Thread: New member with a new Disco

Originally Posted by theNEWT

V8 and petrol means BIG BUCKS!!!!

Unfortunately you're not wrong! I'm just a bit surprised after my trip up where I got a couple of tanks of fuel into the 12s to see it double on me now. I've driven it to work last two days to see if it is still horrible all the time, so far it appears so.

Might have something to do with the price you can pick them up for.....

Originally Posted by theNEWT

Might have something to do with the price you can pick them up for.....

I've likely still got $3500 worth of savings from a v8 to TDi to spend on fuel then. Still hurts all the same.

$3500.....did someone give it to you?

As an aside this reminds me... a landholder in arid SA had a solar system in need of new batteries....he said to me, 'you can burn a lot diesel for $60K'.

Originally Posted by theNEWT

$3500.....did someone give it to you?

I semi plucked a number. I bought my V8 Disco for $1009. So, assuming a TDi in similar condition (185km, full service history, clean, straight etc) would be around the 4500-5500 mark. Got a fair bit of petrol to burn through, and at this rate I may just make it by the end of the cars life!

I gave up trying to get any economy from my disco mate.
Luckily im duel fuel so run on gas pretty much all the time.
Even then i go through HEAPS! 70 litre gas will get me 250kms max lol.
Petrol is horrible. Runs great which i find odd though.

I see a lot of people say figures like 18 litres per 100 kms.
I get closer to 25 but my car does not appear to run rich so i cant work it out.
Obviously much more when the maintenance lever is engaged.

I'm in the middle then, around 22. Sucks, it some what ruins an otherwise good hobby.

Decided today to go to the wreckers and see if they had any snorkels. Now it is raining and I'm going out 4wd some puddles are huge and I've already have the water over the bonnet, so it is as much for longevity as anything. They had a couple of cars, same ones I may grab the diff out of with snorkels. One TDi, two v8s. The TDi had the different air filter so grabbed one off of the v8s.

My engine bay


Compared to the one I pulled it from



Minor difference which I've noticed now, abs unit, which ultimately makes no difference as the gap is there in mine anyway. The air box is smaller on the donor car and also sits higher. The intake piping is shorter.

Those three things made what should have been an easy job a huge pain in my backside. Not to mention my lack of tools, and when I managed to borrow a hole saw the bit for it was too large for my drill!

I ended up drilling, then tin snipping some holes.


Not pretty, but worked. I then made up a template and got the other retaining/mounting bolts in. So the snorkel is fitted on the outside.



Now! Because the air box is thinner and taller on the donor car, the pipe from the snorkel doesn't meet the box nicely, and in order to make them meet up, the intake piping from the MAF to throttle is unworkable. So, tomorrow a bit more hackery will take place to shorten my intake piping, and fab/hack up a mount for the air box to sit on as it needs to be higher and further inboard to make everything lined up.

What was going to be an enjoyable, cheap, short, worthwhile job has certainly taken a turn away from being fun. I'll hopefully get it done tomorrow morning, as I literally sweat through two sets of clothing today in the Darwin heat. Absolutely knackered now. Onwards and upwards. Then, rear diff will come out, and I'll get it on stands in prep for the springs on Tuesday.