Hello everyone.
I am considering buying a 1996 Discovery with 211,000 kms and would like to ask for some of your advice. Some of my questions have already been answered on other threads and I know I will need to get a computer diagnostics done for alot of my concerns.
The Discovery I am considering is at a garage and they do not have much history on the vehicle, such as reapir history, owners manual etc. The only thing they can really tell me is that they have replaced all the brakes including the cylinders. They are selling it with a safety and emmision test completed.
It needs some minor bodys work (rust in locations) but appears to be in good shape as far as the body is concerned.
What does concern me is the SRS and ABS lights that are on. I suspect since the garage selling the Discovery is not familar with the LR and does not have the equipment to read the codes for it that they possibly do not have the ABS sensors lined up properly. After reading info on the net that does not appear to be a worry since I will still have opperational breaks just not the benefit of the pulsing action of ABS. Is the true?
As for the AirBags (SRS) is this indicator a big concern to the vehicles operation or just a misaligned sensor that means the air bags might not deploy if in an accident. I know I should have this taken care of and will in time but want to make sure I can still opperate the Discovery in the meantime without the benefit of the airbags.
I also noticed on my test drive that when I use the signal lights that the dash indicator light lights up both turning arrows at the same time. They are not seperate like on most vehicles. Should they not light up on the one arrow only indicating the direction I am turning or is this normal and you just assume the correct light on the body is flashing.
Since the seller does not have an owners manual I am not even sure what kind of fuel I should be using. Since I am new to the kind of vehicle I donot want to ruin it by making an embarassing mistake like putting gasoline into a deisel engine.
If it is a gasoline engine do you have to put in premium gas or would the less expensive grades be ok?
The Discovery is an automtric transmission.
Any other pointers in regard to this vehicle would be appreciated.
Oh ya I am in Ontario, Canada about 30mins south of Toronto. Any other people from Ontario able to tell me a good location for used parts for this age of Discovery?

Thanks in advance. All your input is appreciated.

 

The turn signal (at least on mine) is a single light with both arrows. That is normal. If the ABS light is on, you could have ABS braking when you don't want it, possibly.

 

Find a Land Rover shop to check it out.

With you not in the know about LR's this would be the best thing they can give you a idea if you want to get it.

They will charge but a little money may save a lot,

 

On DI's the turn signal indicator lights up for both as well as a little trailer will flash once everytime you use the turn signals. If you have a trailer hooked up it will flash with the turn signals to let you know that the trailer lights are working correctly.
Yes you must use premium gas. On the rear door of the trk it will say if you have a TDI (turbo diesel injected)or a V8I (V8 [gas]injected).
The ABS light being on is common and most likely a bad wheel sensor. Your brakes will work fine, and you may still have ABS just not on the wheel with a bad sensor.
As far as the airbag light being on, your airbag will not work. The light means that something is wrong and therefore the airbag will not deploy.
It may be a simple quick fix or the airbag could have been stolen and is no longer in the trk. It could be a bad sensor, loose wire, who knows. But it is fine to drive as long as you know and understand that in the event of a crash you will not have the benefit of a airbag for you AND your passenger.
You need a special scanner to read ABS and SRS codes and as luck has it only the dealer has that scanner.
As far as history goes, no worries, its just a car. Bring it up to par as money and time allows and dont worry about it.
http://www.robisonservice.com/servic...er_advice1.asp
A good read to help get you aqainted with the brand.

 

Thanks you for the guidance. SPIKE555 thanks for the link it looks like I might be playing the lottery if I buy this 1996 Disco and if anything major were to go wrong with it my wife will have my head since she does not really care for the idea of me getting this.
I have always wanted a LandRover and thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet. I am picking it up for $2600 so I am prepared to put some money into it just hope it is not one of the bad eggs I have been reading about.

Thank you again. I have been finding these forums a great source of information and comforted knowing there are people with some real knowledge I can talk to about any issues that might arise.

 

What I have learned here is that an older Land Rover needs to be purchased for a "relatively" low price, to allow money for repairs. The Disco I models are fairly easy for the home mechanic to do a lot of stuff to. I (myself) tend to farm out repairs that require putting the truck up on a lift...but not all underside work needs to be performed on a lift...the truck sits high enough that it is fairly easy to crawl under it for many jobs. Common faults with older LR trucks are problems with the ABS brake system, water leaks from various gaskets, charging and starting issues, fuel pressure issues, and general carboning and gunking up that needs to be cleaned from the fuel injection and valves. A lot of this can be done by the home mechanic. Older land rovers are good vehicles for those that like to get their hands dirty.

I have also learned that the Land Rover V8 engines (originally designed back in the 1960's by Buick at GM) are pushed to the very edge to meet modern performance and emissions standards, and everything has to be just right to get reasonable service life from them.

First thing I would do is drain and replace every single fluid. Differentials, engine oil, transmission, transfer case, u-joints, slip-joints, swivel pins, engine coolant, etc.

 

Those are good points I will make sure to change the fluids soon after picking it up.
Just curious do any of you senior members happen to use Blackberry Smartphones? I see alot of you offering your phone number and email addresson here to help those in need. I use the PIN messaging system alot and it is conveient for quick responces and communication. Just wondering if it might be possible to send a message to someone if I run across a problem or need advise.
If not no worries would just be nice having an expert I could contact.

Thanks again everyone with your replies I am very excited about getting this Discovery and hope it is not clouding my judgement. LOL

 

The initial quality on the 1996's and 1997'swere fixed at the dealers for the most part. (Mine was)
So I would not worry about what may have been true years ago.

But the bad part is that after that it was up to the owners to take care of their Rovers and it may take a while to find a good one.

 

Sounds like you have your mind made up, the price is low enough that you can have money left over to make repairs.
Of all things to let go DO NOT let a coolant/overheat problem go, if you overheat the engine once it will be toast and a new engine is $7500 USD.
Just fix one thing at a time, start with the fluids, then spark plugs and plug wires. Remember, its just a car.
You might beable to get a airbag from a salvage yard, dont worry about the ABS, I pulled the fuse to mine and once I can afford to fix it I will, but until then...good luck, have fun and happy Rovering.