Land rover engines

[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.

[Mollers]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Birdo]

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]

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]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Buy a good TD5 not a knackered one.

Originally Posted by Birdo

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

Just get a fekin German motor

[Birdo]

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