Rover Automotive Repair Manuals - Automotive Repair Manuals

Interesting Facts About Rover You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…

When you hear the name Rover, what comes to mind is the elegance and class exuded by its motor vehicles.

This award winning automobile company can be traced back to 1878 to its ancestor Starley & Sutton Company, a British bicycle manufacturer based in Coventry.

Under the guidance of its founders, John Kemp Starley and William Sutton, the company built a two-wheeled safety bicycle called Rover in 1885, a first of its kind in the cycling industry and creating the road map to modern day bicycles.

The company was reorganized and renamed to JK Starley and Company Limited in 1889 where experiments and trials using batteries to electrically operate tricycles started.

Although these trials did not pay off, the Rover bicycle flourished in the market making Starley a very rich man.

Following the success of his two-wheeled bicycle, Starley formed a dedicated Rover bicycle manufacturing company known as Rover Cycle Company Limited in 1896.

Upon the founder’s death in 1901, and the growing popularity of motorised vehicles, the company started creating motorised bicycles in 1902 before advancing to light cars in 1903.

By the end of 1904, Rover cars had gained a reputation of being high quality, reliable, elegant and affordable with their bigger models becoming more and more famous in the British market.

Over the next few years, Rover dedicated its efforts to creating some of the best vehicles the world had seen.

Unfortunately, post-war economic crisis cost the company thousands of pounds in profits forcing it to close down most of its car manufacturing factories and its Rover cycle manufacturing outfit in 1924.

The company’s saving grace lay in the hands of the Wilks brothers who were recruited by the shareholders in 1928 to manage the business of car manufacturing.

The brothers had extensive experience in automobiles and their expertise played a major role in bringlng the Rover Company back to life.

In the wake of the looming Second World War, the Wilks brothers partnered with the government to develop engines and bodies for their air fighter jets putting the car business in the back burner. Promptly, in 1944, Rover resumed its car production business.

Based on a stroke of genius, improved technology and a supply gap in agricultural vehicles, in 1948 the Wilks brothers merged an old beat up Jeep and Rover parts to build, what is today one of the best rough terrain vehicle models in the world, the Land Rover.

By end of 1964, the Land Rover gained international recognition and demand all across the world.

With the growing popularity and success of Land Rover, the Rover brand was officially sold to Leyland Motor Corporation in 1967 and its marque was used on vehicles created by British Leyland (BL). The brand grew exponentially giving birth to the Rover Group in 1986 which strongly held the title of the largest motor manufacturer in Britain for several years.

Through the late 1990s and early 200s, the Rover brand ownership faced several challenges that forced its ownership to change from different companies.

The Rover Company, Rover brand and Land Rover brand were eventually sold to Tata Motors in 2008.

Common Rover Problems

Rover has gone through a tumultuous growth with many firsts and important breakthroughs in the automotive industry.

The brand has developed international recognition that allows it to sit at the top of the list of the best hard body, rough terrain vehicles in the world market today.

Amidst their popularity and renowned nature, these vehicles have a fair share of problems that have led to recalls, bad reviews and low ratings.

Air Suspension Faults

The reliability of the Land Rover model has been put to task especially for users who have owned the car for long periods of time.

Its air suspension which is meant to provide a smooth ride usually start to sag after a few years of service.

This consequently reduces its performance, speed and ability to manoeuvre rough terrain. Users have been found to spend thousands in getting repairs for the air suspension.

Although this fault is inevitable, it is advisable to carry out proper repair and maintenance on the vehicle to increase the life span of the suspensions.

Oil Leaks and Electrical Faults

Another popular concern is failures in the heater core, head gasket, valve cover gaskets and oil lines.

Not only is this an expensive fault due to increased oil consumption but it is also risky as it may lead to fires, engine failures, break failures and overall reduced performance.

Users should carry out regular inspections on the suspected faulty areas and replace them as soon as an error is noted.

Water Leaks on Sunroof

On a Land Rover sunroof, the drains may be pinched causing water and rain to leak into the vehicle.

This concern is more of an annoyance than a problem since no one wants to drive in the rain while getting drenched.

Users should inspect vehicle sunroof drains periodically and fix any unconformities as soon as noticed.

Parking Brake Problems

In some rare occasions the parking brake may fail due to misalignment and this is noticeable when the vehicle continues rolling backwards or forwards even after engaging the parking brake.

Also there is a loud screeching sound emitted when the parking brake is engaged. Vehicle parking brakes should be checked regularly and realigned if found to be out of position.

Steering Shaft Faults

When negotiating a corner at a low speed, the most irritating thing to hear is a sharp loud noise coming from the steering wheel.

This problem usually occurs when the steering shaft malfunctions. This may cause problems when navigating the vehicle and may lead to an accident.

It is important to check the steering shaft regularly and immediately you feel that the steering navigation is no longer smooth.

Conclusion

It is prudent for every car owner and dealer to know the workings of a Rover vehicle so that in the event of a fault, it will be easier to narrow down what the problem is.

Investing in an updated service repair manual is a good idea.

Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair manual” database on the web for all Rover models.

It’s your go-to source for learning all about Rover – when you can’t find it elsewhere.

To get started, select the intended car model below…