used).

Take her out for a drive, listen for noises in ALL gears and make sure that the gear change feels right. In an ideal world, it'd be great to check the condition of the oil but that might be a little awkward to do.

As for the engine... I've not heard of any problems like that before so I'd put that down to being a one-off.

HTH

Mark.

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Originally posted by camel_landy

In an ideal world, it'd be great to check the condition of the oil but that might be a little awkward to do.

As for the engine... I've not heard of any problems like that before so I'd put that down to being a one-off.

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The oil won't show much, Roothy did a thing on buying second hand stuff it 4WD monthly. Worth a (re-)read, points out for less travelled vehicles though principal remains the same. Could pull the dipstick out but the golden glowing stuff in there now tells no story of what was in there not so long back, as the stealer being smart changes that gunky black oil for fresh before you turn up. Peering down the filler hole is as good at a window to the past.

Is "threw a crankshaft" the same thing as crankshaft breakage ?

I've heard of crank snapping before, mostly high ks diesels where the conrod bearings have worn to the point the motor takes on the characteristic "knock, knock, knock" due to the now too much clearance. The conrods pound on the crankshaft until it fatigues and breaks. Can be expensive to repair.

The other time it happens is high performance engines. A mate of mine now diesel mechanic used to race MG's as an apprentice. Had the little thing bored out to 1800cc... so way oversize and used to break the crankshaft just before the fourth main journal if he wasn't careful.

....but you still have to apply a bit of common sense. i.e. if the oil is fresh then you might want to ask yourself why.

Mark.

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Originally posted by camel_landy
Watch out for the gearbox... The R380 is a superb unit but the early ones were prone to failure (I'm on my 3rd 'box now).

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Superb box, thats a brave quote, I`d have said it is`nt as crappy as the LT77.

With that sort of milage if it is the origional gearbox and transfer box there is a fair chance it could let you down in the future, make sure you check for mainshaft wear. If there is a fair clonk when going from reverse to first there is a better than even chance you have wear there, its a common problem, so I`d take someone who knows what their checking for check it out. If it is, it means a new gearbox main shaft and transfer box input gear, worst case if it is baddly worn, it`ll strip and leave you stranded.