Disco 2- should I or not...?

[Hellonwheels]

I'm a long term Landy owner, series and defenders quite a few. Own a perentie, nearly 3 years now, love her too...Had a 300 TDi Disco 1 for 7 years, good old bus... but the poor old girl is starting to fall apart... I'm up to 365000k....the dash board literally cracking and falling to bits...
I'm wondering if I should go for a Disco 2?
I'm looking at a 2003 15P Td5 manual... few Kay's, but not half of the old Girl.
I want to do a few interstate trips and through the centre to Leonora and Perth.
Is a Disco 2 a good idea, or should I just spend up on the old girl?
Appreciate there's a lot of knowledge in the AULRO crew..cheers in advance for your comments.

[loanrangie]

Hard decision , my TDI is at 370k and still going strong but thinking about a D2 or D3 .
I love the simplicity of TDI so will most likely preserve until funds are available for an upgrade.

[ozscott]

D2 is solid (and feels better bolted together versus D1) and pretty easy to work on once you get sorted. I reckon it's a good step up and a modern classic...just do all the usual checks. Cheers

[Tins]

I'm a long term Landy owner, series and defenders quite a few. Own a perentie, nearly 3 years now, love her too...Had a 300 TDi Disco 1 for 7 years, good old bus... but the poor old girl is starting to fall apart... I'm up to 365000k....the dash board literally cracking and falling to bits...
I'm wondering if I should go for a Disco 2?
I'm looking at a 2003 15P Td5 manual... few Kay's, but not half of the old Girl.
I want to do a few interstate trips and through the centre to Leonora and Perth.
Is a Disco 2 a good idea, or should I just spend up on the old girl?
Appreciate there's a lot of knowledge in the AULRO crew..cheers in advance for your comments.

Well, well... Another one. Boy, are we mugs....

OK, when you say "not half the old girl", what do you mean?? Not half the age? Not half the Ks? or not half the memories?

I am in the 'fortunate' position of having both, although My D2 is older than the one you're looking at, and an auto. My D1 is a 1994 manual. There are so many things about the D2 which are better. It has more power, it is more comfortable, it is quieter, the TD5 is a great engine, the brakes are better, it is younger, it has ABS and HDC and TC..... and I find myself drawn to the D1. It has none of that, but it could be quiet if someone hadn't taken all the insulation out, it could be powerful ( !) if it was tuned right, it would be comfortable if the AC worked and the seats were repaired, if you are a smart driver who needs HDC and TC?, and the TDi is bulletproof.

If your TDi is good, keep it. It will go everywhere the TD5 will, and all you'll need is a toolkit, you won't need a Nanocom, you won't need spare injector looms, ...

I am now going to duck for cover. Before I die, bear in mind I could make a case for going for the TD5. They are both great IMO.

[Disco Muppet]

Well I have an intense dislike for 300tdis so I'm biased.
A good D2 is great. A bad one is horrific. For what you'd pay for a good one I'd reckon you could do all sorts of nice things to the D1. Beast you know and all that

[Hellonwheels]

Cheers. Thanks for the reply. What I was thinking... love to have the newer car, without all the bloody electrics. The D2 has 160k on her, but the day I looked, three 'amigos' on....

[Tins]

Hard decision , my TDI is at 370k and still going strong but thinking about a D2 or D3 .
I love the simplicity of TDI so will most likely preserve until funds are available for an upgrade.

D3's have reached tempting prices, haven't they?

[Hellonwheels]

The D3's are not my car. Gone too far... it's a D1 or D2....

[Tins]

Well I have an intense dislike for 300tdis so I'm biased.
A good D2 is great. A bad one is horrific. For what you'd pay for a good one I'd reckon you could do all sorts of nice things to the D1. Beast you know and all that

Yes, your position is well known. Lol. But,what you say is correct. A bad D2 is far more of a money pit than any D1.

[Disco Muppet]

Any bad car is a money pit. D2 requires a different mindset to work on and fault find. Both are good cars. I love my D2s, hell, I own two [emoji23]but I'm a firm believer in sticking with a vehicle that you're familiar with and investing in keeping it going

[bee utey]

There is only one sensible answer for 300TDi lovers: buy a nice looking but stuffed engine Range Rover Classic and fit the running gear out of the D1 into it. They look heaps better and have usually spent more time under cover than Discos. Find a soft dash RRC and 99% of the D1 parts are plug-and-play with the exception of the engine mounts on the chassis. These have to be welded on in lieu of the V8 ones.

[gusthedog]

I feel the same as Muppet re the 300tdi as that's the only rover I've owned that has left me stranded. I must have one of the good D2s although mine is only a 2000 model.

Like the others have said, the D2 is generally a better vehicle and in my opinion don't be scared of electronics. Really they are pretty reliable and yes I have a nanocom 😉

I love the climate control, sls for a rear that never sags and ace for cornering fun. I've owned mine for close to 10 years now without any major dramas - injector looms aside 😂

[Hellonwheels]

Cheers... good to hear positives...[emoji4]

[Tins]

The D3's are not my car. Gone too far... it's a D1 or D2....

There's a line from a song I can't just get, but it's this: "Heart says yes, head says no". The D3 is the other way around for me. Not enough LandRover. So, is a D2 enough LR? A D1? A RRC? Fair makes your eyes water. In thirty years time, will people be oohing and aahing over a D3 someone found out in the bush, like they are today over Chops' 2a?

I reckon the D1 and the RRC were the last. Civilian at any rate.

[chuck]

I would spend the money on the D1.

Tdi's are starting to appreciate in value.

