disco advice

[daz-B]

hi
my first visit to the disco section so hi to every one first

anyway the wife wants a new car and she wants a disco  so we are going to look at a 1997 R Reg DISCOVERY 2.5 TDI 5 door 7 seater on saturday .
so what should i look for?
when should the timing belt be changed
how many miles betwen a service
what should i look for in the engine bay
and any funny noises from the gearbox
all help would be greatfull
looking forward to getting another landrover on the drive

[Budgie]

when should the timing belt be changed

Somewhere between 60 & 90k miles.

how many miles betwen a service

I do a normal service every 3000 to 5000 miles
 

what should i look for in the engine bay

Oil leaks around the head, state of the intercooler hoses, oil in the air filter (take the filter out if you can!), squeeling from the fan belt/PAS pump/Alt.  

and any funny noises from the gearbox

Look out for a "clunk" as you lift the clutch, means the gearbox mainshaft splines are worn.

Also look out for play in the steering or steering wobble (take it upto 70mph if you can as they tend to start the wobble at about 50-60mph)
Check the chassis, mainly the rear, for any rust. Lift the rear loadbay carpet for signs of rust on the floor and make sure the carpet in the back is dry.

There, that should keep you going for a while and I'm sure others will be along with a list of stuff I've missed.  

Good luck with it.  :D

[Spacemud]

You don't say how many miles it has done but I bought a P reg having done 56,000 and the interior looked brand new, so I wouldn't expect the drivers seat to have any significant wear from a younger vehicle with under 80,000 miles.
Main thing to remember is that there are absolutely loads and loads and loads of Discovery's about so I would not even consider a vehicle without a full service history.

[hobbit]

Try and bribe someone with a lot of knowledge on them to come with you would be the best way to give it the once over for you

[steveiboy]

hi to everyone just joined mud club

[daz-B]

went and had a look at her today
she had done 77,000 miles and looked quite clean but there was some problems which made me leave without her
1st she had to be jump started  maybe because it has stood there for a couple of weeeks
the paintwork had some small nicks in it and
the rev counter and temp gauge did not work and the chassis did not look great
but on the plus side it had diff gaurds front and back and a steering gaurd
and some very new looking AT tyres
the wife liked it but there was a bell ringing in my head
am i to fussy

[Xtremeteam]

for an R slightly, BUT there are LOADS of discos out there,

Rot on that age of motor isnt really a problem yet,its the older discos that are more of a concern for looking at,the jump start thing IMHO wouldnt worry about it 2 much,prob needs a good run or if you were gonna buy it get a battery thrown in the deal,
the rev counter was probably te terminal had corroded off the end of the wire leaving the connecor on the alternator,the temp guage dunno why it wasnt working,

on the discoverys of that age id look closely at the diff pans as landrover used bean cans for the pans as its comon for them to hve corroded through.,

any more questions ask as ive seen most things on discos

[Spacemud]

From my experience it sounds like you would be throwing money at it quite frequently. My first disco was j reg and whilst reliable had the usual niggly problems. Eventually I sold it for £1200 and bought an older H reg for £1750 that had been owned by a mechanic and had most of the usual problems sorted.
Whilst looking for the second I saw a real rust bucket that you could hardly get in to gear and the owner was asking over £2000 for it.
So the moral I suppose is, there are lots out there try a few and you will soon see the differences.
Try Everything to see if it works and have a long test run, see how long it takes to warm up, etc.

[Pike]

If it had diff guards/steering guards on it must have been offroad and if I was spending serious coin I wouldnt want one thats been offroad!!!!!!!