We are preping a 300 Tdi for the Baltic, any advice please,
The car will spend one month in the Baltic followed by a month down in Algeria not on the same trip but trying to double up on equipment and tyres etc if thats at all possible?? We have a few months to prep but time is ticking on and tomorrow we leave for india so will be off line for a while but back in Feb for hopfully loads of advice;
Many Thanks

Lots of spares

Lol go to The Africa Overland Network and check some of the guys who used landies. they have full prep pages of what they did. good luck

If your car is in good condition, there's not much prep that's really necesarry.

I would:

- Check when the cam belt was last changed and change if that's more 80 000km ago.
- check the wheel bearings (and if necesarry adjust/grease/replace)
- check for play in the stearing gear
- grease the prop shaft
- check/renew fluids
- check/renew shocks

If your current tyres are in good shape with lots of tread left, they'll probably do. If not, I like the BFGoodrich AT's. Always used 225/75's on my disco. 7.50 will work better in the sand though.

For algeria you probably want at least one 20l gerry can for fuel. Depending on how many persons you go and your live style, at least 10l water per person. Maybe a bit more.

For the rest there're a zillion things you can do to make life on the road more comfortable.

rob

Depending on the age the gearboxes on 300Tdis can have the same weakness with output gear (transfer box input gear) as 200 Tdis. It doesn't get enough lubrication, starts to develop play, and at some point the splines will go and you lose all drive. This is not easily repaired (new recon gearbox, or complete rebuild with new main shaft), so well worth checking.

Newer 300Tdis have crossdrilled input gears which increase lubrication and avoid the problem.

See Ashcroft transmissions website for further info.

Pieter

I Have to say she is in very good condition and drives superb, Being a HJ60 man this is all a bit different to the beasty landcruiser,
I have to say i love all the toys so she will have a complete overhaul and all the bits fitted, We plan heeps for this girl Cold and hot climates so really want to go to town.
She is now having belts ect replaced followed by suspension, Tyres, will now check out gearbox and transfer but seems to runs fine, By the way she is a 1994 2.5 TDi

with your choice of vehicle...

but all the best for the prep and trip.

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pigapitcha

http://www.jljphotography.co.uk

We have a vehicle page on our site that may help to fill in some of your questions and an equipment update section to say how everything is working out. We are not big on the mechanical side of things- so no point looking for any technical stuff!!
Good luck on the trip.
Dave and rose NESSIESADVENTURES

Why? What's wrong with a disco?

Hard to point a finger on what's wrong. But then it's equally hard to say what's good about it. To begin with, take the downward spiralling Solihull workforce culture leading to abysmal quality control.

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Roman (UK)

There's nothing wrong with a disco, but you're probably asking on the wrong forum - overland travel seems to be secondary to Land Rover bashing on here for some reason - perhaps try LR4x4.com for some good advice.

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www.simba4x4.com

I must admit, I have noticed that. Not cool

Roman

I like your website, well done

Hi
I Have to say the Disco we have bought is just FANTASTIC and we have several trips lined up not just the Baltic but overland to India, and after just getting back from India and spending Time driving a Mahindra Our disco is pure lux!!!

Hi.
We are by no means experts but we have just returned from a 20,000 mile jaunt around Europe in a Discivery 300tdi......... 27 countries, 6 months, NO breakdowns !! You can look at our blog site which is still going, and get an idea of what we did to the car before we went, and then come back to me for full details if you like. Before we left I went to our local dealer and asked them what I should take in the way of spares. The answer was that you either cater for every eventuality and totally load down the car with parts you may never use, or cant fit anyway, OR you take 2 things, their phone number and your credit card. I did the latter, and made one purchase, as a precaution I fitted a new alternator in Romania.
We can well reccomend the Baltic states, and hope you find them as friendly and welcoming as we did.
(I too am a little surprised at the Land Rover bashing here ,the same could be said about British bikes, but as the saying goes, dont knock it till you've tried it. Thank you ! )
So have a look at Roode's Return - PARTY!!! - GetJealous.com Travel Blogs and please feel free to get in touch for a chat.
Hans

I don't have a Disco but I do have a Defender 300tdi in which I've been to Scandinavia, Algeria plus several other lesser African trips. In 130,000 miles I have never had a breakdown . The biggest problem I had was fuses blowing in the radio wiring and a loose battery lead...I put it down to fastidious preparation e.g.

Before big trips get a thorough major service from someone reliable including..

Changing ALL oils regardless, use synthetic for hot countries
Change coolant
Strip hubs down to check bearing lubrication, brake parts etc.
Remove all tyres (replace any if oldish) from rims and inspect, replace valves
Replace anything that won't last a year or so

I could go on....

Spares - I only ever took the following

Couple tubes, tubeless patch kit, and tyrepliers
Spare fuel solenoid with modified spanner to fit
Steering ball joint possibly (L + R)
Fuel pump
Galvanised wire
Ball of string
Gaffer tape
Fuses
Engine oil (for top up only) (Use high TBN oil - I use Millers - for long trips/hot countries - longer change interval and protection for inj pump from high sulphur levels.
Millers injector cleaner/diesel booster - use at every filling

Tools
AF/Metric socket set
Selection screwdrivers
Circuit tester
Hydraulic jack / base not hi-lift
Length of fuel line and electrical cable

All this won't be cheap but does mean you should enjoy your trip and not have to deal with problems en route.

I travelled with a 300tdi Disco in Algeria who had no problems at all until on his way back when it broke down in Switzerland. Infortunately it was totalled when it fell off the recovery truck and was replaced with a 80 series land Cruiser! (Driver wanted more power for the big dunes)

Send me a pm if you wan't any more info.

Andrew.