200 vs 300 tdi

[silentbob]

realistically it seems that for my budget, a diso is a more realistic choice. which is best to look for? i dont intend on working on it myself (basics only) and havent planned on using it for off road, just for camping - towing the trailer and greenlane stuff that surrounds campsites!

cheers

[thebiglad]

realistically it seems that for my budget, a diso is a more realistic choice. which is best to look for? i dont intend on working on it myself (basics only) and havent planned on using it for off road, just for camping - towing the trailer and greenlane stuff that surrounds campsites!

cheers


It sounds to me like you don't need a Disco and if you're not going to repair/service it yourself, I would advise you to reconsidor buying one.

They are tremendous vehicles but I'm always under mine doing some little job or other. Buying second-hand old Land Rovers is more of a hobby than purely for transport.

I don't mean to put you off, but if funds are limited, you don't want to buy a "black hole" do you??

[silentbob]

whether i NEED one or not is a different subject, i dont need to ask my dad for permission so im definantly not gonna ask for it here.

bottom line, i either spend a few hundred payin for a towbar fitted to the wifes underpowered car and end up forkin out for a new one for her in 12 months time, or i can buy something big that i can fill with wife/kids/dog and camping gear and pull a trailer/caravan. i dont mind workin on it if i have to, ive had years of messing about under car bonnets but these days prefere not to. its not that i cant do it, just rather not to.

so.... do you have an answer for the question or do we need more life history first?

[thebiglad]

whether i NEED one or not is a different subject, i dont need to ask my dad for permission so im definantly not gonna ask for it here.

bottom line, i either spend a few hundred payin for a towbar fitted to the wifes underpowered car and end up forkin out for a new one for her in 12 months time, or i can buy something big that i can fill with wife/kids/dog and camping gear and pull a trailer/caravan. i dont mind workin on it if i have to, ive had years of messing about under car bonnets but these days prefere not to. its not that i cant do it, just rather not to.

so.... do you have an answer for the question or do we need more life history first?


You are an arsey sod aren't you - I was trying to be helpful.

You'll get nothing more from me with that attitude.

[JayHoe]

Bob,

biglad was trying to help you. Land Rovers are I am afraid high maintenance. Generally speaking, unless you have pots of money (and you did mention budget), you need to work on them yourself. Of course if you do have pots of money and can pay for all the servicing, go for it!

I believe that there is very little between the 200 and the 300 with the 300 being a little more refined, but the 200 being simpler (and cheaper) to work on.

HTH

[defenderjack]

:):)lol thats the funniest thing ive read all day , come on girls put your handbags away ! JOKE ok !! before i get accused of being arsy ! 200 or 300 not a lot in it really but depending on your budget?? then a 300 would prob be better as alot of 200 discos will be showing there age now and like said would be a black hole but then again you may find a good un theres so many discos on the market you can be as fussey as you like ? try auctions ?

[shakermaker]

I bought my first Disco in January, no real reason why but I was drawn to an old Land Rover. A 200Tdi and its in really good nick! Only needed front shocks replacing and brake line redoing for the MOT this year, and its a 1991 model. Part of me really wants a classic Range Rover LSE, but I know that I'm not going to find anything as reliable for the money or if I get rid of the Disco...

Spend a bit of time looking and you will find a good one for the right money, the one i've ended up with was the cheapest of those I viewed but in the best condition!

[silentbob]

thanks for the replys, sorry if i came across arsey it just winds me up when someone replys to a question that wasnt asked.... then claims i'll get nothing 'more' from him when i didnt get anything in the first place.

budget would be to buy in the first place. ive set myself a target of £1000, theres loads on ebay - 200 + 300 tdi. i know all of em could have potential problems, but im sure they'll be a few good ones in the mix its just finding the right one. i dont mind fixing stuff if it goes wrong, money for repairs vary so im sure its not gonna cost me a few hundred quid every weekend, shocks and brakeline isnt gonna bankrupt me im sure (for arguments sake).

