Land rover engines

nik · 30 August 2010, 10:01

A follow on from my previous thread.
The discovery td5 seems to have problems, one of which is a cracked block and oil in the ecu plug.
Tim said he needed a new engine for a 300tdi.
I am trying to fathom how common these problems are and if one or other engine is the better one to go for, or neither.
I am looking at 1998 to 2001 models.

Thanks, Nick.

Mollers · 30 August 2010, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik

A follow on from my previous thread.
The discovery td5 seems to have problems, one of which is a cracked block and oil in the ecu plug.
Tim said he needed a new engine for a 300tdi.
I am trying to fathom how common these problems are and if one or other engine is the better one to go for, or neither.
I am looking at 1998 to 2001 models.

Thanks, Nick.

Buy a good TD5 not a knackered one.

The 300 is the noisey, thirsty one. I know a handfull of people running TD5's, it's a gutsy, decent lump.

Simon B · 30 August 2010, 15:05

Cracked block does not sound good, sorry to hear it. Oil in the ECU plug is a common known issue. Checkout a forum like www.LR4X4.com.

I cant remember the fix for the oily ECU plug. There will be tons of old 200 tdis around but I'd stick with TD5 and have it repaired or re-engined with the same.

If you arent the mechanical type and dont want the vehicle off the road for ages dont change engine types - it can be a long slog.

Searider · 31 August 2010, 22:49

My Dad runs a car delivery business using amongst others Discoverys and trailers. Has had several TDi200s and TDi300s and now has two TD5s.

Engines in all have been fine with most going to 300000 miles before he disposes of them.

Gearboxes only seem to last 100000 to 125000 miles, both autos and manuals.

Tim M · 14 September 2010, 20:54

I think my 300tdi engine blowup was quite a rarity. It wasn't the engine it's self that was at fault but the rad and the temp sensor. From what I gather the 300tdi is a very well respected engine and is pretty bombproof. They are still made today for the MOD landies.

I had this very chat (300tdi v TD5) with my girlfriends parents the other evening who have a Disco 2. They agreed the 300 (which they had before) was definitely a better car. The advantage (this is from them not me!) of the 300 is that it's a lot easier to fix your self when it goes wrong.

Pikey Dave · 14 September 2010, 21:48

The TD5 is a much better engine than the 300tdi, more torque, quieter & better on fuel.

Birdo · 22 October 2010, 14:16

Gah Discovery 2 TD5s.... mine was a fecking nightmare!

In the 18 months I had it, it managed to go through 2 fuel regulators, had a cracked cylinder head - diesel in the sump, it leaked like a cullinder from the sunroof and this in turn knackered the sunroof motor, both air suspension failed and needed replacing, new window regulators and a few more lesser but irritating faults. It was well maintained too, by me and the previous owner and had only done just over 70k when i bought it.

I was looking to replace it with a 110 double cab but when the TD5 developed the cylinder head problem (which I was led to believe would cost a couple thousand to sort out, and is apparently a relatively common fault), I scrapped the idea and have just traded for a Disco 3, which (touching wood), seems an enormous improvement on the Disco 2.... time will tell I guess (it is, after all, a LR lol).

Dr Doof · 22 October 2010, 15:19

I've had a lot of Defenders, TD5's are much better than TDi's in almost every way. TD5 engines from 2002 on use a much improved ECU, easy to tune, mine covered more than 100,000 miles with out any problems.

Have a TDCi now but miss the pull of the 5 cylinder.

Not much help really but I would go for TD5 over TDi every time.

Bigmuz7 · 22 October 2010, 21:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mollers

Buy a good TD5 not a knackered one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdo

Gah Discovery 2 TD5s.... mine was a fecking nightmare!

