Assuming the vehicle is well serviced and regularly looked over, there shouldn't be anything else to check for underneath, but cast your eyes around and make sure everything is in order, including the exhaust system.
One thing worth mentioning here is if your vehicle is absolutely covered in oil underneath around the engine, gearbox, diffs and swivel housings, remember this. If oil is escaping easily, what's to stop water entering?

When driving through deep water, generally speaking, the pressure in all the housings will stop water from being taken in. But, if your engine stalls in deep water, almost instantly the pressure becomes a vacuum being aided by the cold surrounding water. The housings - with their components still - will simply suck the water in. And if that happens you could have a major problem, very quickly! I will elaborate more later in the series.

 

Having clambered about under the vehicle, it's now time to check around outside. Check the tyres for condition. Are the sidewalls in perfect order? Beware of cuts, bulges and damage from previous off-roading forays.

Tyres

Generally speaking, for Classic Range Rover and Discovery, the standard 205x16 Michelin XM+S244, Pirelli Akross or Goodyear block pattern tyres are quite sufficient for normal off-roading activities in the UK. The standard fitments are a compromise as most travelling is on the tarmac.

You can, however, fit a more aggressive tyre to make an already very capable vehicle even more capable. Tyres that spring to mind are the BF Goodrich Trac Edge. They fit the standard rims and are radial, so, therefore, are speed-rated and come in 225x75x16 size.

There are many makes and types of compromise and outright off-road tyres on the market, but for Classic Range Rover and Discovery I would stick to a narrow section tyre which fits the standard rims and so does not stick out from the side of the vehicle.

 

Index [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006