About to buy my first Rover

[yuppa]

Could use some advice!

Of course I want an old one, however the wife is expecting and she wants something newer (baby friendly).

Given my limited budget, I've narrowed the field down to a couple..

#1 - 1988 range rover, tons of work done, looks great, body lift, big tires ect. pricey for its age but it looks well taken care of.

#2 1995 land rover disco. very underpriced compared to what I see on craigslist and such, its from a used car dealer and Im not sure I trust them, also I see a lot of maintence issues with disco's and for the price Im afriad it might be a money sink. however its a lot newer and the wife likes the look.

I realise its going to be a lifetime before I can afford my dream car (defender!) and i hope to pick up an older rover in a year or two.

I would like any suggestions/reviews/comparisons or general rover advice.

[Roverworks]

What ever you do…Take it to a licensed mechanic who is familiar with Rovers to have it inspected.

There are a few at the coast.

Alan Simpson
Rover Works B.C. Ltd

[red90]

As with any complicated vehicle of that age, it could be a pile of junk or it could run forever without problems.

Like Alan says finding a Rover mechanic helps.

Carefully look for rust on the steel areas. The rear floors in the Discos can vanish without peole noticing for instance.

[Rob]

I've had two 88 range rovers and enjoyed them both. I would like to echo the words of wisdom from the previous posters... do a thourough mechanical inspection but I also suggest that you educate yourself as well. Rangerovers.net is a good place to start and they provide some excellent information about these great old trucks.

Good luck!

[yuppa]

great

looking at a 95 disco later today

now, where can you guys recommend i take it to get inspected?
I live in new westminster.
Does anyone know of a land rover mechanic in new west/burnaby/coquitlam?

I called the downtown rover dealership and they quoted me 395 bux to get it inspected.. thats crazy

I would like to take it to rover works but north van is out of my way considering I don't actually have a vehicle yet

[yuppa]

yeah i meant rover tech in north van..

[DaveB]

Might want to take it to Keith Robinson in the Valley. He's in Langley a couple of KM off the 200th street exit.

Dave

[yuppa]

right on its official

proud new owner of a 95 disco

first thing i notice.. haha what a gas hog

[PaavScan]

YES!!

They do like Dino oil.

Just filled up in Point Roberts Shell @ $4.77 for mid grade. The tank swallowed 20 us gallons.

Just be easy on the pedal & keep it under 100k & you should get 16 to 18/gal if you are lucky.

Stu

[yuppa]

I heard keepign it on "3" instead of "D" for city driving improves fuel economy? can anyone relate?


so irregardless to that.. heres what i've notices as a new land rover owner..

Unfortunately I didn't get a user manual OR a haynes manual with the vehicle.. ebaying a haynes, but cant find an original user manual anywhere..

so i have lots of "dumb" questions

whats the SRE light by the speedo mean

how can I tell if im in low or high? -4x4 stick appears to be in nuetral.. if i shift it left, the 4x4 light lights up on dash, I assume that means im locking the differential? when its in nueutral, and i shift up (to low) or down (to high - according to diagram) .. I just get a beeeeeeee sound...
so i really dont know how that 4x4 stick works..

also I get the occasinal "whif" of a bad smell.. like rubber or plastic burning sometimes.. my friend says its the smell of curry (last owner is from overseas) when I open the engine I dont smell it at all..
humm if not for that strange smell sometimes, I'd be like.. wow this is the best vehicle evar

[chilliwack]

You can get the entire manual on CD from an Rovers North I think

I've got it, unfortunately its a locked PDF so you can't print it out.

I just take the laptop to the car.

Not that convenient, but all the info is there

Regards,

Roger

[yuppa]

seems to be excessive exhause when starting it, and idling..

passed air care with flying colors tho.. is that just cause the cold out , is that normal for a v8

[96whitedisco]

I have the complete owners manual in the green binder for a 96 if you wanted to borrow it and get it copied you are more than welcome. Im in down town Vancouver, will not be out to any meeting till my new 4.6 goes in my disco.

Cheers
Andrew

[96whitedisco]

The srs light on the speedo means the coupler Is broken for the air bag, does your horn work, when mine broke my horn stopped working and its a $300 part.

Cheers
Andrew

[yuppa]

yeah the seller said
"its an airbag problem, its weird, they have never had a problem"

does that mean it can spontaneously go off? is there an easy fix?

[PaulC]

Your Permanent 4 Wheel Drive System’s transfer case has 4 drive positions. Hi or Low Range Unlocked (Center Differential Unlocked), these are the 2 positions used while driving on dry or wet hard surfaces. Yes you can use Low Range (Unlocked) on dry surfaces.…pretty unique feature.

And Hi or Low Range Locked (Center Differential Locked), these 2 positions used for low grip surfaces.

When the Transfer Case is in the “Locked” position (HI or Low Range) you should see a orange driveline light on the instrument cluster, above the speedometer.

When the Transfer Case lever is pushed to the right the Centre Differential is Unlocked. Pull the T-Case lever to the left and you Lock the Centre Differential.

And of course HI Range is the Lower Position (to the Rear of the vehicle) and Low Range is selected by pushing the lever (with Transmission in Neutral of course) towards the front of the vehicle.

Hope this clears it right up for ya. :shock: