discovery 300tdi

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Discussion

beantins

Original Poster:

20 posts

181 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
quotequote all
goin to look at a commercial discovery in few days, iv heard they rust pretty bad but was just wonderin if any one could give me few pointers on wat to look out for? thanks

thescamper

920 posts

227 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
quotequote all
TVR Moneypit said:
In short, if it aint made of plastic or glass, then expect it to rust.

The boot floor is easy enough to check, just roll back the carpet, if the comercials have a boot carpet?

Inner front wings are another easy to find problem, although this may require you to get underneath and have a poke.

Check also just above the windscreen, and around the rear upper thin glass panels. Also check where the door pillars meet the roof.

Rear arches are another favourite. Again this is best checked from underneath, and preferable with the wheels off.

One place that you wont be able to check properly is the inner and outer sills. To do that you need to remove the plastic sill covers, which the screws to which usually snap, requiring you to just pull the whole cover off and breaking it in the process. Even then the paint on the outside of the sills is pretty think, so can hide a whole world of st untill you get the flapper padal out and start grinding the paint off.

If the rear arches and sills are tottally shagged, then I'll eat the wax candle that sits on my desk. Oh and joy of joys, if the sills are shagged, then it has a habit of spreading to the bottom of the door pillars, around the seatbelt mounts, and halfway across the floorpan.

Whatever this guy wants for it, knock at least £500 off for the inevitable copious amounts of rust.

Only Land Rover could make 1970's Lancias look like a shining galvanised beacons of rust freeness.

Whilst your at it, check for shagged radiators that look more like swiss cheese, dry UJ's on the props, very rusty body mounts, split fuel lines, sump damage, blowing manifolds, seized transfer boxes, dry diffs, split propshaft donuts, and sagging rear doors.


Good luck.
PMSL

normalbloke

7,462 posts

220 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
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Now that would make me change my choice of vehicle,smartish!

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

191 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
quotequote all
normalbloke said:
Now that would make me change my choice of vehicle,smartish!
Yeah but you could create a similar list for almost any veicle of the same age.

BMW e36's for example. They rust like buggery too and have enough issue to make an interesting check list.

As for the Disco well most of that list is just generic stuff to check on most vehicles. Personally I'd start by taking a broader look at it and see how it drives. Then check the rear floor. If it's not too bad overall then it's very unlikely to be rotten through in all the more obscured places.

beantins

Original Poster:

20 posts

181 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
quotequote all
hes lookin 1250, didnt think it was bad money??

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

191 months

Thursday 4th February 2010
quotequote all
beantins said:
hes lookin 1250, didnt think it was bad money??
It's probably ok. The 300TDI is generally fairly though, as is the transmission and driveline.

Ok hub seals often fail, but it's an easy fix and something that has been on going since the 1st Land Rover in 1948 right up until the D11 and even the current Defender which is still in produciton. But its not really a problem.

So mechanically as long as it drive straight and doesn't make any strange noises its probably fine.

Rust is an issue, check the cassis (take a screw driver wink )

And some bodywork. I've got a 200Tdi and I had to replace the boot floor, not sure if its such an issue with commericals though. It's a fairly easy fix, but if it needs doing it might be a good point to haggle over.

Then just for anything else that looks bad.

smile