The body looks good in the pictures. VIN check confirmed clear title and no accidents. I asked him about rust and he said that there are:

1. Two silver dollar sized spots of rust that are visible when you open the rear doors. No other visible rust.

2. Has three factory tires and wheels. Somehow the spare was put on in transit to auction and whoever changed the tire drove off leaving the factory wheel on the side of the road. Brilliant!!

3. The wire that releases the hood latch is broken and they have rigged a new line to release the latch to get the hood to open. Easy fix?

4. The owner has not been able to get the rear door open. He says that the key unlocks the tailgate but the door will not open from the outside. Fixable I'm sure.

5. Interior looks good from the pictures I've seen. He is sending me several other pictures this afternoon.

6. Asked him about the miss in the engine and he said that he has changed the ignition wires and plugs and it did not fix the problem. I am really hoping to drive this one home if at all possible. Is a miss something that would keep me from driving this LR back home?

7. Someone pulled the key out of the ignition before the key was in the off position and yanked the (not sure what you call it) out of the column. Sounds easy to fix.

He was talking about removing a head and replacing gaskets in order to fix the miss but I don't think he knows an awful lot about LR engines. He's a Ford/Chevy type guy with a LR sitting in his driveway.

Any suggestions? I don't want to get in over my head on this purchase and I definitely don't want to get into something that needs a new engine.

Thank you in advance for any feedback that you all can provide.

 

1. A body shop should be able to fix the rust spots pretty easily but if you live in an area where they use salt on the roads during the winter it will come back.

2. Check the local junk yard for an alloy wheel to match the rest.

3. Hood release cable can be replaced pretty easily. Once the hood is open the entire cable is accessible so you can route a new one in the original location.

4. Could be a few different problems but pretty much all of them require getting the door open to fix. Try climbing through and opening it from the inside. The linkage that ties the outside handle may have come detached.

5.

6. Land Rovers are notorious for bad head gaskets. At that mileage it should be due for a new set of head gaskets if they haven't already been replaced. The good news is the aftermarket head gaskets are better than factory gaskets so once they are replaced they should last the life of the car. Bad news is to have a mechanic do the head gasket replacement will probably cost you as much as you pay for the car. Have a mechanic perform a pressure test on the cooling system and that should tell you if it has a bad head gasket.

7. Depending on what was broken when they yanked the ignition cylinder out of the column it may be as simple as just putting it back in or may need more work.

Land Rover engines aren't really any different in how they work than any other engine. These engines started out back in the 50s as Buick engines. I really don't think it's going to need a new engine for something small like a miss. However, with all the other problems I think I really have think over buying it. All this could be easy fixes or could drain your bank account lightning quick.

 

Very good advice. I don't want my first LR to go right into the shop. I thought it sounded like such a good deal but Im' thankful that I was able to get some good advice. There's probably many more out there so I'm not to worried about loosing this one.

 

I doubt it is a bad valve, more likely the VSS. (vehicle speed sensor)
Another alloy rim will set you back $65 or so.
If you want ot get a idea of what parts cost.
www.roverlandparts.com for used.
www.atlanticbritish.com for new.

 

Would a bad VSS cause a miss Spike?

 

No it wont cause a mis but it can cause the engine to act like it is missing.
When the VSS goes bad on a DI it cuts the injectors one by one.
The VSS not only tells the ECU and speedo how fast you are going it is also the speed limiter.
When it goes bad it sends a signal to the ECU telling it that you are going to fast and then starts to cut injectors to reduce vehicle speed.
Usually this happens when under load, like trying to climb a hill or take off from a dead stop.
It is a $35 part and 15 min to replace, so if youi buy this truck that is where I would start to solve the "mis".

 

Nice! You sure know your stuff. Thanks for the advice.

 

That is why I said to wait until someone else chimes in before making your decision. I have learned a lot but still not up to par with Disco Mike or Spike on the details of what keeps these trucks. I am on here everyday and always learning something new.

 

Ok, so I passed on this vehicle @ $1,500 and the seller came back to me with $1,250. Would it be smart to buy it and part it out?

 

How much time and money do have budgeted to get this truck up to par? Parting out a truck is a pain in the ***.