So I've been looking at a Discovery this Week and i have some questions. The Discoveries that i looked at today had an oil leak that I could see was coming from either the oil pan or the valve covers. How hard would this be to fix? The same vehicle also has two out of the three amigos present. DHC and TCS LIGHTS. Would this issue be cased by the same problem as the three amigos, or would those be caused by another issue? I even fallowed the "What to look for" write up and i didn't see any other issues then those. I have no problem getting dirty, and work around vehicles constantly so working on this vehicle would be no problem for me.
Thanks for any input

 

Valve cover leak common, many owners snug up valve cover bolts (8mm 12 point 1/4 inch drive) every oil change. If you have to replace oil pan gasket an afternoon with truck up on ramps. You can use a gasket or Right Stuff.

Download factory shop manual set, called the RAVE, includes owners manuals. The 3 Amigos are in your future.

 

already down loaded the file. And i can say that with out the help of this forum I would have been clueless about a couple of the faults with these vehicles. That's good to know that it could possible be just some gaskets. I went for test drive that brought it both on highway and streets with plenty of stops. And i noticed no issues with temp, oil pressure. or the ride. the tracking was a little off. the positive side is that all the electronics inside work.

 

If you can spring for an hour of an indy mchanic's time, they may point you at other issues we have not thought of. Plus, they won't have the hots for a slick new ride and can be objective.

 

I would suggest you pay a shop for a pre-purchase inspection, or you may be buying your self some surprises.
How much are they asking for the truck and how many miles on it?

 

Pre purchase inspection by a reputable shop is highly recommended.

 

The Disco has about 110k and they are asking 2200 for it. They did provide me with a service report from the prior owner. looked like he bought it up in Seattle. I did talk to them about a pre buyers inspection and they sounded like they had no problem with that. I had them write down any promises that they said they would do.

 

Price sounds like the bargain end of the range, but also makes one suspect other issues, inspection would be good.

 

Alright, so I had a shop do the Pre-buyers inspection and he told me that other then the oil leaks, that he said were just valve covers leaking, and the TCS light and DHDC light being on. He did not find any other issues with the vehicle. He even noticed that the front drive line is new. Score! so Friday morning it looks like i will joining the club.
He did say that he would recomend a alignment do to the wheel being a little off center. but nothing that i can fix.
I'm sure I will have plenty of questions down the road for all of ya'll.

 

$2,200 is dirt cheap!
You are doing good.
I paid $2,000 for one with a bad head gasket.

Even though the check engine light is not on, there may be codes. try to pull them.

Changing the valve cover gaskets is a big job on a Discovery II.
You need to pull the intake manifold to access the valve covers.
You need to use a 12 point 8mm socket.
You may need to pull off the heater hoses on the right side. Probably not if you are skilled.
Putting the new gaskets on is tricky.
The gaskets wobble and there are spacers that can drop on the ground or into the engine.

Having done this twice - once on Discovery II and once on Discovery I:

Use aviation gasket stuff from parts store.

I took the valve covers to the self car wash.
Get a spray bottle of GUNK engine cleaner.
Spray the valve covers and let GUNK soak in.
Then hammer the valve covers with high pressure water in SOAP mode.
You want all the OIL gone.

There is also a breather element in one of the covers you may want to change..

Once the oil is gone -

Put the aviation gasket maker onto the valve cover.
Place the gasket onto the valve cover noting the ridges.

Once placed - I flipped it over and stood on the valve cover to make a good seal
with the aviation gasket stuff and the gasket. I am about 215 lbs too.

Once it is set, try to place it on the engine. Noting the 4 little round spacer need to be in there.

And, if you bump the gasket against the head or a water pipe and mis-align it then
you may need to start over and move it where it goes and stand on the cover again for 5 minutes.

get all 4 little bolts in.

Long ones go toward the exhaust.

Then just hardly snug them in.

With your finger - you need to go along the whole cover and make sure the gasket did not move off of the cover.

It will. It will.

Then tighter.

Check gasket again.

move it if needed.

And, finally TIGHTEN.

And you are DONE.

Actually, it is a HORRIBLE job.
the worst part - is getting the new gasket onto the valve cover and then putting the valve cover onto the engine.

Tighten until the bolts tighten up against the spacers. Not too tight, you will snap the tiny bolts.

That's it.