Never touched tools before, dont even know how to change a tire.

Just bought a 1994 Disco 1, 3.5 Litre V8.

Panicking a little bit. What tools should I buy and whats some of the most basic **** should I learn?

 

you have a very capable machine! It will take you anywhere you want and drive you crazy along the way. First thing you need to get is called RAVE manuals. Thy are the factory repair manuals and are free on the internet to download. Get the shop/body and the electrical manuals. The electrical manual is tough to read so take some time with it. Make sure the cooling system is working perfectly. You don't want your vehicle to overheat. A common problem is the front swivel ***** leaking oil. also check the front driveshaft u-joints and make sure they are good, and well lubricated. From there, ask questions on this forum, there is a wealth of knowledge and they are willing to pass it on. Never hurts to do a search to find any issues as chances are it has happened to someone and they figured out how to fix it.

Welcome to the asylum!! We are all a bit crazy in here!!

 

Thanks heaps, happy to be here!

I'm afraid this is all jargon to me, do I need a substantial set of tools to do these checks or just some Youtube tutorials?

 

Why did you buy that particular vehicle? How are you going to use it? Honestly, your comment about not being able to change a tire makes me suspect this is some type of troll. I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

Wish i was trolling lol. I’ve always had a love for Landys and finally saved up enough to buy one. I work from home full time and am tired of driving 2004 Toyota IST’s/Camry’s etc on the weekends.

I’m 24 years old, so maybe you could call it a quarter life crisis?

 

Well get ready for some fun. I am a newbie as well and am slowly familiarizing myself with these cars. Having a lot of failure and eventually success. Just keep at it and as long as this isn't your full time car its great!

 

Discovery 95/98 MY Workshop Manual, Publication Number LRL 0079ENG BB has been a great tool for me. NY Walt has links in his signature. I bought one for less than $100 (think tank of gas) and use it often.

There is a Maintenance checklist inside. Go through the list one item at a time and you will not be sorry! The 94 and 95 model years are identical, with changes made 96 on. My 94 will take me anywhere I want to go. Hope you love yours.

 

WaltNYC has the link for the manuals at the bottom of his post. These crazy vehicles are a bit different and the manuals help a lot. my first Disco 1 was a 1997 that didn't run, I towed it home with a rope down the highway (rural area) after about a mile or so, it started raining and got dark. Battery went dead and we trudged on to get it home. Took me about a week to figure out why it wouldn't start, but then it would mysteriously die after driving a few miles to Menards. I would park, and it would.t start. turns out the wiring to the inertia switch was burned and barely making contact. Once it got warm, it didn't work at all until it cooled off (like a tow home) then would start and run fine. A new fuel pump and lots of aggravation later, I found the problem. I then started sealing up all the oil leaks, including a replacement front axle. I ended up putting over 300,000 miles before the minnesota winters ate the frame and just about everything else with rust. Needless to say I learned a lot from this forum!!
After I got rid of it, I vowed to not buy a strange vehicle again.... then I found a 1999 Disco 1, most 1999 disco's were a disco 2, this is an early model. Lesson is.. If you only spend $600 on a Disco, plan on lots of work.

The fun was when I went off-roading at the local off-road park with my son, he was driving a 2022 Jeep Trail Hawk. Only had to help him out a few times.. I an running completely stock, with street radials. His trailhawk has all the off road stuff from the factory. It is amazing what these things can drive through!!

 

Tools:
Metric sockets & wrenches 10mm to 19mm
small metric socket set down to 4mm
small metric 8 point sockets
metric Allen/hex wrenches
torx bits small and large
breaker bar
27mm socket for lug nuts
torque wrench (a decent one)
OBD2 to USB cable (or a OBD2 Reader - cable is cheaper, just download a OBD2 app to your laptop)
Penetrating lube (better than WD-40 - like 'PB Blaster')
Silicone lube

change all the fluids (diff's, transfer case, transmission, coolant, oil)
grease the u-joints if your model has them (and get a grease gun)
watch trailfitters toolbox vids

 

1994 and 1995 are different beasts all together. No OBDII so you have to literally use intuition and process of elimination to solve most of your issues. Its unbelievably frustrating and spectacularly satisfying when you figure stuff out.