Drrrrr Boo Boo time

[vince]

Originally Posted by Chris1573

Andy, I have owned 2 range rovers and 2 discos, and I really rate them, however dont rule out a car to tow your rib, I have a VW Passat V6 TDI and it is a really good car for towing, I have also found that despite being front wheel driver it can also cope with some pretty greasy slips, Warsash at low tide, Rock Beach in Cornwall to name two.

I do 30K Miles a year for work and found that the costs of servicing and fuel on the discos was over £2500 more per annum than the VW.

Might be worth considering?

Chris

Agree totally! Just ordered me a 2.0 tdi 4 motion estate to tow with, should arrive in 2 weeks. Good performance, loadsa room, good grip, and still a bit on the posh side.....well for a northerner it is.......

[Mrs Jardon]

Originally Posted by Hightower

The 300 is the one I'm looking towards.

So....What to look out for when buying an aged Disco 300 Circa 1994ish

Lets get the ball rolling.....Is there anything wrong with the Manual Box?

heres a few pointers
on our 200
it was manual and did clunk on take up but the older ones did do that apparently, there are two types of gearbox, one was much better than the other but cant remember the lables of them
look everywhere for rust
check around the engine bay and around the struts etc
look for condensation staining from the sunroof as some suffer with that
look for leaky steering boxs
the 200 manual is a bit faster than the 300 apparently
ours did not have ac and was a bitch in the summer as with all the glass it was like a greenhouse and got too hot

on our 300
it was an auto and they over heat if towing large weights at speed or up long hills, manuals are better and give better economy, you can not fix the over heat problem but to put it in perspective our light would come on when we hit the big long hills in cornwall when travelling down there
steering box leaks
when the bearing in the viscous coupling went it made it sound as if the engine was going to explode as the noise was transmitted thru the largish allow casing holding the bearing
look for leaks etc as usual, watch for turbo probs as indicated by jw
ours was in really good condition and only got rid to get the td5 due to lack lusture performance and poor towing capability
the auto gearing is not quite right for towing and you are inbetween gears with a heavy load
most caravanners have the manual 300's....a better bet i would say

look for off road damage where people have been having fun, check underneath carefully, turbo should be heard faintly but it should not be too loud, check high ration/low ration knob and drive around a bit in both

on our td5 we have pilkington glass that is heat reflective and it makes a huge difference, not sure if some 300s can have it or not

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Mrs Jardon

...on our 300
it was an auto and they over heat if towing large weights at speed or up long hills, manuals are better and give better economy, you can not fix the over heat problem but to put it in perspective our light would come on when we hit the big long hills in cornwall when travelling down there

Sorry, but I'm going to disagree with that. Mine's a 300, I'm not going to admit to the weight of the rig....but, it pulls up hill for a fair bit of it's journey home each time it's out and it's always surprised me that it shows no sign of warming up.

....the auto gearing is not quite right for towing and you are inbetween gears with a heavy load.

Same again. I may depend on the weight of the boat rig because I found this on the V8 Rangie. On the Disco it simply stays in 3rd until it's on the flat and up to speed.

[Pete7]

Andy, dug the manual out this morning, a Disco is 4535mm x 1793 mm, so not as big as you might think. Suggest you mark out the drive way and see if it will fit.

In addition to JWs and Debs points on the mechanicals, check the rear boot floor. The join between the roof and the vehicle side walls can leak and the water ends up in the boot unseen. You need to lift the boot space mat, carpet and sound insulation. Mine is 1997 and got wet this winter for the first time. Hopefully now sorted. However if they go unchecked then the boot floor needs replacing. Not the end of the world as there are now aftermarket floors to weld in but well worth checking before buying. My 200 TDI manual did 29mpg and the 300 TDI auto does 26mpg. Both did 25 mpg towing.

I have also had the overheat problem that Debs refers too. But to be fair we were towing Old Spice fully fuelled so 3 tonnes, 270 miles through France in 35 degrees of heat last July. Reach the top of a long hill and the temp light quickly goes out as it drops in temp due to the auto box having an oil cooler fitted. Doesn't normally come on towing in the UK.

Passed a rather nice dark red one in Hamble village yesterday, R plate so 1998? notice in the window said £3200 or near offer.

We have been quite critical here on the Discos because you asked us to, but notice we are still own them so they must still have a lot going for them. A few rust patches wouldn't put me off buying another Disco infact my 300 is my second one. The 300 is the end of the fairly simple mechanical models so easy to DIY service. Parts are cheap and readily available because there are so many Discos and Defenders about.


