Opinion Sought...

[Purple Hugs]

What are your views on a Disco 1990 V8 3.5 petrol... 5 dr, 7 seater. Mot'd till June 07.

I'm looking at buying one, and have no real idea what to 'watch out for' as this'll be my first Land Rover.
I figure rust/corrosion - for obvious reasons, tyres as they'll be more expensive than bog standard ford jobs..

Would really appreciate your advice and opinion.

Also how many miles roughly do you get to a tank, and what does a tank cost? not the end of the earth as my mileage isn't huge unless on a daytrip or holiday - in which case i'm not bothered.

Cheers. Jane

[V8_Disco]

Rust is the killer of discos :( lift the carpet in the boot and look at the floor, sills go two both are reparable but at a cost if not doing the work yourslef

the V8 should shound smmoth and Pull realy well Take a look inside the engine it should be shinney no stage ticks or bangs

Fuel I own a D11 4.0 and i can see 16-17 but its normaly around 13 mine runs on LPG (half the cost) as well as Petrol but if you are not doing alot of miles it will not pay of for the conversion on paper yours will be simalr figures

hope this helps someone with a gen 1 disco will be along soon

Aidan

[Cannonball Bob]

A 1990 Disco could be in need of some serious work that may not be obvious. Check very carefully.
If it were me I'd go for something simpler or newer (and not a V8)

[si_guru]

I run a 1991 V8 as second car/off roader - you need deep pockets! Fuel is horrendous! You would not believe compared to a car.


Check the doors and inner wings for rust.... open the rear door and see of it drops. Look at the chassis rear cross member.

[polarstar]

as all the above rust is the major problem and fuel consumption is heavy,
my 93 disco 1 v8i is also converted to lpg.
the worst peice of rust on mine as in a earlier post is the top sides of the rear door which i will be getting sorted soon.

[Ed Cheung]

Speaking of fuel consumption, don't even think about use the rear A/C, it makes the fuel tank like there is a hole in it, I used it for the first time yesterday, 20 minutes on the highway doing 110 KM/h lost 1/8 of a tank, and on the return trip w/o switching on the rear a/c, consumption is back to normal. Other than that, the consumption is just like a large size sedan.
Ed

[TEMPL4R]

Servicing costs will be higher, simply because there is more to inspect and work to do.

Fuel costs will be high, but at least it is the better V8 ( My opinion, as I'm sick of working on the 3.9/4.0s ;) )

I don't use or like LPG, so won't comment, but others will advise you on that.

I would go for a 300tdi ( which,funnily enough, I did :rolleyes: )

Chris

[si_guru]

I agree with Chris.... buy a diesel and get 25-30mpg all year round driving it as you wish.

When you run a V8 you spend all you life trying to drive/fit gizmos to give you more than 15mpg...

I have gas too... it's a pain in the **** to fill and only last for 150miles... which isn't a problem for a 2nd car/off roader, but would be a right royal nightmare feature of a main vehicle.

[Jon v8]

Templ4r is bang on,whilst the 3.5 is good motor - as a daily driver you cannot beat the Tdi.In every respect bar smoothness and exhaust note.
Decent fuel consumption,long life,easy/cheap servicing and total reliability.(with proper care) I've had this row before but still stand by the Tdi.
Yeaterday I had a 300Tdi auto disco in for a "pre holiday service" It last had an oil change June 03 at 151,000 miles - now reading nearly 208,000m - show me a v8 that will tolerate that ! Plus the front discs were only just over 7mm thick - how did that get through an Mot ?:eek:

[Purple Hugs]

Err thanks all! .... but..... picked up the V8i earlier! :p
I'm chuffed with it, i know the fuel really wasn't great - but i dont' drive 90 miles a day like i have today - thankfully! :rolleyes: ;)

This is our tester landy, and from here we'll likely move on, and upwards in year and knowledge :).

Rust really doesn't seem that bad, the doors have a little bubbling on them, but nothing serious. inside the engine bay there is a little rot on the wheel arches but that's the top of them, and none on the outside.

Rear door doesn't drop.

