Hello all,
I am looking into buying an older range rover 1990-1998 to use as an off-road toy. My question is there a preference in years. How are the axles would they hold up too 33" all terrain tires, I also see that a lot of these have electrical issues does anyone no what the common electrical issues are and or solutions. Thanks for any direction.

 

First of all, I would hazard a guess that just about any 20-22 year old vehicle is going to have more than its fair share of issues, electrical or otherwise. As long as the problems aren't behind the dash where the Range Rover excels in complicating matters, it's really not going to be much worse than any other luxury vehicle of a similar age.

Second, the Range Rover, through mid year 1993 had ten spline diffs and axles. While not a guarantee for failure the 33" tires, they will put added stress on the mechanicals.
Upgrading to 24 spline diffs and axles isn't that expensive but it might be easier to start out with a '94 or '95 Range Rover so you don't have to go through the trouble. In doing so, you also get nice additions like traction control on the rear axles.

Third, I would suggest that the biggest concern for anyone living in the rust belt as you do, is rot. More than 10 spline, 24 spline, ABS, non ABS, traction control, SWB, LWB or any of the other variations, the principle issue you have to deal with is finding as rust free an example as you can. Starting there, the rest can be dealt with over time. Starting with a rust bucket, you're constantly behind the eight ball desperately trying to get ahead of the curve.

 

Thanks Paul,
Are the diffs in the Range rovers the two spider gear type or the four?

 

You should consider wheel base as well. The RR classic (non LWB) had a shorter wheel base than any other RR until maybe the recent RR Evoque. You can get classics and P38s on the cheap, so I would recommend getting to know both model years and then deciding upon which one you like the most. The classics tend to be more straight forward in their operation, but the P38s tend to be less buggy IMO.

 

I like the Classic as well but it seems most on the the market are the Lwb version.
The Becm on the P38s makes me little nervous. Is there a way to bypass the Becm?

 

They're two.

 

find yourself a 94 or 95 classic swb like paul said. the p38 will have you banging ur head into a wall.

 

I agree 100% about the P38 and head banging.
I sold a Disco I that was a great off road toy, I have found another one that needs a transfer case and when I get my honey do list done will fix it.
I THINK the Disco is a little more robust than the P38 but that is just my $.02