gavfurn Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 could any of you please give me some tips on what to look for and what to stay away from, i've fount out that rust on the boot and archies seam to be a common fault, but for instance a lot seam to say they took the air suspension off for spings is there a percific reason for this??? and what else is a common fault??? not shy to do the work, i know you can get the replacement quite easy (rust spots) etc but want to know what to expect to go wrong etc, please advise looking forward to hereing from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 What Year Discovery are you looking for? Air Bag Suspensions are usually replaced with spring conversions because either the compressor or the air bags on the suspension fail and that results in a really huge repair bill. It is cheaper to have springs. If you are looking for an auto check that the gears are all smooth, try the transfer box out too. Check the steering for play, if you are looking at manual make sure that the gears all go in smoothly and that the clutch bites near the middle. Check the wiper motor on the front particularly the intermittent function. (This is based on a 300 model), make sure the gearbox has its level check plug in it. I viewed a few with a mechanic and found that they were missing in most of them. Check the sunroofs for leaks, And of you are looking at the MK2 the only things I am really aware of is the Chassis are very prone to rotting. All the above is from learning from personal mistakes and is to the best of my knowledge. Hopefully someone else will come in and help with this too. Also factor in to your budget the cost of a full major service including gearbox, transfer and axle oils. Try and find something with goo service history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Price range - that will limit things or not !Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavfurn Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 thank you fellas, i'm looking maybe at the mo couple grand tops really, so i know the majority are going need something doing (not shy about doing), whats the difference between disco 1 2, please forgive the nieveness, just started getting into the 4x4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Adams Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 What do you want to use the car for, will it be mainly off roading, where you will be adding lots of mods or just as a nice study family car that will stay on the road 99.9% of the time? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavfurn Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 it would be on the road mainly 60-70% of the time maybe, the wife got a car we'd use for a fam car, its for me, the 30% will be fishing, the dogs, camping, bit of off roading till i get the bug then maybe it will flip to 70% off roading 30% travelling to the places, you gotta do a bit of tweeking, but it will be over time the long period, but the use 2" lifts etc depending on what i manage get, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Adams Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I would start with a disco 1 to see how you get on with it, they are much cheaper to buy than the disco 2 so you can get a better maintained car for your money. Do you have somewhere under cover to work on the car? I would also learn how to MIG weld if you can't already as the main problem will be rust, in areas like the boot floor, inner/outer sill. I would also check the rear door hinges as due to the weight of the wheel on the door they do suffer. They can suffer with overheating due to the rad being pasts its best or viscous fan coupling not working but I would say that if it comes to it the cylinder head gasket is one of the easiest I have ever changed. As said above, you need to check the transfer box is working as if they are not used they will get very stiff, oil leak can also be a problem. The engines are pretty bullet proof but if abused the gearboxe can be a little crunchy (technical term). Another thing to check is that the heater blower works when the car is hot as it is a long (not overly difficult) job to do as you need to remove the complete dash to get as the matrix, garages will charge a fortune due to the time it takes. They are easiy cars to work on as they are a simple design with no complicated electrics and lots of space to work. Once you have purchased one they main thing you will need to do is make sure the engine and other oils are changed regularly ( about every 5K for the engine) Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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