Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hello all,
Time to get a new 4wd, i am having a look tomorrow at a 1998 discovery, 3.9l manual. High kms but a good price.
Anything i should look out for ?

I imagine a 98 model disco shouldn't have to many faults.

I want it for towing, some off road, daily driver atleast a few days of the week.

Mods i plan would be more power ! and suspension lift with some slightly larger tyres, 33's or 35's

Cheers, Evan

I DO NOT know a great deal about Rangies.

However when i was looking for my Disco i was told by many people to stay away from the MANUAL gearbox. I use mine as a daily Driver and also a TOW rig, i was advised that the Z4 auto is heaps stronger and have fewer problems than the Manual!

I brought a 95 Disco, so i am not sure if the Gearboxes have changed since than!

Since i brought it i have spoken to a few Rangie Buffs and they all said that the Z4 Auto is the way to go for strength.

I am sure someone on here could elaberate on this some more!

yup the zF auto is definately the way to go..i would however get the tdi not the V8

With the manual you really need to get the gearbox output shaft checked for spline wear (easy enough to do it just a matter of undoing 6 bolts and having a look but probably best to get a rover dude to check it out).

Although I not totally sure if the 98s had this problem. Rover may have gotten it sorted by then.

And V8s are better than the diesels IMO if you dont mind feeding them the fuel.

Sam

Thanks guys.
Yeah i heard the r380 wasn't that great, but ok.
The ZF 4 speed is indeed a very good auto.

If the price is right i could always do the auto later anyway.
Oh well see how it looks tomorrow but seems like a decent deal so far.

I can live with feeding them, my performance cars drink more ! (ie over 20l/100kms, but then again they have 3 times the kw's)

E

Nothing wrong with the R380 box, was the LT77 that gave all the trouble.
Gears were drilled by then, but check splines anyway.

Michael.

I bought a 98 Disco new, great vehicle but was too much money for the 4wding i was doing so i bought an old rangie for off road instead. They drive well, and are not too thirsty. I averaged about 16l/100km for the 50k i did with mine. Off road they are great, even in stock form. I just fitted BFG Muds to mine which transformed it off road. Manual gearbox in the later models in not an issue.
Kevin

hmmmm, well a bit disapointed. was soposed to be a nice example.
Paint was good condition, original.
But was a dept natural resources 4wd, and thats fine but it had been to the beach a lot (maybe not on the beach but close), even had the log books in there.

Lots of chassis black on the actual chassis, good job, took me a bit to find places that had missed and these didn't look that great.
Given rovers love of rust i think i may just give that one a miss.

Still cant decide on a newer disco or an older land rover or gq patrol.

Thanks everybody for the advice.
Evan

landy_man wrote:yup the zF auto is definately the way to go..i would however get the tdi not the V8

A high Km TDI is a time bomb mate I would steer well clear, those engines can cost buckets to bring back to life. The V8 is a much
better option it costs more to run but stick it on lpg and save.

Still have another look at it.
Rust on a chsaais is not a problem. From the factory the pint is only just. Even in land ones get rust stains. As long as its only surface wire brush and touch up.

Gearbox issues mainly fixed on that model. Overfill transfer by 200mils or so and splines will get lubed.

Discos in Aust do not suffer from rust. Ally panels mostly.

Bazzle

Discos, good truck, but I prefer Rangies any day.

I had a 93 Disco, was good off-road in standard form, but I was always a bit nervous of the damn thing falling over as the centre of gravity was defenatleyt higher than the Rangies.

Stick to the V8 and the ZF auto, why change gears when you have the option, but the R380's are a good manual as far as 5 speeds go. Had a manual the first time round, but bought an auto now I wouldn't drive anyhting else (I'm just a lazy bastard). Autos have more advantages off-road anyway apart from the downhill braking.

Fuel economy, who bloody cares as long as your'e having fun!!!

Trav