My new V8

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

This car came up on a local Facebook sales page and I jumped on it! The guy selling it was an apprentice mechanic at a local car sales. It had come in on a part ex and the lad bought it because he thought it was in good condition and he might make a few quid on it.

I looked at it last night and to be fair it has never been off road, the underneath is solid and very clean, sills are incredible! Boot floor has been welded and there is a small amount of welding on the drivers side inner wing which the lads father is going to do over the weekend. the interior is spotless and has obviously been looked after over the years, 4 keepers on the boo and lots of main dealer service history. Its shod with brand new BFgoodrich ATs has a receipt for a new Cat at last service.

The engine needs new rocker cover gaskets but other than that it purrs and drives extremely well, except a bit of slack in the drive train, causing a bit of a clunk every time you dip the clutch. All in all a very clean Disco.

The lad was asking £1,400.00 for it, but I pointed out that according to the service book the previous owner must have kept hold of the same green pen for 8 years

obviously the last 5 entries in the book where all made at the same time and were therefor a total fabrication. Although the last service is genuine as it has receipts to prove it. I ended up paying £900.00 for it

To be honest the photos don't do it justice, it really is very clean!

Anyone recomend any spares I should buy in ready, because I've never owned a V8 before and in all honesty I don't know much about these engines,

thebiglad · Mar 31, 2011

puppysandwich said:
This car came up on a local Facebook sales page and I jumped on it! The guy selling it was an apprentice mechanic at a local car sales. It had come in on a part ex and the lad bought it because he thought it was in good condition and he might make a few quid on it.

I looked at it last night and to be fair it has never been off road, the underneath is solid and very clean, sills are incredible! Boot floor has been welded and there is a small amount of welding on the drivers side inner wing which the lads father is going to do over the weekend. the interior is spotless and has obviously been looked after over the years, 4 keepers on the boo and lots of main dealer service history. Its shod with brand new BFgoodrich ATs has a receipt for a new Cat at last service.

The engine needs new rocker cover gaskets but other than that it purrs and drives extremely well, except a bit of slack in the drive train, causing a bit of a clunk every time you dip the clutch. All in all a very clean Disco.

The lad was asking £1,400.00 for it, but I pointed out that according to the service book the previous owner must have kept hold of the same green pen for 8 years obviously the last 5 entries in the book where all made at the same time and were therefore a total fabrication. Although the last service is genuine as it has receipts to prove it. I ended up paying £900.00 for it To be honest the photos don't do it justice, it really is very clean!

Anyone recommend any spares I should buy in ready, because I've never owned a V8 before and in all honesty I don't know much about these engines,

Hi there PS, looks like a very nice car and a great combo - v8 + manual gearbox .

If it was mine I would first of all be going over it with a fine tooth-comb. I would be checking oil levels and quality in the main gearbox, the transfer box and both diffs. If you have the dosh I would just replace the oils then you know where you stand, for future servicing.

I would definitely replace the engine oil and filter, plus air and fuel filters.

Check the condition of the brake discs and pads and replace straight away if you have any doubts at all - it's save wear and tear on your caliper pistons.

But more than anything - enjoy. It'll cost you a packet in fuel so make really sure you enjoy.

Cheers
Dave

Ps Looks like you only have keys, not the remotes so I would be wanting to get a couple of them, so the alarm/immobiliser/central locking works as it was desgned to.

discool · Mar 31, 2011

Only service parts and belts, perhaps an alarm ecu and fobs as the single button system has it's problems sometimes so there's nothing different from a diesel and u need a replacement gas strut for your step

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

Thanks for that. I've just ordered the rocker gaskets and a full service kit, I'll also change all the fluids as you suggest its far cheaper than rebuilding/replacing gearboxes etc. Someone quoted me 10mpg around town so at current prices I'll need to re mortgage just to do the school run... In all honesty I bought it as a second car I still have my 300tdi but my business relies heavily on towing a big ifor Williams box trailer so I needed a spare vehicle and this was cheap and local.

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

discool said:
Only service parts and belts, perhaps an alarm ecu and fobs as the single button system has it's problems sometimes so there's nothing different from a diesel and u need a replacement gas strut for your step

Thanks, I'm glad you reminded me I noticed a nick in the drive belt and made a mental note to replace it, but forgot to order one.

the rear step pushes back up fine and stays up so I can live with it.

Regards the alarm, is it just a case of obtaining an ecu and fobs from a scrapper and swapping it out?

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

Can someone tell me where the alarm ECU is fitted so I can check the part numbers on it as there are a couple on ebay. Thanks.

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

i just checked the cost of taking it. How the fook can a Petrol guzzling 3.9 V8 be £1.00 a year cheaper to tax than a 300tdi of the same year...Makes no sense

£204.00 com compared to £205.00!

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

puppysandwich said:
Can someone tell me where the alarm ECU is fitted so I can check the part numbers on it as there are a couple on ebay. Thanks.

Bump

discool · Mar 31, 2011

Just remove the 3 or 4 plastic plugs and then pull down the fibre shield thats beneath the glove box, it's a black box with a tv style antenna plug plugged into it.