Just get a fekin German motor

Birdo · 22 October 2010, 21:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Just get a fekin German motor

A classic veedub beetle is on the cards.... can't see it towing me boat though :P

Ian Austin · 22 October 2010, 22:05

Why not go for a Range Rover, i have a P38 4.6 v8 on LPG, cruising around 80mph gives me 40+ equivilent fuel consumption, loads of toys and ohhh so quite and comfortable, i have the later one with only 215 hp but it has more torque than the earilier one.

And LPG is an eco fuel, so by driving a v8 i am helping the planet, that my excuse

BogMonster · 22 October 2010, 22:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Doof

I've had a lot of Defenders, TD5's are much better than TDi's in almost every way. TD5 engines from 2002 on use a much improved ECU, easy to tune, mine covered more than 100,000 miles with out any problems.

Have a TDCi now but miss the pull of the 5 cylinder.

Not much help really but I would go for TD5 over TDi every time.

You what? A Puma blows a Td5 into the weeds in every way. The Puma must have been broken

Td5 is better than Tdi on the open road but it is useless off road, stalls all the time. Puma is what the Td5 should have been as an off road motor, awesome torque and the anti stall is superb.

Dr Doof · 22 October 2010, 22:37

The anti stall is an Ok feature.

My TD5s were all good, very reliable and easy to tune, never had any problems off road.

TDCi is never away from the dealer, lots of reliability issues.

Much smoother on the road, 6th gear helps a lot and the dash is a bit more realistic but yes, still miss tuned 5 cylinder engine. Puma just sounds like a tractor.

Pikey Dave · 23 October 2010, 11:27

errr! what's a Puma (apart from a big pussy cat)

colcreate · 23 October 2010, 13:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mollers

The 300 is the noisey, thirsty one. I know a handfull of people running TD5's, it's a gutsy, decent lump.

I have run both 300tdi Disco's (100k+ miles) and a TD5 (40k+ miles) over exactly the same trips many times. They used exactly the same fuel, reached the same speeds and drove virtually identical. I even noticed I was changing gear in the same places on a familiar route. Quite dissapointing really as I had been told the TD5 was a better motor and should expect more mpg.
If it had been a blindfold test I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference and probably have crashed both of them......

BogMonster · 23 October 2010, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

errr! what's a Puma (apart from a big pussy cat)

Otherwise known as a TDCi - the new 2.4L engine in the Deafener

Chris · 24 October 2010, 09:51

Planning on having a remap on my TD5. Tim Fry Landrovers do them on all types of LR's and Tim recommended a remap over a plug and play chip.

Any experience or thoughts on TD5 remaps?

Chris

Mollers · 24 October 2010, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by colcreate

I have run both 300tdi Disco's (100k+ miles) and a TD5 (40k+ miles) over exactly the same trips many times. They used exactly the same fuel, reached the same speeds and drove virtually identical. I even noticed I was changing gear in the same places on a familiar route. Quite dissapointing really as I had been told the TD5 was a better motor and should expect more mpg.
If it had been a blindfold test I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference and probably have crashed both of them......

Have you checked under the bonnet on that TD5?

Mollers · 24 October 2010, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Planning on having a remap on my TD5. Tim Fry Landrovers do them on all types of LR's and Tim recommended a remap over a plug and play chip.

Any experience or thoughts on TD5 remaps?

Chris

Not sure about re-maps or chips meself. For an alteration of the torque or power characteristics, there's a usually sacrifice somewhere. The guy I work with chipped his TD5 110 Deafner. It became quicker when thrashed, but lost low-end torque and developed irritating over-run and throttle lag traits.

BogMonster · 24 October 2010, 10:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Planning on having a remap on my TD5. Tim Fry Landrovers do them on all types of LR's and Tim recommended a remap over a plug and play chip.

Any experience or thoughts on TD5 remaps?

Chris

How old's your TD5 Chris?

99-01 model need a plug in chip, 02- models have a flash ECU and can just have a software remap which is dead easy. Having said that I have seen a few tweaked ones here and they usually seem to be the ones with problems so not really sure myself. Look at getting a bigger intercooler if you do.