So I bit the bullet and bought my 1st Land Rover back in October (97 V8, Bright Red). I've been 'stalking' the forum for the past few months and have an electronic copy of the Rave to consult. After much advice from a fellow Land Rover enthusiast I printed out a copy too and put it in a binder for a little bedtime reading I've named her 'Emma' - so far she's been fairly good to me; I don't have much information regarding the PO, bought it off a lot 'as is' and that was after I 'kissed a lot of frogs'. She has 140K on her so she must have not been driven a lot (that's good) and knock on wood, no squealing or crazy noises yet.

I'm planning on doing a lot of the work myself (I'm learning) and hope that I'll be able to add to the conversation topics as I go. I'm a little hesitant about working on this as I can be 'mechanically challenged' and I don't want to end up in the ditch or stranded somewhere along the way after doing the 'wrong thing'. Having said that, though, I'm keeping an open mind and have faith in myself (with your helpful tips) that I can 'get er done' when needed. If any of you have any tips on the basic tools to acquire, I'd greatly appreciate the advice. That's all.. just wanted to say 'hello' and thanks for the great posts.

Renee

 

You read the forum and still bought one of these instead of running away screaming?..!,! Hmmmm well welcome fellow crazy person lol, no but really. These are not that bad just very frustrating some times, cause you are usually making up for 140 k miles of neglect and abuse

I would buy a set of good metric wrenches, good screwdrivers and a good metric socket set in 3/8 drive

You will also need a few torx screwdrivers, a 1/4" drive metric set would be good also, and a 1/2" breaker bar with a 1 1/8" or 27mm? For lug nuts, some tools I would do like craftsman some can get away with harbor freight

 

Buy a 97 parts car for 600 or less. It will pay for itself in a year.

Good luck

 

lol.. well I bought it and THEN checked out the forum so I only have myself to blame And 'yes' it took me 3 months to join so I did run away screaming a few times.. Sounds good - metric wrenches, good screwdrivers and a metric socket set. Check. Am looking forward to the challenge!

 

That may be a lofty goal as I live in a condo but maybe I could hide it up on the roof while I tear it apart.. or a storage unit?

 

Having spare parts when you need them is priceless.

Some parts to consider:

Starter
Fuel pump
Brake switch
Alternator
Various sensors(VSS, TPS, Knock, etc.)
Serpentine belt

To name a few.

 

Welcome. Honestly I've found it pretty easy to work on my D1 simply because it's so much bigger than the race cars and drift cars I used to work on. I would also suggest buying a few cans of WD 40/ pb plaster/ whatever brand of spray you like to help with you most likely factory tightened nuts and bolts that the PO never evereverever bothered to wrench on. These trucks are sweet and can only be loved like a child as they're about as unpredictable and moody as a toddler at times. The Rave is a fantastic guiding light as are the senior members on here as a few have owned rovers longer than I've been alive.

Anyway welcome and good luck.

One last word of advice, spend the 70 bucks and buy an Ultragauge or similar real time scanning device to keep an eye on you temps and voltage and such since these vehicles have notoriously unreliable gauges.

 

Thanks! lol.. sounds like I've met my match as I'm sure some have described me that way from time to time It makes life 'interesting'... I'm looking forward to the challenge - as long as it doesn't chew me up and spit me out I'll be ok!

 

Will do Abran!

 

Awesome! I am new as well. I have a forest green '96, and I love it. It needs some work, (don't they all) but I love it like a sibling almost. They have such great personalities. I have 110,600k on mine right now, and I only have a few small problems. (Door latches broken, locking mechanisms broken, multiple leaks, etc). But I think it will be a great opportunity for me to learn more about cars and fixing them, plus it will help me form a better bond with my car.

On another note, I am having trouble naming my car still... I have a couple nerdy names but nothing solid. Any ideas? Emma is a good one, especially for a red landy. Great choice! Anyway, glad to be here, and hope to learn a lot from you all.