Good evening everyone,
BRAND new at this Land Rover thing. I recently came across a 1996 Discovery SD. Very clean body and frame, virtually no rust being a Florida vehicle. 97k miles. Needless to say, it now sits in my driveway. I know I've already broken rule #1 by not knowing much about what I'm getting into- for what I paid I had to roll the dice. I've been read a lot on these vehicles in the past, they've always been appealing to me yet I have never worked on one (always owned a cherokee). I drove it home the 6mi with no issues and I'm already in love with it!! Where do I start? What to do first? Fluids, naturally. Where should I be looking for possible dependability issue areas right of the bat? So far I see the steering pump is wet (2 drops over night) rear main is wet, not dripping. Brakes seem ok. Possible driveline u joint needed, minor clunk clunk at sharp acceleration. Rear window switches don't work (don't care). Ignition is a little sticky but manageable. Seems to starve for fuel at start up. Takes a few on/off cycles to generate enough go to keep her running. SORRY for the laundry list, I'm like a little kid in a candy story. I appreciate the help, and hope I can give back some around here being such a rookie! Thank you all in advance!

 

Welcome! Good choice of vehicles. I have a 97 Discovery SD myself and love it! It needed a few things here and there, but it is a blast to drive and always gets looks from people.

You will want to start out by downloading a copy of the RAVE manuals. they are a group of manuals including shop manual, electrical, body and owners manuals. There are links in here to download for free.

Next, jump into the Discovery I section and start looking for posts with the same problems you are having. There are tons of people on here that have the same problems you have and ways to fix just about everything. Windows, u-joints, leaks, you name it. Since the new members area is for introductions, I won't get into the repairs you mentioned but they are all covered in the Discovery 1 area. I'd start with the u-joints as that can get spendy if they break and you are driving down the road.

 

where I mass are you located? making sure your shafts are safe and replace the fluids is a good start

 

I'm located in Waltham. Took it for a quick spin last night to put fresh gas in and it died once shut down, starved for fuel again- requiring a few on/off cycles to get it going from sputtering out at low idle. Once running, it will remain running in park. I'm starting to suspect fuel pump from what I'm reading. Thanks all for the welcomes! I'll be looking into changing the oil this weekend. There seems to be a slight knock once it gets hot, so I'm contemplating dropping the pan. I'd like to inspect, and clean the oil pump and use fresh oil/filter to determine a baseline prior to checking the oil pressure. Again, THANK YOU!

 

here's a few pics-

 

nice!! there is a valve on the fuel line where you can check to see if you have fuel pressure when it won't start. Looks like a tire valve and may have a cap on it. If you don't have pressure there , see if the pump runs when you turn the key on (may need a second set of hands) pump only runs a short time and if the motor doesn't start, it shuts off. ..if you don't hear the pump run, and no fuel pressure, time to start checking. Mine was the wire connection at the inertia switch under the hood.

 

nice truck,
"I'm starting to suspect fuel pump" the fuel pump can be found by removing the rear carpet. I believe a DI has a fuel filter like a classic but I could be wrong.


"so I'm contemplating dropping the pan." the oil pump is located inside the front cover. So the best you can do buy dropping the pan is inspect the pickup tube. not worth the effort IMHO.


suggestions fill it with Shell Rotella 15-40 diesel oil and install a genuine 180 thermostat and see if you still have a noise.

 

I sense this being an ongoing correspondence throughout this project. Should I consider opening a general post in the D1 section for documentation and any questions along side my research?


What would the benefit of running 15-40 diesel oil be? What filter would you suggest I run with this oil? I've heard of guys doing this switch in the 4.0 I6 jeeps, should I quit comparing the two? haha. My guess the heavier viscosity will compensate in the wear? Would you consider changing the oil to rotella, running it with some additive, essentially "cleaning" it then starting fresh? Also, what would the benefits of thermostat change be other than keeping it at an appropriate operating temp?

 

your new rover engine is actually a 1962 Buick engine, at that time there was no roller lifters or rockers or cam camshafts, and fuel had lead unlike today. So a lot of the things like lead and zddp and zinc that older engines need have been removed.
the diesel oils have still have lots of that old stuff added to them, they also have different emollient that help suspend dirt in the old longer so the filter can pick them up. Rotella has plenty of cleaner in it no need to add more just change it more often
your truck take a standard ford filter FL-1, mobel1 -301, Baldwin take your pick.


and yes the D1 section would be the correct place to start a post about other questions