Buying a disco - year recommendation?

I'm looking for a used Disco with 30-40K miles. I'm expecting to spend less
than $20K and am looking for recommendations for year, model, etc., and
anything to look for. I intend to use the car for commuting, packing up the
family for light traveling, and lots of skiing. Thanks!

On or around Mon, 7 Mar 2005 08:04:54 -0800, "feynman" <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>I'm looking for a used Disco with 30-40K miles. I'm expecting to spend less
>than $20K and am looking for recommendations for year, model, etc., and
>anything to look for. I intend to use the car for commuting, packing up the
>family for light traveling, and lots of skiing. Thanks!
>

I reckon you'd do better to stick with skis, for skiing, but your choice...

My personal thought is a good late disco I, 300 TDi or 3.9 V8 (your choice)
with LPG. Not too much to choose on the fuel costs, but to get decent range
on a converted V8 requires a lot of expensive tankage. 'course, if you can
afford the petrol, you just run on petrol anyway

If you intend significant mileage on the continent, a diesel probably makes
much sense, seeing as the diesel tends to be cheaper over there.

Since the advent of the Disco III, there's a knock-on effect on SH prices
for the earlier ones - there are some VERY tidy fully-loaded disco Is out
there at very reasonable money. Disco I goes up to 98/99 or thereabouts.
The advantage of this is the money you save with which to buy fuel and other
toys.

It's reckoned that you're better off avoiding early TD5s, and TBH, the only
TD5 that appeals to me is the face-lifted one with the snazzy headlamps. I
forget when they start, might be about 2003, but someone will know.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"The boys are dreaming wicked or of the bucking ranches of the night and
the jollyrodgered sea." Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953) Under milk wood

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 18:34:43 +0000, Austin Shackles
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On or around Mon, 7 Mar 2005 08:04:54 -0800, "feynman" <[email protected]>
>enlightened us thusly:
>
>>I'm looking for a used Disco with 30-40K miles. I'm expecting to spend less
>>than $20K and am looking for recommendations for year, model, etc., and
>>anything to look for. I intend to use the car for commuting, packing up the
>>family for light traveling, and lots of skiing. Thanks!
>>
>
>I reckon you'd do better to stick with skis, for skiing, but your choice...
>
>My personal thought is a good late disco I, 300 TDi or 3.9 V8 (your choice)
>with LPG. Not too much to choose on the fuel costs, but to get decent range
>on a converted V8 requires a lot of expensive tankage. 'course, if you can
>afford the petrol, you just run on petrol anyway
>
>If you intend significant mileage on the continent, a diesel probably makes
>much sense, seeing as the diesel tends to be cheaper over there.
>
Austin, I suspect the OP is from Merika. The use of $, going skiing a
lot, and traveling; sort of leads me to think in a left pondian way.

So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?

--
ColonelTupperware,
spouting bollocks on Usenet since 1997
Usenet FAQ at
http://www.its.caltech.edu/its/services/internetapps/news/news2.shtml
UPCE FAQ at http://upce.org.uk/ UKRM FAQ at http://www.ukrm.net/faq/

On or around Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:18:44 +0000, Colonel Tupperware
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 18:34:43 +0000, Austin Shackles
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I reckon you'd do better to stick with skis, for skiing, but your choice...
>>
>>My personal thought is a good late disco I, 300 TDi or 3.9 V8 (your choice)
>>with LPG. Not too much to choose on the fuel costs, but to get decent range
>>on a converted V8 requires a lot of expensive tankage. 'course, if you can
>>afford the petrol, you just run on petrol anyway
>>
>>If you intend significant mileage on the continent, a diesel probably makes
>>much sense, seeing as the diesel tends to be cheaper over there.
>>
>Austin, I suspect the OP is from Merika. The use of $, going skiing a
>lot, and traveling; sort of leads me to think in a left pondian way.
>
>So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
>How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?

oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known to have
porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most prone.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Confidence: Before important work meetings, boost your confidence by
reading a few pages from "The Tibetan Book of the Dead"
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

>>So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
>>How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?
>
>oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known to have
>porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most prone.

Range Rover ones...

I know a bloke who had a 3.9 Rangie engine replaced due to this, and
plenty of stories of dead 4.6's. Never heard of a Disco engine going
porous, though ICBW of course.


--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

My Landies? http://www.seriesii.co.uk
Barcoding? http://www.bartec-systems.com
Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com

On or around Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:25:26 +0000, Tim Hobbs
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>>>So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
>>>How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?
>>
>>oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known to have
>>porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most prone.
>
>Range Rover ones...
>
>I know a bloke who had a 3.9 Rangie engine replaced due to this, and
>plenty of stories of dead 4.6's. Never heard of a Disco engine going
>porous, though ICBW of course.

seems odd, they're the same engines, n'est-ce pas?


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
If all be true that I do think, There are five reasons we should drink;
Good wine, a friend, or being dry, Or lest we should be by and by;
Or any other reason why. - Henry Aldrich (1647 - 1710)

On Wednesday, in article
<[email protected]>
[email protected] "Austin Shackles" wrote:

> On or around Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:25:26 +0000, Tim Hobbs
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
> >>>So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
> >>>How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?
> >>
> >>oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known to have
> >>porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most prone.
> >
> >Range Rover ones...
> >
> >I know a bloke who had a 3.9 Rangie engine replaced due to this, and
> >plenty of stories of dead 4.6's. Never heard of a Disco engine going
> >porous, though ICBW of course.
>
> seems odd, they're the same engines, n'est-ce pas?

My recollection is that it was partly when they were made -- perhaps
some change in process -- and partly the cylinder bore.

--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.

"I am Number Two," said Penfold. "You are Number Six."

So Austin Shackles was, like

> On or around Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:18:44 +0000, Colonel Tupperware
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>> On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 18:34:43 +0000, Austin Shackles
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I reckon you'd do better to stick with skis, for skiing, but your
>>> choice...
>>>
>>> My personal thought is a good late disco I, 300 TDi or 3.9 V8 (your
>>> choice) with LPG. Not too much to choose on the fuel costs, but to
>>> get decent range on a converted V8 requires a lot of expensive
>>> tankage. 'course, if you can afford the petrol, you just run on
>>> petrol anyway
>>>
>>> If you intend significant mileage on the continent, a diesel
>>> probably makes much sense, seeing as the diesel tends to be cheaper
>>> over there.
>>>
>> Austin, I suspect the OP is from Merika. The use of $, going skiing a
>> lot, and traveling; sort of leads me to think in a left pondian way.
>>
>> So, get the biggest V8, and floor it baby, yeah.
>> How much is 'gas' a US gallon now I wonder?
>
> oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known
> to have porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most
> prone.

I heard it was 3.5, 3.9/4.0, 4.6, in that order. Something to do with the
thickness of the casting between the liners and the water passages - the
more they took away, the worse it got.

--

Rich

Pas d'elle yeux Rhone que nous

On or around Thu, 10 Mar 2005 19:59:31 -0000, "Richard Brookman"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>> oops. good point. in that case, avoid the engines which are known
>> to have porosity problems. Naturally, I forget which are the most
>> prone.
>
>I heard it was 3.5, 3.9/4.0, 4.6, in that order. Something to do with the
>thickness of the casting between the liners and the water passages - the
>more they took away, the worse it got.
>

so that'll be reverse order, then? <D&RA>

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victims to
a great lie than to a small one" Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
from Mein Kampf, Ch 10