robotmatt

Well I'd heard it before, but I didn't believe it until I saw it!

Ha ha. I don't know what bad can come of it, but it seems standard to remove your numbers from internet pics! Remarkably on a 4 year old car there is the odd spot of rust (mainly on those step bars), only superficial but still, first stop waxoyl on ebay! haha

Ok, looks like I'm going for the younger TDCi model after all! The TD5 definitely had more character but the newer one just seemed to 'feel' right I guess. I'm only 5'8" so i don't have a problem bashing my knees on the dash and I think i even prefer the look of it anyway. Rev counter is nice too.. Ps. It's proper filthy, my mate just just picked it up.

Right I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for the TD5, taking it for another spin this w/e and it seems to make better sense to start my Defender ownership there with not such a large investment.. The TD5 is actually a 2004 and tbh the only thing putting me off is that it's had 5 previous owners, which sounds like a lot, though I'm guessing Defenders can go through quite a few hands in their time, ultimately condition is key and this one seems good. I'm getting a warrenty with it anyway so should be pretty 'safe'.. Going to take it for one more spin, is there anything I should try in particular that might show a warnings sign? Driving with 'full lock' or something? I know on Freelanders you can try that to reveal worn out VCU's etc.

Oh yeah, most definitely! Thanks for all the input everyone, much appreciated, whether it's making the decision any easier, I don't know

I've driven the TD5 and liked it, it ticks almost all the boxes I'm after, other than being a bit older than I wanted and a few more miles, which is actually based on what my current car is on, ie, it feels a bit weird spending more money on an older car than I've got at the moment (2005 freelander). I've driven a very similar TDCi (not the exact one) and the 6 speed gear box was actually a big plus I felt, took both on the same stretch of road and did a 70mph section. There wasn't a huge difference, maybe 500rpm or so but the whole experience felt a bit more rounded, that extra gear really suiting a vehicle like this. Obviously I'm not buying a Defender to do 70mph very often in though. But drive wise, I would say the TDCi shaded it for me. Id say both should be in great condition and will have warranty's (albeit short ones). Both are through a friend and I haven't seen the TDCi in the flesh yet, the reason for asking is, that the TD5 may well go before I get to check out the TDCi...

Great answers and I realise it's a fairly ridiculous question so okay, forget 'value'. Just, which one would you go for, £6.5 in your pocket and the older one, or just go all out on the newer one? Perhaps thats a better way of phrasing it?

Right, I'm moving from the Freelander family to the Defender one and I've (currently) got a choice of two. I only do 10k miles a year (or less tbh) and I'm looking for a Defender for my short trips to work (<3 miles) everyday, taking the dog out, low depreciation and most importantly some driving fun. There will be the occasional 45min/hour long A road/motorway trip twice a month however. So, with all your wisdom and experience, what would you go for and what do you think offers the best 'value'? Defender 90 station wagon 2003 TD5 - 92k Or Defender 90 XS 2009 TDCi - 62k £6.5k difference..

Ok so I've changed the crank case filter and after some initial smoke we seem to be mostly smoke free so far. I took a pic of the old one: http://i.imgur.com/hUSS0o1.jpg Thats also known as the 'PCV breather filter' right? It was totally saturated with oil. The rubber seals were actually in really good condition (though i still changed them as well) so I'm guessing that the hole I had in the air hose had causes oil to be pulled through into the crankcase filter?? Is '... check the EGR valve (I'd fit a bypass if you haven't already)... ' worth doing anyway? Have you got a useful link to a previous thread with some pointers on that? Many thanks!! Matt

Also I might add that it's a 2005 TD4 HSE freelander with 115k on the clock. And if it makes any difference you might say the smoke has a 'bluey' tinge to it..

I had a hole in one of my (intercooler?) air hoses (see pic, the one with the tape around it) http://i.imgur.com/chETnd0.jpg I changed the hose for a nice set of Silicon ones http://i.imgur.com/F2f4zko.jpg This has sorted the performance and the car drives pretty normally, however... On start up and first acceleration in-particular it chucks out a fair bit of grey smoke and in general it seems to have an air of smokey -ness around it, it smell of smokey diesel when you stop etc etc. I assumed it was the hole in the hose that was causing the smokey ness but it still persists. Does the sensor need changing? Are they available separately? There appears to be a small quantity of oil in these hoses, is that normal? Also I appear to be slowly using engine oil up.. Before I take it to a garage it would be great to tick off any easier fixes that I could do myself. Any suggestions?? THanks in adavance!!

Landrover TD4 HSE 05 I've got a split in this hose (the one with the pathetic looking gaffa tape) http://i.imgur.com/chETnd0.jpg My garage is telling me they would replace it with http://www.lrdirect.com/PNH500190-Hose-Air/?sfi=PNH500190 But Surely I only need change the damaged part which looks to me like.. http://www.lrdirect.com/PNH000020-Hose-Intercooler-To-Turbo-Td4/?sfi=PNH000020 What bit do I need??? Cheers!

Nice one, cheers!

Scratch that, it's only gone and started first time just now! Small plumb of smoke out the back and idles fine. What am I supposed to do now? I think the sound of these 100k booster areosols and what not giving it a spruce up, any one have a link for purchasing a can of that? Likewise is it probably worth me getting a diagnostic done to see I that could reveal whats happened? cheers

Freelander 2005 TD4 HSE suddenly won't start, and I likely need a garage to get it going and a couple of other minor tweaks as I'm looking to sell it on I think. Any one got any recommendations on a garage in the Berkshire area? Anyone used Rover tune in Reading before? http://www.rovertune.co.uk/index.php As for the problem: Freelander 2005 TD4 HSE 2.0 diesel 110k miles, never had a single proper problem with it, ever, family owned for about the last 80k. Week ago on the motor way engine warning light came on (!) and it felt like the turbo wasn't functioning or fuel problem as full throttle gave very little acceleration, throttle on and off a couple of times seemed to clear the problem and it would run for ten minutes before it came back. Repeat 3 or 4 times and the problem cleared for the remainder of the trip and the rest of the week. Yesterday started the car several times throughout the day, filled up with Diesel (it definitely was diesel), and ten minutes later the car doesn't start. New battery, and the starter motor is trying it's best but nothing. Considering what happened earlier in the week my best guess is that maybe the fuel pump has given up on me? I realise there could be a number of things and I'm only an amateur at car mechanics but If theres a couple of things I could try (for cheap) before I have to organise a garage pick up etc etc. Cheers! :-D