Hello all.
I am not a Rover owner but have the bug to get one. I dont know much about them therefore I am here to learn. I currently have a 1988 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevy Suburban for my off road needs.
As far as a Rover goes, I am looking at something in the 1999-2002 range. The Discoveries look interesting to me.
I live in south Texas and it is HOT here, so anyone with knowledge of running a Rover in hot weather, dont hesitate to share.

 

Welcome. You should go to the Discovery 1 section of the forum, where you will find a technical section. It has articles on what to look for in a Disco, a comparison of the D1 and D2 models, and lots of other things. Look at the sort of service you will need to do (called the 60K service) as a new owner.

I have a K2500 Suburban (94) as a work vehicle, with a brand new 454 engine. Good thing I have a 42 gallon tank, it gets about 6 when towing a boat, about 10 - 12 otherwise. So you will enjoy the better mpg of the Discovery. The Suburban is almost a school bus, lumbering and large. The Discovery will go a lot more places, can't carry as much gear.

Hot weather operationis not a problem if the vehicle is maintained well. Previous owners are not famous for that. In many cases these pricey SUV's were leased to urban professionals who did little off roading, and when the service bills got too high, and pay check pressures set in, lots of things got left for later. So you must expect to do a number of things right after you buy it.

Discos have a rubber seal between the radiator and the condenser for the AC. This keeps out lilly pads, but traps a lot of leaves, etc, which don't help the cooling. Most American designs leave this out, so leaves and junk just fall out. A Disco 1 has a brass and copper all metal 4 row radiator, and it can be "acid boiled" and rodded out usually. Some people run the 190 factory range stat, some run a 180, but you don't want a 160 - poor gas mpg and the tranny won't go into 4th gear until you get to 150 degrees or so. Older Discos have viscous drive fan clutch units that wimp out, just like other cars. And strange lower radiator hoses with four openings, good idea to carry spares. Previous owners are famous for routing the serpantine belt incorrectly.

When you have an overheating situation with a Disco, you had best stop engine and deal with it, the aluminum engine and head gaskets are not as forgiving as Detroit iron. The guages in the Disco are not what Detroit owners are used to in range of indication. The temp guage is "normal" in the bottom 1/3 (where 150 - 220 barely makes any change), and operational up to 50% range, but above that and you are overheated. Good to borrow a scanner and monitor temps when you first get it, or take one with you when buying. It should be able to stand at idle with AC on for 20 minutes without overheating. But don't go by the gauge as a newbie, you will see lots of posts on that issue.

All that said, people use these things world wide, and in the deserts of the southwestern US. Some of the forum members have done "Saudi Grille" conversions, which replaces some of the front grille with mesh, this increases cooling quite a bit. And a number of folks run "water wetter" or similar products, which can also help. The Disco 1 already has an engine oil cooler built into the radiator.

 

I really appreciate all of that info. Just reading around is a bit scary as these things seem to be full of issues. Nonetheless I still want one.

 

Just like Texas, don't ask a guy if he has a Discovery; he'll tell you. If he don't, no point in embarrasing him.