Looking at a 96 300tdi disco with 209,000 klms on the clock. Everything was looking pretty good until I started to hear stories about rebuilds being the norm after 300,000. The vehicle appears well looked after and has "supposedly" had oil changes every 5,000 klms.
I'd like to keep it for a few years and would hpe to get another 200k out of it but if odds are it will need major surgery in the near future the I'll opt out.
I would have hoped a well maintained diesel engine would go at least 400,000 preferable up to 500,000. I know its a relatively small engine pushing a big car but dont know how much that changes things with this particular engine.
The vehicle is at a good enough price to factor usual high mileage maintenance but not an engine rebuild!
Friend of mine has 220,000 miles on his 300TDi - no rebuilds, no major maintenance. Just servicing and a new gearbox. Still going strong with good oil pressure.
It's been well looked after and gently (but not too gently) driven, lots of motorway mileage. YMMV!
My old man has a 300tdi Disco with ~320,000k on the clock, no major problems (replaced the water pump recently) It had the head done at ~200k but the bottom end has not been touched. Runs great. The local Landrover specialists suggested the rings may want doing soon, but bearings are still good. AFAIK there is not much you can do with a deisel as far as pre-buy checks go, maybe a compression test? From what I have heard, the gearbox will give you trouble before the motor does...
On or around Tue, 01 Feb 2005 17:43:41 +1300, steve Vialle enlightened us thusly:
well, there's a couple of things.
try to see it with a cold engine, it should fire up immediately. If it needs extra preheat then it may be getting tired. Our 300, from stone cold, fires after about 2 revolutions, *without* waiting for the preheater light to go out first. If you wait, it fires on the first kick, pretty much.
with the engine hot, pull the oil filler lid and check for excessive crankcase pressure, manifested by a lot of blowing from the hole.
Check the engine pulls well when hot. Should pull strongly from about 2000 to about 4000 revs, and it should rev free to at least 4500. Ours goes to about 5000, but that's cos I've tweaked it...
with the engine hot and having made sure it has plenty of oil, floor the throttle from idle and run it up to maximum revs, then let it idle for about
6 seconds and repeat, do this 2 or 3 times. Have an assistant look for smoke. You'll likely get some black smoke the first time, but you shouldn't get much on repeating it. In the UK this will give you an idea of whether it'll pass the smoke test in the MOT... dunno if Oz has that, but it gives an indication of what shape the engine's in.
Probably best to ask the seller before you do that one, I guess. If he says "no way", then you'd best be suspicious. It won't hurt and engine in good condition.
on the road, find a good downhill if possible and run down it foot-off in
3rd or 4th, then apply boot at the bottom and look for blue smoke. Blue smoke on over-run means shagged rings/bores. A puff of smoke when accelerating again is probably OK, but big clouds of it mean it's burning oil.
I drive a 96 300tdi in The Netherlands going up to 280.000 km. The engine is going OK, 1st to 2nd synchro is out already 100 Kkm annoing but nothing serious. Further no other signs of gearbox wear, the clutch (still the first) is suspicious now but also still OK.
Indeed some costs are appearing now, the waterpump has been changed recently, rear disks, some small bolds and nuts all over and the spanner roll needs replacement for the 2nd time.
Remember, a Landrover also our great Disco's always need some work to be done, but are alway reparable...
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