Hi all,

Just discovered yr forum and all being well I reckon I'll be a regular poster of questions (sori!) but in time maybe answers too.

I'm going to look at a 1984 series III land rover (2.3 ish diesel) tomorrow afternoon which someone has found at an auction and has given me 1st refusal on. The chap in question admits that he is not that mechanically minded so it's the blind leading the blind really. He states that it has two known faults:-

1. It pops out of 1st gear sometimes. What is the (likely) fault and it is reasonable to repair?

2. Starter motor is shot but it bumps fine. Again, how much to replace and who is a reputable parts supplier?

He reckons that it'll be fine to use on my recently aqcuired 5 acre small holding but a vacant look dropped over his face when I asked whether I could get it on the road . Vacant looks...don't y'just love 'em!

Are there any particular areas of a landrover that I should be paying attention to when I inspect? Is there anything that should make me say "Sorry....no way....this is too far gone".

Apparently it has approx 50K genuine miles and was owned by another small holder until he crossed over the rainbow bridge recently. It hasn't been taxed for two years......but if it passed an MOT prior to that then how much can possibly wrong???

Sorry to ramble, any advice given would be greatly received.

Cheers.

Mark

'03 Kawasaki Ninja
'99 Suzuki SV650S
'71 VW Karmann Ghia
'92 Citroen ZX Diesel
(Yeah Baby!! - Best car in the world - just looks rubbish!))
&
Poss. '84 Series 3 Landy

1. Surprised it's only 1st gear normally 2nd gear is worse. Can be rebuilt ideally to military spec. which would cure problem. rebiult gearboxes are easily available.
2. Paddocks I have found to be about the best for new stuff, or try classifieds or ebay.
Look for rot in chassis and bulkhead. good poke about with a screwdriver and tap with a hammer. They rust from the inside out.

Welcome Mark, good luck with the inspection. When you go take a small hammer or lage screwdriver with you and have a good poke around underneath on the chassis particularly rear cross member, all out riggers and front chassis legs. a nice ringing sound means good metal a dull thud means welding. The chassis could look good on the outside but can rust from the inside. Check out the bulkhead is not too rusty. All chassis and bulkhead repair panels are easily available just make sure it isn't more repair than original metal.
For the starter try Paddocks or Craddocks both are good suppliers, look in the land rover mags for alternatives, there are loads out there. For the gearbox could be as simple as a selector fork or stick miss aligned, alternatively could be bad syncro or worn gears, but if the 50k miles is real then that shouldn't be the case. Have your garage look at it. Might be an idea to change all the fluids, engine, gearbox and brakes, as you don't know when they were last changed.
Have fun and hope this helps a bit. Don't forget there is no such thing as a stupid question.
Sandy xxx

How do dooby.

Wot they said, but look out for rust rot and corrosion on anything that can go rusty rotten or corrosioneded. And the further underneath you have to crawl to find it the more expensive it is to repair.

check yer detent springs on the top of yer box before you start taking it apart