now the Range Rover was built between
1970 and 1996 and basically defined its
own market sector for the whole world
nothing had quite been seen like this
before
and because of that early cars are
really fetching serious money now but
you can get yourself into a later car
for a lot less than you think but under
the bonnet there are a lot of changes
inside there are a lot of changes as
well
and to take you through a few of those
and the things you need to look out for
if you want to buy one here's Martin so
if you're after buying a Discovery one
you're probably after one of two things
first is a nice original early example
as these are set to rise in value and
follow the trend of the Range Rover
classic second like this one this is a
modified vehicle that you can use for
camping over landing green laning
off-roading it's just a fantastical
round Land Rover and they're still quite
cheap so we'll have a look at the things
that you need to look for when you're
buying one the biggest killer of these
is rust it's sent many of them to the
scrapyard so if it has been under sealed
from new that can be a bonus but also be
aware that rusts rust proofer can be
used to cover up a lot of bad welding
repairs so make sure the underneath is
solid starting at the front inner wings
when we've got the bonnet open inside
the workshop we'll show you where to
look for corrosion and rust in those
moving back lower sills outer sills and
inner sills rust really badly as do the
bottom of door pillars on a pillar and
the B pillar we've got a vehicle with
twin Sun roofs like this one chances are
they will have been sealed up and that's
because water lashes in through the top
sits in the carpet and the sound
deadening
and then rots all the floors moving down
the vehicle you want to be checking for
any significant damage scratches like
this aren't too much of a problem if
you're going to use the vehicle for
green laning or off-roading these suffer
from the same affliction as Defenders
where they use aluminium which meets
steel as electrolysis happens here and
the paint can flake off it just looks a
little bit scruffy but nothing major to
worry about when I open the rear door
and check the outer wheel arch because
these rust really badly
this one's been repaired before if you
look at the bottom of the outer wheel
arch you can get an indication of what
the sills are like
this one's been repaired already so
that's no problem there but as you can
see the rust comes through where the
muck gets chucked off the road wheel and
it chips the paint and then starts the
corrosion moving around to the back
you'll see again just checking the
bodywork as you go there's more
electrolysis around the rear lights
they're quite bad for this paint chips
off and it just looks scruffy so again
not a massive problem if you're gonna
use the vehicle off-road but if you're
looking for a really nice original one
you want to avoid that moving around to
the rear door again as with Defender
because these have the spare wheels on
the hinge is under a lot of stress so
just pop the back door open give it a
little rock to make sure there's no play
and whilst you've got the back door open
have a little look inside the shop line
just to make sure there's no rust in
here because they readily corrode and if
the sellers happy for you to do so peel
up the map or the carpet in the boot and
have a look check for rust in there as
well because they do rust quite badly
and the boot floors and then you can
check the other side of the vehicle so
now we're heading to the workshop and
have a look underneath but all the rust
spots you need to check for under there
so the first thing you need to check at
the back of the vehicle are the two rear
body mounts and these are up on either
side of the chassis
this rear cross members is quite a big
job to replace when it is rusty and
getting the body aligned properly again
afterwards can be a bit tricky so make
sure they are solid these look ok on
here
most Discoverys would have had
anti-roll bars fitted at the factory but
quite often they've been removed as they
tend to limit axle articulation when
you're offroad so make sure they're
still in place check for offroad damage
on the rear axle on the chassis rails if
it's knocked any of the paint off that
can start corrosion in the chassis so
make sure everything looks solid as you
get to these body mounts make sure the
metal around them is solid the inner and
outer sills on both sides moving forward
further just
the chassis rails are solid all the way
along and you'll notice as with most
Land Rovers you'll get slight oily
around things like transfer box here you
don't need to worry too much about that
but if it's really pouring out then you
need to budget accordingly carry on
forward again anyway there's a body
mount just make sure there's no rust
around them
inner and outer sills should be solid
carrying on forward have a look at the
suspension bushes if it looks like they
haven't been changed for a long time
it's not a particularly expensive item
to replace but it's time-consuming quite
labor-intensive so make sure they're in
good condition if they're not when you
test drive the vehicle do some heavy
braking is if it pulls from side to side
going forward further still check the
floors in the front foot wells if the
