Going to look at a Disco... advice please?

Hey folks, I'm new to the disco world, and new to this forum too, so be gentle with me

Ok, i've got a BMW, 328i touring (estate). I'm going to be PX'ing it in the next few weeks (sooner the better) for a 7 seater disco. I've got one i want to look at tomorrow or tuesday, but i don't know what i'm looking at to be honest. so, i'd apreciate it if you good folks could give me some pointers as to what to look for, whats good, whats bad, and what i should run away screaming like a girlie from.

It's a 300 TDI manual on a 95-96 plate that i'm looking at tomorrow.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Gav.

Howdy Gav , I just bought my first Disco last week and was told to look out for rust around the alpine windows ( little windows at the top ). And rust under the carpet in the foot wells. Also have a look at it's service history and see if it needs or has had a timing belt done . Hope this helps

Cheers Mick

rust, rust and more rust.
boot floor, sills (inner and outer), inner wings, bottom seatbelt mounts, wheel arches.

leaking sunroof(s).

Rust anywhere esp. boot floor, inside all door openings esp. the back. Clunky transmission, ****ty gearbox though the r380 is said to be better, smokey tired engine, head gasket, in fact anything you might check for on any other car.

curly57_ said:

Hey folks, I'm new to the disco world, and new to this forum too, so be gentle with me

Ok, i've got a BMW, 328i touring (estate). I'm going to be PX'ing it in the next few weeks (sooner the better) for a 7 seater disco. I've got one i want to look at tomorrow or tuesday, but i don't know what i'm looking at to be honest. so, i'd apreciate it if you good folks could give me some pointers as to what to look for, whats good, whats bad, and what i should run away screaming like a girlie from.

It's a 300 TDI manual on a 95-96 plate that i'm looking at tomorrow.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Gav.

Click to expand...

Hi Gav, the point I would offer is - have you driven one yet? The performance difference between a 328i and a Tdi 300 Disco is HUGE!!!

Are you ready for it??

Ok assuming you are ready to go slow and get your hands dirty playing with a Disco and repairing it, I would offer the following points to aid your selection:

1. Rust - boot floor, lift the carpet, lift the rubber sound-absorbing mat and look for ANY rust. Also, feel the rubber mat for ANY damp. If there is any moisture/rust, it indicates a leak from either sunroof or one of the rear windows;

2. Rust - open the rear passenger doors (not the back door) and look on the 'c' post for rust where the wheelarch meets the upright. There is almost always some corrosion here, if there isn't it's likely to have been repaired;

3. Rust - inner & outer sills. This requires getting underneath and prodding carefully - this is an expensive fault to have garage repaired;

4. Rust (bit of a theme here!) - open the engine bay, find the inner wheelarches/wings and check for rust - any rust here can be straightforward to repair, but sometimes indicates hidden rust which is more complicated/expensive to resolve;

5. Mechanicals - engines, good & strong if well maintained, check for leaks, smoke, undue noises, poor performance. Straightforward to service/repair yourself. Gearboxes, normally good, transfer boxes, listen for undue noises. Drivetrain, listen for knocks, play and undue noise.

Good service history is paramount - when you buy imo first thing to do should be a major service, preferably done by yourself so that you know what's been done, including all filters, engine oil, gearbox & trannsfer box oils, axle oils - so that you establish a baseline to move forward from.

You may come across a Disco that is supposed to have been serviced recently, as I did, but when you do the above mentioned full service you are likely to find that the axle & gearbox oils haven't been changed since God was a boy !!

Hope that helps

Cheers
Dave

Thats great info, thanks folks.

Yeah, i can see the power difference, but i'm not too fussed about that. i'd rather have the extra seats and be able to drive over stuff to be honest, lol.

So rust is a big factor? i'll have a good look around it then. i'm oping to do almost a straight swap, so i want to make sure i'm not gonna get a lemon. A few small rust patches aren't too much of a problem, i can fix them myself.

What sort of performance mods are available for the disco, engine wise i mean? can the turbo pressure be increased etc?


Gav.

A couple of mods i know of are a bigger intercooler , bigger exhaust system and a comp chip . Have also been told that a snorkel can offer a bit more power but can't see that myself .

Gav,

Don't want to sound too negative, but best off not to enter into Disco ownership hoping that some performance mods will make it quick(er). Seeing the performance / power figures on a page and feeling them is very different. I had a couple of 300tdi maunals and now have a td5 auto and while I am happy to cruise along in the disco, I still have a slightly tuned saab 9-5 when I want a bit of performance or if I am in a hurry or want to head from the west coast to the east coast of Ireland.

The pace of discos is leisurely, you will overtake tractors, but that is about it.

You will find your driving style changing, but that is not a bad thing

sorry, i didn't mean to go faster, lol. What i want is the torque for off roading etc. i've considered the V8 for this reason, but i also considered the fuel bill and don't want to remortgage my house, lol.

curly57_ said:

Thats great info, thanks folks.

Yeah, i can see the power difference, but i'm not too fussed about that. i'd rather have the extra seats and be able to drive over stuff to be honest, lol.

So rust is a big factor? i'll have a good look around it then. i'm oping to do almost a straight swap, so i want to make sure i'm not gonna get a lemon. A few small rust patches aren't too much of a problem, i can fix them myself.

What sort of performance mods are available for the disco, engine wise i mean? can the turbo pressure be increased etc?


Gav.

Click to expand...

Hi Gav, I don't mean to labour the point, but you're considoring moving from a vehicle that weighs about 1500 kgs with about 190bhp (ie bhp per ton of 127bhp), to a vehicle that weighs about 2050kgs with about 111bhp (ie bhp per ton of 54bhp) this impacts of every facet of the driving experience.

OK moving on, assuming it's a manual gearbox model without EDC (Electronic Diesel Control - ECU to you and me) then there are a number of low and medium cost mods that are often done.

Firstly, because of the more complex and power-sapping nature of this 4 wheel drive drivetrain, it is ESSENTIAL that all the components are running to their optimum with new oils, before considoring tuning.

Assuming the above, here are a list of popular mods in their order of £ per bhp, starting from the cheapest:

1. Adjust the inj pump, as per threads on forum - £0

2. Put in a new air filter - £5

3. If it's got one, take off the EGR valve and blank off, fit new intercooler hose - £20

4. Refill engine with top grade oil, fully synth - £25

5. If it's got a cat, buy Defender non-cat downpipe and install - £22

6. Install larger intercooler Allysport etc - £150 - 200

A Tdi Disco will NEVER go anywhere near as well as your current car due to it's weight, low power and aerodynamics, but they can be made to go better than standard, jus have realistic expectations, that's all.

curly57_ said:

sorry, i didn't mean to go faster, lol. What i want is the torque for off roading etc. i've considered the V8 for this reason, but i also considered the fuel bill and don't want to remortgage my house, lol.

Click to expand...

There is more than enough torque in a std Tdi 300 for offroading.

a v8 and a doozil (200TDi up) are on a par for torque with a V8, but the V8 uses a higher rev range. If you want to use it off road - then a doozil everytime, spesh if yu intend to go thro water.