pomonastik
04-30-2007, 03:36 AM
g'day
well i'm new here having just bought my first range rover. it is an '88 highline 3.5efi 5 spd 4dr. for which i paid au$1850 sight unseen off ebay. i collected it on friday from sydney. i flew up there, caught a cab to the address where i'd been told the key was in the letterbox. i checked the fluids (at night), started it, fuelled it and drove 1020km straight off through the night in a droughtbreaking rainstorm. arrived home some 16 hours later !
so what has my 750 quid or 1500 greenbacks bought me in terms of problems?
sunroof (factory glass) leaks- i did say 'droughtbreaking' !
rear electric windows no-go
clutch is 'short' in take up, signs of a new master cylinder so possibly not bled properly. this makes for a fairly jerky change through the gears.
a split in the fabric on r/h bolster of drivers seat and a saggy rear headlining are the only things amiss inside.
thats about all that was wrong as purchased except it also needs new tyres all round. the spare is a brand new michelin 205/80r16 but finding a match to match across an axle might be hard.
literally in the last 5km of the drive home the alternator light blinked on dimly. belts are in place and taut. somewhat curiously the light brightens if the engine is revved. it is a lucas A127/65.
it is ironic that the very first 'failure' i get on my first british car since my '73 xj12 has the dreaded 'L' word on it. the fact that there would seem to be some italian influence (magneti marelli?) on the alternator design probably hasn't helped.
that'll be the first job, to strip and clean it up whilst looking for anything obvious like worn brushes.it does'nt 'feel' like it's failed dead, maybe there's some internal shorting going on. would other members recommend ditching it in favour of something beefier or persevering with the lucas unit? 65amps does seem a bit weedy.
ah well the dreaming is now over and RReality bites. hopefully i've managed to attach pics.
cheers
simon
(pomonastik)
well i'm new here having just bought my first range rover. it is an '88 highline 3.5efi 5 spd 4dr. for which i paid au$1850 sight unseen off ebay. i collected it on friday from sydney. i flew up there, caught a cab to the address where i'd been told the key was in the letterbox. i checked the fluids (at night), started it, fuelled it and drove 1020km straight off through the night in a droughtbreaking rainstorm. arrived home some 16 hours later !
so what has my 750 quid or 1500 greenbacks bought me in terms of problems?
sunroof (factory glass) leaks- i did say 'droughtbreaking' !
rear electric windows no-go
clutch is 'short' in take up, signs of a new master cylinder so possibly not bled properly. this makes for a fairly jerky change through the gears.
a split in the fabric on r/h bolster of drivers seat and a saggy rear headlining are the only things amiss inside.
thats about all that was wrong as purchased except it also needs new tyres all round. the spare is a brand new michelin 205/80r16 but finding a match to match across an axle might be hard.
literally in the last 5km of the drive home the alternator light blinked on dimly. belts are in place and taut. somewhat curiously the light brightens if the engine is revved. it is a lucas A127/65.
it is ironic that the very first 'failure' i get on my first british car since my '73 xj12 has the dreaded 'L' word on it. the fact that there would seem to be some italian influence (magneti marelli?) on the alternator design probably hasn't helped.
that'll be the first job, to strip and clean it up whilst looking for anything obvious like worn brushes.it does'nt 'feel' like it's failed dead, maybe there's some internal shorting going on. would other members recommend ditching it in favour of something beefier or persevering with the lucas unit? 65amps does seem a bit weedy.
ah well the dreaming is now over and RReality bites. hopefully i've managed to attach pics.
cheers
simon
(pomonastik)