Advice on preping a 300 TDI
 

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:devil:

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

check up tyres
 

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:oops2:

you're a brave man (n/t)
 

with your choice of vehicle...

but all the best for the prep and trip.

prep. photo's & ideas
 

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

Explanation please
 

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. :surrender:

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.

I must admit, I have noticed that. Not cool

Roman

I like your website, well done:thumbup1:

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!!!:Beach:

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

Preparation for 300 tdi
 

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.

advice on which shocks to use, Discovery 300, 1994
 

There is so many!!!!! so looking for advice please, 1 month in the Baltic then Algeria, also tyre advice would be great:confused1:

I can recomend Cooper discoverer tyres, I'm running STT's (MT) at the moment, and have been with guys using ST's (AT) and they've both been excellent.
The ST's were perhaps better for sand being a bit softer in the sidewall and with less aggresive tread, but for rocky ground like you'll find in Algeria and perhaps the baltic I would keep my STT's as the sidewalls are very strong. Neither tyres had any problems though on our last trip.
Handling and grip are very good on the road as well, and for an aggresive tread pattern they are fairly quiet.
You can also pick them up usually a bit cheaper than BFG's.

Thanks eightpot thats the second time coopers has been named so thats the way we are going to go, many thanks for you help
Adi

If youre still thinking about which shocks to go with? Try TJM or the Koni heavy track, you cant go wrong with either of them.

OME are the 1st choice for many but I have heard of bad stories lately regarding their shocks, don't get me wrong, I think they're good and they certainly have a great reputation, maybe though, it's because they've been around for so long.

I looked at both and finally decided on a TJM setup, very well built and a great guarentee.

Good luck

Thanks for that, we were considering old man emu but again we keep hearing bad reports!! We have made a choice of the tyres, Cooper ST and a great price of 75 Pounds each including vat,
Ok Off to look for these TJM Shocks
many thanks
Adi

Hi Lidel

Try these guys:

Unitrade Off Road

315 Avenue Grassion Cibrand
PO Box 18 Carnon 34280

Ph:

Hi Lidel

Try these guys:

France
Unitrade Off Road

315 Avenue Grassion Cibrand
PO Box 18 Carnon 34280

Ph:

Sorry, can't seem to get my full post on here, have done two now and half of the post is missing in both:confused1::oops2:

You might find this useful too if you're thinking of changing the springs at the same time - a very useful spring rate table that someone's put together, though not sure who to credit it to.

I put military heavy duty rear springs on my 90 before my last trip thinking they would hold the weight nicely- unfortunately they were nowhere near, so back to the drawing board! I spent most of the trip bouncing off the bump stops.
Genuine LR springs are very good quality however, and if you can pick a suitable spring rate and length on the table you can re-spring very cheaply using genuine parts.

land rover spring specifications

300tdi over the horizon
 

Adi,

We have a 1998 Disco 2.5 Tdi auto 325,000km, and it has taken us many places in Aust, including Canning Stock Route WA and through cental Oz deserts.

In addition to the comments above, just check that the fuel line from the fuel filter on the fire wall linked to the lifter pump has been replaced. In the original version the hard plastic pipe is too rigid and with time will cause the lifter pump to fracture. The pipe should be flexible or have a loop in it.


Cheers happy travels

MARGO. Thats the disco is in on the 4th March having her first major check over, ie cam belt, pulleys ect so will also check out the fuel line which will all be replaced, Once again thanks for the advise, I have to say the disco so far has stood up very well and has proved to be a great choice
Cheers Adi:thumbup1:

Baltic ice road
 

So just how thick is this ice ,, can we get a 54ft artic ,, 18wheeler over , weighing in at 20 tons ????

Who has been watching to much telly then??? The answer to your question is not very thick, and no, BUT If you fancy doing a run with a truck on the big ice roads and play real big guys then lets go for it!!!! Who dares??