Q for the Land Rover guys

[JL Rockies]

We took in a one owner 1997 Discovery with 69k miles on the ODO and I have the opportunity to purchase it for $2500 plus doc fees. It's in pretty good condition with only the usual stuff that breaks off in European interiors missing or in a small pile in the cargo area.

The thing I am most concerned about is the t-case shifter... I can't seem to get it to shift into 4 lo... I even read the owners manual. I can get it to audibly beep which indicates it's in neutral but that's about it. The owners manual says there's a light that comes on when in 4 lo but I see no indication of that. I've done a small amount of research on the interweb and I came across a forum post by someone with the same problem. It had been suggested by the experts that the previous owner probably never touched the shifter and the linkages are all corroded. A quote: "Have fun taking the console out and drilling out the rivets".

I have no problem believing the elderly man who traded this thing in never touched it. How common of an issue is this? I'm not too worried if it can be fixed with some TLC.

All power windows work, DS power seat works, PS power seat does not, both front and rear sunroofs work, heated seats do not, AC works, the Hella offroad lights are in the trunk still attached to the brackets that sheered off the front bumper.

If you have insight, holla at your boy!

Thanks.

 

[Rot Box]

I have heard of this problem with Disco's but I don't have a clue of what the fix is... You could try and PM Lenny, but I haven't seen any of the Rover guy's post here in awhile you may have better luck searching on Discoweb :-\

I'd be interested to see what you do with it. I have came very close to buying a Rover over the years and I still want one pretty bad.

 

[lewis]

Anything that works on that thing won't work for long. I guarantee you will regret buying it IMO. It will nickel and dime you to death

 

[dzeyer]

That's a pretty common thing with the disco. It could be from lack of usage, but most of the time it is a little solenoid that has frozen up. It's what keeps it from shifting into low when in drive. I took mine out myself when mine did the same thing. After removing it, you just have to make sure you're not throwing it into low when you're still movin along. I had my Disco II for about 5 years before I sold it and started into crawling. I NEVER regretted buying it. They're simple to work on and the quirks are worth the payoff. Nothing was better than winter wheeling with heated leather seats and a nice sound system. There are a TON of aftermarket stuff out there for the discos. It's even a common swap now for toy thrids and shafts since the axles are the weak spot. With aluminum body panels, gear driven case and a sold tranny, they're a fun rig to build up. It's definitely not a powerhouse, but makes up for it in class.

Here's what the solenoid looks like and the guys over at discoweb are a great group of guys that will help you out with anything (not at all like pirate). Sorry bout the blurry pic.

 

[SUPERFLY]

There are a TON of aftermarket stuff out there for the discos. It's even a common swap now for toy thrids and shafts since the axles are the weak spot.]

It's a little off subject but I've heard of rover guys doing this and it just makes me wonder why they don't just swap whole toy axle under? Is it super easy to swap out parts? It just seems like to me(granted I know nothing about rovers) that it would be easier to weld a few brackets in place than modify a housing to the extent of putting different parts in. Not to mention, 80 series cruiser brakes are way bigger and they would be gaining the super common chev 6 lug pattern? Just wondering if there is something special I don't know about rover housings?