7,500 Mile Trip - Disco Good Choice?

Hey,

I am planning on going on a 7,500 mile road trip next Feb. The route consists to driving from calais to northern Germany which is all motorways.

Then all the way up through Sweden into Norway and through Finland and into Russia. It's gets down to -20*c during the day apparently, the roads are very slippery.

I then head south, through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, once I get to the bottom of Ukraine (Odesa) I had west and travel through Moldovia, Romania and Slovakia, then through Austria and back into Germany and France.

I think I might do the trip in a Discovery 3.9 V8 Manual.
At what sort of mileage would it be unwise to attempt this?

What problems do Discoverys face when driving in very cold temperatures.
Is there anything I need to know before I go and buy one. As I'm looking for a very cheap one!

Any tips or thoughts on my journey is most welcome, plus if you want to have your name all over the vehicle let me know. There will be a website documenting it all.

Thanks!

Personaly I would say yes to this, I would use a Diesel though, also check your fuel prices abroad though, you might be cheaper in the end with diesel.

They will be fine in the cold, make sure you have a good battery, if diesel, make sure the glows are good, make sure you have the maximum quantity recommended in your radiator.

Carry a good tool kit, I would change the oil filter, oil and fuel filter before you go. Carry spares of these.

I would carry some jubille clips, some diffrent sizes of hose etc aswell, no one can predict what might happen in 3000/4000 likes let alone 7500.

7500miles later how are your tyres going to be? Make sure you have well over 7500miles left on them.

Make sure all oils, greases everything are done before you go, and you will be fine for these.

I would recommend the above with any vehicle, many people undertake these type of adventures and trips in worse conditions and more miles.

Have fun.

More as I can think about it.

A thought for the cold climates...

Some thermostats have a "jiggle pin" which is little plastic blob sitting under the thermostat disc.

The idea is that is sits LOW and leaves the hole open if there is AIR there, thus venting air out of the system, but when WATER reaches it it rises and blocks off the little hole.

Remove the jiggle pin thing and you will always get some hot water going through the radiator to stop it from frosting up...

If it doesn't have one of those, drill a small hole in the thermostat disc, say about a quarter inch diameter, and that will do the same thing, letting a small amount of hot coolant pass to and through the radiator.

discomania said:

A thought for the cold climates...

Some thermostats have a "jiggle pin" which is little plastic blob sitting under the thermostat disc.

The idea is that is sits LOW and leaves the hole open if there is AIR there, thus venting air out of the system, but when WATER reaches it it rises and blocks off the little hole.

Remove the jiggle pin thing and you will always get some hot water going through the radiator to stop it from frosting up...

If it doesn't have one of those, drill a small hole in the thermostat disc, say about a quarter inch diameter, and that will do the same thing, letting a small amount of hot coolant pass to and through the radiator.

Click to expand...

Ahh. Cool I see.

What is the difference between 200TDi and 300TDi there doesn't seem to be any difference in output.

What sort of MPG does the diesel manual get against the V8i Manual. Because I can pick up a V8 very cheap. I guess a diesel one would be a good choice.

When I get back I'm either going to sell it and save up some money and buy something newer or perhaps if I like it keep it for the following years adventure to the desert.

some anti freeze works to well below-30° so don't bother with yer drill

Okay, but is gets to that without the wind chill.

I'm sure over night the air temp drops even more!

so why not just run it with neat antifreeze, or enquire somewhere like www.alaska.com , i think they seem t have running cars in cold weather sussed out

quattro said:

Okay, but is gets to that without the wind chill.

I'm sure over night the air temp drops even more!

Click to expand...

wind chill is just that!! WIND!!! chill ... unless you take bits of body orf yer landy then the wind won't get anywhere near the cooling system, unless you park headlong into the wind.

Disco would be an ideal vehicle

I have driven to Greece and back 7 times in TDi, TD5 and V8 Disco's averaging a 3600 mile round trip.

V8 is thirsty and was a problem in Switzerland as the garages close at midnight and 4 years ago my credit card would not work in their prepay pumps. (Ended up sleeping on the forecourt ready to fuel up at 6am!!)

Diesel would be your best bet and TD5 if you can afford it.

Only ever had one problem - faulty Pressure Release Valve on my steering rack - had power assistance one lock and not the other. This failed in Greece and I was able to drive back to the UK without further problems. I could have had it repaired (under warranty) but tickets and ferries were booked and paid for and I had to be back for work.

Enjoy your trip and take loads of photos!!

Regards,

Steve.