2.5 n/a 92 defender fitted from new?

Hi,
I just bought my first defender 1992 2.5 N/A after having a disco for many years.
It's a little bit different!!! I was told by the seller ..... it's got a 2.5 N/A
because the bloke who bought it from new said he did'nt want the turbo version at that time ,1992, cause it was not reliable, so it was supplied with the n/a . Is that true?
Does anyone know if the early 2.5 turbos were unreliable and would anyone turn down the chance of a turbo against the 2.5 N/A? Just finshed replacing the water pump, upper and lower hoses and now the near side side light fuse keeps blowing when the lights are turned on. First time on this forum great site. Cheers.

wack a 200 in it.

Thought the 200tdi came in in 1989 ? Don't see why he wouldn't want that engine ? :s ex mod by any chance ?

me thinks the 200tdi came in in 91

2.5NA D was delivered to the MOD plus other markets long after the TD and even the TDi came in, I believe it was also available as a special order in the UK for some time as well.

I guess the original purchaser didn't want a turbo so he did a "special vehicles" purchase and got the N/A engine. Either that or he's being economical with the truth and its a re-import or ex-military, both of which could explain the engine fitment, or it's a retrofit. Whatever, that age UK supply defender should have a 200tdi.

Or it's a ringer????

I brought an 1985 N/A (ex Mod) and I remember at the time there was a bit of hate for the TD. Not sure if that was because the TD was new and scary, or if the people I was talking to didn't have a clue, it was a long time ago.

The storey sounds fairly legit, you do yet new un-registered vehicles crop up now an dthen, but salesman say anything to get the sale. If it checks out fine, runs and drives right, I can't see a problem with it.

I loved my N/A, but it was painfully slow......

Thanks for the replies, it does run great no smoke, no oil leaks and once it's warmed up pretty quiet. I'm going to look for a 200 engine but will just enjoy the 2.5N/A for a while until the longer journey times get too much to bear. I think your right Ben, thats what the seller told me. Oh well time will tell. Cheers

Chavvybloke, I have just got an 1989 LR904C and that has a 2.5 n/a. From what I can tell this was the engine type it left the factory with. IT ran for the best part of a 100K before it was replaced with a re-worked 2.5 n/a. The whole vehicle has been stood in a field for 6 years unused, but all it took to get it going again was fresh diesel and a battery boost pack. The engine runs sweet! I haven't had it out on the road yet as I am rebuilding it, but plan to keep the 2.5 n/a and see how it goes.

What's the top speed on yours - I am guessing 50mph ish?

I have a 1990 110 Fender with a 2.5 N/a doozil, and she will cruise at 70+mph at around 30 to the gallon!

Crickey Oldseadog - that's impressive!

I will definitely keep the n/a in my rebuild if that's what it can do. My 300tdi only just manages to cruise at 70mph+ and doesn't give 30mpg......but then it has got a massive rack on top and loads of crap bolted to it......that might spoil the efficiency and speed a bit!

I aint had my Defender long but its a 2.5na and once warmed up she will sit at 70mph but it does feel and sound like 70. 55-60 seems happy though. Apart from dying on hills its fab

I ran a 2.5NA D 90 for years and it was excellent.
Top wack was 75MPH ind (72MPH actual) but it would sit at between 65-70MPH ind all day and only required stiring of the gearbox on the steeper hills or when towing the Sankey. MPG was a reliable 27-28MPG which I thought was pretty good baring in mind it was being driven pretty hard much of the time.
In all that time I just changed the timing belt and gave it regular oil & filter changes (6-months) and it was 100% reliable, the only thing that went remotly wrong was when cold starts were taking longer but I quickly diagnosed a fauty glow-plug but £12 & 30-mins later it was all sorted. It would breath a bit heavy but I soon decided to re-route the engine breather into a catch tank which meant the air-filter stayed very clean between changes and without the intake vaccum to contend with the breather remained pretty much oil-free.

A very good and underrated engine as long as you accept its limits, get a good one and you can depend on it never to let you down and still cover long distances.

Hi Bostonspa
thanks for the reply, the speedo show 60 flat out but I'm guessing that the gauge is over reading by a bit they always do. But it runs sweet and has caused no worrys.

Thanks for that info Litch, I was wondering how to stop all that oil gunge working it's way into the air filter.