[listerdiesel]

Buying a used Landie of any type is an act of faith/love, rather than being made on commercial grounds, and the big attraction is that there is so much information available, and so many places to get help.

Our son has a 1972 Series III which he has just been underneath doing some welding on, our main project is a 1999 Disco 2 V8, details in another thread.

As long as you go into it with eyes wide open, you'll be fine, the only caveat is that a 300Tdi is better than a 200Tdi and a TD5 is better than both....

Peter

[TEMPL4R]

I prefer the 300s, but as the water pump is high up, they don't like losing a bit of water or they overheat badly. The pump gets airlocked. The 200 is older but fairly indestructable.

The TD5 has a lot of electronics, more refined and more expensive, way out of your budget.

Whatever you choose, open the rear door and pull the back mat up and look at the rust on the floor, if it has a floor. A big problem on older Discoverys.

Chris

[d1scv]

thanks for the replys, sorry if i came across arsey it just winds me up when someone replys to a question that wasnt asked.... then claims i'll get nothing 'more' from him when i didnt get anything in the first place.

budget would be to buy in the first place. ive set myself a target of £1000, theres loads on ebay - 200 + 300 tdi. i know all of em could have potential problems, but im sure they'll be a few good ones in the mix its just finding the right one. i dont mind fixing stuff if it goes wrong, money for repairs vary so im sure its not gonna cost me a few hundred quid every weekend, shocks and brakeline isnt gonna bankrupt me im sure (for arguments sake).
A 1k budget will buy you a good late 200 or early 300. Both having simpler electrickery.
Take someone who knows Discos with you to veiw before buying.
Avoid metallic paint.
Avoid any Disco that has even had a sniff of salt water. It will be beyond repair.

[Satancom]

Mines for sale :) http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=159691

Theres not a lot in the engines to be honest. I would go on the condition of the vehicle more than what engine it has. A good 200 will be better than a rough 300. But the 300 is the better engine!

[silentbob]

Looks good but a little out of my price range.
Wanna swap it for me xr3i cabby an a few notes?! ;)

[Grumbleweed]

I have worked on both- i prefer the 200 personally. It might be a little noisier and less refined than the 300, but simplicity wins every time for me.

I'm not a fan of serpentine belts, as if it goes you lose everything. The old v belt on the 200 is obtainable from anywhere, and other things like alternators are cheaper and easier to replace.

As has already been mentioned- RUST. This is the deal breaker. A friend of mine has a jap import one which has absolutely NO rust anywhere on the boot floor. I have seen these on the bay for the usual £1000 - £1500 mark so they are out there.

If it an occasional car, have you not considered a rangie on LPG? they dont rust quite as bad (mostly!!) but purchase price can be much lower for a road legal car. Plus you get the best noise in the world from the V8.

[Satancom]

Looks good but a little out of my price range.
Wanna swap it for me xr3i cabby an a few notes?! ;)

Whats your price range? Mate is in the middle of sorting out a 200tdi disco, has just put a new boot floor in it!

I did look at your Xr3i, would have snapped your hand off if it was a rs turbo heh!

[silentbob]

looking at around £1000, either sell xr3i and add a few ££ to get to that mark or swap car for 4x4 (with extra ££ with it).

stick a turbo in it :D

did think about a rangy with V8 but im not sure about lpg or running costs!

[Rangienut]

Rangie with a good LPG system works out cheaper to run than a TDi, or at least it did a couple of years ago, and they do sound gorgeous! :D

[LANDYCREW]

With him talking like that let him get a land rover and find out the joys of having one :D:D thebiglad was trying to help you ,, YA NUGGET

[ComicalEngineer]

Back on topic...

At the age of both the 200 and 300 tdi's, you are buying on the condition of the car overall. In real terms, there's not that much to choose between the engines. As mentioned above, the 300 is slightly quieter and more powerful, the 200 is simpler but slightly noisier.

Both are reliable and both should be good for 200k miles if treated properly.

The real factor with both is RUST!

