miketomcat

If it's leaking from the glow plug or injector there's a high chance the head is cracked, because those go into the combustion chamber. Head gasket could blow up past the head bolt but that would suggest the thread wasn't cleaned out properly and the bolt has hydrauliced before it tightened down on the head (ask me how I know this ). Because the coolant is on the head above the gasket it's unlikely it's leaking from the gasket joint, water doesn't generally run up hill unless forced. Mike

Waeco/dometic fridges have a thermostat in the base that has a habit of dieing. Mine did, can remember if it throws a code or just stops working. I think it's just plug in replacement but you do need to release the plastic base and dig through the insulation to find it. Mike

At least I'm not going mad . Both of mine went amongst the fins rather than the ends, but I guess cast ends make it all a bit more stable. Mike

I might take you up on that as I've nothing to loose. I am getting the feeling they're not built with everyday use in mind. Mike

Perfect so I could either blank them off or perhaps use them for a water oil cooler. Ok thanks guys I need to have a good look in my engine bay in day light. @Anderzander thank you I'll bare it in mind. Mike

The radiator in my ibex (200 TDI) is past it's best, I've had and split two Ali versions now and brass ones are big bucks if you can find one. To add complication my steering box is quite close and causes a clash with the oil cooler pipes. So in my infinite wisdom I'm looking at other ideas, the td5 look like the main hoses would work and the bleed off just needs a longer hose. My question is what are the two around 13mm spigots for? Not worried about fan as I use any electric one any way. I suspect I'll need a separate oil cooler and may need some additional hose length if I use the td5 intercooler. Some photos of the installation would be useful if anyone has some. Mike

Assuming it's a 300tdi if you tighten the bolts more than spec you run the risk of the head cracking when it expands due to running heat. I had a head gasket weep (poor quality) about a week after fitting it, I bought another gasket and replaced it. Mike

The cam engine ran sweet as a nut bar and even passed the iva emissions test with no trouble at 24 years and 150k miles granted I added another 4 years and 30k which is when it started to loose oil pressure. It could see 85, towed well and didn't smoke more than a normal 200. All in all considerably better than the one in there which is the engine I took to Russia in 45. I know the bores are worn, it smokes, leaks and seems to like eating head gaskets. However this engine still goes well and has oil pressure. Mike

Dear god, you haven't met my wife and kids have you.... Mike

More power would always be nice but yes the 200 does everything I ask of. Refinement isn't high on my list if it was I'd own a normal car. Unfortunately anything I do will have to wait till after Xmas 🤞As I need to rejig upstairs to create a third bedroom, before my children murder eachother. We were hoping to extend but that isn't going to happen either at the moment. Mike

There was one on eBay a few months ago, ex crash tender that had the back stripped off. Mike

Doesn't look like it, I think it's just doors and bulkhead. Mike

You're quite right, which is why I'm investigating other options. I'm very money and time shy at the moment (unfortunately this is a regular occurrence) and I may need to kick it down the line for now, which of course is exactly what the current engine was doing. Rebuilding the other engine is what I need to do but that doesn't get me to work everyday in the meantime. Mike

I seriously doubt it, even if my ankle gives out completely I'll find a way to operate the clutch. The main reason for enquiring about td5 is my radiator is a temporary get by as is my gearbox so I figured buying a complete disco 2 would give everything and I could sell some bits to recoup, however it would also be a lot of work to swap. The quickest and cheapest solution is find a secondhand 200tdi and switch it. A recon 200 would be lovely but I'm not sure if I can stretch to that at the moment. However I didn't want to going down this route if there was a much better abet more expensive option I could save for and whilst there are better options, I don't think the overall improvement is enough to justify's the cost. Mike

This has always been my concern with any conversion and I hate autos. Out of interest can anyone give me some real world mpg figures on a td5 with manual gearbox preferably with and without towing. Whilst not a straight forward fit it would be off the shelf parts. Mike

I have used a plumber mat taped up with foil tape on a mini turbo installation where I needed it to form a difficult shape. Mike

I made an ali heat shield for one of mine. You can get fire retardant resin but I wouldn't recommend it for this application. Mike

An advanced motorist qualification (IAM) would probably help too. Mike

At 12000 miles a year that's more appealing than you think. But you're quite right. I love the idea of more power etc but can't justify making the fuel cost worse. And before anyone else say's it, no a cheap runaround doesn't help either the numbers don't stack no matter how you try to convince me. Mike

No point in a 300tdi as it's like a 200 but everything is in a different place. All the 300's I've had anything to do with have been no better than a 200 in fact I think they are a fair bit worse. Mike

Realistically as others have said I think I have no choice but to rebuild the cam engine. I could just do the cam bearings and put it back in, but it seems daft not to do more, though I could do without the time loss and expense. If there was something out there that was going to return better mpg I could live with more initial outlay. It just seems mad that there is nothing out there that does better mpg than a 30 year old clockwork diesel so much for progress. Granted most are more powerful but the ones that are 20 bhp more are generally significantly worse mpg. As I said to start with I already knew the answer was likely rebuild or replace like for like. Thanks gents I guess start looking at it. Mike

I'm not against switching to petrol if the mpg stacks up especially as petrol is cheaper than diesel these days.

I don't know anything about them will have a look. VW is probably a bit small for towing and as you say likely not cost effective. The truck was originally built for a td5 so tank is fine, but all I ever here is how thirsty they are. But it would be a relatively straight swap and all factory bits. @FridgeFreezer @Daanyour both probably right and I'm well aware of that. But doesn't hurt to ask the question. Mike

The one in there has worn bores (and smoking a fair bit now), it seams to be over pressuring the cooling system (it wasn't losing water but has now sprung a small leak behind the timing chest I'm probably going to radweld it for now). I'll quite likely just put another 200 in or get the cam bearing one rebuilt. I just want to make sure I'm not missing an opportunity. As for the 1uz-fe I seriously doubt it'll make 30 mpg but show me it can and I'll look closer. Bare in mind I tow a fair bit (the 200 only loses about 2mpg towing) and my commute is 50 mile a day. Mike