oil change, cambelt change

This has been discussed before, but i've read so many opinions that i've just been left confused and no closer to an answer!

This thread may end up in the same place.

First of all, I understand a 300Tdi cambelt should be changed every 36,000 miles. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

Secondly, the manual states that the oil & filter change should happen every 12,000 miles.

Also, my Disco has done 150,000 miles.

One thread I was reading (http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/300tdi-oil-change-intervals-119427.html) talks about changing the oil as much as every 1,000 miles!

I spend about 5% of my life off road, and the rest is road miles, but even then they were talking about changing the oil every 6,000 miles.

They then moved on to installing hour meters which for some applications would be useful, but not for me (probably).

Either the above topic or another one also talks about the owners' manual being over-cautious, and for normal road use the oil change intervals are arguably too frequent.

So... which is it?!? I could just follow the owners manual, but when the worst case in the above topic is twice as often as that, it makes me wonder what the hell to do...

first off you can't change the oil too often but then again there is no reason to go mad, for the price of oil and a filter any where between 3 and 6k depending on the use.
lots of stop start miles will be worse for the oil than longer runs.
if in doubt about the cam belt ? fit a new one ! simple
while your there stick new fan belts on you have to take them off to get to the cam belt so may as well

i have no doubt about the cambelt - i know when it was last done. I just wondered when I should get it done again...

Also, other than not knowing when it was last done, from where would any doubt arise?

As for the oil change, i think i'll go for every 6,000 miles then, despite the owners manual saying 12,000. I do a little bit of off roading, a few short trips, but mostly 22 miles at a time (to and from work!).

One other thing... I can do oil changes & filter changes myself, but an "interim service" and "full service" presumably covers a lot more than that. Obvious stuff like tyre tread, brake pads I can check myself, but at what intervals should I actually book it in for "interim" and "full" services?

The owners' manual doesn't talk about "interim" and "full" services - it just talks about what should be done at what intervals. Garages only talk about interim and full services though, so it's impossible to make any correlation.

i read somewhere that it was 60,000 miles for a timing belt but 30,000 miles if used a lot off road or is that bollicks.

graham
_________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

i alway buy main dealer cam belt and get a diesel fitter to fit for me for the guarentee main dealers told me it was 72k

Cam belt is every 36000 miles or every 3 years which ever comes first. (Haynes)

have you got a Haynes manual ?
the servicing is in there.
I tend not to go by the book but have a fiddle every now and then, grease here and there check this and that. change stuff if it needs doing that way the cost is spread over a longer period and a bit of preventative maintenance rather than leave it all until a certain mileage

Thanks for the help, people... trouble is, I'm ending up just as confused as I was before. My new-found knowledge from this thread so far is as follows...

The cambelt needs to be changed somewhere between 30,000 and 72,000 miles. Haynes says 36,000, but that's their opinion, not Land Rover's (and yes, I do have the Haynes manual ).

As for the oil change, i'm gonna go for every 6,000 miles. That's sorted.

As for the "interim" and "full" services, does the Haynes manual (which I don't have handy at the moment) say what an "interim" involves and what a "full" involves, and at which intervals they should be done?

i.e. do i need to give my garage the haynes manual at the relevant interval and say "do all this, please"?!?

jase750 said:

I tend not to go by the book but have a fiddle every now and then, grease here and there check this and that. change stuff if it needs doing that way the cost is spread over a longer period and a bit of preventative maintenance rather than leave it all until a certain mileage

Click to expand...

regarding this point... that sounds perfect. not for me though. i need to build up a hell of a lot of knowledge before i'm able to do that!

fishsponge I don't know how to post a PDF file but if you PM me with your email address I can send a 1996-97 Land Rover disco service schedule.

The basic engine oil change is at 6 months or 7,500 miles.
Axels, gearbox etc are at 24 months or 30,000 miles.

Just sent you a PM!

