Intentional Wanderer
Observer
Took the Disco to Falconworks here in Tucson... for a little help in the whole "sloppy steering" problem - and to get a 'once over' to get a punch list of everything that may, or may not, need updating, replacement, etc.
Turns out that there two of the bolts that hold the steering gear box were...not really... what you might call... totally... completely... there. The drop arm was worn... and, oh sure.. 3/4 of the tie rod ends were shot.
Soooo... going with a full tie rod replacement (if you do 3, why not all 4?) and a parts truck drop arm... with alignment and such... somewhere in the vicinity of $500 later... plus about $250 of other misc things like replacing the power steering hose... and I have now spent more than the purchase price on the Disco... in a week and a half.
Actually, my intention is to pretty much make a mechanically "new" 1996 Discovery - to the extent that it is possible. That doesn't ensure reliability, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Please don't take this as a complaint! After all, in perspective, the Land Rover is a great deal....and the Disco I's are as reliable as you maintain them. My '99 Wrangler has a persistent, intermittent ground in the radio/cigarette lighter circuit that only happened after I had Chrysler "warranty work" done to correct a dashboard issue that made all of the gauges go blank/zero (happened within the first 2,000 miles after I drove it off the lot). I have spent hours of my time and hundreds of dollars of other's time trying to locate it.. and the cigarette lighter STILL doesn't work... shorts are easy.. grounds suck. It is back there, in a wiring harness...somewhere... I won't even talk about the gas tank replacement because the crappy interior lining sloughed off a flake a time, intermittently clogging the fuel lines... or the lock cylinder that had an ever-so-slight trickle drain on the battery...
Nothing is perfect and if you use these vehicles like WE use these vehicles, something is going to break. It is inevitable. The best hope is that it breaks in someplace convenient.
Let's be realistic, I am into the Land Rover for about $8,000 so far... and I probably have about another $2-3K left before I am satisfied that it is how I want it.. which, at that point, will be a fantastic expo vehicle.... for $10,000 or so... which is about the down payment on a Sportsmobile! So, even if I drop another $10,000 into it... I am still ahead of the game!
...and I always wanted a Land Rover... that is justification enough!
Turns out that there two of the bolts that hold the steering gear box were...not really... what you might call... totally... completely... there. The drop arm was worn... and, oh sure.. 3/4 of the tie rod ends were shot.
Soooo... going with a full tie rod replacement (if you do 3, why not all 4?) and a parts truck drop arm... with alignment and such... somewhere in the vicinity of $500 later... plus about $250 of other misc things like replacing the power steering hose... and I have now spent more than the purchase price on the Disco... in a week and a half.
Actually, my intention is to pretty much make a mechanically "new" 1996 Discovery - to the extent that it is possible. That doesn't ensure reliability, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Please don't take this as a complaint! After all, in perspective, the Land Rover is a great deal....and the Disco I's are as reliable as you maintain them. My '99 Wrangler has a persistent, intermittent ground in the radio/cigarette lighter circuit that only happened after I had Chrysler "warranty work" done to correct a dashboard issue that made all of the gauges go blank/zero (happened within the first 2,000 miles after I drove it off the lot). I have spent hours of my time and hundreds of dollars of other's time trying to locate it.. and the cigarette lighter STILL doesn't work... shorts are easy.. grounds suck. It is back there, in a wiring harness...somewhere... I won't even talk about the gas tank replacement because the crappy interior lining sloughed off a flake a time, intermittently clogging the fuel lines... or the lock cylinder that had an ever-so-slight trickle drain on the battery...
Nothing is perfect and if you use these vehicles like WE use these vehicles, something is going to break. It is inevitable. The best hope is that it breaks in someplace convenient.
Let's be realistic, I am into the Land Rover for about $8,000 so far... and I probably have about another $2-3K left before I am satisfied that it is how I want it.. which, at that point, will be a fantastic expo vehicle.... for $10,000 or so... which is about the down payment on a Sportsmobile! So, even if I drop another $10,000 into it... I am still ahead of the game!
...and I always wanted a Land Rover... that is justification enough!
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