1997 Discovery ?????

[moreilly]

Hi all,
I currently drive a 2000 Wrangler but the addition of a second child is forcing me into a bigger vehicle. No way two car seats are going into the back of a Wrangler . I have been looking at Disco's in my local area. I have found a 97 Discovery with 64000 miles and it appears to be very well maintained. I have searched the forums and there seems to be a love hate relationship when it comes to these machines in regards to mechanical issues. I am fairly mechanically inclined and have rebuilt several vehicles in the past. Is there anything specific to look out for regarding Series 1 Discoveries? The one I looked at appeared to be equipped with locking diffs..where can I find more info on these? Additionally, I read that a properly equipped Discovery has a max towing capacity of 7700 lbs, yet from searching the forum it doesn't appear they tow over 3500 lbs very well. What is the deal here?

Compared to a Wrangler with 31's and a 2" lift what can I expect offroad from a Discovery?

Sorry for the long post.

Mike

 

[rrefx]

First, as far as towing, I have several trailers, one of which is around 6,000 lbs. I just took it from Salt Lake City, to Vegas, back through Kanab, and back to Salt Lake. She towed it fine. I did try to stay around 65 mph, any more and she would get a little squirmy, and the trailer did have trailer brakes, but throughtout the trip, the only problem I had was she started to get a little hot going up Cedar Breaks, but considering it was 105 outside, it was expected.

As for off roading, I had two jeeps, a '91 wrangler with a 2" shackle lift and 31's, and a '97 cherokee sport with a 2' suspension lift and 31's. I decided to go for the rover when we were working in the mountains, and I had to stage my gear all along a snowy trail. The cherokee wouldn't even begin to climb the trail so I had to hike all of my heavy steel equipment up, which wasn't much fun.
The next day my mom suggested I try her stock rover, with just street tires, I laughed but she insisted. I was amazed when the rover took the trail without problem, and the rest of the ccompany ended up using it as well... within a month the jeeps were gone and I had a '96 rover of my own.

Now with the maintenence, Rovers are great SUV's, but they do require some taking care of. You're gonna want to be sure she has been well maintained by the previous owner, and knowng about disco web before you buy your already miles ahead of most. Just treat her right, and you'll love her.

Good Luck,
Ryan

 

[moreilly]

Thanks Ryan,
As I said maintenance is not a problem. I can handle that. Towing is a concern because I am planning to buy a travel trailer next year and if the Discovery can handle it that would be a bonus. My main concern is hearing from other owners so I know what I am getting into.

Mike

 

[Joey]

Factory spec are 7700 lbs towing in low range... 5500 lbs towing in high range with trailer brakes. I would also recomend an anti sway bar/stabilizer to prevent the wiggle effect. It will tow it, but remember it will not go fast up high while doing it.

 

[Knut]

I've had Jeeps in the past. A 1986 Grand Wagoneer with a 3" lift and 31"s, a 90 Cherokee with a 3" lift and 31"s, and a stock 90 Cherokee.

I bought my 97 D1 last year with 58,000 miles on it. It's been a very trouble-free vehicle compared to the Jeeps, and the ride and off-road capability is much better.

 

[rpm2429]

I have a '96 disco and love it, as far as 4-wheeling goes it is superb, ( the little we get to go here in L.A.) The last time we went, my buddy's wife got out of their Jeep to see what is was like in the disco and after a few miles refused to go back into his jeep for the rest of the day. It has been fairly maintenance free, brake pads, alternator and serp. belt is all I have done to it, I got it with 73K and now it has 108K and goes strong. It is a typical British vehicle, like the Austin Healy and the Lotus I've had in the past- drive the crap out of it during the week and work on it on the weekends. Good Luck in your purchase and this and other sites have been a godsend to alot of us with problems. Ron

 

[vabiro]

Mike,

I am a bit curious about the Disco having front and rear lockers. That might be an alarm bell. It may be that the truck has been driven hard off road. You'd think that someone that has made the investment of front and rear lockers would be reluctant to part with a decent vehicle that was serving his needs.

Although I don't have a '97, I think the practice of looking for single owner mall crawler is a good one generally. They tend to be owned by people that do the regular maintainance that is so important to keeping a Disco in good shape.

The only thing that seems to consistantly screw-up on mall crawlers is the Centre Differential Lock lever. It should move side-to-side as well as forward and back. They have a tendance to seize because of not being used, and may not move in all directions properly.

Victor

 

[Axel]

From the statement 'appears to have locking diffs', I suspect that Mike may simply have looked at a stock 97 with the standard CDL (Center Diff Lock). More info on that here:

http://www.discoweb.org/discovery/basics.htm

If the Disco in question actually had front and/or rear lockers, you would not know unless the seller told you. If it had ARB's, you would only know if you spotted the buttons.

That all being said, I have had my 97 since it was new, and it has been pretty much trouble free so far, except for the usual ABS gremlins.

As far as off road capability goes, I have lost count of how many times it has been to Moab, including a trouble free road trip from NJ to Utah and back each time. It has also been through Rubicon, and Dusy Ershim without incident. It's the Blue one in the middle, in the Dweb banner on top of each page. Of course my 97 isn't stock anymore though, it has a suspension lift, larger tires, upgraded axles and a TT/Detroit combo.

I have never driven a Jeep off road so I don't know how it compares to a Disco, but my 97 has always taken me where I want to go and back, and have never complained about my tendency to severly overpack whenever I go on a trip.

I have never towed anything with it, so I can't comment in that area.

 

[moreilly]

I think Axel hit the nail on the head. As I am new to Discoveries I had no clue about the Center Locking Diff. Thanks for the info. I'll read up on it.

Mike

 

[Leigh]

Mike, I do not know how big the trailer you ae looking at but I regularly pull boats with my 94 disco that range for 3-5k. The only complaint that I have is a lack of power up hills but that is the case with or without the trailer.

 

[DiscoJen]

Love my 97SE7!

I had two Wranglers until I sold one to get my 97 Disco SE7. Now I love my Disco so much that when I have to drive the Wrangler I whine like a little girl! lol I have had the usual problems with mine and sometimes it seems like I spend more time under my truck than I do driving it...but it is still worth it. I've had no major problems in the last few months that I have owned it and have learned tons from forums like these so I have been able to do all my own work thus far (knock on burlwood dash trim). I have learned to live with a few minor annoyances (the Lucas Gremlins we all love) and life is much better since I stopped fretting over every little thing. I take care of the big stuff, do my regular maintenance and spend the rest of the time adoring my little black beauty!

Jen