vehicle has got some roofs there's a
good chance that the carpet and the
sound deadening will all be sodden with
water and that's what rusts the floors
out so give them a good poke make sure
there's no excessive corrosion there
because that's quite a big job to repair
as well check the engine for oil leaks
again a bit of staining and light
covering of oils normal if there's
anything really pouring out take that
into consideration because that will
need to be fixed and then right at the
front just check the steering drag link
and track rod make sure they're not bent
they look straight and again checking
for off road damage to the front
differential pan make sure the steering
box isn't leaking if it is there's a
possibility the vehicle would fail its
next MOT so if it is dripping power
steering fluid just take that into
consideration because it may need a full
rebuild or you might get away with just
changing one of the seals and then right
at the front make sure if it's an
automatic make sure the gearbox oil cooler
pipes are in good condition have
been crushed by anything off-road just
give have a general look around the
front of the car make sure everything
looks straight again front body mounts
as well and the inner wings make sure
there's no holes or corrosion if there
is again budget for those repairs so
another thing to check are the swivel
balls on the front axle make sure
they're not leaking excessively
misting is normal but if the bulls
themselves look pitted or corroded you
need to budget for that repair because
again it's a MOT failure if they're
leaking excessively quite an involved
job to replace those so if you're not
DIY savvy then set aside some cash to
have them done so with the underside of
the vehicle checked we're now going to
lower it down
and have a look under the bonnet so
heading under the bonnet of the
discovery if you're looking at a diesel
model you'll either be met with the
200tdi which has a green dipstick or the
300tdi which has a yellow dipstick both
are brilliant engines very rugged very
hard-wearing
they do like regular servicing and
they're cam belts need to be replaced
either every 60,000 miles or five or six
years first thing to check is the water
level in the coolant header tank 300
TDI's are slightly more susceptible to
overheating and head gasket damage if
the coolant level is allowed to get too
low and it's generally the P gasket
between the water pump housing and the
block that leaks and allows the level to
drop take a good look around the engine
bay make sure there are no major oil
leaks again they're old diesel engines
so there'll be a little bit of minor
weeping and staining around the engine
but anything that's really dripping
should be looked at check the power
steering level if the fluids low or
discolored or it looks like it's got air
in it there's a possibility the power
steering pump could be faulty or there's
a leak in the system somewhere whilst
you've got the bonnet open it's a really
good idea to check the inner wings more
thoroughly
if you've already looked from underneath
check again from under the bonnet just
in case there's any little traps or
little areas of rust that you haven't
spotted already so you're looking where
the vertical panel of the inner wing
meets the horizontal panel around the
battery tray and on the other side below
the airbox and towards the back near the
washer bottle check the condition of the
brake fluid just wipe the dirt away
and see if it looks particularly dark it
could have been missed on service so
that can give you an indication of how
well the car's been looked after also
check the suspension damper turrets if
these are left with a lot of mud caked
around and they can
rust they're not too hard to replace and
fairly cheap to buy so don't worry too
much if that's the case on later 300tdi
models with automatic gearboxes they
will have electronic diesel control
fitted or EDC which means you have a
mass airflow sensor an injector with a
wire coming off it and an electronically
controlled fuel pump which is here on
early automatics and manual models these
will have a normal mechanical fuel pump
and it's very common for people to play
with these pumps to get a little bit
more power so if you're looking for a
completely standard vehicle make sure
the anti-tamper cap on top hasn't been
pried out so that you can adjust the
smoke screw beneath finally if the
vehicle has been stood for a long time
it's possible that the valve stem seals
have gone hard and brittle so when
you're driving the car have a look in
the rearview mirror a little bit of
black smokes normal under hard
acceleration but if there's any blue
smoke or white smoke you need to be
suspicious of that if you're looking at
petrol discovery it's more than likely
going to have the rover v8 fitted it
need to be 3.5 litre with carburetors on
the really early models 3.5 with EFI or
a 3.9 with EFI on the later versions and
these are all really great engines but
again it's really important they're
serviced on time if they're not you can
get a heavy buildup of sludge and silt
in the sump and in the top of the
cylinder heads which means lack of
lubrication warm camshafts and followers
and poor performance so when you start
the vehicle up from cold have a listen