Pete

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Same again. I may depend on the weight of the boat rig because I found this on the V8 Rangie. On the Disco it simply stays in 3rd until it's on the flat and up to speed.

Agreed doesn't go into fourth until 52 mph on mine, thats a little fast for towing Old Spice on some country roads.

Pete

[Mollers]

I love these 'Disco's are great' threads. The 'are great' line is then followed by a whole list of stuff which breaks, leaks or falls off them.

[Biggles]

Originally Posted by Mollers

I love these 'Disco's are great' threads. The 'are great' line is then followed by a whole list of stuff which breaks, leaks or falls off them.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Mollers

'Disco's are great' threads.

You must be reading a different thread to me, Mollers cos I don't remember writing that or reading it.

Originally Posted by Pete7

The 300 is the end of the fairly simple mechanical models so easy to DIY service.

That's good point and a valid reason for not buying newer.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Mollers

I love these 'Disco's are great' threads. The 'are great' line is then followed by a whole list of stuff which breaks, leaks or falls off them.

and what would you recommend in the price range then? thats cheap to run, insure, easily available spares that don't take 3 months from a far away country, oh and is actually available, that you could put hand on heart and recommend from personal experience. Oh and Mrs H will also approve of, so nothing that spent its life on a farm.

Originally Posted by jwalker

That's good point and a valid reason for not buying newer.

absolutely, the other important date is 2001 I think, or your into supertax, instead of the normal road tax.


Pete

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Pete7

and what would you recommend in the price range then? thats cheap to run, insure, easily available spares that don't take 3 months from a far away country, oh and is actually available, that you could put hand on heart and recommend from personal experience. Oh and Mrs H will also approve of, so nothing that spent its life on a farm.




Pete

Personally, My last three cars have been BMW diesels, the first of which had covered 300k miles before an oik drove into it trying to escape from the Police. As for faults, a lift pump on the first one, an injector (very rare) on the second and zilch on the current one. As for VFM? A good 525tds Touring can be picked up for £2k ish possibly without the 'long list' They are a great tow car. For work I have a '01 L200 which apart from a faulty anti-theft device on the pump, refuses to break.
Maybe I'm missing the point. Is owning a Disco a bit of a hobby for all the family to enjoy? Rather than driving it, weekends can be spent going at it with spanners, hammers, tubes of mastic etc.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Personally, As for VFM? A good 525tds Touring can be picked up for £2k ish possibly without the 'long list' They are a great tow car.

Right so your recommending one of these then:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525-T...QQcmdZViewItem

Only he isn't going touring, he is recovering on Haslar slip which he explained would be difficult with 2WD or are they 4WD too?

Pete

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Right so your recommending one of these then:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525-T...QQcmdZViewItem

Only he isn't going touring, he is recovering on Haslar slip which he explained would be difficult with 2WD or are they 4WD too?

Pete

Yes, the Touring X is 4WD. I'm not recommending anything. The guy can buy as he sees fit. It would that appear that sense of humour loss also comes with Disco ownership.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Mollers

I'm not recommending anything.

Mollers make your mind up, you just recommended a BMW

Pete

[Nos4r2]

Would it be feasable to recover at Haslar with a front mounted towbar on a FWD car? Spotted this the other day while I was rooting round Boatlaunch:-

Watling Front Towbars
Maybe the extra weight of the engine over the drive wheels would be enough.


I manage to recover at Warsash in 2wd easily enough and my rear tyres are in need of replacing-3mm of tread on A/T's doesn't do very well on sand.

[Biggles]

Matt,

I would love one of them. Got any costs and any idea what would need doing to the Frontera to get it to fit.

Only down side I can see is if you get it wrong then its the whole engine that gets wet and not just the exhaust.

Saw a friend do this with his Toyota Pick up. He didn't seem to bothered though even though it was on sand and it wasn't going anywhere as he hadn't locked his front hubs. Once we'd got wet to lock the hubs it all came out. The rope is still the trailer mans best friend. It might be hassle and time consuming but can save a lot of money.

[Nos4r2]

There's a PDF pricelist on their website-think it's about £120 for a Frontera.

[Biggles]

I think thats rear towbars only.

[Nos4r2]

http://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/doc..._towbars05.pdf


£120 for a frontera

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Mollers

It would that appear that sense of humour loss also comes with Disco ownership.

Is that what your were trying to be, funny? Oh, I get it now.
Hey, it's hilarious.




Not.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Is that what your were trying to be, funny? Oh, I get it now.
Hey, it's hilarious.




Not.

Yeah, and you're a right larf, without even trying!!!