Which disco?

Hi there, i am looking at buying a disco but i can't decide which one is best for me; i have about £3000-£3500 at a push to spend and am going to mod straight away, initially a lift kit and some bigger wheels. Am i better going for an older 300tdi with coils already or am i better trying to get a series 2 disco with a td5 engine and having to fuss about changing the air suss to coils? Also can anyone tell me when the disco changed to air, was it 1998?

Many thanks

Ali

gerra 300.

If your modding straight away I would go for the 300 or even 200, then keep some money back to fix the odd problems that crop up with new ownership.

regards

Dave

Straight in with the mods eh?Didnt say why tho.

why not?! Plus im not too keen on the standard looking disco haha

ali'sv8 said:

why not?! Plus im not too keen on the standard looking disco haha

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Why not?
1. its capable enough standard.
2. its expensive.
3. insurance issues.
4. on road handling is affected.
5. mpg increase, increased load and wear on components, etc.
6. more stuff to break/nick.....
could go on but if you have a valid reason to mod it such as:Cos i want to or its fun, then fair enough.Dont forgot to put pics up.

ok i got done there.........shouldv said im gna be using it off road, il post some pics of it in the corwen carwash as soon as its done!

I had the same question a month ago….

Just wanted a disco so I could have fun during the winter or rainy days, main thing for me is motorbikes, but when it rains, it's boring sitting at home, so I decided to get a disco.

Started looking at standard ones… and then adding up all the extras I wanted to put on.
In the end I decided would be far easy and work out cheaper buying one already modded… so I ended up with a disco with everything I would ever need…
just have a look on ebay, there's loads around, go and have a look, look for the typical things, etc..

I ended up buying a 200tdi, from what I read, the engine is good and easier to work on than the 300tdi.
Also the one I got has a modified front with the 300 headlamps and clear indicators.. the standard front on the 200 is horrible (my opinion)

As said above, with all the mods, driving on roads is a pain, but then again, I bought it to have fun off road, not to race around on the roads.

ali'sv8 said:

Hi there, i am looking at buying a disco but i can't decide which one is best for me; i have about £3000-£3500 at a push to spend and am going to mod straight away, initially a lift kit and some bigger wheels. Am i better going for an older 300tdi with coils already or am i better trying to get a series 2 disco with a td5 engine and having to fuss about changing the air suss to coils? Also can anyone tell me when the disco changed to air, was it 1998?

Many thanks

Ali

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Hi Ali, I have both TDi300 and TD5 and I'm selling the TD5 and buying another TDi 300.

Pros & Cons for TD5:

Pros:
1. Much smoother and more powerful

Cons:
1. Loads more complicated and I've found, less reliable;
2. Parts are significantly more expensive;

I feel more comfortable working on basic TDi 300's. The less stuff the better, no aircon, no abs. The truth is that LR don't do these add-on bits very well.

If you're looking to do a fair bit of off-roading then my advice is the simpler the better.

Buy a TDi 300 manual (no EDC) get some descent tyres on it eg AT²'s and go and play. Lifts don't really improve ground clearance that much, biggers tyres do that (yes, I know, you need a lift to accomodate them !!).

You'll be amazed what a std Disco with good tyres can achieve, always provided you know how to drive off-road of course and are not part of the "rev the tits of it" brigade.


Good luck in your search. Just as an example I've just bought a '98 Tdi 300 manual, 116,000mls for £1300. Leaves loads of money for mods etc !!!!

cheers, some good advice, am i correct in thinking that the difference between the 200 and 300tdi is simply the belt setup? Im definately after something i can work on myself as my current car is a plug and play job and it does my head in! Everything you touch sets off the ecu warning light! Is this the case with the td5? As for road use im not too bothered, i have a motorbike for that .

Biglad....sounds like a steal to me. If anyones got any pics of theirs kicking about with a few mods would you post em? cheers

ali'sv8 said:

cheers, some good advice, am i correct in thinking that the difference between the 200 and 300tdi is simply the belt setup? Im definately after something i can work on myself as my current car is a plug and play job and it does my head in! Everything you touch sets off the ecu warning light! Is this the case with the td5? As for road use im not too bothered, i have a motorbike for that .

