Td5 or tdi

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Billy B

Billy B

Well-Known Member
Posts
2,305
Location
The Kingdom of Devon
Good morning folks,

I am looking into getting a disco for my good lady wife and want to know which you guys think is the better engine to go for the td5 or 300di, we would be looking to do any repair work ourselves so cost of parts and ease to work on are an important factor

I have searched the threads but couldn't find a decent comparison but with no joy

And if anyone is selling a decent unmodified disco in the south west let me know

Billy:D
 
If your working on it yourself,then an early 300 would get my vote every time. You can still find good late 300's if you want a bit more refinement:)
 
I have no 1st hand experience personally but I know 3 landy mechanics and they all drive 300s, they all say the TD5 is not a good engine (one works solely on refurbing engines), For DIY fixing they all say the 300 is much easier and cheaper with less electrics to go wrong, do a search for "the 3 amigos"
 
You can't really compare them as they both excel at different merits.

A good Td5 is so much better than a 300, but on the flip side the Td5 can cost big money for repairs as its far more complex but then that has to be expected as the model advanced.

Its not just repairing them as they both drive really different IMO to.
 
It would be the 300tdi for me. As wlm said, they dont need plugging in when things go wrong. All repairs can be done with simple tools like welder, spanner and big hammer.:D
 
I have had both and the td5 gets my vote the engines are mechanically reasonable its the electronics that are the problem but everything is diy fixable if you are minded to,a hawkeye or similar is very helpfull in this regard i put 100000 plus on my 300 the td5 has now done more with no real dramas had a clutch recently the main advantage is much better ride more power bodies rarely have rust issues unlike the earlier model thats what finished my 300 but do look at the td5 chassis aroind the rear end they are beginning to have issues but plenty of good ones out there fuel usage about the same high 20s plus a bit more room in the td5.


John
 
I'm in the same position as you, as far as I can make out from a lot of reading on here:

TDi has less electrics to go wrong and you don't need a degree in elecktrickery and a £700 code reader to work out a fuse has blown.

TD5 More power and breaks down slightly less often (this might change as the TD5s get older)

TDi body rots

TD5 chassis rots


In my case I want a work horse that I can fix myself easily and then use as a toy. It will be kept for a long time and will probably end up like Triggers broom, 30 years old having had 5 new heads and 7 new handles.


Bearing all that in mind it will be a 300 TDi, learn to weld and start stocking up on spares :)

ETA: the TD5 is also prettier, I don't want to be worrying when it rubs up against a tree or something. Any dents will be fixed with a hammer.

ETA2: I also took into consideration that most of the TDi questions on here result in things that I can fix myself.
 
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