Which Disco!

[Anslo]

Hi, I am new to the forum and am looking into getting a Discovery for a bit of greenlaning, playdays and general toy. Will be using it every day to pootle to work and back and am not sure what to go for, Diesel or Petrol  .

Have found a nice Disco 1 V8 with an LPG kit for around the £1000 mark. I am not sure what it will be like on fuel though even on gas, have been told they are pretty thirsty especially with larger wheels on them. It has a 2" lift and 33" muds. Am tempted by a petrol as my friend has a 200tdi defender and has had a few engine probs after sucking in a bit of water, plus they sound awesome lol  :twisted:. Basically just looking for some advice and what to look out for when looking at discoverys, and wondering which engine would be best for me and what it will be used for?

Many Thanks Ant

[crazymac]

Petrol Diesel, big debate and it really comes to personal choice and preference.

Diesels tend to need less fettleing and as long as you change the oil regularly will go to stellar mileages, my 200tdi is on 218000 miles and there are plenty more with higher miles than that! Yes you also get 27 to 33 mpg but it is done slower with less oral enjoyment!!

Petrol has an awsome noise to acompany it, but tends to need plugs, fueling checking on regularly, but kept in good service will return high mileage as well. expect 15 to 20MPG wether on gas or petrol, but of course gas is half the price so effectively you get 30 to 40MPG (if you're lucky)

The older Disco's tend to be rot boxes, not the chassis, just the body! Rear floor, transmission tunnel, footwells, a and b pillar bottoms, sills and the inner front wings are all favourite spots.

Pays your money and takes your choice.

[Anslo]

How do you keep an eye on the fuelling? The disco i am looking at has a 3.9 efi lump in it. Are there any major issues with these engines or literally just down to keeping it well serviced.

Have always had petrol cars since i have been driving so naturally tempted by a petrol 4x4. Are the v8 lumps expensive to maintain and service? Is it possible to waterproof a v8 as i have being told they are not keen on getting wet, have seen kits to waterproof the dizzy is there anything else that needs waterproofing? I have been told that the diesels are easy to waterproof and can run under water easy just not good if they suck any in as my friend has discovered hes bent some pushrods in his 200tdi :doh:

Am confused which way to go as differnt people advise different things, most seem to prefer a diesel for offroading yet others have said go v8 as they are amazing offroad and as you say the noise as well  :twisted:

Cheers Ant

[crazymac]

I'm hoping someone will be along soon that knows more about V8's than me!!

As I understand, if its and EFI then there is no worries on the fueling, its electronic! No real issues with the 3.9 that i'm aware of, they need the water keeping an eye on I think but other than that?

Yes V8's don't like water, but if you do suck some in then it generally won't break things! Take the plugs out and crank it over and that sorts the water! With the diesels all you really need to do is extend the air intake up the screen and you can drive in water well over the bonnet! but as your mate has discovered, not extending it causes expensive cockups!!

It really does come to personal preference.

[bilge rat]

check the coolant is nice and clean and topped up right . run it and check for back pressure in the header tank . take the cap off slow . you will get a bit but you dont want excessive back pressure. i too love v8's but never had a landy. had enough trouble paying for fuell in me vittesse. so a landy being as aero dynamic as a brick and weighing a fair bit more i dread to think what fuell it would use. ive had both 200 and 300 tdi's and have been happy with them all . the 300's i have tweeked very slightly and still get 30mpg. and as for wading snorkelled up right they will go for ever . no dizi or coil to worry about . as said look out for body rot. theres plenty about and seems to be a buyers market . alan

[mikiep1986]

  like crazymac says it is preference really . . . i do like my 200tdi as its good on diesel nice to drive etc .  .. but then again i would love a v8 for the power and the noise . . .


 my brothers v8 is averaging around 12 mpg on a very good day taking it steady . .  but then again if your runnign gas its works out the same money as diesel in theory

[mattyme]

while i love the growling of a v8, i have to say that after owning a jeep cherokee 4ltr straight six petrol and 2 200tdi discos, i would have to say go for a diesel!!

the majority of petrols that i have seen steer slightly towards a small puddle seem to have had numerous problems afterwards. maybe it was poor preparation, i dont know, but breakdowns seem more common with v8's.

[Anslo]

Many thanks for the replies and advice. Have been to see the Disco again tonight for a proper look round. No rot to be seen anywhere even the chassis is in really good condition, a few small patches of surface rust but all the metal was very much solid. Checked inner arches and under all the arches front and rear, Had the boot floor all out and the rear bench out and nothing, sills are all solid as are the bottoms of all the pillars. No major rust under the bonnet, some surface rust on the front panel but nothing major! It is a very straight truck.

The engine started on the dot and pulled really well and strong! The bloke took me out on some of his land and it was a real hoot to drive, loved the noise of the V8  :twisted: wow!

It has got 33" by 12.50 mud terrains, 2" lift by springs and shocks, saffari snorkel. The Disco is an L reg manual with 110k and he wants a grand for it, which i feel is pretty good (i think). Havent been to see any diesels yet but am tempted by the V8 lol. Am just concerned of the fuel bill and it being funny with water if i encounter any and dear to repair if anything were to go wrong. What are parts like price wise for the V8's?

Cheers Ant  :D

p.s. sorry for all the questions lol

[SteveGoodz]

I'm on my second 3.9V8 Disco 1 and I've also owned 3 diesels in the past so I guess I can give a balanced opinion on both genres.

The diesel is less hassle maintenance wise and less of a worry when wading. On Strata Florida last year the water was almost up to the door handles (above the top of the wheel arches) and the 300Tdi never missed a beat - and it didn't have a snorkel! I actually like the sound of the 300Tdi when it's being pushed hard although it don't compare to the V8 growl. Fuel consumption around the 25-30mpg is pretty normal.

The 3.9 is a sweet engine. It needs to have regular plug changes and good quality oil to keep it on top form. There's no need to worry about fuelling issues with the Efi as long as the Lambda sensors are working it'll be fine. If it's already been converted to LPG then running costs are about the same as a diesel - lowe mpg but only half the cost/ltr. Both my V8s actually run better on LPG than petrol but that's mainly because I advance the ignition timing to give a better burn on gas. You can get amplifier modules that do that electronically if you don't want to mess with the timing. I'm a little bit conservative when wading the V8 as the air intake is right behind the near side headlamp for some reason and I worry about water ingestion, but a snorkel will (eventually) sort that.

On the road the V8 is a much better drive .. more power and refinement, less noise and vibration. Which do I prefer? V8 every time  :clap: :dance:

HTH