anyway.. buying a landrover.. it is always gonne be best to take an expert with you.. I didn't but so far I have been lucky..

my experience is that landrovers smell of oil, that's because they leak oil.. not necessarily a good thing but if you know where it is coming from and keep it topped up not necessarily an issue..

in addition the use of mineral oil means that the person servicing the vehicle either doesn't believe the claims made by manufacturers about synth and semi synth oil being better for the engine or doesn't want to spend the money on synth or semi synth becasue they are using so much oil..

the reciepts for oil seals suggests that there may have been an issue that has been fixed but reciepts are only half the story, how good was the repair, was it the right repairt in the first place or has somone fixed something that was mis diagnosed etc etc..

by the sounds of it this one has been looked after with care and devotion but not necessarily with skill and knowledge.. so you have to make your own judgement about that based ojn your instincts and (if at all possible) the second opinion of someone you trust - so take someone with you if you can....
 
Flex said:
Hi, I went to view a 97 300TDI manual Disco recently, this is my first step into the land of 4x4's and the like so it's easy to say I'm a N00B.

Anyway it didn't look in too bad condition, rust didn't seem to be at a worrying level and it had almost a full service history with many millions of reciepts.

My worry though is that when it was ticking over it smelt of burning oil when I stood near the bonnet but not at the back and it wasn't smoking. There's wasn't any oil puddle in the garage underneath it and I couldn't really spot any in the engine bay. One thing I did notice was that there were reciepts for Mineral Oil, I thought that this would smell quite different to normal oil though. There's tonnes of fairly recent reciepts for engine work and seals etc so I'm at a bit of a loss.

Just hoped that someone may be able to help and advise wether I should go for it or leave it well alone. Before anyone asks I didn't test drive it, I'm due to go back and have one as it was a bit of a rush to go and see it the other day :)
Click to expand...

If you do decide to go back and see it again, my advice would be:

1. When you make the appointment, make sure the guy knows that you want to see it start from cold - you don't want a warmed-up engine;

2. When you get there, before starting the engine, check the dipstick for engine oil and see if the level is correct, also check all the other fluids, before stating the engine;

3. Whilst the engine is running, CAREFULLY!! remove the coolant header tank and listen/watch for bubbles coming through; (not good!!)

4. Go for a test drive and see if you like it!! Sometimes people decide to buy a Disco without taking care to ensure they know how these things drive - they are NOT cars, they are slow and heavy by comparison to a std family car;

I wish you luck, find a good one and you'll really enjoy it, find a bad'un......................................................................................:eek:

Cheers
Dave
 
and remember to take a torch and something to lie down on. Disco's love to rust... check out the underside!
 
aprt from obvoius mechanical probs. Also look out for rusted....

rear floor
footwells
sills
body mounts
inner wings
if its a 5 door then rear arches.
rear seat belt mountings.

If yu can, take up the carpets and sound deadening too.
 
Well thanks for the advice chaps, and the entertainment in your little squabble lol.

We went for a test drive today, the man I knew who can was unavailable so I just went off advice given here and basic knowledge. The car was surprisingly rust free compared what I expected and I only noticed one problem (or what I would say is a problem)

When going from 1st to 2nd gear whilst pulling away, it crunches into second ever so slightly. It doesn't do it in when standing still or any on other gear selection up or down and only when moving off.

Any ideas?
 
Flex said:
Well thanks for the advice chaps, and the entertainment in your little squabble lol.

We went for a test drive today, the man I knew who can was unavailable so I just went off advice given here and basic knowledge. The car was surprisingly rust free compared what I expected and I only noticed one problem (or what I would say is a problem)

When going from 1st to 2nd gear whilst pulling away, it crunches into second ever so slightly. It doesn't do it in when standing still or any on other gear selection up or down and only when moving off.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Yep the gearbox is on it's way out.. However my mates had her disco for 3 years and it's always crunched going into 2nd and it's not got any worst since she got it. So it's a bit of a gamble as to how long it will last before it needs a noo gearbox.

Also as far as rust is concerned did you remove the carpets from the rear load area or the cover strip between bumper and rear door? As that is where they go 1st..
 
redhand said:
Yep the gearbox is on it's way out.. However my mates had her disco for 3 years and it's always crunched going into 2nd and it's not got any worst since she got it. So it's a bit of a gamble as to how long it will last before it needs a noo gearbox.
Click to expand...

So if I decide to take the gamble and go and buy it, what's a new box going to cost me roughly?

And yeah I checked all the usual places for rust and it wasn't really that bad at all.
 
oh dear, the same thing has happened to my 300tdi, it sounds like the synchro cones are worn, you can live with it, or get a recon box from ashcrofts. they charge 445 quid plus fitting, total about a grand
 
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