1998 Auto - tell me the basics, please!

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sooz

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Hi there, apologies if this is covered elsewhere - I haven't got the hang of this app lark yet!

I'm looking at taking on a 1998 (R) Discovery ES 2.5 300tdi auto but I've never driven an auto in my life. I've been looking into the pros and cons and am happy enough to go automatic, so I'm not asking for anyone to try and persuade / dissuade me. Rather, I'd like to know exactly what the automatic will do. As in, what options are written on the box? I'm going to take a wild guess and say it has P, N, D and R(!) but I understand most autos will have the lower gears, too; does this particular Discovery? Also what does it offer in terms of override / kickdown? (I'm slightly worried that the control freak in me will be forever frustrated with an auto!) I'm seeing the vehicle at the weekend and would rather not appear to be a total novice with autos so would greatly appreciate any help here, despite how basic the question is! Many thanks =]



Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
 
Last edited:
you will still have transfer box with hi and lo and diff lock like manual gear box , you will have 1,2,3,d,n,r,p,its a mechanical operated box so only std and no sport mode etc,and will be slowish off the mark unless you floor it but at 50 ish torque convertor locks giving positive drives as with manual ,before that some mpg at power is lost through torque convertor ,but is repaid with easy hill starts ,no clutching in traffic etc,theres no engine braking in d ,engine will only start in n or p,kick down is as normal on an auto,push your foot down and it will drop
 
sooz said:
Hi there, apologies if this is covered elsewhere - I haven't got the hang of this app lark yet!

I'm looking at taking on a 1998 (R) Discovery ES 2.5 300tdi auto but I've never driven an auto in my life. I've been looking into the pros and cons and am happy enough to go automatic, so I'm not asking for anyone to try and persuade / dissuade me. Rather, I'd like to know exactly what the automatic will do. As in, what options are written on the box? I'm going to take a wild guess and say it has P, N, D and R(!) but I understand most autos will have the lower gears, too; does this particular Discovery? Also what does it offer in terms of override / kickdown? (I'm slightly worried that the control freak in me will be forever frustrated with an auto!) I'm seeing the vehicle at the weekend and would rather not appear to be a total novice with autos so would greatly appreciate any help here, despite how basic the question is! Many thanks =]



Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Hi Sooz, a few basics for you first:

1. The Discovery auto box has four forward gears and reverse

2. On the gear lever there is:
P for Park - this is selection for parking once you have stopped moving;

R for Reverse - for going backwards:rolleyes:

N for Neutral - like all gearboxes there is always a neutral position where no gears are connected;

D for Drive - this is the fully automatic position where all 4 forward gears are selected automatically;

3 for Third gear - where gears 1,2 and 3 are automatically selected. Can be useful when towing heavy loads;

2 for 2nd gear - where gears 1 & 2 are selected automatically Can be useful when driving in very hilly country and or towing;

1 for 1st gear - where only 1st gear will operate. Good for controlling descents down steep hills.


3. With all automatic gearboxes there is something called a Torque Converter - which is a bit like a clutch on a manual box car - but it works automatically and has no pedal.

4. Like all auto box cars there is a function on the bottom end of the throttle pedal travel for kick-down ie dropping one or two gears (depending on road speed)


When driving this version of a Disco auto, it should change gear smoothly and easily andon a light throttle should go into 4th gear at approx 30mph. However at approx 52mph there should be what feels like another gear change - this is actually the Torque Converter 'locking-up' as it should, giving direct drive between the engine and the gearbox.

From a standing start, always press and hold the footbrake when you select a forward or reverse gear - this will make the selection smoother, plus it stops the vehicle creeping, like all autos have a tendency of doing.

The auto version of the TDi 300 has 120bhp whereas the manual box car has 111bhp - the extra for the auto is to compensate for losses inherent in auto gearboxes.

Good luck

Dave
 
The late 300 ES models can be a lovely car with great bells and whistles to play with . The auto is very good for driving in traffic and for towing caravans , the ease of hill starts already mentioned . I have had several auto D1s so far and like them a lot .
 
