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Message |
    
Steven E. Frischling (Sefrischling)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 11:24 pm: | 
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Howdy Folks:
I have been looking into purchasing a Rover, and after my homework lead me to the Defender 110 with 300tdi I had a heart attack looking at their price in the US (from dealer, custom order, US$68,000, or US$58,000 used if I can find one).
After the CPR was complete I went back to the books and found I could purchase a 5-speed Discovery and then have a 300tdi installed (about US$15,000). I know the change over is costly, but I spend a lot of time idling, especially in the winter. I have also found that diesel engines will often last 2-3x longer than gas engines (at least with Mercedes and older Toyota vehicles).
So, does anyone have a 95-97 5-speed Discovery? If so, I am sure it is gas, not diesel, how reliable has it been? Before I have the vehicle converted to a 300tdi (in about 12 months) I will need to use it for work. I am based in Western Massachusetts, and typically "commute" to Boston, New York City and Montreal. My car serves as an office if I am covering nasty weather (in the past two years, floods, hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms), sports, or staying warm in Northern Vermont in the winter for 7 hours waiting for the Feds to show up (I am a news photographer) so I am seeking comfort, but need to make the passenger seat an office which powers 3 radios, laptop, multi-chargers for digital camera batters, 2 cell phones,etc. I know the electrical is easy to modify, but is the vehicle reliable.
I have read a number of horror stories, and since I rely on my car, and by extention a number of photo editors in the US and Europe rely on my ability to get to and from places I need a vehicle which is reliable until it gets the diesel engine.
If anyone has high miles please contact me (I have been known to drive 70,000 miles in a year, I cut it to 40,000 last year).
Ups and downs are welcome!
Thanks |
MonLand
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 11:43 pm: |
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I have a Disco'96 5-speed I bought one year ago. But I picked it low mileage! ;-)
All discos have been sold (as far as I know, and I might be wrong!) with the 4.0L V8 engine.
Absolutely no problem so far, but "Mon Land" is only 65K so far..... So....
In my opinion, if you drive "carefully" a 5-speed it should last almost as much as the 300Tdi. By carefully, I mean that I change speed at around 2,000 rpm (+/- 15% ;-) ).
My father drives (in Europe) a Disco'96 300Tdi and did not have any problem neither so far. He has about 150,000 km on it (around 100,000 miles?).
I heard that the Td5 is a little less strong than the 300Tdi (but has better performance!?), so make sure you stay with the 300 (the 200Tdi is definitely not powerfull enough for a daily driver on the high-way). |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 11:01 pm: |
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Okay, where to begin......
5-speed isn't as reliable as the auto, but, if you treat it well, it can do okay.
Switching to a diesel isn't a cheap process; you would have to drive the thing for decades to recoup the cost of the conversion, if then.
V8 is a bit more powerful, quieter, smoother, and less smelly than the diesel. The diesel gets double the mileage, but, see above. Also, while a diesel is great if wading, are you really planning on wading THAT much?
Rovers are British, which means, Lucas electrics are involved. Lucas has a well-earned reputation for being quirky. All of those stories are true. These are remarkably capable off-road machines, but they are like women... you HAVE to pay LOTS of attention to them and spend LOTS of money on them to keep them happy.
If you don't mind keeping up on the maintainence and put up with all of the Roverisms, these vehicles can really do a lot of amazing things stock, and can keep on doing it for years to come.... they have to potential to last as long as any Volvo, if you love on 'em.
When the average Joe asks about it, I'll tell 'em to get a Toyota instead.... you have to be a Rover addict to put up with all of the crap that comes along with them. But, once you're addicted, you're a happy addict.
IMHO, FWIW....
-L |
Ian h
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 04:18 am: |
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Hi Steve.
