Hi Everyone, My name is Greg. I’m one of today’s noobs. I purchased my 96 Discovery in late September after working the seller down from $1500 to $900. I couldn’t resist. I paid up and latter that afternoon she arrived at the house on a flatbed. It gets better.

Before I go any further though, I’d like to thank all the admins and mods on the forum and especially all the contributors and members who compiled the Tech Section. I have been lurking in here since November and have been able to make this thing into an actual, road worthy vehicle. The search function is good but the suggestions are great, thank you!

I notice there are some regular contributors and that I can download the RAVE manual- I wouldn’t do it without introducing myself first, but thank you. I look forward to talking with you, I have learned a lot- and now I’ll do the download.

This Vehicle is a white SE7 auto with a semi maintained 160k miles on it and a nice helping of rust. The body is- perfectly worn? Just the way it should be to my eye and the interior is good now that its been gone through.

It hadn’t been inspected since ‘06 but that didn’t stop the po from using it several times a week. It was hemorrhaging atf from a nicely worn spot on the external steering gearbox line, the right side front axle bearing was perhaps 1.5mm out and what there was of an exhaust was literally a rusty 2” muffler hung with picture frame wire- just touching what was left of the exhaust flange. That was just what I knew about. I had never experienced “death wobble” before. Sweet.

So far-
All door handles replaced or serviced in some way
Window ECU re flow (worked for awhile..?)
3” mandrel bent open chamber side exit exhaust (see my screen name)
Crazy split leather seats repaired and re stitched
Replaced cracked windshield
Disabled sunroofs so they don’t get stuck open again
Repaired both hanging seat switches
Front end service- all tie rod ends, axle bearings and swivel pin pre loads, nut/bolt
Bilstein steering shock
Re-built all four calipers -pistons, seals & Mintex reds on good rotors
Diffs, T-case, Tranny & all oils fluids
8mm wires on double platinum’s
& more…

The good- nice shape overall, at this point anyway. Really tough and kinda military grade agricultural equipment- as stated in another post. Good running and strangely likeable. No Bubbles or white exhaust. I can do all the work. I have lot’s of experience with VW/Audi and generally only use a shop for tires, alignments and inspections.

The bad- I really love this damn thing! I just didn’t expect it. There’s lot’s more to do- rust wise and elsewhere. I still don’t know what all the relay action is about when I reach a cruising speed, I need a new spare carrier and the rear sway links actually clank. I’m going to leave the wipers for awhile ‘cause it’s just too funny.

The back story is- we keep a beater truck here on Cape Cod for nasty winters, dump runs and mostly to put our jet ski in salt water. The old one melted into the ground and it was time to get a new one. So it’s a second /beater /pos kinda thing. In the past we have had a GMC Sonoma or a Ford or Chevy pickup with say 190k or what have you. Due to the salt, I like to have some disposable end life vehicle. That is what this was supposed to be, and I’ll use it for that stuff- but I really like this stupid thing, a lot. Thanks everyone. I’m in.

Greg
　
　
　
　
　

 

Welcome, and don't worry about downloading, it is free to all interested parties. You'll probably want to look at weather proofing your ECU.

 

Hi Savannah, I see you on here quite alot, thank's. "Frankenstien"- sound's like my kinda' thing! Is the Rave I see in your sig the same as the one in the tech section?

 

These trucks are like a bad rash, they either grow on you and you live with it or you see a Dr. and get rid of it.

 

Sounds like you got the right idea. At least you are not like a lot Noob's that got fleeced for 3 grand or more for one like that!

 

Mine is just a link to a couple of places - one downloads as a set of PDFs, the other is viewed on line, can save as pdf. If you are stuck in a motel with a busted Rover the on-line is handy...

 

Spike, I see you a ton on here too- so true! I don't get to the doctor much. Thank's for checking in.

 

Hey Danny, thanks for checking in- I like this pos! Rust- I like to look at it as "Active Weight Reduction" or AWR. Its all the rage in old cars.

 

As long as you keep the actual truck out of the salt water the rust should be manageable.

Is this thing going to be licensed?
Are you going to drive it back and forth to work?
Or is it going to be strictly a beater rig for hauling crap, jumping sand dunes and getting wet?

 

It's actually licenced, registered and insured right now. After I did a final bleeding on my caliper rebuild and installed new plugs and wires today- I took it for a test drive.

Not so much a daily- but I will expect it to be a regular- 'couple times a week ride. So it will need to be up to snuff maintenance wise. It'll have to do all that stuff and I'll keep it as dry as possible. You cant drive on the dunes here....