I took a "mental health" day and as I was cruising around I saw this pearl green discovery. I have been casually searching for one and what made me grab this one was that all the amenities work. My wife says no more unsupervised "mental health" days (on the last one I bought a motor boat). But she and the kids do like it.

I thought I made an informed decision. But wow. There are a lot more items I should have looked into after getting on this forum. I think its got its original drive shafts, there seems to be coolant weeping from what I gather to be the throttle body heater gasket, and it got a replacement engine about 23K miles ago. The infamous three amigos came on today but then didn't on a latter drive.

But I have always wanted one. In a bit of self-reflection, I realized that I owned a Toyota RAV4 (original body style) because the side marker lights reminded me of a land rover. I owned a Nissan xterra because the roof line reminded me of a land rover. Now I finally have a land rover. Please, vehicle gods, be kind to me.

This forum is making me nervous. However, I'm an old Mercedes guy. I currently have a 85 300 turbo diesel. it is amazing and problem free. if I go onto the Mercedes forum, I'd be nervous about owning a Mercedes too.

 

Just remember, aside from regular posters people don't go to forums to talk about how great they're truck has been. They come for the problems. GM and Ford forums are the same too. That said, yes these trucks require a little more than average but they are not as bad as the forums lead you to believe.

 

I'm old, and had a similar unsupervised by SWMBO day, and brought home a 93 300 CE Cabriolet. My W124s in the past could hold their own against any Rover in the oil and coolant leak departments.

Now for your vehicle. The throttle body kit is like $25. It can be bypassed with some rubber hose if you like while waiting on parts, it does not impact fuel mpg, it keeps the throttle from sticking open in cold weather (ice up).

You want to check coolant every day until you repair this. If coolant is being lost, it can change how fast it is being vaporized and overheat the engine. Because Rover does not want SWMBO (she who MUST be obeyed) to be concerned while she pedals hard and fast toward that pedicure appointment, the engine temp gauge has been programmed to show 50% from about 130F to 240F. You won't know you have been overheating for months, while the engine was slow roasted over hickory coals. A great investment is the Ultra Gauge, about $70. Resets engine codes (not 3 Amigos), shows your favorite things to monitor (coolant temp, volts, etc,), and lets you program an alarm for specific value. Gee honey, I pulled over when the gauge got to the top and the red light came on (at 284 F). A good upgrade is the 180F soft spring thermostat, drops temps about 10F from oem.

Shaft can be rebuilt (in our tech area write up) DIY, by a drive line shop, or buy an after market shaft. Once that is done you must grease it, every oil change. Now chain store oil change operations may have a list that tells them where to grease, so they could miss the fittings on the new shaft. The OEM shaft is a chirping time bomb. Actually, you will be lucky if you hear the chirp over the exhaust noise and flux capacitor setting on the radio (oldies sound better really loud) - before it splits, and flails a big hole in the transmission. About $7000 at the dealer, one guy did have insurance cover it as road trash damage. Get r done before it makes your day.

Rover prefers oil that end in "W40" for operation above 95F ambient. Many use Rotella, which is a diesel rated oil and does a great job keeping our old style engines clean. Works in the Merc as well. You can add a jumbo oil filter to get increase oil capacity, which is always a plus. Write up in our tech area.

Download the free RAVE (Rover Automated Viewing Environment - aka Rover's A'int Very Economical) shop, owner, and electrical manuals. Even if you don't DIY, knowing how complex a job is may help in relations with the repair shop.

Don't forget that it is a truck. Not a sleek Autobahn cruiser. Won't handle like a small car.


And here is the fuel gauge upgrade.

And from time to time people post about putting one of those old Merc diesels into a Rover, and there is a video I saw of a Range Rover driving around with one, sounds just like the Mercedes. BTW, you don't wnt to overheat the D2 or it can make sleeves start slipping and will give that diesel ticking.

 

Thanks for the info. I did the bypass today using the diagram you posted in another thread. I'm in dry New Mexico and I think (and hope) we are in for an early spring. After a detail and a leather treatment I feel like I have a new vehicle. I'll look into getting those items you suggested. I'm a DIYer so I will tackle the drive shafts soon. Judging from the condition of this vehicle, previous owners never made it out of the suburbs. Transporting light colored dog(s) is the roughest use this one has seen. I'm not ready to hit the hills yet so just how urgent is a u-joint upgrade?

Thanks for the welcome.

 

Welcome to the forum. I am in NM also, I actually just came back from southern Colorado this past weekend so if your close to CO try it one day. Out there seems like one fits in with the crowd as everyone drives 4x4 for what they are made!!!

 

I'm in Espanola. Where did you go in CO? If you are close we could compare notes. I'm new to these vehicles.

 

Ah indeed a little far but not much. So I am in Albuquerque. I love Colorado for all the fun things that one could do plus allows me to get out of the desert.
I went to Durango, Pagosa Springs and a few nearby towns.

I don't know if you have been off roading before but from Cuba there is a trail and you end up on the other side which is Jemez its a wicked awesome trail. It is super snowed and muddy. Also if you ever come to ABQ there are some in Tijeras pretty awesome ones too.

I am no expert on the Rovers as I am always learning new things when something breaks and have to fix it ha ha ha I would be glad to help out if I can anyways.

Also don't freak out about all the things that you are reading about how bad and how many problems you'll have with your Rover I'm not saying there isn't a lot of problems. . but believe me you'll learn to love it FAST! and be prepared to go bald quick once you start pulling your hair out because you can't get the things fixed or cant find an answer or even the problem itself.