I have a 6/97 TDI 300 auto witch has 96000km on it and think its brilliant. We get around 25mpg travelling at speeds of 75mph. At 55-60mph will get 28-30mpg from it. Auto is the way to go.pick up from a standing start is not brilliant, but once rolling there good . Will cruise on 70mph all day.If mine was l/h drive Iwould sell it to you as I want to up grade to a Td5 auto Disco2. In OZ you can get a brand new 110 Td5 for $50000 Aus
Ian |
Glenn Guinto (Glenn)
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 07:46 am: |
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Steve,
One thing to consider as well are your local DMV regulations when it comes to the diesel engines. When I read your post I thought you were from Europe or somewhere else other than the US. LRNA can't import the diesels due to emissions hence they're considered "illegal" here. In most states they have exceptions, in Jersey, any vehicle over 25 years old can be registered with historic plates and be exempted from state emissions inspections. I don't know what Massachusettes have but I'd check it first before making any decision. In any case, good luck!!!
-glenn |
Dave M.
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 08:43 am: |
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ECR will put a 300TDi in just about any Rover for you... for a price. So it must be legal.
http://www.eastcoastrover.com/Tdiconversions.html
I think you might be better off with a '96 or '97 Toyota Land Cruiser with the very reliable straight-6.
The only reason I say this is that a Rover will require a lot more "attention" to keep it running well and reliably. If you are wiling to do that, then go for it, but just be honest with yourself about how much "love' you will have time for.
If you need your truck to take you to wild places, at all hours, and all seasons, without aa chance of failure, then a Toyota might be the better choice.
I'm not slamming Rovers at all btw, I LOVE them, but there is a reason that Land Cruisers got so popular in the wild places in the world. |
Cameron
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 01:09 pm: |
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I recently bought a '98 Disco 300tdi in Germany with only 60,000km on the clock (36,000 miles) for $10,000. I am going to be using it in Russia, so the 2.5 liter diesel saved me $5000 in import duties (everything 2500cc and less is much cheaper). It drives all right -- torquey -- but pretty slow. It uses a little more than half the fuel of a 3.9 V8 (the equivalent of around 22 U.S. miles per gallon in town).
My Disco has airbags, catalytic convertor, and, as far as I know, all the U.S. stuff. Maybe you could buy one and import it yourself.
If that's not realistic, then don't try to convert a gas model. It will never pay for itself even in a million miles. Just buy gas for it and enjoy the better acceleration. The old Buick V8 is pretty long lasting, by the way.
If you are not pretty tolerant of faults and repairs, you had better get a Toyota and not a Landie. The later Discos are better, quality-wise, but they are English after all . . . I would not stake my profession on mine starting every morning. |
Dave M.
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 02:26 pm: |
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Cameron brings up a good point about the cost. You will NEVER save enough money using the diesel over a gas engine to make up for the cost of the engine swap... never.
$8k buys a LOT of gas for the V8.
Of course, there are plenty of other reasons to want the diesel. But if MPG and fuel cost savings is your reason for swapping, then it simply isn't worth it in my opinion. |
Norm
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 10:37 pm: |
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Check the East Coast Rover tdi Disco conversion -- it is not as simple as you might think. They have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get this thing to work. You will not be able to use the the R380 from a V8 in this rig -- the diesel uses an R380 "L" transmission which is a different length than the R380 "J" that comes with the v8. However, I understand the "L" transmission has shot-peened gears (whatever that means) unlike the "J" •••••• and is supposed to be more durable.
---Norm |
Todd Phenneger
| | Posted on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 04:53 am: |
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For whatever its worth to you
I have a friend in Greece that has two Camel Trophy Disco's. One Greece comp vehicle and one referee (cant think of the term) vehicle. The Greece team vehicle is very modified, with a larger turbo, HUGE intercooler, etc. Both have a 5-sp. Both have had •••••• problems but the modified one eats them. He is converting it to an auto as the 5-sp just cant handle the power.
This is a more extreme case and if treated nicely with moderate power I'm sure they are fine. But I have an auto and in a vehicle that large I dont mind it. The rover Auto is very predictable and fairly bullitproof.
Anyhow, thats about all I know.
Good luck
TOdd |
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