[Fluids]

The D2/Td5 was the last real LR imho. D3/4 were a pretty radical upgrade (good upgrade) but a completely major departure from what the D1/2 were. D2 would be a smart choice imho. The Td5 is a cracker of an engine. Properly maintained has a good life expectancy and the rest of the "electronics" are pretty low tech in comparison to the D3/4 ... Yes a Nanocom is a handy tool to have, and not that expensive imho. It's not a hard vehicle to work on and parts are relatively cheap enough ... Just do your research and buy a good one ... Don't buy cause it was a cheap bargain cause you'll regret it. Pay a bit more for a decent one and you'll be rewarded !

That just my 0.02c worth :)

[Tins]

See? There you go. Disco Muppet and Bee Utey. Explains my position perfectly. Two sides of the one story. Both perfectly correct, and both wrong. Same as me. Right and wrong. This is what we are. We love our cars, and we'll fight like rats in a sack to defend them. I LOVE it.

I cheat, however. I have, down the back, an '83 RRC, and an ' 80 Series 3, so I'm covered over all bases.

Oh.. Three Amigos?? Well, I have a Nanocom.








Stick with the D1. It is so much better than a Series, and so much easier than a D2.


IMO. LOL.


Please guys, this was all tongue in cheek...

[rick130]

I feel the same as Muppet re the 300tdi as that's the only rover I've owned that has left me stranded. I must have one of the good D2s although mine is only a 2000 model.



Interesting, had a Tdi in the Deefer for fifteen years and it never left me stranded, the D2 has done that in the first week of ownership and had three breakdowns and two coolant leaks in four weeks.
It only had 103,000km when I started driving it a little over a month ago, an excellent service history and came from a good home (my mum and stepdad, a diesel mechanic !)

Of course I could've torched the Tdi on a number of occasions.
I experienced the classic broken clutch fork (kept driving it sans the clutch for two weeks, the starter and battery copped a pasting starting in first but they survived !) big end failure (parked it for five months when that happened I was so disgusted with it, but the engine was still running, just knocking) lash caps 'disappearing', cracked pistons, cracked head, etc, blown head gasket (kept driving it for another two weeks) but it never stranded me.

The D2 is a nice drive.
It's smoother and quieter than the near new 3.2 litre BT50 work ute, and much nicer to drive than the Mazda on dirt. Much more supple and better control. The steering is a little slower than the BT50 and a little dead or wooden in feel compared to a rack and pinion system, and the D2 plastics are ****. How Land Rover can go from D1 long life plastic to self destructing D2 trim is beyond me.
It's quite amazing how nice it is to drive compared to more modern machinery but it is still a near fifteen year old car and so O rings and seals are starting to fail from age, not wear and tear.

[Tins]

Interesting, had a Tdi in the Deefer for fifteen years and it never left me stranded, the D2 has done that in the first week of ownership and had three breakdowns and two coolant leaks in four weeks.
It only had 103,000km when I started driving it a little over a month ago, an excellent service history and came from a good home (my mum and stepdad, a diesel mechanic !)

Of course I could've torched the Tdi on a number of occasions.
I experienced the classic broken clutch fork (kept driving it sans the clutch for two weeks, the starter and battery copped a pasting starting in first but they survived !) big end failure (parked it for five months when that happened I was so disgusted with it, but the engine was still running, just knocking) lash caps 'disappearing', cracked pistons, cracked head, etc, blown head gasket (kept driving it for another two weeks) but it never stranded me.

The D2 is a nice drive.
It's smoother and quieter than the near new 3.2 litre BT50 work ute, and much nicer to drive than the Mazda on dirt. Much more supple and better control. The steering is a little slower than the BT50 and a little dead or wooden in feel compared to a rack and pinion system, and the D2 plastics are ****. How Land Rover can go from D1 long life plastic to self destructing D2 trim is beyond me.

That pretty much encapsulates it. I have to make a decision when my TD5 comes back. It's going to have to do something special to get me to keep it over the 300. I doubt it can. It would be nice if I could take all the good bits..... No, because I can't.

[Hellonwheels]

Well cheers you mob. It's the series 1 that will stay... for better or worse. Over my need for shiny and newer... like my old girl and will fork out a little more and keep her on the tracks for a bit longer.
Cheers

[d2dave]

There is only one sensible answer for 300TDi lovers: buy a nice looking but stuffed engine Range Rover Classic and fit the running gear out of the D1 into it. They look heaps better and have usually spent more time under cover than Discos. Find a soft dash RRC and 99% of the D1 parts are plug-and-play with the exception of the engine mounts on the chassis. These have to be welded on in lieu of the V8 ones.

Three cars ago I had a RR Classic. I loved it except for its lack of power and I always wanted an oil burner.

So I decided to buy a D1 to get an idea as to what the 300 Tdi was like, with the idea of transplanting one into a classic.

However, I liked the D1 that much that I abandoned the idea and stuck with it.

Fast forward 10 years and I got a D2 Td5 but I kept the D1

I love the D2 and if I was forced to offload one it would be the D1

My two dislikes of the D1 are it is too short in the rear for a 40 litre Engle and it lacks a bit of power when towing.

What I love about the D2. Engle fits easily, even mounted high on a drop slide.
Much more power and love the SLS and ACE. Also cruise control, which was not available on Tdi
Center armrests are also a nice touch for comfort.

[Tins]

My two dislikes of the D1 are it is too short in the rear for a 40 litre Engle

Not if you remove the back seats[bigwhistle]



What I love about the D2. Engle fits easily, even mounted high on a drop slide.
Much more power and love the SLS and ACE. Also cruise control, which was not available on Tdi
Center armrests are also a nice touch for comfort.

Well, if you have a high end[bigsad]