Discovery advice
- Thread starter Stretchy5
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Hi and welcome.
Td5 is a Discovery 2.
200Tdi and 300Tdi are Dsicovery 1.
Depends on the type of off road driving you are going to do, an auto will give you a nice easy and competent vehicle to drive generally and for green lanes, P&P days might not be to it's liking as it will be slow motion and lots of low gear driving but generally the auto boxes are quite robust. R380 manual boxes will tolerate a lot of abuse and are quite a decent gearbox.
No point asking us about style and spec as it all comes down to the basics of whether the truck is in a decent rot free state, spec can almost become irrelevant if you're looking to spend a lot of time off road, the more electric gizmo's it's got the more you'll need to fix when it goes wrong when you drive it hard off road.
Td5 is a Discovery 2.
200Tdi and 300Tdi are Dsicovery 1.
Depends on the type of off road driving you are going to do, an auto will give you a nice easy and competent vehicle to drive generally and for green lanes, P&P days might not be to it's liking as it will be slow motion and lots of low gear driving but generally the auto boxes are quite robust. R380 manual boxes will tolerate a lot of abuse and are quite a decent gearbox.
No point asking us about style and spec as it all comes down to the basics of whether the truck is in a decent rot free state, spec can almost become irrelevant if you're looking to spend a lot of time off road, the more electric gizmo's it's got the more you'll need to fix when it goes wrong when you drive it hard off road.
Thanks, yeah green lanes and P&P is what i have been looking at. Whats the difference between the td5 and the 200/300tdi?
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Electronics on the Td5 and chassis are prone to rot.
"2/300Tdi, less electronics and the bodies tend to rot.
Running gear wise the Td5 uses hub units and ball joints on the swivel housings.
2/300Tdi uses standard wheel bearings and stub axles, with railko pins and bushings/bearings in the swivels.
Td5 Discos seem to have stronger axles from standard but are not bomb proof.
How technological are you?
I suppose i am quite technological. I dont mind electrics
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Though some have been looked after quite well, you would be well advised to consider a diagnostics unit, Nanocom Hawkeye etc, when you buy a D2, helps pin point problems and solves issues faster than the old scattergun method of replacing multiple unnecessary parts in "attempts" to remedy faults.
Main thing to remember is that the vast majority of these vehicles are 20+yrs old now and will need work doing.
The best advice is to see a lot and buy the best you can afford.
Yeah fair point. I have a diag unit as im a mechanic. As they are all 2.5L diesels, which would you recommend?
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Td5. It is an engine that has grown on me in all honesty, if you are methodical and fix the little niggles as they pop up they're a great engine with mahoosive tuning potential! And a timing chain 
300Tdi although plentiful will all be 20yrs old and beyond with half a million miles and although uncomplicated, unless they're already well sorted for welding repairs, they'll need work, often a lot more than folk want to put in to them, but if you're on a budget and can do it all yourself, buy a basket case and rebuild it. The 200 is an earlier engine, still agricultural, love mine to bits, both run timing belts that can and do snap
Not really my choice but I think a Td5 will give you the modern engine that most folk want.
300Tdi although plentiful will all be 20yrs old and beyond with half a million miles and although uncomplicated, unless they're already well sorted for welding repairs, they'll need work, often a lot more than folk want to put in to them, but if you're on a budget and can do it all yourself, buy a basket case and rebuild it. The 200 is an earlier engine, still agricultural, love mine to bits, both run timing belts that can and do snap
Not really my choice but I think a Td5 will give you the modern engine that most folk want.
Hicap phill
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Don't worry about paint job too much as green laneing soon scratches it.
Just make sure anything you buy you can fix it. You soon learn how to weld & do electrics then fault find & repair.
Just make sure anything you buy you can fix it. You soon learn how to weld & do electrics then fault find & repair.
Yeah i thonk the td5 is the way for me. What do you have?Td5. It is an engine that has grown on me in all honesty, if you are methodical and fix the little niggles as they pop up they're a great engine with mahoosive tuning potential! And a timing chain
300Tdi although plentiful will all be 20yrs old and beyond with half a million miles and although uncomplicated, unless they're already well sorted for welding repairs, they'll need work, often a lot more than folk want to put in to them, but if you're on a budget and can do it all yourself, buy a basket case and rebuild it. The 200 is an earlier engine, still agricultural, love mine to bits, both run timing belts that can and do snap
Not really my choice but I think a Td5 will give you the modern engine that most folk want.
Yeah, i am a qualified mechanic so things should be good thereDon't worry about paint job too much as green laneing soon scratches it.
Just make sure anything you buy you can fix it. You soon learn how to weld & do electrics then fault find & repair.
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I have a 200Tdi Discovery from 1992, best vehicle I have ever owned for versatility and ability. Old skool engine which suits an old fart like me, very basic electrics and all I have to do is weld it up and modify it as suits my needs.
Look in my siggy, there is the blog on my Disco from the day I picked it up, it was in a bad way but I brought it back to health
jamesmartin
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td5 auto is best imo
Hicap phill
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Can now see why every one is driving discos off road.
Price for one is loads cheaper than a defender.
If I was buying now I would go back to a disco but remember rear panel damage is hard to repair/replace
But you travel in comfort compared with a landy.
I would go auto.
Price for one is loads cheaper than a defender.
If I was buying now I would go back to a disco but remember rear panel damage is hard to repair/replace
But you travel in comfort compared with a landy.
I would go auto.
I went for a 300tdi purely for the simplicity, has been great to learn on with my Dad who was a mechanic when he first started out. It is slow and relatively loud so if you have diagnostics a TD5 is probably a good shout, they seem to be gaining favour on here. I wanted a defender or a late series but didn’t have the money for one, now I’ve learnt how much a fairly standard disco can do I will be sticking with them.
