Are V8 3.9 discovery's any good or money pitts ????

[lozzie vitara]

Hello , Are 3.9 V8 Disco's any good or just money pitts ? thanks ..

[JumboBeef]

Depends  if you buy a good one or a bad one  :lol:

I have a 1996 Disco 3.9 V8 on LPG.  I've owned it since last year and have now covered nearly 27,000 miles in that time (it has now got 116,000 on the clock).  Apart from normal service items, then only thing which I have to spend money on was one leaking fuel pipe.

That's it: nothing else at all  :dance:  I'm really happy with my air-conned, leather seated, cruise-controlled auto Disco (and I have a 450 mile trip this coming weekend in it).

I'm sure there will be others along who will tell you theirs has cost them a fortune but I think the trick is to spend a bit more buying a good/well loved one in the first place.

[bobtailed disco]

it all depends what you want it for...
If you treat it like [!Expletive Deleted!] and do deep wadeing it is money pit.

But i wouldent say it is any more of a money pit than any other 4x4

Rob

[Range Rover Blues]

I didn't realise there was a choice :-.

You are talking about a car that cost over £35,000 when new and needs regular servicing of quite a few systems, that is over-engineered for the use most people put it to and is capable of quite amazing things.

Is the 3.9 a bigger money pit than any other LR product :-k

That's partly down to luck, who owned it before and how well it's been cared for.

I'll tell you one thing though, they drink less fuel than my LSE ;)

[Rich_P]

They're no worse or better than the 300TDi Discovery.  The 3.9 that was featured in the 300 series of Discovery are regarded as the best 3.9s and probably the best powerplant ever to feature in a Land Rover (well, maybe bar the 4.2 but know barely anyone with one!).

[Range Rover Blues]

That would be the "interim" engine, serpentine belt but not cross-bolted IIRC and with the smaller bearing crank.  Good engine though.

And yes the 4.2 is a fairly rare beast, even I don't have one :twisted:

[Disco Matt]

I'm not sure about money pit being that simple a label. My 300 TDI is currently having her sills rebuilt, but I know the rest of her to be in good shape so it's worth it. If, next year, I need to replace a diff or similar, it'll be worth it as I know the basic structure to be good.

You do end up with a bit of a "grandfather's axe with three new heads and four new handles" situation but you know that what you've done so far makes it worth spending the next bit of cash. Plus I cannot honestly think of anything else that would be as good for what I do apart from a Range Rover Classic. I've looked at Jap stuff but the price of add-ons is scary and even things that may commonly get bent (like steering rods) are serious money.

I suppose I could be the weird one with a tricked-up P38A but they seem very hard to get upgrades for and you also seem to need to be a bit of an expert mechanic to keep one healthy!

[JumboBeef]

And yes the 4.2 is a fairly rare beast, even I don't have one :twisted:

I used to have one (1994 LSE).  Wonderful motor, why did I ever sell it?  It was near perfect.

[discowoman]

V8 disco's are great fun, and dont seem to do the mega miles that the Tdi's do....and just look at how many RR's were built with the same engine.. Depends on what you're willing to put into the vehicle?
The usual suspects are RUST and head gaskets - other than that Its the same as any other vehicle, if its been owned and thrashed by a monkey - then its gonna be hassle, if its been driven and serviced correctly - then you STILL may get problems - but it should be just consumables.
If you can justify the Mid teens MPG then go for it - just remember if you use the right foot - then MPG WILL fall into single figures..Price up a GOOD LPG kit , and using your present mileage - calculate how long before it pays for itself...LPG is about 25p a litre cheaper compared to Unleaded , so do think VERY carefully before throwing your hard earned into a LPG conversion....£1500 buys a lot of unleaded....

[JumboBeef]

............or buy one already converted (like I did  ;) )

[Devon-Rover]

Well 2.5 months in..

1 x 3.9 Discovery  X 1 x LPG kit  X many miles = 

Went up to the heritage museum and back last sunday covering the best part of 400 miles and she didn't miss a beat, For a fairly competent Off-roader the Disco was a good mile muncher for the day, On the motorway and the A roads the V8 offered great drivability and effortless speed work.

[JumboBeef]

Went up to the heritage museum and back last sunday covering the best part of 400 miles and she didn't miss a beat, For a fairly competent Off-roader the Disco was a good mile muncher for the day, On the motorway and the A roads the V8 offered great drivability and effortless speed work.

I have a round trip every other weekend of over 400 miles (Cumbria > West Midlands > back) to see my children.  This coming weekend is one of these weekends.  I actually look forward to crusing the motorway in the V8, much more that I ever did in the 2003 Defender TD5 I used to have.

[Range Rover Blues]

I have a round trip every other weekend of over 400 miles (Cumbria > West Midlands > back) to see my children.  This coming weekend is one of these weekends.  I actually look forward to crusing the motorway in the V8, much more that I ever did in the 2003 Defender TD5 I used to have.

I love cruising around in mine and it's great for towing, so relaxed I forget the 'van is there which is the only problem I have.  I get up to, shall we say a decent cruising speed :oops: and I'm then reminded that I have nearly 2 tonnes of BWSOW behind me.