R

Russell 1

Active Member
which one of these is the least painful to live with when used for regular towing 2.5 ton for work?
Ive got a petrol v8 l322 ive had for a couple years and it is a lovely car to drive and for towing but it has been a PITA. Now it needs a fair bit of money thrown at it for rear arches and pos gearbox rebuild.
Before i do that, Is the 2005 disco 3 any better?
Whats the power like for towing and the mpg of the 2.7 Diesel?
Is it possible to get one on coil springs as standard?
Ive also got a d2 td5, now with a galv chassis. Whilst this is a joy to work on , has a massive availability of aftermarket parts, is good on fuel ( must be>20mpg) Its also gutless for towing and does not tow anything like as well as the l322.
 
Russell 1 said:
Does the crank snap on the auto? I would only consider an auto because of the towing duties.
Click to expand...

hi

alas I’m afraid it doesn’t matter if it’s a manual or auto, the D3 - D4 - D5 - sport - all suffer with crank issues on the 2,7 and 3.0

i did do a buyers guide which I hope will be useful to u

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/buyers-guide-inc-video.312800/

it’s also extremely important to ensure the oil pump has been fitted with the upgraded one, timing belts is done every 7 x years or 105,000 miles on the 2.7

if ur going to tow it’s considerably better to have the air suspension because it will automatically adjust to the weight ur towing , the first ones that were a 5 x seater were coil springs

Personally wouldn’t dream of changing them to coils, there are a few of us that own D3’s and should be along that can also advise u regarding the suspension , heard the D3 can tow like there’s nothing on the back , pretty sure it’s 3.5 tons, plus has been tow car if the year from the caravan club, heard extremely good things when it comes to towing with the D3/4

well hope that helps little and plenty of us here to help if u get stuck
 
Either will be fine for towing that low weight. Neither will be reliable the whole time they have a landrover badge. In terms of pain probably quite equal.
 
Rust is starting to be an issue on the early d3s, cills mainly.
Like all land rovers, can be good cars or bankrupt you.
 
What happened to the OP , have we scared them off as they read the posts Yesterday at 7:47 PM after our replies
 
I'm still here. Not much to say other than, ok maybe it's not worth changing the l322 for a disco if their all the same with regards to reliability.
I've only seen one disco on springs so looks like they are super rare and still have the electronic handbrake instead.
Not interested in air suspension or arguing about it, it's not for me.
Also starting to think the 2.7 might be similar to the td5 in power level so if I want effortless towing I'm best off sticking with petrol or get a high tax tdv8.
I don't really want to tune the td5 as I have heard of a a couple standard ones that have blown the head gasket.
 
I think the base models had springs as an option on Disco 3. But given the market for the Disco 3, it doesn’t look like many basic models were sold in comparison to the higher spec ones.
A friend had a D3 and it suffered a failed crank twice. She replaced the engine on both occasions at some cost and after the second one, sold it. It was quite a financial hit and it put me off of ever getting a Disco 3.
The Disco2 can be remapped easily and a better intercooler fitted. It makes a big difference, especially on an auto.
 
Russell 1 said:
I'm still here. Not much to say other than, ok maybe it's not worth changing the l322 for a disco if their all the same with regards to reliability.
I've only seen one disco on springs so looks like they are super rare and still have the electronic handbrake instead.
Not interested in air suspension or arguing about it, it's not for me.
Also starting to think the 2.7 might be similar to the td5 in power level so if I want effortless towing I'm best off sticking with petrol or get a high tax tdv8.
I don't really want to tune the td5 as I have heard of a a couple standard ones that have blown the head gasket.
Click to expand...

135000 miles and remapped
 
Russell 1 said:
I'm still here. Not much to say other than, ok maybe it's not worth changing the l322 for a disco if their all the same with regards to reliability.
I've only seen one disco on springs so looks like they are super rare and still have the electronic handbrake instead.
Not interested in air suspension or arguing about it, it's not for me.
Also starting to think the 2.7 might be similar to the td5 in power level so if I want effortless towing I'm best off sticking with petrol or get a high tax tdv8.
I don't really want to tune the td5 as I have heard of a a couple standard ones that have blown the head gasket.
Click to expand...