Road tax is £205 at the moment and £215 tomorrow 1st April. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012524

puppysandwich · Mar 31, 2011

discool said:
Just remove the 3 or 4 plastic plugs and then pull down the fibre shield thats beneath the glove box, it's a black box with a tv style antenna plug plugged into it.

Thanks for that, I'm picking it up on Sunday so I'll have a look then, There's one on Fleabay for £50.00 so far brand new never fitted, he claims it will fit a V8.

alexdon · Apr 1, 2011

puppysandwich said:
Thanks for that, I'm picking it up on Sunday so I'll have a look then, There's one on Fleabay for £50.00 so far brand new never fitted, he claims it will fit a V8.

Have a look at Land Rover Lots of useful info on alarm and fobs.

Mr Noisy · Apr 1, 2011

hi mate

tbh id post up in the v8 section as pretty much everything is same as your tdi, but the engine requires a whole different level of understanding

great motors but prone to throwing random fits, which can always be sorted out easily if you recognise whats causing it

if youre doing rocker cover gaskets, be very aware of what you might find in there

when the rocker covers come off, you need to clean out any sludge in there. mine was like a barbecue, you literally couldnt see the valve springs, it was PACKED to the brim with sludge. id say that was worst case, but you can rate your sludge count by how much you find in there. if there's any, it needs cleaning out, and if theres lots be aware that the rest of the top end will be sludgy too.

i ran mine on flushing oil for a few days, and various flushes etc later it keeps the oil pretty clean now. thats where you want to be. black oil in the v8s is not a clean engine, and it makes the difference to wear etc.

use 15w40 oil in it and 20w50 if its still a bit tappety, and change the oil/filter every 6 months maximum

try to avoid very short journeys (manoevring etc) as the hotwire system will rapidly start to wet the plugs up. mine starts misfiring if it only runs for a few minutes at a time.

but yeah best advice is to get settled in the v8 section

welcome to the fold

p.s. and FFS dont convert it to LPG, its one sure fire way to cook a RV8!

puppysandwich · Apr 1, 2011

thanks a lot some great advice.. I'll report back on her when I pick it up and start the work early next week.

First job is top sort out what I think is the rear A frame ball joint causing the clunk when changing gear.

puppysandwich · Apr 3, 2011

Just picked it up and had a short motorway drive to get home, It certainly goes well. Couple of things, there is a pulsing through the brake peddle at all braking speeds, which I assume is a warped disk? is there anything else that would could this? Secondly there is a switch with a picture of what I can only describe as a motorway going under a bridge.. Anyone know what this is? Is it associated with the cruise control that doesn't appear to work, or maybe I'm using it wrong

Ok cancel the question about the switch, its the cruise control, just need to see if I can get it working now, time for a test drive...

puppysandwich · Apr 3, 2011

puppysandwich said:
Just picked it up and had a short motorway drive to get home, It certainly goes well. Couple of things, there is a pulsing through the brake peddle at all braking speeds, which I assume is a warped disk? is there anything else that would could this? Secondly there is a switch with a picture of what I can only describe as a motorway going under a bridge.. Anyone know what this is? Is it associated with the cruise control that doesn't appear to work, or maybe I'm using it wrong

Ok cancel the question about the switch, its the cruise control, just need to see if I can get it working now, time for a test drive...

Ok so the cruise control doesn't appear to work, the switch lights up but no dash lights etc? any advice

barmatt · Apr 3, 2011

puppysandwich said:
Just picked it up and had a short motorway drive to get home, It certainly goes well. Couple of things, there is a pulsing through the brake peddle at all braking speeds, which I assume is a warped disk?.

pulsing through the brake pedal can caused by loose bearings, check if there is any play in the wheel.

Mr Noisy · Apr 3, 2011

I'm kinda guessing but I'd say press the switch

You then need to drive at speed probably above 35 mph and then press the "+" button or the "set" button. This should then hold your speed and maybe a dash light will come on.

"-" then coasts to let you slow down and "res" (resume) is to go back to your previous speed. Say you set at 75 mph, then braked to slow for traffic, you can then press resume and it will take you back to 75

Or you could brake for traffic, then drive at the new traffic speed and press set or + and it will hold at that new speed.

If the traffic accelerates away, keep holding + and you will keep accelerating, the moment you release it holds that speed

however, it might just not be working

spanishlair · Apr 3, 2011

There is no dash light for cruise control is there ? I thought the only light was a red one on the switch.

puppysandwich · Apr 3, 2011

Mr Noisy said:
I'm kinda guessing but I'd say press the switch

You then need to drive at speed probably above 35 mph and then press the "+" button or the "set" button. This should then hold your speed and maybe a dash light will come on.

"-" then coasts to let you slow down and "res" (resume) is to go back to your previous speed. Say you set at 75 mph, then braked to slow for traffic, you can then press resume and it will take you back to 75

Or you could brake for traffic, then drive at the new traffic speed and press set or + and it will hold at that new speed.

If the traffic accelerates away, keep holding + and you will keep accelerating, the moment you release it holds that speed

however, it might just not be working

spanishlair said:
There is no dash light for cruise control is there ? I thought the only light was a red one on the switch.

I'll have to try it on the motorway I think, I've figured out it works now but can't get it to work, if that makes sense. I'll play about with it and see what I come up with.

My new V8

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