GUYZER90 Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Looking for some advise from you Defender drivers, we all know how great the 200 and 300 TDI engine is, but can anybody tell me if the normally asperated 2.5 TD is any good? ,if so how long for? or is it an option to forget about. look forward to ya comments, just that Defenders with that engine seem to be alot cheaper to pick up. cheers Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Depends on your intended usage. If you want a run around then a well looked after TD will serve you well. If it's been looked after. If you want to get it muddy then a TDI of either 200 or 300 will be better. Again it will come down to budget. As you say TD are cheaper to come by. A TDI retrofit is easy, if you can wield a few spanners. Or know someone that can. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Forget the TD, get a Tdi. TDs have been around so long now that the chances are that it's been abused and they don't take abuse too well. Tdis take abuse far better Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 If you buy a TD, you'll wish it was a TDi. That's pretty much it, when it comes to the crunch. Of course you can fit a TDi when the TD blows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUYZER90 Posted August 25, 2008 Author Share Posted August 25, 2008 Forget the TD, get a Tdi. TDs have been around so long now that the chances are that it's been abused and they don't take abuse too well. Tdis take abuse far better Mo Well after spending saturday at Slindon marshalling , i did notice that when in mud and doing big climbs the engines do spent alot of there time at max revs, so your saying the TD wont take that sort of abuse for long?, i do intend to use it off road quite alot so sounds like its gotta be a Tdi Cheers Mo and cheers Walfy ( so Nick walker was rite for once!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Well after spending saturday at Slindon marshalling , i did notice that when in mud and doing big climbs the engines do spent alot of there time at max revs, so your saying the TD wont take that sort of abuse for long?, i do intend to use it off road quite alot so sounds like its gotta be a Tdi Cheers Mo and cheers Walfy ( so Nick walker was rite for once!!) Care to elaborate???!! Nick Walker is seldom right . So god knows what he's told you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkw90 Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 TDI would be best IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUYZER90 Posted August 25, 2008 Author Share Posted August 25, 2008 Care to elaborate???!!Nick Walker is seldom right . So god knows what he's told you Yeh really he was rite !!! he told me the tdi is the 1 to go for and you have all said the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Eeney...meenie......defender.....Disco ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Yeh really he was rite !!! he told me the tdi is the 1 to go for and you have all said the same. My god Nick speaking sense!! There's a first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 ................and never likely to be repeated event Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 got my 2.5TD 90 in 2004 drove it up untill last october when the clutch went pop. i thort i lookout for a good 200tdi and put it in got one just before christmas started putting it ing took a month best time i've ever spent on my landrovers so much nicer to drive, it's like a diffrent landrover. if you wanting a land rover to do odd days out TD would be fine, but if you want to go out have fun and do a bit of compeating(RTV's, punchs) get a TDI. i won't be going back in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 TD's are ok on the road and if you look after them religiously, but they don't like any kind of abuse. If they get too hot the pistons tend to crack and indicators of this are oil being blown out of various places (rocker gasket, dipstick tube, rocker cover studs, into the air filter, rear crank seal), as compression is lost back into the sump and over-pressurises it. Pistons are cheap enough - about £40 for each piston kit. I think I've only ever once removed the head on a TD engine and the pistons have been ok still. I think these engines weaken with age anyway, so perhaps piston cracks are a bit inevitable on the majority of them. My old TD engine had two cracked pistons and one of them was almost completely cracked in half. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 If you buy a TD, you'll wish it was a TDi. That's pretty much it, when it comes to the crunch. Of course you can fit a TDi when the TD blows up. ^^He speaketh the truth^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish Grundy Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 i have a 2.5 n/a in my 90, its ok for road work but any kind of a hill and your find yourself going down the gears, ive driven it for nearly 6 months now and last month a picked up a complete 200tdi disco for £400, no prizes for guessing where that engine is going! my advise would be to by a 2.5 90 as they are cheaper and get a 200tdi engine and swap it, you can buy all thepipes for the conversion now. hamish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I rate the turbo diesel as to weak compared to a Tdi or even better a Td5. Buying a vehicle with a turbo diesel of at least 19 years is not advisable, it will be high mileage and probably 'maintained' more than once. High revs and keeping up with other vehicles on the motorway + bad service is the main killer IMO. The 200Tdi conversion in my 127 has been best investment for the vehicle so far. It has been fitted with 95.000 miles (on the speedo of the donor vehicle) and right now I'm on +/- 150.000 miles and no engine break downs. But right now I do miss the Td5 power of my SA 110! Cheers Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 TD's are ok on the road and if you look after them religiously, but they don't like any kind of abuse. If they get too hot the pistons tend to crack and indicators of this are oil being blown out of various places (rocker gasket, dipstick tube, rocker cover studs, into the air filter, rear crank seal), as compression is lost back into the sump and over-pressurises it. Pistons are cheap enough - about £40 for each piston kit. I think I've only ever once removed the head on a TD engine and the pistons have been ok still. I think these engines weaken with age anyway, so perhaps piston cracks are a bit inevitable on the majority of them. My old TD engine had two cracked pistons and one of them was almost completely cracked in half.Les. i was lucky i had the head off twice once the head gasget 112,000miles and 112 800 to do a valve gide but the pistons were fine both times but my TD only did a bit of towing and road driving i onlt started off roading the 18months before i put the tdi in. if you did want a TD this one is a good one http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=30077 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUYZER90 Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Eeney...meenie......defender.....Disco ! Thats it decision made, cant afford a decent TDI defender so its gotta be a disco , and as u said Les "much better as a family vehicle. just gotta sell me carp and buy 1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyfarmerboy Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 hello i have just bought TD but it was a 110 for £500 with a shot gearbox. I have had a Td and a 200tdi before. The Td was the smoothist land rover i have been in but they have a tendancy to go pop. however this is only if you let it over heat. some one was driving my one and did not watch the temp guage as there was a cooling link and it went pop. The 200tdi is more powerful and alot more robust. However they are a bumpy ride. if i had a choice of a car to use and not as a project i would buy a tdi hands down. But if you can get a td For £500 cheaper it is worth it. I am taking out my Td engine and putting in a diahatsu engine and gearbox as they are powerful and economic. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparg Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 sorry - naive question: are we saying that the Td5 just isn't up to the offroad usage when compared with the older tdi 200 and 300? - if so, are we also saying that, if my TD5 engine develops any really serious defect, i'd be better with the older engine? and does this sidestep issues of ECUs and their maintenance difficulties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 don't confuse the TD or Td engine with the Td5, Td5's are fine engines for all jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparg Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 don't confuse the TD or Td engine with the Td5, Td5's are fine engines for all jobs. Ah - yes, i see, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 tdi definately. i am about to embark on converting a 2.5d n/a to tdi power as the timing belt snapped (he was warned 6 months ago ). it was running nicely until one of the piston skirts parted company last january (why do they always break in the middle of winter?) so it was new pistons/head etc and a rebuild (this was before i had a l/r myself, so didn't really know about the 200tdi conversions), but was never the same again, painfully sloooow, dropping down gears all the time. picked up a complete disco for £450, conversion kit is £175 ish with postage from eblag, other parts are totalling £350 at the moment (timing belt kit, clutch, gaskets, fluids etc) so total bill will be circa £1k by the time we have finished, but the value of the truck after will be greater than it presently is (2.5 n/a on a C plate is about £1200 at the mo, after conversion should be closer to £2k if the prices i have seen are anything to go by) disco's are cheaper to buy than a defender, just check for rusty bits (boot floor etc) although it is all repairable with the help from the LR bods on here (all hail the tech archive :) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Guy get the disco with the tdi then wish you had a td5.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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