Vw Touareg for towing.. thoughts?

[Brendan]

5.0 v10 tdi would pull well I imagine

Engine is shoehorned in simple jobs like sump gasket and alternator swap are engine out nightmares with the engine having g to come out from underneath meaning proper car lift and engine trolley

 

[V8Druid]

Range Rover p38 4.6 is a great car although some of them have issues with cylinder liners lifting I believe. Or a discovery 2 td5 if you don’t mind a bit of turbo lag. Have towed 3.5t with both and been really happy with them, the Range Rover didn’t flinch with the trailer on the back

the bores become porous on some .... so over-bored, from 4l, that if you've a dodgy lump, they give trouble ... but not all ... luck of the draw .... if they've gotten past 60k, they'm usually ok ... great towers and comfortable .... they do like the motion lotion though and the air suspension compressors are a service item at 60k, et sec, so if it ain't had one it's a 3-400 quid haggle point, plus a reset if it lets you down rebuild kits for them aren't dear though

 

[Brendan]

the bores become porous on some .... so over-bored, from 4l, that if you've a dodgy lump, they give trouble ... but not all ... luck of the draw .... if they've gotten past 60k, they'm usually ok ... great towers and comfortable .... they do like the motion lotion though and the air suspension compressors are a service item at 60k, et sec, so if it ain't had one it's a 3-400 quid haggle point, plus a reset if it lets you down rebuild kits for them aren't dear though

The air suspension is always prone to issues sometimes it's not the compressor but related parts. You can get a spring conversion but it ruins the ride.
Disco 2 are available cheap most have a few aftermarket parts but most have either had a hard life or are rotten but are a damn sight better value than a defender and 1000% more comfortable

 

[V8Druid]

The air suspension is always prone to issues sometimes it's not the compressor but related parts. You can get a spring conversion but it ruins the ride.
Disco 2 are available cheap most have a few aftermarket parts but most have either had a hard life or are rotten but are a damn sight better value than a defender and 1000% more comfortable

aye, springs completely knacker the P38s ..... valve block issues are far rarer than the compressor problems .... as said compressors are a service item every 60k and air bags are dirt cheap really, with a good 80k life usually. The advent of service kits for the compressors has made even that problem very cheap to fix, unless it has motor failure. Did mine at 85k, so lasted well, but had become very slow. I have a spare on the shelf, ready to rock

Also have a 1990 MkI disco - I'm the second owner and 40k on the clock .... was garaged all its life, never had a tow bar fitted, or the back seats sat in ... 'til I got the bugger, with a huge main dealer service history ..... some old boy, who I doubt had ever been out of Cardiff with it
A mate in the trade had taken it in and he thought of me naturally
A rare beast .... one of two hundred made, I'm told ..... the bomb proof 3.5 V8, but with the later hot wire Efi, that got fitted to all the 3.9s (read - Hand grenade with the pin out ... way too over-bored, 3.5 blocks )
must get around to changing the master cylinder on it ... brakes disappeared to the floor one morning - known fault on 'em ...... she's a bloody great tow-er .... just need to develop the enthusiasm to sort her ..... I miss my four poster for that sort of stuff ...... as said 1000% more comfort than a defender/series LR

 

[Gez_lewis]

I'm with the Druid on this, we buy cheap disco 1s and run them until they die, tow well not the most powerful of things.
For 4K I'd give a Range Rover a go power and comfort and if the repair bill gets to big will break for your money back

 

[V8Druid]

I'm with the Druid on this, we buy cheap disco 1s and run them until they die, tow well not the most powerful of things.
For 4K I'd give a Range Rover a go power and comfort and if the repair bill gets to big will break for your money back

should buy a LOT of P38 for 4 k these days Gez .... 14-ish mpg puts a lot of people off .... but they have a fair following and always a demand for breakers ..... mine will probably be with me until it's no longer economically viable - WTF do you replace it with

 

[Gez_lewis]

I had a love hate relationship with my last p38, carted the Mrs and kids round Britain in it until we out grew it. Mine was dt had it remapped and it transformed it.
A fond moment was the gearbox deciding to lock up at 70mph going through Conwy tunnel on Easter bank holiday, it didn't want to go camping in the rain bless it. Still the 300 disco beat that by throwing a rod through the block at 1.30 am on Boxing Day with 5 kids in it.
Should of listened to my dad and got a landcrusier!

