Buying 300tdi to drive across Africa. Help!

Hi guys, My brother is currently in Durban- he is planning on buying a 110 to drive home. He's after a 1994 or newer model, and plans to drive home with his friend, probably sleeping in a roof tent.

I have a newish 110 td5, but have advised him its prob better to get a 200 or 300 tdi. Can anybody tell me if there are any visual differences between the engines? (If one says 300tdi across the top, sorry for sounding stupid!!)

Also, any other advice on what to look for on the vehicle, or any other problems he might encounter? Hopefully, I'll be able to get a link to an advert, or get a decent description, so I can come back to you guys. You'll scrutinise it an dhopefully spot the things I wont think about.


Thanks

200 tdi




300 tdi



TD5 Engine




10 seconds on google...

As seen above the difference is very obvious. The 200 has no plastic on it at all and appears to be tall and quite thin. The 200 also has the intake on the left wing. The 300 has plastic covers and the air filter is on the left (as you look at it from the front) whereas the 200 has the air filter on the right.

khaos said:

As seen above the difference is very obvious. The 200 has no plastic on it at all and appears to be tall and quite thin. The 200 also has the intake on the left wing. The 300 has plastic covers and the air filter is on the left (as you look at it from the front) whereas the 200 has the air filter on the right.

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Oddly, my 200 has a moulded plastic/foam thingie on top of it as well. Never seen another with it though

Langers said:

Oddly, my 200 has a moulded plastic/foam thingie on top of it as well. Never seen another with it though

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Way to make me look stupid in a sentence :doh:
At least you've never seen another one like it

Langers said:

Oddly, my 200 has a moulded plastic/foam thingie on top of it as well. Never seen another with it though

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Mines got one.....I pinched it from somewhere

khaos said:

Way to make me look stupid in a sentence :doh:
At least you've never seen another one like it

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Sirus said:

Mines got one.....I pinched it from somewhere

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Aye I reckon someone else must have pikied it from another vehicle at some point. It's to try and make the engine clatter quieter, ain't it? Do they actually work?

Langers said:

Aye I reckon someone else must have pikied it from another vehicle at some point. It's to try and make the engine clatter quieter, ain't it? Do they actually work?

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Not a lot

Yer, didn't think it would. I'll just take it off in that case, it'll only insulate the engine more when I want it nice and cool.

Cheers guys, Any pointers on what problem areas to look for in particular... I've been lucky so far (touch wood) in not having any major issues with mine,as its relatively new.

Mike_B said:

Cheers guys, Any pointers on what problem areas to look for in particular... I've been lucky so far (touch wood) in not having any major issues with mine,as its relatively new.

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You name it, it will break. Obviously there's main things to look out for.

A solid chassis is a MUST. If it's not solid, don't even touch it.

Engine/transmission. Try every gear, low/high diff lock. Try accelerating hard and breaking hard in all gears and make sure it doesn't jump out of gear.

Check the bulkhead is solid, those are a nightmare to replace.

An important thing to find out is how well it has been looked after. Find out when filters etc were changed. This just gives you an indication of how well someone has cared for it.

(This is just my opinion now) When I got my 200tdi I made sure I got one that had never been off road. I wouldn't touch one that has off road accessories personally because I would rather know that it had had an easy life. Mine did a few miles a day on some nice quite town roads before I got it. I would rather do the work myself and know the job has been done properly.