WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Although the Range Rover's separate chassis gives it a degree of indestructibility it can rust: you might find problems around the back end behind the springs or around body support brackets. More critical is the state of the body frame. Check the inner wings by lifting the bonnet and inspecting them where they meet the outer wing tops and underneath the battery tray. Inside look at the front foot wells by lifting the carpets and with the door open check the base of the A-pillar where it meets the body sill. The sills themselves are a structural part of the body frame and thus important to the rigidity of the car. Replacing them is a major job.
Look around seat belt mountings for corrosion, inner rear arches and the spare wheel well. Any powdery residue on the panels means the Birmabright alloy is corroding; usually anywhere it meets the steel frame.
The steel bonnet and tailgate can suffer corrosion in the usual way. Interiors have often been abused. The early vinyl seat trim tended to crack, door trims warp and most models seem to suffer from droopy head linings.
V8 engines suffer from camshaft and hydraulic follower wear at 80,000 miles if abused. Wear in linkages may be to blame for rough running on carburettor models while injected versions can suffer from problems with their ECUs. Don't worry too much about low oil pressure as the V8 ran a high volume, low pressure system.
The original four-speed manual gearbox was unrefined but very strong. The five-speeder is rugged too, but on both versions look for slipping out of gear on the over-run and make sure that low ratio can be selected. Of the two automatics the early three-speed is the stronger but less responsive unit.
On front and rear axles check that the differential oil seal is not leaking, look for play in any of the universal joints on the propshaft and wear in its sliding spines.
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