NebDefender Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 New to defenders and am having an issue with my 19j engine. After 5 or so minutes of running the oil breather will pop off and shoot oil all over the engine bay. From what i have read, it is likely bad piston rings. I started by taking off the head and found the below: - 2 Broken glow plugs - No obvious cracks in the head but one of the hot spots looks a little damaged... will that need replacing? - No obvious cracks in the pistons but one of the pistons looks a little burnt around the edge... im guessing this is where my issue is but dont have much experience to be able say for sure? - Also found this item under the valve cover but i dont believe it is related to my issue. Where could this have came from? Im planning on honing the cylinders and replacing the glow plugs and piston/piston rings. Let me know if there is anything that I missed or anything else that needs replacing? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Clean the pistons and head carefully. I'd bet you'll find cracks that aren't immediately obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 You can rebuild the engine, but a Tdi or a V8 retrofit would be money far better spent. The 19J is synonymous with cracked heads and pistons, with heavy breathing or even engine runaways (starts ingesting the oil and revs uncontrollably to destruction unless you can stall the engine). A Tdi, as well as having about 30 percent more performance, will have 50% better fuel efficiency and far, far better resilience and reliability. A V8, not so much on the fuel, but way better performance and is smooth and sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Was the issue with the 19j bacause they bolted a turbo to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Badger110 said: Was the issue with the 19j bacause they bolted a turbo to it? Yes, and with no intercooler. I also think they didn't lower the compression ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 My 19J recently did exactly the same and I had rebuilt mine 2 years previous. I put new pistons in and deglazed the bores to get me running again. I am seriously considering my options of going down the 200tdi route. Only 2 problems, funds and time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 It looks like from your pictures as if your pistons are melted rather than cracked. Clean and inspect the head very closely. They tend to crack between the valves and from a valve seat to the swirl chamber. Here is a picture of one of my pistons I replaced recently. Gasses were getting past it as the rings had started to gum up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 54 minutes ago, monkie said: Yes, and with no intercooler. I also think they didn't lower the compression ratio. Yep, exactly. Not great engineering decisions. The TDI may be more powerful and a tad more efficient, but heinously noisy and raucous by comparison. I've no great love for devils fueled engines in general, but a TDI would be my last choice in a vehicle with no thought given to NVH that isn't purely a farm vehicle. If you're going to rebuild the TD, look at some way of knocking the compression ratio down a point and fitting an intercooler. No point doing that work for it to melt itself again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 It's all down to personal preference, I hate it that I'm now effectively forced to have a petrol car for work, but that's a rant for another day. I'm a fan of the 19J (when they aren't melting pistons and cracking heads) as they are smooth and don't have that clatter of a tdi plus they have that original Land Rover look to me. That said Lo-fi is absolutely correct with the suggested modifications to help a 19jI have a 200 tdi radiator and intercooler to fit. I will follow the route of the 200tdi regards intercooling. I have also lowered the boost pressure as I'm not bothered about performance. When I get round to it, I'll post a thread on here with pictures of fitting an intercooler to a 19j as it seems to be a common enquiry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy996 Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 When my TD was ripped out we discovered that all 4 pistons were cracked at 152,000 miles. I have replaced the TD with a 200Tdi and the LR110CSW now has 350,000+ on it. Even with extra sound proofing it does sound much rougher the the TD, but with advancing age, I'm going deaf and less bothered by it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NebDefender Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 Thanks for all of the replies so far, very informative! Lo-fi, you were right, the piston has melted. Cleaned up the head and it looks good, no cracks! I did see that the conrod bearing associated with the melted piston has worn down to the copper on one side so im assuming that one will need to be replaced. Will i need to have the crank machined or will just new bearings be ok? The rest of the con rod bearings look good but should i replace those as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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