Tdi 200v300??

[stabinthedark]

I am wanting to buy a Discovery to pull my boat and expect to do no more than 5000 miles per year. I want a diesel. For around £1,000/£1,500max it would appear I can get a 1993/4/5 version with around 120,000/140,000 miles and full MOT.

I will be able to do most of the service/repair work myself, including changing clutch/engine/gearboxes brakes etc. I think I have read that the 200 version is more robust/reliable than the 300. Is that the car or the engine and do the 300 version have a different vehicle spec? Should I go for a 200 or a 300 or doesn't it matter. What are the main problems I should watch out for?

Any advice or pointers to other threads welcome.
Thanks
Paul

[ROB 110 HICAP]

paul vp uk on here owned both and preferred the 200 engine for power delivery. the other differences are headlamp/bumpers and interiors.

check under the rear carpet for wet/holes/rust, ditto inner wings at front, cills, rear wheel arches.

[Charles king]

Hi Paul

Have worked on a large number of both 200 & 300 Disco and both are pretty
reliable if properly maintained. Worth bearing in mind is that the earlier 200
engine mounts the water pump on front of the timing cover with the coolant
supply coming through it meaning that the coolant has to be drained to remove the cover to access the belt. Also the front of the crank on the 300
where the pulley /damper is keyed on was strengthened as the 200 type
often flew off at higher mileages often damaging the keyway quite badly.


On the plus side for the 200 engine the turbos are a different design and the 300 is built into the manifold meaning that a replacement will require the whole thing whereas the 200 turbo comes off separately.

Good luck in the search