Have you checked with Paul Grant yet about parts? He can save you a ton of money over new and get you the correct part as well.

His number is all over the board.

We all understand tight funds. I would go ahead and change fuel filter so when it does fire, it will be ready to run. Even consider removing it alogether if it i not fresh, especially if it is an original one.

You will need a timing light. New rotor and rotor cap would help. Realize you can get that 180 degrees out of phase and not be able to crank it.

Also check the ground connection for your starter.

And quit being intimidated, time to come out from under the porch and run with the big dogs.

Ask any questions you may need to, just be prepared to hear anything in response.

Yours is a simpler version than most of us have, but those have their advantages.

I just ordered some parts from Paul Grant. He is in the process of cleaning up and trying to reorganize his shelves. You should give him a call. He had a lot of early RR stuff that is interchangeable with the 95 DI but not later versions. That is what you need to find! He will make you a good deal on a variety of spares and you save on shipping, so what you would spend on one new cheapy item from an internet seller, you can get a boxful of spare items that will be correct replacements!

There are fewer and fewer available so for your own sake, you should give him a call and he is also more knowledgeable on what you have than the average sales guy on any other site!!

 

Wish I would have saw your post yesterday - I just ordered the parts from Atlantic British. They weren't too expensive though - with overnight shipping, the price for an ignition coil and the ICM was still only $150...if I bought and ordered the ICM locally through Auto Zone -would have been over $220 for that, with no Ignition Coil.

Do I need a timing light if I all I did when I changed the cap and rotor was pull the old cap (left all the wires on) - lined up the new cap - then did 1 wire at a time? I new better as I learned this lesson the hard way when I was a teenager.

Love the comment about "running with the big boys". I am quite proud of myself for figuring out the tests with the volt meter. That was complicated the first time I read through it. Sure hope I did it right and the ICM is indeed the problem.

I will update you guys on if it fires tomorrow (when I get the parts in) and then will go back to problem #1 after it fires. With the new cap/rotor, plugs, wires and fuel filter I will put on it, I am sure hoping I get lucky and it fixed problem #1.

 

OK - new Ignition Control Module and new Ignition Coil - still no spark. Is there a way to test the distributor? How would I know if it's bad? (Hopefully not - they are expensive). Also - is there supposed to be "play" in the rotor. It has about 1" + of "play" where I can move the whole rotor (and the piece it's attached to) up and down about 1" or 2". I have a feeling the rotor is not contacting the contacts in the distributor.

 

Disregard everything I wrote in this post. I found the problem. Unreal.

I was looking for the bolts to see how easy it is to remove a distributor, because I am sure that the distributor is the problem. I noticed metal shavings all over the place and thought "this can't be good." Big piece of metal sticking out the side of the distributor and a the metal is actually cracked (I just noticed that while looking at the pictures). Pretty sure this is probably the source of my vacuum leak that was causing my "sputtering" issue also...it looks like it finally gave out and split the metal on the distributor.

Pictures are for your viewing pleasure.

 

That does not look good at all. I am not really familar with the early LR 3.9 with the distributor but they are a lot simplier than the 4.0 since they do have a distributor and a much simpler setup.

At this point I would definitly contact Paul and see if he has a good distributor. You may get lucky and be able to remove yours and drop in a replacement. Get yourself a timing light as it is needed to see what your timming is set at and you will want to be able to adjust timing as needed, so a Timing Light is needed. I gave one away because I had no need for it.

At least you have learned a valuable lesson in looking things over closely to help identify problems. You have a pretty rare beast there, but the good thing is that there were lots of RR made with the same setup, so there is a decent availablity of parts if you know who to deal with.

Also, a much simpler version thah the later versions with all the sensors and such.

Don't be shy, jump in with both feet and full abandom. ENJOY IT UNTIL IT IS NO LONGER ENJOYABLE. Have fun. Learn as much about it and from it as you can and make it totally yours. I certainly would.

There are a few guys on here who can be a big help so don't be shy or afraid to try.

 

I know it is "rare" because of the 5 speed manual. Is is "rare" in other ways that I am not aware of?

I love my Disco - and I love that it is a stick shift. I am very excited to drive it after putting in the new distributor - as it has never ran completely perfect. I have a feeling it's going to feel brand new. The guy before me did the heads and it runs very smooth. I can't wait.

I will contact Paul and see what he has. I need the best price possible as I don't have the money right now. Can you also tell me if this is the right distributor? It looks like it. The price is incredible - maybe they are cheaper in the UK...not sure - but I don't want to get ripped off.
Land Rover Discovery 3.5 3.9 V8 35D Distributor with Lucas Module & DLB198 Ignition Coil Land Rover Discovery 3.5 3.9 V8 35D Distributor with Lucas Module & DLB198 Ignition Coil [D2M11 & CE5 & R5] - £139.99 : Electronic Ignition, Home of the Powerspa

Thanks for the advice.

 

That is about $186USD, plus shipping which is going to cost you about $100USD.
So now you are talking $300 plus 10 days shipping to your door, depending on how they ship.
If they ship Royal Mail, 10 days, FedEx, 5-7 days, customs takes forever.
Distributor Kit - Mallory Performance Electronic Unilite - Land Rover kits from Atlantic British
That is a electronic distributor, much more reliable than what you have now.
Here you go, hurry, limited stock.
Distributor Assembly "95 RC , D1 ( Includes Amplifier ) - Land Rover from Atlantic British

 

Spike - thank you for the link. I have ordered that Distributor. I can't afford the $600 one - so was kind of freaking out about it.

Once it gets here - how difficult is it to change the distributor? I will look in the manual but any directions in "english" you guys can provide will help.

It looked like there was only a couple bolts on top. Is it that simple to pull out? Once I remove any bolts holding in the current one - does the old one slide out and the new one just slide into place.

If you can point me to a forum for the timing - and how to use the timing light - that would be great. Or, if I need to start a new thread, just let me know.

Thanks again for all your help guys. I can't wait until this thing is running right. I think I will love it more than I already do.

One last question - this distributor comes with an ICM mounted on it. Can I just remove that one (since I just installed a new one) and keep it for a spare?

 

Keep the one you bought (ICM) as a spare, use the one that comes with the new dizzy.

There should be instructions on how to replace the dizzy and set the timing, there should be a mark on it that tells you which way it goes.
But yes, remove the retainer and lift out, you may need to twist it as it has a gear on the end that runs off of the cam shaft.

 

You remembered the language I asked for a while back.