The d3 has 53bhp over the d2, the d4 has 56 or 66 bhp over the d3.

D1 are shti
D2 also shti
D3 are shti but better
D4 are the one

All the D3 late 2006 onwards are the high 630 quid tax rate.

Nice little Daf 7.5 tonner could be a better bet, wont be much different on the fuel either.
 
Russell 1 said:
ok maybe it's not worth changing the l322 for a disco if their all the same with regards to reliability.
Click to expand...

Electrically the D3 is more reliable.
Russell 1 said:
I've only seen one disco on springs so looks like they are super rare and still have the electronic handbrake instead.
Not interested in air suspension or arguing about it, it's not for me.
Click to expand...

Air is king, springs are rubbish. The D3 remains stable and controlled, regardless of what is in it or on the back, but only if it's on air suspension.
Russell 1 said:
Also starting to think the 2.7 might be similar to the td5 in power level so if I want effortless towing I'm best off sticking with petrol or get a high tax tdv8.
Click to expand...

Not even in the same league.
The 2.7 TDV6 is much better suited to towing than the TD5.
Unfortunately the TDV6 can suffer crankshaft failure, not all, but some. If the crankshaft is going to fail, it normally does it before 100k miles, so in theory if there's more than 150k on the clock, it'll go for another 300k without an issue.
I know of several working D3s that have over 400k on them, no crankshaft failure, just general engine wear. My own D3 had 180k on it when I sold it, and she still ran like new.
 
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I think I may have undersold the D2 td5.
I towed the trailer again today and It does do it ok, so long as you except it can't go as fast as a V8 range rover and don't expect to get up to 50 in less than several minutes.
Whilst it is just about sufficient for towing it does concern me having to give it so much full throttle.
Has anyone fitted an exhaust gas temperature gauge to keep an eye on things?
 
Russell 1 said:
I think I may have undersold the D2 td5.
I towed the trailer again today and It does do it ok, so long as you except it can't go as fast as a V8 range rover and don't expect to get up to 50 in less than several minutes.
Whilst it is just about sufficient for towing it does concern me having to give it so much full throttle.
Has anyone fitted an exhaust gas temperature gauge to keep an eye on things?
Click to expand...

Yes I fitted an EGT to my old td5 years ago, it was chipped/intercooled etc, and the egt temps were proper scary.
I think you just have to accept the td5 is underpowered for heavy towing.
I have no idea what they make when tuned? but even its is 189bhp same as the 2.7 it is going to be a very highly strung 189bhp.

Screen Shot 2022-05-17 at 20.24.45.png
Screen Shot 2022-05-17 at 20.25.00.png
 
lynall said:
Yes I fitted an EGT to my old td5 years ago, it was chipped/intercooled etc, and the egt temps were proper scary.
I think you just have to accept the td5 is underpowered for heavy towing.
I have no idea what they make when tuned? but even its is 189bhp same as the 2.7 it is going to be a very highly strung 189bhp.

View attachment 265292 View attachment 265293
Click to expand...

Actually they are very undertuned as standard. 160bhp to 170bhp is generally reliable.
 
MJI said:
Actually they are very undertuned as standard. 160bhp to 170bhp is generally reliable.
Click to expand...

Which the mighty crap 4 speed auto box dont like, r380 handles the bhp well, but then you have the serious lack of torque at lower rpms.
Td5 with a 5 or 6 speed auto would be a very nice machine.
 
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lynall said:
Which the mighty crap 4 speed auto box dont like, r380 handles the bhp well, but then you have the serious lack of torque at lower rpms.
Td5 with a 5 or 6 speed auto would be a very nice machine.
Click to expand...

Gearbox is definitely not the best I have used, but far far from the worst.

I would put it as gearbox slightly worse than a GM 4L30R, but gearbox ECU is pretty poor.
 
MJI said:
Actually they are very undertuned as standard. 160bhp to 170bhp is generally reliable.
Click to expand...
But the TDV6 has 440Nm of torque as standard, which is enough to tow 3.5 ton in excess of the legal speed limit, and not take an age to get there either.
The D3 tows 2 tons, like there's nothing on the back at all. :eek:
 
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