Hello all, Sorry if end up being a hit and run poster but at the moment I'm looking at a '97 Discovery for sale and just doing a bit of homework before making a rash decision.

For a bit of background, I'm quite competent with the wrenches and have built several vehicles from scratch.I usually tackle all jobs myself (for example, I just bent all the hard brake line, rebuilt the master cylinder, steering box, andalternator on my current project instead of buying them done. i'm al;so quite comfortable with computers and EFIso I'm not afraid of persnickety issues so much as expensive issues.

That said, I've found a '97 Discovery with 200000 Km on the odometer for whatI think is a reasonable price. It's straight, the only rot that I've found is minor and at the seams where the tailgate meets the rear quarters. It would appear that somebody took care of the vehicle including regular undercoating. Note thatI live in the Southern Ontario salt belt.

My initial red flag concern the automatic transmission. How do they hold up? What's their average lifespan under 'normal' driving conditions?I know this is a hard question to answer but for example experience has taught me thatthe filterlessMazda auto in the 323 is almost certainly doomed at even a lady driven 160K while a GM TH-400 will likely be fine (enough) at more than twice that.

Beyond transmission are these vehicles known to be problematic in any other specific area? The truck I'm looking at has the 4L V-8.

Are parts difficult to source here in canada or overly expensive? Let's saycommonfailure or consumable partslike starter motors, water pumps, alternators, fuel pumps, brake components, etc?

Oh... I haven't checked... This particular V-8 pushrod or OHC? If the latter do they use belt(s), chains, or gears?

Are they known for any insane repair issues (such as having to remove both manifolds of the Renault 5 to service the starter solenoid)?

Can't think of anything else off hand at the moment. Thanks for reading my post fellas. i'll lurk around a bit and see if i can give a hand anywhereon general symptoms, but being totally unfarmilliar with these vehicles i'm not sure how much help i'd be.

Jim.

 

OK, you found the right guy. I have a '97, it has 174,000 miles on it and it runs like a top, doesnt use oil and in the last 22,000 miles I have spent $400 in unexpected repairs.
Front wheel bearings and a alternator.
It now needs a water pump. For the miles I am not complaining.
Common problems are...plug wires, if you use non OEM or Magnecor plug wires you will have a mis fire on multiple cylinders after only a couple of months.
Cruise control not working due to a vacum leak, easy and common fix.
Bad milage because of a bad tune up, bad thermostat and using the wrong gas. You MUST use premium gas, if you dont you will have problems.
The engine is a old GM block and heads from the '60's. It has hydraulic lifters and two valves per cylinder. The timing set is chain driven.
The transmission is very reliable. There is a guy on here to has 280,000 miles on his '96 and his frint diff went before his trans did. No TCU for the trans, justthe good ole' reliable kind.
DI's are WAY more easier to repair than a DII.
My local autoparts store had my alternator for $180. They had the wheel bearings too but they were cheap no name so I ordered some from www.atlanticbritish.com.
The fuel filter can be a pain to replace. It is on the frame behind the left rear wheel and gets rusted. Took me three hours to replace it the first time, now I do it every spring, 15 min job.
A mis fire will give you a O2 sensor fault code.
The transfer case can be noisy. The shift linkage for the high and low range as well as for the center diff lock, when you are ready we have a link for that.
Replacing the alt takes 30 min start to finish. Tune up 60 min.
LR only uses one engine in North America, you guessed it, the 4.0. Until '03 then they use the 4.6, which is the same block.
Any other questions?
One more thing, the body panels are alumiunum, except for the roof, it is steel.
The rear door latch gets gummed up with dust and dirt and needs regular manintence.
Pop the LR emblem off the rear handle and spray with silicon spray every 6 months, more often if it sticks.

 

Roverparkboys.com in Alberta are trying to be competitive with the U.S market, check them out. Other than that, I've found that on some parts, like door lock actuators, O2 sensors and some accessories, the dealer has competitive prices too.

 

Thanks for that. it really does sound like I'm not going to go wrong then - the guy is a small fish lot and only wants $3500 for it.I was quite taken by how much it's not showing 11 years of ownership where things matter -I mean the interior is pretty worn (not a concern for me) but telltale places like fuel tank and straps and radiator look virtually new.

I noticed your avatar has you on a trail. I've heard these are quite capable vehicles. I mean I'm not planning on rock crawling or catching air, but they don't appear difficult to get another 2 inches of suspension lift and some capable 30 inch mud and snow AT's under them for getting away from the world in a bit of snow. And that frame looks bulletproof!

Premium eh? Wonder if that's why the last owner wanted out.

Why is that? Problems like what? Detonation? If it's an older GM head design ... Is the timing curve old school static or ECM via knock sensor controlled? Whats the CR? Does it utilize EGR quenching? Have to admit I couldn't use this as a daily driver (I commute 70Km) if this was mandatory but I still wouldn't call that a deal breaker- just a weekend toy *grins*.

 

The are a high compression engine and if you use regular the knock sensor will retard the timing and your MPG and performance will suffer, you will also carbon up the exhaust valves because of incomplete combustion. A tank or two a year wont hurt, but all the time and you will be asking for big trouble.
The gas tank is plastic so it will never rust.
It is a boxed latter type frame.
They dont have EGR.
These are THE most capabile 4x4 on earth from the factory, no mods are needed unless you really want to, and that is ok.
I get 20mpg on the expressway and 14 around town.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tQ2Tp3u_f8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLyb9CCWQog
Here are a couple of videos for you to watch, the first one is me and the second one is a commercial.
If you go to youtube and search Camel Trophy you can see what these trks are made of.

 

Just like yourself, Disco's are new to me. As a matter of fact, after 5 months and 11 days, yesterday was the first day I ever drove my Disco. Itowed it home 5 months ago and it's been anon going project since then.

I can try to answer some of your question. The compression ratio is 9.35:1.Like yourself I fully do not understand why premium fuel is needed. With a compression ratio like this, it certainly does not necessitatepremium fuel.My 10.0:1 DOHC V6 Nissan engine calls for regular. I understand the benifits of using premiun and I'm sure that's why the factory recommends premium.

The timing is all electronic. If you haven't notice it's a distribuless ignition. It has 4 coils for 8 cylinders. One coil ignitestwo seperate cylinders. One cylinder is ignited on the power stroke, while the sister cylinderis ignited on the exhaust stroke (wasted spark). As stated, this engine does not utilize a EGR system

Besides checking the basic thingslike, compression readings and contaminated fluids, I would highly, highly, highly recommend checking the oil pressure. Or at least pull the right valve cover to inspect for oil sludge. In order to pull the left valve cover you will need to remove the intake plenum.

From what I've read, these engines are known for excessivesludge build up.My project Disco fit right into that catagory. I had sludge from the pick-up tube all the way to the rocker arms. My oil sludge was the worst I've ever seen. I've taken apart older 70-80's engines that were cleaner that my 98 Disco.

Mechanically these trucks are quite robust. Besides the brake rotors (which are solid rotors at all four corners - go figure) everythingelse is quite large on these trucks. Just take a look at the lug nut, big and heavy.

I'm slowly learning and fixing my Disco. Another common area that fails is the door latch spring.If you're having diffculty opening the door after unlocking the locks, it's a good possibility it's the door latch spring. I just replaced a couple of my door latch springs.

I'm sure the further I dive into my Disco, the more gremlins I'll probably find. Good luck with yourpossible purchase.