Thread: 300 TDi Lifespan??

My 97 300tdi has upwards of 220,000 Km now and still runs like a swiss watch. Power seems a tad down, but she uses no discernable oil between services - although there are a few spots on engine and a bit of lighter weight stuff underneath.

When you talk of the actual engine, nothing major has gone wrong, although I have replaced the fuel lift pump and the front left bearing assembly collapsed disastrously a couple of months ago - luckily only doing 20km/h.

Basically, I love the thing, it's a great little car and we hope to get many more Kms from it. :-)

There is a red dual cab 130 going around Townsville that is owned by a bloke who used to own a drilling company- it has only been serviced every 10k and belts changed regularly- It has done over 450k km it has had an 800l fuel tank and a petrol gennie/welder in the back tray its whole life and racks over the top of these and towed a tandem trailer. He once went through a weighbridge with what he considered a full load and it came in at 9.5 ton for the car and trailer. He swears by it and has never had a problem. He has just sold the business and it is now his personal car and fuel tank, welder/gen removed no load and mechanic is expecting it to fall apart due to lack of hard work. I commented today that the work it has done with no problems is a testament to the engine and gearbox. Cheers
Pullsy

In addition to all that above, this may save some real headaches: If you get serious and are about to buy, try and get the owner have the timing belt and nose of the crank examined. This is why:



The top pic is of a woodruff key that had a concave side to it. The engine had 235K on it and appeared OK to me. Body was good indicating no real harsh driving. It appears that the previous owner just never changed the timing belt at all- the crank bolt got loose and the crank pulley flopped around and chewed the keyway. (Bottom pic). It cost me $100 for the LR Dealer (aka stealer) to pull the cover off, and then they found that. Then I got my car the hell out of there and did it myself - saved 5k. At the very least, find service history and confirm timing belt changes.
PS: When I was changing bearings, I found no sludge in pan ( a wipe and spotless) and the mains were good (real good) but the big end bearings were noticably worn on the upper section.

Langy

Sid has clocked 308000k and still going strong, I am the third owner the first an exec from Land Rover Australia ( as there are no numbers stamped on the gear box I believe it was replaced under warranty) sold at 80000k

Second owner (family second car driven mainly by wife Maitland/ Newcastle daily) replaced radiator, cylinder head, water pump, alternator, full service history , various suspension bushes/rubbers, shocks, ( no clutch replacement while they owned it), sold 280000k.

Me... replace rear diff bearings, cam belt, drive belt, front wheel bearings (precaution only) replace all oils, adjust tappets,... change oil and filter every 5000k, air and fuel every 10000k ... has minor oil leaks , good fuel economy getting a little clunky in the transfer box but over all a great truck, with due attention and care lots of K&#96;s to go yet. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

Originally posted by sclarke
My Uncle has a 300tdi Disco 1994 model that has been to hell and back.
It is what i call Routed.....
body is stuffed from misuse, suspension has been replaced 4 times.
it has driven around Aust so many times it could do it on its own..
i think it is up around the high 400km mark.

....

It is Very Very Very Very Very Routed.

Crikey, I reckon you are being harsh; the old girl sounds like an absolute sweet heart and more loyalty is called for.

Somebody up here said drive belts got changed at 100 000 km. My 2nd belt will have to 60000k before I head up north on an 8000k run. You guys have already advised me to do it before leaving - I wish wasn't so tight. I'd love not to.. but that is definitely tempting the gods.

Mine has done 172500km's and runs like a treat (touching wood), it has been serviced at the correct service intervals all its life, and now i do it every 10000km and do the diffs transfer case and gearbox every 10000-20000km depending on the work it does in that time. I do all work myself so i know what has and hasnt been done and i know the timing belt was done before i bought it.

Roothy at 4wd monthly stated in an article on buying a used disco that the TDi engines (both 200 and 300) become suss at 200000km, but provided the engine has been regularliy serviced and the correct lubricants used there is no reason it shouldnt see 400000km out like LRH said. Matt