1994 land rover discovery 3.9, is it worth saving?
 

hey everyone - i'm new here and haven't quite figured out how this sight runs exactly. I hope I posted this in the right place haha


My old man recently handed me his old 1994 discovery 3.9 v8 manual which he bought in 1998 with 70,000 on the clock. It was running on the road up until late 2009 when some issues started showing up on the beast.It's now sitting on just below 240,000 kms. I'l start with the bad.

- the engine has had it, blown head gasket, welsh plug leaks, uses up all the water within 10 minutes. sometimes requires a tow start to actually get it running.. hey at least it still runs :)
- desperately needs a new clutch
- need a new rear left wheel bearing
- needs a new windscreen
- needs a new handbrake
- the cooling fans run even when the engine is off.. i have to physically disconnect a battery terminal to make it stop. may just be a fuse? any ideas?
- possibly has a power steering leak

the good
- appears to be rust free
- paint is in pretty good condition
- gearbox still tight, changes gear just like the day it was bought.


so basically i love this car, it has served us well and has a lot of sentimental value. Do you reckon it's worth saving? what do you guys think? i'm soon to have a high paying job so cost shouldn't be too much of an issue.

i'm open to suggestions, let me know what I should do with it. I want the beast to live once more!

I have no photos at the moment but will have some up soon.

The cooling fans stay on because the engine is very hot. Stop driving it until heads re-done. Worth saving, if you don't destroy the engine first. Head gaskets are like $300 parts and two weekends DIY.

I rebuilt the front bumper and gave it a good cleaning.

even when the engines cold it still keeps the fans going... no matter how long i leave it the fans keep going untill the battery dies :/

Sounds like an electrical problem. Bad temp switch, short in the wiring... maybe the ecu is freaking out?

Drawings and location attached. The ECU supplies a ground to turn on the relay. If one or both fans are starting to sieze, the relay contacts could become pitted and mechanically stick. If the wire harness has a "rub" or skint wire touchng ground, it could hold it on. While working thru this you can pull F3 under the hood, which will take out the fans and the AC compressor clutch.

I replaced the oil pan gasket, alternator and belt. I also put in a new TF steering damper and found out my new rear shocks needed special bushings because my truck still had the original seat cups welded to the mounts. Turns out my death wobble is most likely coming from a toe problem. Tie rod ends aren't bad and bearings are still tight. As usual, if it holds any kind of fluid, it's leaking. Work in progress...

Did you get eye to eye shocks, or eye to pin? Those seat cups pop right off with a hammer and chisel. Eye shock adapters can be bought for $13 a set from Ballistic Fab, or you can make them real easily.

Hi, fish. I got eye to pin. I already called AB and they're sending me the bushings that will allow the shock to seat further. I was going to let my mechanic knock those cups out but he was uncomfortable about changing anything without checking first.

Well yesterday I got froggy and spent a few hours going over the electrical system in the rover:

I disconnected, cleaned with a can of electronic contact cleaner and reconnected all of the connectors under the hood and under the body.

Fuel pump harness...wiring harness...all the sensors... everything under the hood...ecu/fuel pump relay...cps...stuff I didn't even know what was.

Unplugged the hood switch.

Bypassed the inertia switch (temp)

Took the dash apart to by pass the spider but there wasn't one! or a harness connector! The title says 1996 but it must be a late 1995 I guess.

I still cant get over how easy it is to just slide under the rover and do stuff...I've never had a vehicle with that kind of ground clearance!

:D