JimAttrill

If you put your mug of tea and egg banjo on the wing they will fall off.

I use a VW part - very cheap and they seem to be of harder rubber and last longer. Unfortunately my local spares shop knows what they are so I have no idea what the part no is. They are a barsteward to change though.

My Defender 110 tdi has clocked 300 000 kms. I have now changed the oil more that 50 times, the cambelt 4 times, etc. The engine still starts fine although I own all the parts for a full overhaul. I'll wait until the compression goes or it starts using a lot of oil. And in this time, apart from 'service parts' I have changed the rear wheel bearings (self-inflicted), blown 2 alternators (caused by a short of sorts in the cable) and one UJ. I also changed the rings and big end bearings at 160k after a disastrous experience with a K&N non-"filter". All the cooling system is still original including the hoses. Yesterday one front hub cap (those placky things) broke and flung grease all over the front wheel. Turbo is original, possibly helped by all the oil changes and an EGT gauge so that I never switch off until the temp drops to 200c Happy Days!

A Land Rover tech bulletin of 1996 - 15 years ago said to use Caltex MTF94 and not ATFII. I used that when I could find some, but now use RedLine MTL. Fit and forget if your box don't leak. Lovely gear change still at 300 000 kms.

I've done a few (none of them mine of course as I have a Tdi). You need no special tools. You will need help as the head is heavy and is at an angle. Two people can do it. New head bolts are essential as they are stretch bolts. Some sort of pry bar is needed to take out the injectors. Don't try the job without the LR manual.

Yes, if you get noise in most gears it is likely to be the transfer box. Luckily for you fixing this is much cheaper than fixing the R380.

The normal complaint is "my Tdi gives no power and I have to go up hills in 3rd etc" or "is my turbo stuffed" etc. It happened to me so I know what the fix is. Best to use some glue on the adjuster then it won't come loose again. The best is the ones who worriedly ask "how much is this going to cost to fix?" and I can happily say "about 1 beer!"

The normal complaint is "my Tdi gives no power and I have to go up hills in 3rd etc" or "is my turbo stuffed" etc. It happened to me so I know what the fix is. Best to use some glue on the adjuster then it won't come loose again. The best is the ones who worriedly ask "how much is this going to cost to fix?" and I can happily say "about 1 beer!"

I've got a Tdi rev counter, waste of time IMHO. (Unless you are deaf that is ) Better to spend your money on something useful like a boost gauge or EGT meter.

Blocked intercooler causes a puff of black smoke as you lift off - the pressure to the pump stays up for a bit causing the pump to overfuel for a second or two.

If the handbrake is sticking on slightly it will cause clunking noises as you slow down. Worth checking.

If you don't want to buy a new pipe just hammer the EGR pipe flat.

Any vehicle where you have to take the body off to change a turbo or a complete engine does not get my vote.

Your torque values are as per the manual. One little trick is to do them the 40Nm then mark the bolts with a chalk line - the same on each. Then you can easily see which bolts have been turned and by how much. This will come in handy if you get called away during the job and can't remember where you were. You don't want to re-do the angle on a bolt that has already been turned. You can re-torque a bolt but angle tightening is different.

Eddy, can you post this very interesting info in the technical forum? I had tried before with SKF, even in Brazil, but as your link rightly says: "Interestingly SKF do not produce/ will not sell the part that is used in the OEM timing cover and they do not stock a generic pump bearing of the correct size" Which is a pretty poor show for such a big company.

With good reason. The bearing is made of unobtainium and always was.

My 1995 Defender was made in South Africa (with imported components of course) and has a 21L prefix and no EGR. I reckon they just selected any old engines for export.

Angle gauges are quite cheap if you buy the made in China type. Mine cost about £8. You could do it yourself with a piece of wire and a protractor but its very fiddly and not so accurate. A very important tip (not in the LR manual). After the first torque load (40Nm IIRC) get some chalk and put a line on each bolt - all lines pointing the same way. Then when you get called away or interrupted while doing the job it is easy to see which bolt you tightened last.

I would start pointing fingers at the EDC. Nasty things. But could it not be the old 'spider' problem rearing its ugly head again. There is a lot on these foræ about fixing that thing, normally just dry soldered joints.

It may be a coincidence but TD5s tend to crack in the No1 inlet port. Though that can hardly cause carbon buildup.

I have a 36mm spanner made from an old leaf spring - being thin it fits nicely.

Is it auto? I don't recollect the Tdis having a gearbox oil cooler on the R380. The TD5 does, however. Just a tube.

Maybe at idle unburnt oil is getting into the silencer and is then being burnt when you drive off. I would try disconnecting the exhaust after the turbo and see if any unburnt oil is coming through. This would confirm your idea about the turbo seal. (But I wish you the best of luck with those three bolts). If you are to change the turbo they will have to be undone somehow.

Their springs are ok ...... We use them when throwing away the air thingies

Be careful with TD5 fan belts. If it breaks it can force its way past the oil seal into the sump, be chewed up by the chains, block the oil strainer and seize the engine. The idiot that this happened to insisted that the oil light never came on. Yeah right...