Only problem we've found is that the drivers side passenger door lock seems to be sticking.. just asked on the maintenance forum about help with that.

and we don't have a guide for the dash at all, so guess work with heating etc was needed... i know it was blowing in the back so maybe tha'ts part of the fuel problem.

Anyone able to scan a dash controls guide for me? would really appreciate it... if you can't post it here, then could i be rude enough to ask for an emailed copy?

Cheers for the advice, Wasn't ignoring it, just didn't read it in time!
Hugs, Jane

[oRGie]

congrats :) lets see some pics then :D if you have a quick search on the forum you'll find links to the manuals you need in pdf's, sorry just off out so havent time to do it for ya ;)

[V8_Disco]

Cool hope you engoy the landrover

thay all leek a bit and make strange noises from time to time if its constant it probably needs fixing, and the people on this forum are great sources of information,

as the the LPG range that someone mentioned my car does about 170 miles before it needs filling i have done 10k since feb in it all over the contry from southampton to the isle of sky not a problem getting gas

Aidan

[Purple Hugs]

LPG is a lot more common now adays in petrol stations i've noticed, but not sure we'll need to convert, could do without losing boot space - bought as 7 seats because we need 7 seats sometimes. We're foster carers and our numbers fluctuate.

We had a petrol toyota previa before so are used to a high-ish fuel bill... we'll just have to get used to this one! ;)

oRGie thanks for the tips on the manuals, I'll have a look. :)
I'll take some pics today - just finished cleaning the windows inside and out and sprucing up the interior somewhat. ;)
having fun basically!

[V8_Disco]

The Kit on my Disco replaced the Petrol tank no loss of space but it was not cheep (previous owner did the conversion)

I bought a map that has all the LPG sights in it for the country and there opaning times and teliphone numbers i have only had to run any signifacant distance on petrol once that was rancoh moore in sootland

Have Fun good to here you got the door fixed

Aidan

[polarstar]

I have 2 lpg tanks underneath my disco so i don't lose any boot space and i get about 150 to 170 miles before i need to fill up again,
it is worth having done i bought mine already converted but had to pay out a little to get it to run right after the cowboys that messed with it and did'nt know what they were doing (garage i bought it from).

[Purple Hugs]

Well... i've searched but can't find the manual on here for the disco. :( :confused: do you know if they are in a particular section?

Still trying to figure out buttons etc :rolleyes:

took pics... ;) after back to black and cleaning the windows but that's it...

But can't figure out how to post them!! :confused:

[Purple Hugs]

testing..

[Purple Hugs]

and there's more.. :D

[HarryD]

and there's more.. :DLooks tidy!!!

[Purple Hugs]

Thanks, it really isn't bad.

I've been going through receipts that came with it, and every mot from now back till 1994 :rolleyes:
It was mot'd in putney (I grew up in Fulham and worked in putney so this made me chuckle)!
And then moved south to Sussex. Where it's had EVERY piece of work it's ever needed at the same garage. Bless!
Work receipts stop in May 05 and I know the guy I got it off has had it since May 06. It passed it's mot in June. So... I guess there won't be too much needed.

I haven't named it yet, so can't call it a he or she at the moment. :p

The next service due is at 127,000 and that is in about 1,500 miles.

I've never had a car with so much service history! :D

[polarstar]

looks like you have a simular rust near the top of the rear door as me

[Purple Hugs]

Hmmm you're right.. need to get some rust treatment anyhow, so will remember that patch.

There is some on the passenger side too, underneath the doors, you know as you open them, the part between front seat and back seat.

There is also some spots on the bumpers but they don't really show too much.

ahhh well, can't expect any different really. It's not as bad as one I looked at.

[polarstar]

bumpers not a problem mine was badly rusted so i had a new put on,
the rust part in the photo i have both sides will be getting them sorted soon by having them cut out and new peices welded in.

[Purple Hugs]

had a look at my back door today and it really isnt' bad, not sure why it looks so bad in the photo.
Got some rust proofing today and a tin of paint too to 'touch up' here and there.