I think you'll have the best of both worlds. I am on my second Disco 1, an ES as well. Both have been manuals. I had an Auto P38 diesel too. A great gearbox but not a very reliable motor so, as I say, you have the best of both worlds. Enjoy and :welcome2:
 
what are the 300 tdi's auto's like specifically for off-roading.. i thinking more of greenlaning rather than pay & play sites etc...

i take it you would tend to select 1'st 2nd etc rather than use drive D
 
owenmi01 said:
what are the 300 tdi's auto's like specifically for off-roading.. i thinking more of greenlaning rather than pay & play sites etc...

i take it you would tend to select 1'st 2nd etc rather than use drive D
Click to expand...



Off road you would be use the transfer box in low ratio, so if you were green-laning you could just leave it in D.

But to be honest the whole subject of gears and off-road is a large one which I don't have the time to go into right now.

Suffice it to say that an auto box Disco is at least as good if not better than a manual, it's just different that's all.
 
I have had my 1996 Disco 300Tdi auto for over 7 years now and i would not go back to a manual.Towed my caravan all over the Highlands with no problem.
Combined with cruise control makes really easy driving

Big Lad, congratulations on one of the best description of how an auto box works, better than any car manual. Well done.

Jim A
--------------------
1996 300Tdi auto(jap reimport)
 
janderson41 said:
I have had my 1996 Disco 300Tdi auto for over 7 years now and i would not go back to a manual.Towed my caravan all over the Highlands with no problem.
Combined with cruise control makes really easy driving

Big Lad, congratulations on one of the best description of how an auto box works, better than any car manual. Well done.

Jim A
--------------------
1996 300Tdi auto(jap reimport)
Click to expand...


Errrr thanks Jim - I think???
 
I have a 300 TDi auto and its simplicity itself, if you want to use it like a manual you can do that too just pull the shifter into whatever gear you need, it has 4 gears just like a manual but no clutch to worry about.
As for off roading if you are climbing or decending you can hold it in 1st gear by pulling the shifter all the way back which will give you engine braking too and even more so if you go into low range.
But as its been said here its a purely personal choice its just whatever you prefer i would worry more about rust than what the transmission is, take someone with you that knows these cars if you can as they can be very rusty, good luck keep us posted as to what you do ok
 
Wow, thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses. Not that I expected otherwise, of course, I just worried my question was ridiculously basic!

I feel considerably more comfortable about it now, and am almost confident that I won't make a complete tit out of myself on the test drive! I never imagined driving to be something one could teach oneself just by reading!

I have to agree with Jim, by the way - that was a smashing description of an automatic, Dave, or at least I understood it if that's a suitable indicator...!

Thanks to everyone for your help - it sounds as though I could be in for a lot of fun =D

V8man, apologies for another naive question but when you talk about pulling the shifter into the gear I want do you mean just that - just shove it where I want it (so to speak!)? Sorry, but I can't quite get my head round the lack of a clutch and instinct tells me I should be depressing something before moving the shifter anywhere but I guess the whole point of an auto is that that really isn't the case! I presume though that if I were to move it into (for example) 2nd from 50-odd mph it'd feel just as it would in a manual? Not that I intend to, of course, just trying to understand it!

Thanks again =]

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
 
sooz said:
V8man, apologies for another naive question but when you talk about pulling the shifter into the gear I want do you mean just that - just shove it where I want it (so to speak!)?

I presume though that if I were to move it into (for example) 2nd from 50-odd mph it'd feel just as it would in a manual? Not that I intend to, of course, just trying to understand it!
Click to expand...

I don't know the Disco but have always driven autos. They are set up to stop you doing anything silly or accidentally. You've got to be in P(park) or N(neutral) before you can start the engine. On some more modern ones you've also got to press the footbrake so that's a good habit to get into. Then there will be a button on, or a little finger operated lever under, the top of the shifter. You will have to operate this before it will move out of park. Again it will stop you knocking it out of D(drive) into neutral. So the box will stop you doing anything stupid.

Think about it. The 'mericans use these all the time so they must be simple and fairly idiot proof.

