Thread: Discovery 3

Originally Posted by Keegan

I have spent more time under the b onnett up to my arm pits in sharp edges parts you are flat out getting out or in without major surgery.
I own a 2003 td5 with 368,000 on it. Had some problems but all sorted. Has a do chip and goes hard. Capable vehicle on or off the road.
I had a P38 1997 year sorry I sold it, spent more time driving it than under b onnett.
D3 tdv6 is a nightmare.
buy it if u wish, but you have
Been alerted to it

Hi Keegan, I'm sorry your experience has not been good, I've also had my moments with mine but they so far have not dented my pleasure in owning and driving one. Like you I also have a TD5, my first I took to 550k and was still going well when sold and they are much simpler to work on, but they are very different beasts. Nick

Originally Posted by Keegan

They have built in gremlins direct from factory.
leaking oil / fuel cooler on the tdv6 oil leaks in the V it's like a 125mm pool that ends up every where
Then the oil gets into the radiator, great mess.

Cracked dashbords on disco 3 and rr sport.
seems they like to break crank shafts??
?any major work is body off.
replacing intake manifold gaskets is a nightmare.
motor is jammed in hard against firewall, need small hands and lots of fingers.
I own a TD5 and prefer it over any tdv6.
if the tdv6 is running properly it's a pretty gutsy motor.
buy the petrol maybe or a good TD5 or maybe the v8 diesel or the older v8 petrol.

Sounds more like you purchased a very poorly looked after vehicle and inherited its previous owners neglect.

Originally Posted by discorevy

Unless............
You work on them every day and every day after years you still find yourself cursing the designers and bean counters for delivering to the world a great capable comfy vehicle and making it not only a bastard to work on ( unless you pull the body , even then average) That's not including the bobcat you need to get in to clean the crap it drops from wheel arch liners etc but one that requires continuous maintenance.

The final nail in the coffin ( and I've had D3 and RRS )for me anyway, was the sort of travel that I'm doing now ( remote, but in Broome at the moment ), where even I wouldn't want to fix anything major ( although this would have been mitigated somewhat had I owned any of the power plants other than the V6 diesels) .

Still getting daily calls from the 3 workshops near my home that I trust to look after my customers while gone
All managers of these workshops have mentioned that even though my name is mud ( payback for all the years of info seeking ) they think I deserve a break for having to work on these , even though not the main reason. That's to say that regular workshops ( and they have mechanics I can trust ) also do not like to work on them

Well maintained petrol version if you really have to have one ( V8's the pick ) more fuel , less dramas as they age.

If you really really have to have the TDV6 in a D3, (and I can't believe I'm typing this ) the EU3's seemed to have less crank failures ( 05-06 ) but a weak timing belt tensioner housing on the oil pump which should have been rectified by now.

You should be able to pick up something half decent for little outlay at least unless covid tax

good luck

Try removing number 6 injector???

Originally Posted by discorevy

Unless............<br>
You work on them every day and every day after years you still find yourself cursing the designers and bean counters for delivering to the world a great capable comfy vehicle and making it not only a bastard to work on ( unless you pull the body , even then average) That's not including the bobcat you need to get in to clean the crap it drops from wheel arch liners etc but one that requires continuous maintenance.<br>
<br>
The final nail in the coffin ( and I've had D3 and RRS )for me anyway, was the sort of travel that I'm doing now ( remote, but in Broome at the moment ), where even I wouldn't want to fix anything major ( although this would have been mitigated somewhat had I owned any of the power plants other than the V6 diesels) .<br>
<br>
Still getting daily calls from the 3 workshops near my home that I trust to look after my customers while gone<br>
All managers of these workshops have mentioned that even though my name is mud ( payback for all the years of info seeking <img src="https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/smilies/TongueWink.png" border="0" alt="" title="TongueWink" smilieid="297" class="inlineimg">) they think I deserve a break for having to work on these , even though not the main reason. That's to say that regular workshops ( and they have mechanics I can trust ) also do not like to work on them <br>
<br>
Well maintained petrol version if you really have to have one ( V8's the pick ) more fuel , less dramas as they age. <br>
<br>
If you really really have to have the TDV6 in a D3, (and I can't believe I'm typing this ) the EU3's seemed to have less crank failures ( 05-06 ) but a weak timing belt tensioner housing on the oil pump which should have been rectified by now.<br>
<br>
You should be able to pick up something half decent for little outlay at least unless covid tax<br>
<br>
good luck

<br>Try removing number 6 injector???<br>
<br>
can't believe it took 3 companies to develop and built this engine. What were they thinking???

Originally Posted by Keegan

<br>Try removing number 6 injector???<br>
<br>
can't believe it took 3 companies to develop and built this engine. What were they thinking???

What do you mean? Having 3 companies would imply it's "design by committee" and the outcome is exactly as you'd expect. No different to the PRV (Peugeot, Renault, Volvo) 2.7L V6 back in the 80's.

Did you ever see that Horse that was designed by a committee ?




It had 2 humps.

Originally Posted by Markyy192g

Hi I am thinking about buying a discovery 3 is there anything I should be looking out for? Thanks for any advice it’s appreciated!

I’ve owned our D3 for a number of years now. It’s a really comfortable and effortless car to drive. Great on road manners, super comfortable to drive. Hauls heaps of gear and you can really load it up. Seven seats come in handy for birthdays or in-laws.

Having said that I know that when something goes wrong it’s going to hurt the bank account. Regular maintenance and TLC from a home mechanic backed up by the pro’s is a must. My TDV6 has around 300k on the clock and I would love to rebuild my gearbox but I do fear that it puts me further into a potential bottomless pit

Originally Posted by TDV6Robvdw

I’ve owned our D3 for a number of years now. It’s a really comfortable and effortless car to drive. Great on road manners, super comfortable to drive. Hauls heaps of gear and you can really load it up. Seven seats come in handy for birthdays or in-laws.

Having said that I know that when something goes wrong it’s going to hurt the bank account. Regular maintenance and TLC from a home mechanic backed up by the pro’s is a must. My TDV6 has around 300k on the clock and I would love to rebuild my gearbox but I do fear that it puts me further into a potential bottomless pit

Yes. That’s the quandary isn’t it. At what point do you stop and run it until it dies. With a proper gearbox rebuild upwards of $7k, when that’s a large proportion of its market value, it’s a consideration