Both engines are relatively easily fixed and mostly quite cheap but body issues:

Sills - rust. MOT fail, can be £200-300 to sort
Rear tubular cross member - rusts from the inside. MOT failure. Awkward to fix, anything up to £600
Body mounts (rear) - Tricky to fix, anything up to £600
Inner front wings - Easy to fix, possible MOT fail if within 30cm of brake servo
Rear door openings at top of wheelarch - MOT fail (within 30cm of seatbelt mount (£150 to fix)
Boot floor - not usually an MOT fail but can be messy to fix. Up to £500 for a full job but some people have done DIY jobs cheaply - time consuming!

If the car has been in salt water e.g. towing boat trailers in and out then chances are the back end will be rotten. Walk away.

Other than that, later 300's have electronic engine control, can be tricky to sort.

Look out for - oil leaks from crankshaft seals, engines that have been steam cleaned, mayonnaise in coolant header tank, white smoke (blown head gasket), blue smoke (other than a puff on start up, burning oil), black smoke (over fuelling).
Knocking from vacuum pump - part is expensive
Excessive rattles or knocks from engine

Cambelt change will cost £250 from a decent garage but budget for changing pulleys, tensioners and water pump at the same time, anything up to £450 including parts. 300 aux belt tensioner = £40, water pump = £20, timing belt kit = £60. The rest will be labour!

Remember that the youngest of these cars is over 10 years old and may well have had a hard life towing!

[MadDan]

How is a 300 more powerful? quieter yes but your average 200 will run rings around your average 300 in my experience(And Ive driven quite a few)

[LANDYCREW]

beat me to it MadDan most 200s would run rings around 300s powe wise :D:D

[MadDan]

On paper power/torque figures are the same,maybe its the closer ratios of the lt77 that make the difference?
A 'good' 200 will see off my bored and boosted 300,but Im on 265/75's and ULW of 2350kg's,the missus's 'mildly tweaked' 300 es on 235/70's is another story though! Does that thing go!

[dave_wales]

It can be a mine field buying one
i paid £500 for my 300 tdi with very little mot on it so i knew mine would have problems but if you can fix them your ok, if its to cheap it has problems lol.

I had too weld in new metal to the boot floor as there were holes too close to the seat belt mounts, welding to the rear arches by the rear doors as again seat belt mounts, both rear half shafts were leaking as they had been sealed with silicone seal, the clutch went as the gearbox had been removed to have work done and not bolted in properly and came lose, and a few other minor problems but as i have fixed it all my self its cost my virtually nothing to fix.
the worst was the clutch at £80 for a kit.

Just try and buy the best you can afford ;)

[ComicalEngineer]

On paper the 200 tdi has 110bhp and the 300tdi 120bhp.

Both can be mildly tweaked with ease.

Get rid of viscous fan (worth a few bhp)
De-cat - another few bhp
Change the air filter for a high flow - another few bhp

Then you can tweak the fuel pump, enlarge the intercooler and remove the exhaust centre box (not in that order)

That said, it's never going to fly but if you are easy on the throttle, it's also worth a few mpg.

Oh, and tyres, running wide MTs will terminally screw your on-road performance and fuel consumption. Change from MTs to road tyres was worth 5mpg to me - and they were the same size!

[Gas Gas Ohlins]

I agree with the Big lad also....if you`re not planning on doing much work on it yourself...buy something else...I too,am usually doing some stupid running repair job on mine....I have a 95 Disco,know them and their foibles and the parts posted from the UK to here are chaper than buying the same stuff here....

Bearing in mind your initial question...and in repsect of greenlaning....this`ll mean you will be doing bigger jobs on it rather than just servicing.....maybe a Toyota would be a better bet.....I`d have one only if the parts were cheaper


Just sayin`

:D

[thebiglad]

On paper the 200 tdi has 110bhp and the 300tdi 120bhp.!

Just a polite observation CE:

Tdi 200 and manual gearbox TDi 300 are both rated at 111bhp.

Auto gearbox TDi 300's with EDC are rated at 120bhp.

[ComicalEngineer]

I'll get me coat Big Lad