Total newbie, 1990 Disco V8 - Manual, help!

[raphael]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and about my first Land Rover which I got last Friday.

It's a 1990 black Disco, V8, 5 doors, Petrol. 133k

It will be my weekend car to drive around in London, Brighton with the family and I'm planning some trips to France and Scotland soon.

I need to get an MOT next week and tax it but being a brand new LR user I need some help to find a good trustworthy mechanic to tell me what's good and what's not. I can't do anything by myself YET so I need someone to trust and take it from there.

The idea is to completely restore it both mechanically and the cosmetics, like have it back to as it was in 1990. Is this possible?

The most important thing obviously is to have it working (safely), doing some good MPG.

I drove it from Oxford to South London and it was very nice, no major apparent issues but what I noticed:

- Need to rev a bit on 1st gear to get it going
- A bit hard to get 1st and 3rd gear (I imagine it's me being stupid on the first drive)
- Some noise when turning the wheel from lock to lock while on a car park

So the advise I need from you guys is:

- A good place in London (South if possible) to have an overall check and prepare for the MOT
- Any general tips for a newbie who never had a 4x4 and got a 20 years old Discovery.

I'm total love with it, looks amazing, sounds amazing and drives beautifully, just need to get the MOT and start restoring it.

Thanks a lot!

Raphael

[raphael]

A few more details which might help someone to help me :-)

- It starts first time while cold!
- I have plenty of servicing history including latest MOT from last year.
- and I saw loads of rust underneath the rear of the car

I'm now looking for someone to service for me as I will need a MOT and Tax in June and hopefully want to go to France in July!


Thanks a lot!

[keithcdb]

Its most likely over fueling: needs the carbs/ignition looked at
Change the gearbox oil before condeming the box or syncro's
The power steering pump might be on its way out or may just need some fluid

:)

[thebiglad]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and about my first Land Rover which I got last Friday.

It's a 1990 black Disco, V8, 5 doors, Petrol. 133k

It will be my weekend car to drive around in London, Brighton with the family and I'm planning some trips to France and Scotland soon.

I need to get an MOT next week and tax it but being a brand new LR user I need some help to find a good trustworthy mechanic to tell me what's good and what's not. I can't do anything by myself YET so I need someone to trust and take it from there.

The idea is to completely restore it both mechanically and the cosmetics, like have it back to as it was in 1990. Is this possible?

The most important thing obviously is to have it working (safely), doing some good MPG.

I drove it from Oxford to South London and it was very nice, no major apparent issues but what I noticed:

- Need to rev a bit on 1st gear to get it going
- A bit hard to get 1st and 3rd gear (I imagine it's me being stupid on the first drive)
- Some noise when turning the wheel from lock to lock while on a car park

So the advise I need from you guys is:

- A good place in London (South if possible) to have an overall check and prepare for the MOT
- Any general tips for a newbie who never had a 4x4 and got a 20 years old Discovery.

I'm total love with it, looks amazing, sounds amazing and drives beautifully, just need to get the MOT and start restoring it.

Thanks a lot!

Raphael


Hi Raphael and welcome to the wonderful world of Discovery ownership !!

I can't help with mechanic reccomendations, but a couple of the issues you mention are gear selection and steering noise.

1. Gear selection - this is not uncommon but can be improved by a gearbox oilchange. Very easy to do yourself and requires very few tools.

2. The noise when turning the steering wheel is also very common, can be caused by low fluid level in the pas reservoir - the black tub-looking thing to the right of the radiator. Top it up with Auto Tranmission Fluid (ATF).

It can also be caused by the front tyres being a bit low on air pressure. I always reccomend 3psi more than in the owners manual, so that would be 30psi.

When things get tough, don't forget to enjoy your new toy !!!!

Cheers
Dave (Living in France)

[raphael]

Thanks Dave and Keith!

I chatted with the guys from Prestige for the servicing and MOT which is an urgent thing and everything will be £169 which sounds OK for me. Just hope it passes the MOT.

So once that's done I will start to get stuff done myself, be prepared for loads of messages here :-)

Thanks again guys

[thebiglad]

Thanks Dave and Keith!

I chatted with the guys from Prestige for the servicing and MOT which is an urgent thing and everything will be £169 which sounds OK for me. Just hope it passes the MOT.

So once that's done I will start to get stuff done myself, be prepared for loads of messages here :-)

Thanks again guys

The price for the service sounds quite cheap to me, so I would want to EXACTLY what they include in their service.

For example, do they change the engine oil & filter? The gearbox oil? The transfer box oil? Back & front axle oils? Do they change the fuel filter? The air filter? Do they clean the fuel sedimenter? Do they change the serpentine belt? Do they check all the brake pads for wear?

Once you know what they include, you will have a better idea of what needs doing once you - "have the com" - so to speak with regard to servicing the vehicle yourself.

Good luck matey

Dave

[discool]

As above, I think the price is just for labour + materials.
You don't have a fuel sedimeter to clean thats for diesel engines and no serpentine belt that was not fitted untill the 1995 MY so just normal V pully belts. Don't forget to get a Haynes Service Manual for your disco lots of info in it on servicing and repairs although you must 'read between the lines' for some bits but still a handy book.

[raphael]

Thanks a lot, you guys are right. Some of the oil changes are included but filters are not. Here is the complete list of what they will do:

http://www.prestigecarservicing.com/images/service-schedule.pdf

I might ask for the B option, do you guys think it's necessary? They will pick it up next Monday.

[thebiglad]

Thanks a lot, you guys are right. Some of the oil changes are included but filters are not. Here is the complete list of what they will do:

http://www.prestigecarservicing.com/images/service-schedule.pdf

I might ask for the B option, do you guys think it's necessary? They will pick it up next Monday.

I think if the B option is the price you quoted I would have that, as you will get a comprehensive report on general condition of the vehicle.

The service they provide is predominently a check and replenish one, as opposed to replacing all the fluids, but it would be a good starting point.

Once they've finished with it you will have a better picture of the overall condition and can use this as your startline for the total renovation.

When you get the cat home and feel like starting the work, I would suggest changing all the fluids, that is all the oils, the coolant and the brake fluid. So you will know that you have new everywhere, so you are giving the car the best chance 'to be good!!'

The very best of luck to you, enjoy your new toy

Cheers
Dave