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Yes, absolutely !!! You need a computer to let you fart with a TD5 !!!!

TDI 300 was an evolution of the first Discovery TDi200. There were a lot of engine internal changes, but the external ones most people will talk about are the remodelled dashboard (weak on early 300's) different front and rear lights.

My advice would be to go for a '98 Tdi300, 3 doors are generally (quite rightly!!) cheaper, get one with good history, and check for rust.

The latter 300's seem to be a bit better protected on the rust front. Check boot floors, rear whell arches, the chassis, rear cross member, body supports, sills and front inner wings. You are bound to find some rust.

They seem to be able to take the mileage if looked after. I change all the filters every 6,000mls with the engine oil change. I use 5-30 fully synth as I find it helps with winter cold morning starts.

Modifications to do straight away:

1. De- GRD;
2. De-Catt. and straight-through exhaust

Both are very cheap to do, about £80 in total.

When you buy one, irrespective of what the sellers says, change all the filters and all the fluids, inc coolant and brake fluids. Also check and clean the fuel sedimenter.

They are very sensitive to good airflow so change the airfilter regularly, not the way LR says.

Filter kits (oil, air and fuel) are available from Paddocks for £6.28+vat, so why wouldn't you??

They are great everyday/ fun vehicles so find one and start to play.

My bike is for the better weather as well !!

ali'sv8 said:

Biglad....sounds like a steal to me. If anyones got any pics of theirs kicking about with a few mods would you post em? cheers

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I've had 5 Disco's in the last 7 yrs and I find if you are patient and prepared to travel, good ones can be found at very reasonable money.

I live in France, but buy in England, so I travel to get mine !!!!

ali'sv8 said:

cheers, some good advice, am i correct in thinking that the difference between the 200 and 300tdi is simply the belt setup? Im definately after something i can work on myself as my current car is a plug and play job and it does my head in! Everything you touch sets off the ecu warning light! Is this the case with the td5? As for road use im not too bothered, i have a motorbike for that .

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As has been stated, the 300 would be your best bet for a number of reasons, simplicity and finances being but two reasons. With a 300 you will have more funds left to make the vehicle unique to you and to put any issues right. The TD5 will swallow most of your funds on purchase price alone.

On the electrical side, I've just been out to my TD5 to wire in a camera and it wasn't too long before I started scratching my head! Spaghetti junction comes to mind and so for now I'll run it off of the triple 'A's. It's true I could wire direct from the car batt but that's not what I want.

The TD5 has fuse after fuse after relay after fuse blah blah etc etc.
Without a doubt I would opt for the 300. In fact I'm thinking of selling one of my bikes to get another 300 for winter playtime.
I've had two 300s before the TD5 and they don't come close to the TD5 for complexity.
Touch wood no issues yet with the 5 though.

I'm by no means an expert, but have read a bit over the 2 models and spoke to a few people, from what I've gathered, on the 200 the alternator sits higher than the 300, parts for the 200 can be cheaper than the 300…and there's a few other differences, but they are basically same engines, same torque and bhp…
My mechanic (private land rover specialist) prefers the 200's he says they are easier to work on and parts are cheaper, but as with everything opinions are different and someone might say otherwise…

Below is a pic of mine, it's a 93 200tdi
Mods include - 300 headlamps and clear indicators, modified front grill, steering guard, heavy duty bumper, diff guards, wheel arches cut and fit with flexible wheel arches, 2" susp lift, Insa turbo special track tyres, rock sliders with tree sliders (I think that's the name as they have the tubular bit), bucket seats, snorkel, axle breathers (to fit this weekend)




and a clean picture..

de-GRD?? Is that the egr? Simply removed and fitted with a blanking plate?

PS JP, very clean motor, in one pic Would never tell its a 93. What size tyres are you running?

I cant remember for sure now, but I believe they are 235/85 R16

LRD5 said:

Touch wood no issues yet with the 5 though.

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Now you know you should not have said that..........right?

regards

Dave