Def88

I think the consensus is to change to the 1.4, next job is finding one and fitting. Realistically I don’t do a huge amount of motorway miles and even if I do use the motorway my 1988 won’t be sitting at 70mph.. more like a casual 55-60. I’d rather have an overall better driving experience for those A Roads and the 200tdi will never be a quiet car, if anything.. it’s a bit strange being in a defender that prefers the motorway?! I’ve never had a problem with the engine at all either, it’s had a new turbo and hoses too and serviced every 6000 miles just to stay on top of it. I’m unsure of the mileage on the actual engine but the car shows 156000 but the conversion was done around 8 years ago. thank you everyone for the help! And anymore advice on sourcing and fitting the 1.4 would be great!

I think I’ve heard different things with the 1.2, some people like it with the manual defender, but with this auto box and 4 gears it just hits 48mph and goes into 4th and feels like I haven’t got enough to push on up a hill. Normal driving on the motorway is great, but A roads if you hit a steepish hill it always drop a gear at 48mph and changes between the two which is a bit annoying

Thank you all for your replies! Really helpful, I’ll try and do some more digging and figure how is best to change it.

Tyre size is also 265/75/R16’s

Hi All, I have my Land Rover 90 1988 with a 200tdi disco automatic on a 1.2 transfer box at the moment. It’s great on motorways but any kind of incline it really starts to struggle, say A roads etc. After speaking with Glencoyne Engineering they’ve recommended to go to the 1.4 transfer box to have that extra power and stop the lock up at 48mph and constant changing of up and down the gears. It’s fitted with a 4 speed auto. Would anyone recommend any garages and what kind of cost this may involve as it’s something I’m looking at doing maybe in a few months, Thanks All

Hi All, Thank you for the recommendations. I have a video here just trying to attach. I can see there was actually a few cracks in the exhaust. I had a bit of a power issue for a while with the 200tdi and the engine was checked out and all was fine, including the turbo. Would a leaky exhaust cause some top end power loss?

I think the power loss may have been my foot coming off the accelerator in fear of what had happened... Looking for something that will last, Stainless steel and if there is any way to make a 200tdi a bit quieter through the exhaust then I am all for it Cheers

Hi All, So driving home tonight, I know something went wrong when there was a loud grumble and serious loss of power instantly, followed by a wave of diesel smells in the cab. I managed to crawl home as I was luckily around the corner! Looking under the Land Rover at home.. the exhaust has completely snapped right under the transmission area, hence the fumes. Would anybody be able to recommend where to get an exhaust for a Disco 200tdi auto to fit a 1988 Land Rover 90? I have heard Demand Engineering is good... but not sure if their 200tdi exhausts will fit a Disco 200tdi conversion. I am also wondering if the bit of a lack of grunt from the engine would be caused by a failing exhaust. Pre snap of course... I was meant to be starting a few other parts on the car, and I did know the exhaust looked very old... but it forced my hand now! Cheers All

Perfect, thank you both. I’ll get those mounts bought and replaced and see if that sorts the issue out

Engine mounts were replaced a couple of months ago, but I’m a bit concerned the garage has used some cheap mounts with not much ability of soaking up vibrations. I’ve looked up Glencoyne engineering mounts, so it could be a mixture of both?

Hi All, just wondering if I could get some advice on my auto 200tdi. When the car is started in park there is a bit of vibrations for a few minutes whilst the engine is cold. Once the engine is warm and the car is in neutral the idle is very smooth. However, when the car is put in drive and say I’m stopped at the lights, there is some vibrations, but as soon as my foot even touches the throttle in drive when I’m stopped it smooths out completely. I’m wondering if maybe the idle speed is too low? or could it be something else

Hi All, im just wondering what you would all recommend for tyre pressures for a Land Rover 90 1988 with a 200tdi. I have 265/75/R16’s fitted, with picture attached. I think the garage who fit them have put the tyre pressure far too high! Most of my time over the next few months will be on the road (although these are off road tyres) and unloaded without any towing.

That sounds like a much better plan…

Thanks All, I’ll look at doing a bit of a price comparison between carrying out the work myself and just buying the new pieces. Last thing I want to do is carry out the work on my own and it doesn’t last or look right.

Thank you both for the replies, Would you have any suggestions as to where to get a hold of some black versions?

Hi All, Just wondering what the best way is to go about painting these silver side sills?

Correct sender was also purchased for my disco 200tdi with the correct thread… I hope

Hi All, Purchased an IR thermometer today, car is definitely not overheating. It was sitting at 80 odd after a long hard drive. Took the dash off and tilted it to the right as I did the temp gauge rocketed to the right and if I moved it again it would go back to the middle and so on. It was moving as I moved the dash board with the wires behind. So I put in another Earth and its kind of fixed the issue. I called Merlin motorsport and I’ve purchased a sender and VDO gauge so I can actually have a reading in C and know what’s going on under there.

I’m also just wondering if it may be worth doing a full coolant flush?

Just ordered an IR thermometer. Once it arrives is it best to point directly at the sensor or also all the pipes from radiator? What temperature should they be after a full run?

Hi all, cleaned a few of the earths, weirdly my speedo is now accurate below 30mph and the fuel is reading correct as it should. However, the temperature is still sitting right before that black space before hot and then has crept up to hot for about 10-15 seconds and then back to right before the black space. would the best thing to do is change the temperature gauge for a more accurate one? Would anyone have a recommendation and is it straight forward? I also saw that the green wire from the temperature sender is slightly rubbing against the engine bay and the cables have been tied with electrical tape which is slowly coming off? The engine isn’t giving me any indication of its overheating but it’s just a worry when driving.

Thank you both, I’ll be giving that a go today!

Would anyone know where the Earths would be for the temperature gauge? Bit of a novice but giving it a go… and what they may look like?

Would it be safe to assume the engine is most likely not over heating? I’ll still do a full check tomorrow of all fluids to make sure I’m not low. But other than the gauge, the engine seems to be running all fine.

Thank you, I’ll check that. My temperature gauge sits around here. Photo attached. the little pin is slightly bent to the right too which doesn’t help. Just drove home now and again random points it’ll slowly rise to high and drop back down to there. Could be when I’m braking, slowing down.. but when I put the revs on it goes back to there. Just concerned that the engine could actually be running hot? Or is that unlikely if it fluctuates?