[_Walker_]

Well folks looks like it may be time to move on to a new(er) truck… I have managed to find something that’s tickling my fancy (91, diesel, right hand drive, NO RUST) however there is but one “small” problem…. Its called a “Land Rover Discovery.”

I know next to NOTHING about these things and Im rather apprehensive about leaving the fold and trying something the British built so I thought it best to ask for opinions on here; has anyone worked on one of these things before, any forums that could be suggested, things to look out for?

Its only got 100,000 K on it, its the 4cyl, and I “think” version I…


Its my perfect truck except it isn’t a cruiser, any who Id love to hear opinions!


PS: My 83 BJ60 will be for sale soon; body rebuilt, KILLER electrical system 190amps, a LOT of things new, runs fantastic… however, she was used to pull boats out of the chuck so the ass end of the frame is in bad shape the last 1/3 of the frame needs to be rebuilt and that’s a little outside of my garages capabilities so if anyone needs another project…

[nickw]

Hello and welcome to the club.

I have a little secret to share with you.
I used to own a 1996 Land Rover Discovery.
Shhhh. Don't tell.

I don't want people to know how silly I was.
How it cost me a foturne in parts, and was un-reliable it was.
Got it for a "killer deal", then it ate up parts like to tomorrow.
Ended up loosing quite a few grand that I did not have, just trying to get out.
Not good, when I was trying to save money and not spend it.
It took me 7 months to sell, and I had to "give it away" price wise.
Trust me, I tried for more.

But to be honest:
I thought it felt cheap inside (even thought it was leather and walnut), and the fit and finish was very poor. It constantly needed attention, and parts are even more expensive than Toyota. And on top of being more expensive, they are harder to get. Rover parts will be a pain to find (everything has to be shipped). Resale is next to nothing. But, in its defence it did good in the offroad, but just was unreliable. To bad, I really wanted to like it too.

In the end my opinion is this.
The older rovers with minimum electrics are probably better for reliability.
But they feel cheaper, rattle alot, and are even more uncomfortable than a Cruiser. In the offroad both are comparable if your talking about the defender or the older series trucks. My opnion is the disco is to low to the ground. You should not have to trim the rear body to fit a 33 inch tire, even after a 2.5" OME lift.

I would give the fit and finish nod, and quality nod to Toyota.
However, rovers are aluminum which is very nice.
Persoanally I would pick a cruiser, and I did.

If you really want a rover, get a Defender.
Its the best you are going to get.
Choice is yours. I think a disco will nickel and dime you to death.
Toyota's are not without thier problems, but over all I think they are a better choice.
They still can break, but your biggest enemy is rust.
Keep on top of that, and you should be good.

Just my 2cents.

Cheers and welcome,
Nick.

[roscoFJ73]

As Nick said ,the fundamental design is good but the badly fitting plastic squeaking away drives most owners nuts especially on the earlier models.

If its a defender ,same thing again,great design let down by little things like leaks
,constant front suspension and steering problems,transfer cases and g/box rebuilds before their time.
The Defender rides great off road,onroad its a return to the series 2,well almost.
Imo ,the best of the marque is the 85-89 range rovers. They had years and years to fine tune the design then ditched the body and started it all over again

If your cruisers have good mechanicals why not swap them into a nice rust free gasser 60 series.
Or take the plunge and get a diesel JDM import.If you have an experience like Nick then the JDM import wont seem too expensive

[denis]

the disco started in 1989 with the V8 and had the TDI one year later or something. The engine is great on fuel, no powerhouse but reliable, overall its a great truck if you like to fix some small or big details every other week.

[lshobie]

It's a ford - nuff said.

[nickw]

Originally Posted by lshobie

It's a ford - nuff said.

Not the old ones.
Land Rover used to be owned by Land Rover, then they sold to BMW.
I think they went to ford in the late 90's.

Cheers,
Nick

[hks3sgte]

1991 Disco is a 200TDi version... Nice truck. I would buy one... Honestly they do have bad batches. My dad is a Discovery owner and his truck hasn't needed anything out of the ordinary. Actually it's very reliable.

But anyway, before this turns into a LR vs TLC debate... I would just say to do more research. Many people have gone around the world with the 200TDi engine... so...

[nickw]

Originally Posted by hks3sgte

1991 Disco is a 200TDi version... Nice truck. I would buy one... Honestly they do have bad batches. My dad is a Discovery owner and his truck hasn't needed anything out of the ordinary. Actually it's very reliable.

But anyway, before this turns into a LR vs TLC debate... I would just say to do more research. Many people have gone around the world with the 200TDi engine... so...

Sorry, I don't want to insult rovers to bad.
They get a lot of things RIGHT.
Toyota could learn a lot.
They just get lots wrong too.

The biggest problem with land rover is LUCAS.
Most of the basics (drivetrain, frame, body) are good.
It's the little things get you. And sometimes the little things imobilize the truck.

I hear there TDI are great, just a little underpowerd.

Also, on a disco, look inside the rear door jams.
The roof is steel, while the body is aluminum.
Where the steel and aluminum meets there is ALWAYS rust.
The two metals react with each other somehow.
Make sure to find out if its just surface, or a major problem (unsafe)

Cheers,
Nick

Question: Why do the British drink warm beer?
Answer: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.