Interesting though... i thought the oil change was 12,000 miles... but you say it's 7,500 miles. Doing it every 6,000 should therefore be fine, but if the idea is to do it twice as often as required, shouldn't i be doing it every 3500 miles (give or take)?

I know i'm being paranoid here, but there are so many conflicting opinions both from people on the internet and from physical, printed media it seems!

As for the service schedule... it's all very well knowing what it is supposed to involve, but when I book it into my garage for an "interim" service, how do I know that they're doing everything Land Rover wants them to do? Same applies to "full" service too. I can't give them the book and say "do all this, please" - that's a bit patronising, isn't it? and then it's also my fault if they miss anything they would have otherwise done.

Sounds like a mine field to me... which is why i'd prefer to do it all myself.

Maybe that's the reason you're sending me the service schedule! So I can decide if I'm capable or not...

The disco is the perfect car to "cut your teeth" on servicing, everything is big and tough and simple.
everything apart from the timing belt is more than in the reach of the average home mechanic
once you get into it you'll find yourself with the bonnet up doing little bits here and there in no time
as for mileage those are the Manufacturer recommended intervals take them as maximums anything under is fine.
there's nothing stopping you changing the cam belt every year if you want or changing the oil every week they are just a guide

I just had a look through the original main dealer service records for my Disco, it was a 1 owner from new and fully main dealer serviced as per the schedule in the service book that came with the car. It seems that the Timing belt was changed at 71720 Miles.

So thats official Landrover info. However on an older car with more in the parts I would definitely go by the Haynes Manual and do it every 36000.

OK, so having looked through the Land Rover service schedule (from new - 120,000 miles), (thanks discool!) i have read everything that is possible for every single service over that period.

interestingly, the cam belt isn't mentioned anywhere (unless i'm being really, really stupid)...

if the cam belt really isn't mentioned, that makes me wonder what else is missing...

I've asked the same question before, I'm going with oil and filter every 6000 miles OR 6 months, air filter same or sooner-for the sake of 3 or 4 quid, it makes a lot of difference. Check all other levels every oil change and replace after 2 years.

I'm mainly on road, doing about 100 mile. A week

Cam belt 'should' last a long while but I'd go for 36k or so.

you really should worry less
IF you know that YOUR cam belt has been changed and YOU have done the oil, filters etc on YOUR car then why worry about what has or hasn't been done on someone else's car?
it doesn't matter how many miles, mine has done 175K and will run rings around some with half the mileage
as long as yours is serviced and looked after to a decent standard chill out

i'm chilled... honestly... just rather confused

i'm confident that my vehicle right now is in a good state. oil was changed 8,000 miles ago and cambelt done at same time.

i'm now trying to work out whether I can service it myself or not.

discool has sent me the Land Rover service schedule, but it doesn't mention the cambelt whatsoever, which is weird......... and that makes me wonder what else is missing from it.

The rest of it all looks pretty simple though... checking stuff (presumably for play, wear or corrosion) and lubricating!

fishsponge said:

OK, so having looked through the Land Rover service schedule (from new - 120,000 miles), (thanks discool!) i have read everything that is possible for every single service over that period.

interestingly, the cam belt isn't mentioned anywhere (unless i'm being really, really stupid)...

if the cam belt really isn't mentioned, that makes me wonder what else is missing...

Click to expand...

The cambelt is not mentioned in my owners service portfolio. The service intervals are also shown at every 6,000 miles and along with the recorded mileage and dealer stamp there's a tick box for 'camshaft drivebelt replaced?' there is also a box for 'brake fluid replaced?' . No time scales for their replacements are shown.

but you can't use discool's schedule his is a V8 petrol yours is a diesel they will be loads different

ok... so would i be right in saying that if I did everything on that list (i.e. I did all services combined into one) and also changed the cambelt, that would be as good, if not better, than the best of the best "full service" at a garage or LR dealership?

jase750 said:

but you can't use discool's schedule his is a V8 petrol yours is a diesel they will be loads different

Click to expand...

oh... bugger. anyone got a 300Tdi one then?