I thought I might as well start this thread to keep it all together.
I owned this:
I have loved almost every moment of the two years ownership having bought it blind on eBay and getting it sorted for daily use of which it got plenty!
This has just been sold to make the street outside look a bit more tidy as having three vehicles and only two drivers in the house is a little silly.
The plan for the Disco is to sell the van (done) then get Disco sorted and sell the Volvo I have to be left with the Disco and my wife's Morris minor.
I was looking on eBay and Gumtree at all Discoverys under £3000 to give myself a reasonable chance not to buy a dog and went to see a couple, the first had 12 months MOT and the chassis was a mess with very poor welding and patches in the rear arches next to the seat belt mounts that appeared welded in with seam sealer! It also drove really badly with very difficult gear change.
Next was a TD5 which was great apart from the pressurising of the coolant system so I walked away from that one.
Next (nearly there!) was an R plate with fresh MOT and new head as well as loads of other stuff, this was by a trader and was about £2500 which I thought quite steep but went to look at it. I looked at it and was a little disappointed in the general condition for the price.
Then that evening I was looking on Gumtree and found an advert for a 1997 300 Tdi for sale in Edinburgh, it was £650 ono with 6 months MOT, 6 months tax and a diesel leak at the engine. Fuel was (and still is) leaking into the timing case, this I diagnosed over the phone as a faulty injection pump so thought it was worth a look. I phoned the seller and he said that someone had come to see it and walked away saying it was a bit rough (not sure what he expected for the money) he said I could have it for £500 as he needed the money for a head gasket on his car. I agreed and arranged to collect it the next day.
Went to Edinburgh about 75 miles away and looked at it, fairly solid underneath, stinking with damp inside, and diesel pouring out the wading plug hole at the bottom. I drove it to the nearest Tesco which was about 3 miles away and phoned the RAC as I have personal recovery. They then came out and arranged recovery home. This had been my plan (hope) all along
Since then I have been looking for info on changing the pump, which is an EDC pump, and have not managed to find an answer if the EDC pump is coded to the vehicle or if another EDC pump would work straight off.
I have decided to replace the main seal of the pump and see what happens, it cannot get any worse and for £10 in parts and postage it is worth a try.
This is the only picture I have at present which is useless but proves I have not just made up all of this rubbish!
Well that is my introduction and I will update as I go along. I will get some better pictures also.
The plans are get it on the road, slowly improve its reliability then let the mods happen over a long period of time
John.
I owned this:
I have loved almost every moment of the two years ownership having bought it blind on eBay and getting it sorted for daily use of which it got plenty!
This has just been sold to make the street outside look a bit more tidy as having three vehicles and only two drivers in the house is a little silly.
The plan for the Disco is to sell the van (done) then get Disco sorted and sell the Volvo I have to be left with the Disco and my wife's Morris minor.
I was looking on eBay and Gumtree at all Discoverys under £3000 to give myself a reasonable chance not to buy a dog and went to see a couple, the first had 12 months MOT and the chassis was a mess with very poor welding and patches in the rear arches next to the seat belt mounts that appeared welded in with seam sealer! It also drove really badly with very difficult gear change.
Next was a TD5 which was great apart from the pressurising of the coolant system so I walked away from that one.
Next (nearly there!) was an R plate with fresh MOT and new head as well as loads of other stuff, this was by a trader and was about £2500 which I thought quite steep but went to look at it. I looked at it and was a little disappointed in the general condition for the price.
Then that evening I was looking on Gumtree and found an advert for a 1997 300 Tdi for sale in Edinburgh, it was £650 ono with 6 months MOT, 6 months tax and a diesel leak at the engine. Fuel was (and still is) leaking into the timing case, this I diagnosed over the phone as a faulty injection pump so thought it was worth a look. I phoned the seller and he said that someone had come to see it and walked away saying it was a bit rough (not sure what he expected for the money) he said I could have it for £500 as he needed the money for a head gasket on his car. I agreed and arranged to collect it the next day.
Went to Edinburgh about 75 miles away and looked at it, fairly solid underneath, stinking with damp inside, and diesel pouring out the wading plug hole at the bottom. I drove it to the nearest Tesco which was about 3 miles away and phoned the RAC as I have personal recovery. They then came out and arranged recovery home. This had been my plan (hope) all along
Since then I have been looking for info on changing the pump, which is an EDC pump, and have not managed to find an answer if the EDC pump is coded to the vehicle or if another EDC pump would work straight off.
I have decided to replace the main seal of the pump and see what happens, it cannot get any worse and for £10 in parts and postage it is worth a try.
This is the only picture I have at present which is useless but proves I have not just made up all of this rubbish!
Well that is my introduction and I will update as I go along. I will get some better pictures also.
The plans are get it on the road, slowly improve its reliability then let the mods happen over a long period of time
John.
