My name is Chris, and I own a Willow Green 1997 Discovery I SD. I bought the vehicle nearly 6 years ago at 58K miles from a friend (I am the third owner). It now has 74K, and is mainly used as the kid shuttle and camping vehicle.

I live on Bainbridge Island with my wife and twin daughters, which (fortunately) keeps the miles low on our cars. Wife drives a 2004 Saab 9-3, which just broke 15K.

After purchasing my Rover, I began to develop an affinity for it. Overall, the truck is in fine shape, but like any British machine, it has its share of quirks and being an elderly vehicle, stuff breaks on occasion.

Since I purchased the truck, I have done the following:

- Replaced head gasket and resurfaced the heads.
- Replaced the shocks
- Replaced the driver's side window regulator and motor (it stripped while down, just before entering a car wash!)
- Replaced the plugs, wires, and air filter with a performance tune-up kit from AB
- Numerous oil changes at 3K intervals
- Replaced cooler lines to trans (they were leaking)
- Poured in some Lucas PS additive to slow/stop a small leak in the steering box
- Replaced the glove box light assembly (old one was broken and shorting to the body, causing lots of blown fuses)
- Replaced both cargo cover clips
- Replaced passenger seat control switch

Things that need attention:
- Occasional hard shift (clunk) when downshifting (auto) into 1st
- Failed to trace a minor oil leak that requires me to keep a drip pan under the truck
- Strange clunk in brakes when it rains
- Slight lean to the passenger side (likely worn springs)
- Headliner adhesive failing (fabric beginning to sag)
- Weather stripping around rear side windows cracking
- Replacing diff/trans case fluids and doing an overall check of drive train stuff
- Replace tie rod ends (they are looking a little tired)

There are plenty of other things I assume will need to be dealt with in the near future, but this truck has been a solid runner, so I am happy to have her.

Lately, I have been considering "updgrading" to a Disco II (03-04) with less mileage and a few more bells & whistles, but I don't know if I am just asking for trouble by unloading a perfectly good Disco I for another vehicle that may have more trouble than my current rig.

Anyway, I'm happy to be a part of the extended Rover family and wish you all the best of times with your trucks.

Cheers,

 

I just bought a Disco II with some known faults such a water in the front footwells (AC Problems and windscreen leak problems), boken radio, slight oil leak. I found it a very straight forward vehicle to fix due to the fact that there is more emphsis on mechanics than electronics. I have only one problem to fix from the list above and that is the oil leak but I will need a experienced mechanic, its probably the gasket.

Over all this is a smooth runner. If you pay attention to rust prevention then I would recommend this car. If you are clever have a look through this forum and Landyzone to identify some of the major issues with these machines. It helped me when I bought mine and it helped me decide which problems were major or minor ie to buy or not to buy. I also helped with negotiating down the price from an informed position.

Best of luck

 

hello . . . !!!
em also new here , nice to meet you !!!
looking forward to get so much useful info and some good friends from here , nice forum , keep up the good work . . . !!!

 

Looks like we have some spammers joining the party.

 

Gotta love spammers!

BTW, I live over in Renton and I would like to try and get a few other forum members and other 4x4's together for a run sometime this winter in the greater Puget Sound area, let me know if you're interested and if you have any recommendations as to where we could go!

 

I am interested as soon as I tackle a few maintenance issues with my Rover (hopefully by this winter or early next spring). I have not taken her off road yet, so I don't know of any suitable areas off hand. However, when she is ready for the dirt, I will be looking. Please keep me posted in any case.

I see a lot of Discos over here, though it seems to be mostly moms cruising their kids around. There is also a sweet, right-hand-drive Defender 110 and a Red 90 on the island. I don't know if there are any other island or peninsula people on the forum. I certainly haven't run across any.

Btw, I dig your truck!

 

Hi Guys ...... Welcome to all members.Glad to meet you all. have a good Day !