And keep in mind, I am half British.

[roscoFJ73]

Originally Posted by hks3sgte

. Many people have gone around the world with the 200TDi engine... so...

No doubt about that, but those types of people often have little experience with landcruisers, especially 7* series diesel which would be a far more suitable vehicle.
At the very least the troopy doesnt leak like a sieve from the front onto your feet from new.
In countries like Australia where both are readily available off the showroom floor,the 7* cruiser outsells the Defender 100:1

I would love to see some improvements to the Defender as there is nothing like competition but with LR long standing military contracts,the consumer will always be a 2nd rate consideration.

The 200TDI is not bad,but compared to Toyota diesels of the same year, it gets left way behind.
It ancient design,putting out more HP than it was designed for,needs a rigid maintenance schedule otherwise it will die quickly.

[Tapage]

My opinion is the same with Nick .. one nice buddy have one V8 Disco .. what a nighmare dude .. !

Start with radiator, auto box, injection system and the final end of the rig was the computer, behinthe dash .. the end of the rig.

[mac]

What's the price like? You can get a nice JDM cruiser and not have to worry about switching teams. I have a friend who is a Landy Tech at MCL in Vancouver and honestly the Disco is one of the low trouble Rovers. The TDI is a great engine. Many other of the Land Rovers are a complete joke. There are many Freelanders on their 3rd warranty engine/tranny!
That said, a low trouble Landy will still keep your relationship with your dealer closer than you'd like.

[hks3sgte]

Originally Posted by nickw

Sorry, I don't want to insult rovers to bad.

You didn't insult... It's true. The funny thing is that there are some Land Rover owners that ADMIT their trucks aren't the most reliable. Things I hear a lot are that Land Rovers look a lot better than Land Cruisers. So they would prefer a Land Rover. The TDi Engines are underpowered but so are a lot of Unimog engines... so are a couple of earlier Land Cruiser diesels...

Honestly, just research. With that said, if I had a choice between a 300TDi Defender 110 or an HJ61, I would chose the Land Cruiser.

[fernandol]

This is my first time posting in the diesel section and I really have no experience with diesel Rovers (i do have a Nissan Patrol 3.0 TDI) but I pretty much grew up with Land Rovers.

In my family there where 2 Land Rover Defenders and 5 Range Rovers, 3 of them at the same time. After that experience I'll keep as far away from them as possible.

Regards!

[cruiser_guy]

Do a search on the 'net. There was a guy in SoCal that bought a Disco and paid as much in maintenance and repairs as it cost to buy the truck IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP (it was out of warrantee)!!
I don't know if the site is still up as LandRover may have threatened him.

[cody c]

the fact that the rover is rust resistant is something to consider. especially if major mods are part of the bigger plan. if you were going to bigger axels and suspension, larger engine and drivetrain. the majority of these problems would be negligable. just an opinion.

[hks3sgte]

" A Land Rover is all aluminum, so I don't have to worry about rust when I buy one"
Wrong, big time wrong. As with most British cars of the period, rust is a major factor in a Land Rover. The frames rust out as do the bulkheads (firewalls). We also hear that people know the frames rust, but that everything else is alloy, so that won't be an issue as they plan a frame swap. This too is incorrect. The skin of a Land Rover door is alloy, but the structure that supports the door is all steel and very prone to rusting out. The leaf springs rust, the tub crossmembers rust, the door tops rust, etc. A Land Rover suffers from rust just like any other vehicle, maybe even a bit worse. If you are buying one, they all look great in pictures from the outside, but it is what is under the skin that counts. Go see it, crawl around under it, don't buy from pictures.


taken from http://www.eastcoastrover.com/FAQmis.html

[-XXX-]

I own a range rover and had a discovery given to me.... with that said after just installing an engine in my rangie, I WOULD NOT own anothe rrover (even if it was given to me) they have to be the most over priced POS out there, in the first year of owning the RR I replaced airbags sensor (suspension airbag) Mass air flow meter, throttle position sensor, engine, various switches,speed sensors (I have now paid more in parts than I paid when I bought it with 80000 miles on it) with that said I have always been a Toyota guy. I figured I would try out the rover thing for a minute.....they are a big joke!!!! reliability is terrible

[KArmstrong]

If you're looking at a '91 RHD 4 cyl diesel Discovery, you're not in the US, right?

I've had my US '94 petrol, automatic Dicsovery since new.

It's been great, though probably not typical.

After living in the upper midwest for its entire life, corrosion around the edges of the doors is beginning to get pretty bad. I've kept the frame clean and waxoyled and it looks great.

We just spent most of a week in Moab and it performed well ... the lockers, sill sliders, f & r replacement bumpers and lower diff gears may have helped.

All in all, the '91 that you're looking at is still a fifteen year old and is likely to need loads of maintenance and repair.

Look on www.discoweb.org for a US based discussion group if you're interested.

KAA

[TheJackRabbit]

If you insist on owning a Land Rover buy a Series II, IIA, or III. If you buy one of the V-8s you proably end up feeling a fool. The ones I mention are even more primative then the FJ60 LC.

[firetruck41]

Disco I has horrible reliability ratings, Disco II is a little better. I wouldn't trade my 80 series LC for any LR.