First post as a new Rover owner.

I bought a Discovery I over the weekend and I'm going to need some advice. It has 140k miles on the odometer and runs fairly well. The body is in immaculate shape, center diff lock works, but has some weird electrical gremlins.

1.) The rear parking lights only work when the fog light button is depressed, when I turn on the parking lights only without headlights I don't get diddly.

The instrument lights are always on regardless of the headlights, they don't dim or go dark unless the key is removed. I have zero climate control lights and the dome light doesn't work unless the door is open

2.) The exhaust manifold leaks on the passenger side (simple fix)

3.) I believe the engine is leaking oil from the distributor O ring.

4.) I get a whine at 50+ on the highway. I'm not sure if this would be a wheel bearing or a sign that the front diff needs to be serviced.

5.) The front wheel ***** leak like crazy but from what I read as long as they are greased it's no big deal.

Thanks for reading my post and I appreciate any responses.

 

1. No real advice other than check your grounds.

2. Do not try and crank down the bolts/nuts on the exhaust manifold you'll just strip the threads in the head. Replace the gaskets with the 3 layer metal ones not the composite. Every time I use the composites it still leaks never a issue with the metal ones, and they are cheaper.

3. Simple fix, rovers leak oil this is a battle you will rarely win

4. Check the fluid levels in the diff, transfer case, and swivel *****. Also be sure to check the driveshaft for play and lube.

5. There are a few good right ups on how to do the seal replacement on these. I would not recommend the method of cutting the seal and working it around the housing. I prefer to split the axle housing at the bolted flange and remove the entire assembly. That way you can just slide the old seal up and off and the new seal down into place without cutting it.

 

1) Could be your turn signal stalk(which also controls your parking lights and headlights). They are known to go bad, or at least the contacts might need cleaning.

 

X2 on the swivels. Its not all that hard just takes a little bit. If you let them leak you run the risk of getting the oil/grease on the brake rotors. Better to just fix it. Plus most likely bearings and such in there could use replacing.

My transfer case in my Disco was pretty loud. I ran the thicker 85-140 gear oil and it quieted right down.

Consider going to the D1 sticky and going through Disco Mikes maintenance list. Even if it's just a little at a time. Fluids fluids fluids.

 

Definitely a good suggestion she swerves a bit to the right when braking at high speeds which I'm fairly certain is due to all the grease and oil on the rotors.

The underside has more grease and oil on it than a DC-3 so I think that will be my first priority, a trip to the old pay and spray.

 

Replacing the ball seals is a lot of work, BUT, at your vehicle's mileage, it's probably not a bad thing to get in there and do some maintenance that is probably slightly past due:

1) Solvent clean, inspect and repack (or replace if needed) the wheel bearings
2) Do ANY needed brake work, like replace warped rotors if needed. This is a big deal. Normally you have to remove the hub anyway, press out the studs (to replace the rotor) and press them back in. So if you have ANY doubts about the rotors, the time to replace is when ya do the axle/hub seals.
3) Completely de-grease the outer wheel ends.
4) Replace inner and outer axle seals
5) Replace dust seals (obviously)
6) Clean and inspect axles
7) Replace front diff lube.
8) Make sure bearings are tightened to the right specs.

COUPLE NOTES:
Don't forget the dust seals: The job takes a long time and by the time you are in the mode to put everything back together, it's easy to get in a hurry and skip the very item you wanted to replace in the first place. I had all the front end put back together on a Toyota front end (same basic design), thinking I did a good job only to turn and see the new seals sitting on the bench. I FORGOT to put the dust seals on and the metal ring! Then ya have to take it all apart and re-do.

Check Pinion: Once you have the axles out, that is a good time to remove the front driveshaft from the front pinion (loosen the bolts before you jack the vehicle up) and rotate the pinion by hand while there isn't any load on the gears, to feel the bearings and gauge if there is excess play (any pinion slop in the bearings is excess play). Might want to ask one of your more experienced buddies to come over and put their hand on it. Chances are everything is ok, but for the little time it takes to check it out, it would be a good idea. I just replaced a pinion bearing that went bad in another vehicle and it was a SOB job because it fused the front pinion bearing (the one closest to the driveshaft).

Spindle Nut Socket: You're going to need a spindle socket to do the job right. Plan in advance for that.

If you do all the above items, while it's a full day's worth of work, when finished you shouldn't have to mess with it in your lifetime (hopefully).

 

I thought I would post the Craigslist ad to show what the guy "says" has been done to it. When he says rebuilt swivel pin housing I hope that doesn't mean swivel ***** because those bad boys leak like a sieve.

The other thing that's not mentioned is the check engine light is on. It sucks that in 95 they didn't have OBD II because I would love to put my torque app on it to see what it reads.

The Good:
-All the bearings and seals have been done on the front axle along with the swivel pins and swivel pin housing on the drivers side.
-Has had all the flexible brake lines replaced, and one brake caliper rebuilt, and new pads and rotors.
-New tires
-New Shocks
-Ac and heat work
- All windows work
- Seals on the top end of motor have been done(Intake, valve cover,etc..)
-Have the jumps seats for the rear, one is installed the other will come with the vehicle
-New spark plugs, cap, rotor, and wires.
-Has had a ton of work done to make it a reliable daily driver, but I need a truck.

The not so Good.
-Leaks oil, but not enough that I have to add between oil changes( its a land rover)
-Has exhaust leak
-abs light and, it runs and drives fine, so I never really worried about it.
- Paint is ok, but has some scratches and the hood has seen better days.
-front bumper cover is missing
-Interior could use some work, missing trim pieces and currently have the cover off of drivers seat to repair leather but never got around to it. Dash is as close to perfects as I have seen in a Disco 1.

 

Odd that he just did the swivels yet they still leak that bad. Disable the abs w the fuse under the hood and be done w it. Check engine light codes can be read under the passenger seat. Get your self a copy of the RAVE manual. It covers the procedure.

 

Early on they used regular gear lube in the swivel pin area (see if yours has a drain at the bottom of the swivel pin area). Then they switched to a 0000 lube which is about half way between a pourable gear lube and wheel bearing grease ..sort of like the consistancy of warm jam. The idea was the thicker lube was less prone to leaking. The land rover community debates which is better and there is no answer. I'm not going anywhere with this other than you could try that and see if the problem goes away. I got mine at a lawn mower repair shop.

But I think if it were mine, I'd pull it apart and quadruple-check his work.

It's very possible the check engine light is a result of the exhaust leak. Wait, does your rig have O2 sensors after the cats? If not, this might be it. But if it does, these rigs are very finicky to any leaks. And on those rigs where this can be a problem, a code indicating inefficient cats will often come up. Since you have to resolve the leaks anyway, do that and see if it goes away. The inefficient Cats code shouldn't put it into limp mode.

 

I think it's worth tearing into it just to be sure. The steering feels more Ace Ventura than new car show room.

The other thing I'm not entirely sure about is one side is quite a bit lower than the other like a suspension component has given way.

On the bright side the motor takes about 5 seconds of cranking to fire on cold days (below 40 degrees) but it always starts and has rated power even with the CEL on.

One really weird thing is when you kick on the blower for the heater or switch on the headlights I get an idle drop.

All in all for $1,500 I think I got a good deal but I would like to begin the restoration process.