Hello from Oregon
 

Just bought a 98 Discovery LE today. My first LR product.
Thought this forum would be the best place to start getting info. :)

You are right welcome , blamo

Welcome.

You can have a peek in our technical sticky area, for the list of things to do to high miles Dico's, usually left out by previous owner. The complete factory shop and owner manuals is called the RAVE, and is a free download in links below. The heat gauge is not very acurate, by design. Don't trust it. Use a scanner or Ultra Gauge plugged into the OBDII port to get a real idea of what temps you are running. Check fluids daily first week of ownership, then once a week afterward. Should not have a noise like water bubbles rushing thru pipes under dash (it is air or exhaust gas in the coolant).

Pix of my 97, way hotter than the gauge would have you believe, and a lot hotter than the 180-190F range.

So the in dash temp gauge is not accurate? Darn, I was feeling pretty good about its constant normal position. The engine does smell hot after fairly short trips.
My Disco has 113k miles, and the previous owner did his own work. It has recent water pump etc... It is pretty clean and has a chip installed for improved fuel economy. Seems to run very well. The previous owner gave me the mechanical repair manual with the car. He said it was a $100 book and that there is a separate $100 book for the electrics.
I knew it was a bit of a risk buying it but as I only paid $3k for it I felt it might be worth the chance.

You will learn to love it very quickly, I tell you because I have a 98 Disco LE also. Keep in mind that just how you love it you will get very angry/frustrated/etc with it also, so patience. :-D

Welcome to the forum.

You can download the whole shop manual set with electrical, owner manuals, etc. It is called the RAVE. Free link below.