I recently bought a 96 Discovery SD for a great price knowing that it had a small ist of problems. The rotors and calipers need to be replaced along with the wheel bearings and and a few other minor things. I'm "shadetree mechanic" if you will and like to do things myself so I'm curious as to the level of difficulty I would encounter in general on these vehicles. So basically I am asking if I could do it with a Haynes or Chilton manual and some tools, I'm better off taking it to a mechanic?

 

Howdy.

You can do almost anything required to one of these with a sturdy tree and the free download of the full set of factory tech manuals below, called the RAVE. Has shop manual, electrical, body & interior, owners, overhaul, etc. Also check the technical area of the Discovery 1 portion of the forum, lists of things to do, pictorials and write ups on plent of common things. Pair of ramps helps. Under my tree I have done radiator swaps, fan clutch, front grille, brakes, wheel bearings, all tie rod ends, rebuilt front shaft, oil, CV, transfer case, diff oil changes, water pump.

DO NOT TRUST the temperature gauge above 9:00 - it will be overheating, it is not a linear scale. Check oil weekly, oil light comes on at 7 PSI, so you can fry engine at 9 PSI.

 

So you're replacing the front calipers, rotors, and pads. If you ever plan on wheeling this truck in the future now is the perfect time to upgrade to Defender 90 calipers and rotors. They are larger and offer much improved braking performance. The best part is its a direct bolt on upgrade. I wish I had known about this when I did my brake job when I first for my truck.