200 TDI or 300 TDI Engine??

In a fizz on whether to go for a <1994 200 TDI LR

OR

A post 1994 300 TDI one.

Reason being, according to Wiki, on the 300 TDI it's a pain in the ass to do work on the engines without finiky diagnostic computers and the like.

Also, is the 200 TDI engine emp shielded / less suseptable to it's electrics going haywire???

Cheers

think the 300tdi isnt tht computer orientated. always thort it was pretty similar to a 200tdi. could b rong of cours! Ino with td5s you cant do much urself

I think the OP is confusing the 300 with a TD5. There are no electronics controlling my 300. later models (around 98 i think) do have electronic throttle control and a few small pieces which made there way onto later TD5's.

Alot of people here say a 200 is still easier to work on, but I have not had any trouble yet. Maybe they are refering to engine rebuilds or something similar, which I have not done. Engine ancillaries I have fettled with and everything is easy to get to and sort out yourself.

hope this clears it up for you.

Either way, look for a well maintained, straight, low mileage rover.

Good luck

G

Ok thanks for the intel so far.

I will tell you why I'm a little concerned about the 200 / 300 difference.

"""1994 saw another development of the Tdi engine, the 300Tdi. This was the same capacity, and both the Defender and the Discovery had engines in the same state of tune, 111 bhp (83 kW), 195 ft·lbf (264 N·m), and had the same basic layout, but had over 200 changes to improve the refinement and on-road performance of the engine. However, in the process the economy of the engine was reduced slightly, as was the ability for it to be serviced by the owner.""""

AFAIK and see from this entry, servicing by the owner being the big change there on the 200 to 300 shift (according to wiki)

if thts off wiki any one can post stuff on ther so they arnt always rite!

as for servicing its oils and filters which are just as easy to change as a 200tdi, the cambelt is basically the same, there are serpentine belts on a 300tdi but no reason for not being able to service it yourself with a few spanners and a bit of common sense.LEE

BuzzLand said:

Reason being, according to Wiki, on the 300 TDI it's a pain in the ass to do work on the engines without finiky diagnostic computers and the like.

Click to expand...

Well looks like wiki needs updated!

No eletrickery - there were some later auto Discos that had fly by wire throttle but I don't think they ever put the fly by wire into the Defender and even if it does you can take the fly by wire off and stick a good old cable on it.

I have the 300tdi in the 90 and Disco there is nothing different about working on them to be honest, its a slightly more advanced engine, uses a single serpintine belt with an automatic tensioner (which makes it easier, release tension with ratchet, slide belt off keep tension off slide on new belt job done! etc... The 300tdi is possibly the best diesel LR ever made, the army swear by it.

Thanks for this advice guys. I can focus on my LR buying direction now....