Welcome

:D
 
sooz said:
Wow, thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses. Not that I expected otherwise, of course, I just worried my question was ridiculously basic!

I feel considerably more comfortable about it now, and am almost confident that I won't make a complete tit out of myself on the test drive! I never imagined driving to be something one could teach oneself just by reading!

I have to agree with Jim, by the way - that was a smashing description of an automatic, Dave, or at least I understood it if that's a suitable indicator...!

Thanks to everyone for your help - it sounds as though I could be in for a lot of fun =D

V8man, apologies for another naive question but when you talk about pulling the shifter into the gear I want do you mean just that - just shove it where I want it (so to speak!)? Sorry, but I can't quite get my head round the lack of a clutch and instinct tells me I should be depressing something before moving the shifter anywhere but I guess the whole point of an auto is that that really isn't the case! I presume though that if I were to move it into (for example) 2nd from 50-odd mph it'd feel just as it would in a manual? Not that I intend to, of course, just trying to understand it!

Thanks again =]

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2[/quote
unlike a manual which uses a clutch to cut drive from engine to enable you to change gear or stop /standstill,auto has a torque convertor which in its simplest is a turbine driven by high pressure oil the higher the revs the more torque is transferred until direct drive (lock up ) were drive becomes straight through from engine ,with low revs, hardly any torque is transferred enabling you to standstill in gear or just creep forward ,you can stand in gear at idle for as long as you want ,excess energy is converted to heat and cooled in cooler ,if you put it in 2 or 3rd it will still start in 1st but not go above selected gear
Click to expand...
 
sooz said:
V8man, apologies for another naive question but when you talk about pulling the shifter into the gear I want do you mean just that - just shove it where I want it (so to speak!)? Sorry, but I can't quite get my head round the lack of a clutch and instinct tells me I should be depressing something before moving the shifter anywhere but I guess the whole point of an auto is that that really isn't the case! I presume though that if I were to move it into (for example) 2nd from 50-odd mph it'd feel just as it would in a manual? Not that I intend to, of course, just trying to understand it!

Thanks again =]
Click to expand...

Re selecting gears as opposed to fully automatic operation:

1. There is a type of 'clutch' built into the auto box which works automatically in all styles of operation, so you don't need to think about that at all;

2. You can select individual gears (as per a manual box) by depressing the small button on the gear selector to release the 'lock' and then select the gear you want. Just bear in mind the gears and roadspeed must match, exactly as per a manual box car. HOWEVER, with the auto, if you were to try and do something completely daft like for example go from D(4th gear) to 1 at 50mph, the gearbox would sense that you shouldn't be doing it and will over-ride your selection, so you don't damage anything.

My advice? Test drive the car in D, until you get used to it.

Incidently, you haven't asked about the transfer box which is another sort of gearbox on the Disco - are you familiar with it?

Dave
 
sooz said:
Hi there, apologies if this is covered elsewhere - I haven't got the hang of this app lark yet!

(I'm slightly worried that the control freak in me will be forever frustrated with an auto!)

i`ve had my d2 auto 18months now and it is the first auto my wife and i have owned.
your statement above made me smile because it can sometimes be frustrating driving the car, when the engine seems to be revving unnecessarily high and you want to change up but cant.
dont get me wrong, i do enjoy the lazyness of it. but when i`m in a manual i feel more connected with the drive.
Click to expand...
 
xat44 said:
sooz said:
Hi there, apologies if this is covered elsewhere - I haven't got the hang of this app lark yet!

(I'm slightly worried that the control freak in me will be forever frustrated with an auto!)

i`ve had my d2 auto 18months now and it is the first auto my wife and i have owned.
your statement above made me smile because it can sometimes be frustrating driving the car, when the engine seems to be revving unnecessarily high and you want to change up but cant.
dont get me wrong, i do enjoy the lazyness of it. but when i`m in a manual i feel more connected with the drive.
Click to expand...


Tdi 300 auto's have much less 'slip' in the TC so they don't rev wildly like the TD5 ones do.
Click to expand...
 
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