to the top end see if its tappy or if
there's any untoward noises suspect
engine wear some so vital that the
coolant has been changed on time if the
antifreeze mixture is allowed to get too
weak or just gets too old
the alloys cylinder heads and block can
corrode and go porous which means lack
of water possible overheating and then
head gasket which can be involved sort
out so make sure the coolant has been
changed on time as well as the oil with
the electronically controlled v8 it's
really important that they start up idle
smoothly and perform well through the
rev range there's any hesitation
misfires anything like that it could be
anything from duff spark plugs to an
air flow meter problem or any of the
other sensors in the system there Lucas
controlled systems on the efi so can be
tricky to diagnose but parts are cheap
enough to get and quality
are of course available from Britpart
so whichever engine you're looking for
make sure it starts easily idles nicely
there's no misfires no untoward smoke
and then it pulls well through the rev
range and to check that we're now gonna
head out onto the road and give this one
test-drive so the interiors on these
early discoveries are quite rudimentary
you'll find they rattle and creak quite
a lot as you go over bumps but that's
just part and parcel of the vehicle make
sure the heater works properly you
should get nice and hot into discovery
unlike a defender check the seats for
damage and we're on the bolsters check
we're on the steering wheel and any
stickiness because they do wear and as
the Sun heats them up the glue can get
tacky and they're not very nice to feel
check the Sun roofs work if they haven't
been sealed up the car might have manual
winders or it might have electric
buttons on the es models on three door
models make sure the seat base is fold
properly to allow people in and out of
the back seats because these fail quite
regularly and they're difficult to find
replacements for as you're driving the
vehicle check in the mirror to see if
there's any smoke under acceleration a
little bit of black smoke is normal if
there's white or blue smoke then suspect
there could be a problem with the engine
steering should be reasonably direct
make sure the vehicle doesn't list or
pull to one side as you go down the road
and again under braking make sure the
car doesn't pull to one side or the
other should pull up nice and straight
just keep an eye on the steering wheel
as you brake hard if it tries to pull
obviously the steering wheel will turn
the gearbox is generally good the
automatics do like regular servicing oil
changes every 24,000 miles or so if you
haven't got any history of the automatic
gearbox oil being changed don't be
tempted to change the oil straight away
as the detergents and the new oil could
dislodge some debris in the valve block
and cause problems in the gearbox manual
gearboxes are generally sturdy the LT 77
will be fitted to the 200 series and the
our R80 will be fitted to the 300 series
and these can suffer with slight
problems engaging second gear when the
gearboxes are cold but as soon as you've
done a mile or so the oil should warm up
and you should be able to get in and out
of all the gears without problems
you want to be listening for whines from
the transmission as you accelerate and
come off the throttle there shouldn't be
any whines or whurs on overrun if there
are that could indicate a problem with
the gearbox transfer box or one of the
differentials when checking through the
service manuals on these vehicles
hopefully whoever's been servicing it
will know when the transmission halls
have been changed which should be every
other service so two years or 24,000
miles if you suspect the discovery
hasn't seen much off-road use it's worth
making sure the diff lock and the
transfer box engage high and low range
properly it just needs to select neutral
on the gearbox and then push the lever
forwards to engage low range should slot
in properly and then you can try and
drive to make sure it's engage like so
diff lock push it across to the left
the orange light should come on on the
dashboard to show you that diff lock is
engaged you can then pull it back over
to the right and the light should
extinguish if it doesn't go out straight
away don't worry it will go out once the
diff locks disengage as you drive away
while you've got the vehicle at a
standstill it's worth selecting first
gear or drive and listening to see if
there's any driveline shunt if there is
that could signify a worn differential
or maybe just the drive flanges on the
end of the axles if there's any driveline
backlash between reverse and forward
gears that should be taken into account
and budgeted for
if you're driving a manual model take
note of how much play there is when you
change gear too much slack in the drive
line can also be down to a worn transfer
box input gear which is caused by all
starvation on the splines
luckily Britpart do an uprated
cross-drilled gear which fixes this
issue for good so that wraps up the
buyer's guide for the discovery one
their brilliant rugged vehicles but if
you get a collection of problems they
can prove costly so buy wisely for more
videos on buying Land Rovers and how to
look after them check out the other
videos in the Britpart workshop series