 

[V8Druid]

I had a love hate relationship with my last p38, carted the Mrs and kids round Britain in it until we out grew it. Mine was dt had it remapped and it transformed it.
A fond moment was the gearbox deciding to lock up at 70mph going through Conwy tunnel on Easter bank holiday, it didn't want to go camping in the rain bless it. Still the 300 disco beat that by throwing a rod through the block at 1.30 am on Boxing Day with 5 kids in it.
Should of listened to my dad and got a landcrusier!

LOL ..... mine locked me out, one New Years eve, at God knows what in the morning, as we were leaving a local hostelry, for home .... lock jammed and had to smash it out, down beside the window, in the door's guts the following day, with a large lump hammer and bar ..... drastic but successful .... and LR's own posted fix, on't 'net ...... have had to do it twice since - one lock two days old ..... they had that ****er back

 

[CPS]

5.0 v10 tdi would pull well I imagine

a few 5L models on ebay at the minute, we'll see what the new year brings

 

[Cyberprog]

Disco TD5's are pretty solid trucks. Very tuneable if you want more power (though don't buy an auto). Lots of cheap parts available and I love mine.

The Disco 3 TDV6 is good as well, but a much more complex beast.

 

[V8Druid]

Disco TD5's are pretty solid trucks. Very tuneable if you want more power (though don't buy an auto). Lots of cheap parts available and I love mine.

The Disco 3 TDV6 is good as well, but a much more complex beast.

Bit of an understatement that, Alex

 

[pettsy]

Thought disco3’s were to be avoided reliability wise? I’ve just changed from Dmax to a Discovery 4.

 

[Cyberprog]

Thought disco3’s were to be avoided reliability wise? I’ve just changed from Dmax to a Discovery 4.

I like mine, but it's not been without its troubles.

I do have diagnostics and a lot of electrical know how, so not too put off.

 

[Brendan]

Mate recently bought a disco 3 came with a huge folder of receipts and is juicy think he is currently sub 20mpg

 

[Cyberprog]

Mine gets 22ish on my commute, and 26ish on long runs on motorway.

 

[fred]

my disco 3 commercial did the same. brilliant bit of kit, nothing quite like it.

 

[Routy56]

Disco TD5's are pretty solid trucks. Very tuneable if you want more power (though don't buy an auto). Lots of cheap parts available and I love mine.

The Disco 3 TDV6 is good as well, but a much more complex beast.

Agree with all that
Sold my Disco 2 TD5 auto last month after 2 years of ownership. Towed 3.5 tonne trailer easily and very much in control. Auto box sometimes got hot below about 50mph before the torque converter locked up
Before that had 2 successive Disco 3s included a too nice to tow a digger HSE
Done most spanner work and diagnostics there was to do on Disco 3s
Most annoying was bong and suspension lowering whenever a simple fault was detected.
Not very useful when towing big trailers

 

[Cyberprog]

Agree with all that
Sold my Disco 2 TD5 auto last month after 2 years of ownership. Towed 3.5 tonne trailer easily and very much in control. Auto box sometimes got hot below about 50mph before the torque converter locked up
Before that had 2 successive Disco 3s included a too nice to tow a digger HSE
Done most spanner work and diagnostics there was to do on Disco 3s
Most annoying was bong and suspension lowering whenever a simple fault was detected.
Not very useful when towing big trailers

I still have my D2 auto - it was pants before I got it tuned, but I went for a fairly agressive tune, and it soon ate a gearbox. I then uprated that gearbox and it ate another. Now running a ZF4HP22 with most of the bits from the HP24, so the larger T/C, Updated A clutch and C1/C2 clutches.

It's quite a beast now for pulling stuff, and I have a demountable winch I can pop either front or back, along with jump start points front/rear. Been off the road the last year though due to failing it's MOT, must get it sorted!

 

[CPS]

So bought this last night, 2006 3.0 V6 altitude. 115k real nice drive and goes well with a full years test. We'll see how it does
Thanks for all the replies

 

[TiltyShaun]

My Iveco needs an mot which I have been too busy to book in. So have had to make do today with this.