300tdi vs TD5

i had a 2000 td5 disco paid £10,000 for it this was 4 years ago and in 6 months spent £4,000 on the damm thing..i had a ecu failure..the gearbox went and 3 monnths later so did the transfer box.forever getting electricl warning lights on the dash all the time.electric windows packed up in the down position.various problems which seemed to always be electrical..bearing in mind it never went offroad and was the wifes car for work you dont expect theese amount of problems..got so ****ed off with it in the end the wife pxed it for a nissan xtrail which has been faultless..i longed for a landy still so i have my td 90 which is my toy she has her xtrail everyones a happy bunny..if i did ever replace the 90 with another one it would be the 200/300tdi never a td5 but thats only my opinion and im sure there are lots of happy td5 owners out there

wiltshire landyman said:

i had a 2000 td5 disco paid £10,000 for it this was 4 years ago and in 6 months spent £4,000 on the damm thing..i had a ecu failure..the gearbox went and 3 monnths later so did the transfer box.forever getting electricl warning lights on the dash all the time.electric windows packed up in the down position.various problems which seemed to always be electrical..bearing in mind it never went offroad and was the wifes car for work you dont expect theese amount of problems..got so ****ed off with it in the end the wife pxed it for a nissan xtrail which has been faultless..i longed for a landy still so i have my td 90 which is my toy she has her xtrail everyones a happy bunny..if i did ever replace the 90 with another one it would be the 200/300tdi never a td5 but thats only my opinion and im sure there are lots of happy td5 owners out there

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I was happy with my 300tdi until it got torched. I was looking for a replacement 300tdi but they were all asking way over the odds. It's a buyers market at the moment. With the number of people slating the TD5 because of fear of electronics (me included) it makes them far cheaper to buy and so it offsets the repair costs.

I paid £3500 for my 1999 110 commercial station wagon. It has cost me a further £700 for engine rebuild, all coolant pipes replaced, new thermostat, new water pump, heavy duty steering bars, 2x fuel coolers, all filters replaced, all oils replaced and temp sensor.

At a total cost of £4200 and with an engine with a years warantee on it I aint gonna complain. They are going for £10,000 on ebay for the same age and condition vehicle.

TD5 is where the value for the money is thanks to the people that are against electronics.

adseybear said:

Today, I purchased a 2001 TD5 Hard Top (soon to be a station wagon). Done 52000 miles.

I'm concerned about these plastic dowels, as it has them.

Anyway, you might be seeing more of me on this forum depending on how reliable it is.

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good luck mate must say i had all the same reservations about the td5 myself + a mate who knows a lot more than me about landies told me he would have a 300tdi every time
but could'nt find a good 1 then came into some money ( not ****in in a cash box! ) so went for it have had my 56 plate 90 td5 now for about 4 months now its the bollox cant beleave the power, and i'm getting best part of 100 miles a tank full more than my old 200tdi (and i dont hang about 2 speeds stopped and flat out )
its used for work towing a lot and dont make a bit of differance fuel consumtion and not much power wise
by the way that mate as been converted since i let him have a blast in it

well seeing as i started this post, and it's come back to life just thought I'd mention a few things.

Had the td5 90 for nearly two years now. Not a single issue other than the odd little land Rover niggles. Used off road, and greenlaning as well as driven pretty hard at times on the road. Always given great mpg 25-32, enough power in standard form to overtake a surprising number of people on the roads. Sits happily at 70-85 on the motorway. etc. etc. Been great.

Loved it so much, that I'm about to get a 53 plate county station wagon. Ignore all the criticism from the tdi owners that have never had one. Make sure its been serviced properly, and it should be fine for over 150000 miles.

I'm glad i didn't listen to all the people that said don't get a td5, cos i dont think i'd have coped with the lack of power of a tdi. It's a cracking engine, if you know how to use it, will go a lot faster than most people think.

Hi there, this thread was started four years ago, what to say now that td5 has 12 years behind it?
I'm envisaging either a 98 300Tdi or 2000 TD5 Def.

Thanks for your feedback.

well Ive got a 5yr old TD5 90..................love it!never had an issue with it other than a leaky clutch master cylinder,easy and cheap to fix.

How many miles?

My TD5 has just hit 120k and is 11 years old..
no major problems look after it and it will look after you...

Leaks a little in the rain from the roof area but think this is normal...

Thanks for your feedback.
I've just bought a 2000 Def 90 TD5 highlander with 352 000 Kilometers... Yes, that's an awful lot but for the price (3000&#8364, I think it's a good deal.
The owner told me it drunk water (like 1l / 3000 - 4000 km...)
I'll have to get this checked.
So long for the 300tdi, for this time.

Bartsimp said:

Thanks for your feedback.
I've just bought a 2000 Def 90 TD5 highlander with 352 000 Kilometers... Yes, that's an awful lot but for the price (3000€), I think it's a good deal.
The owner told me it drunk water (like 1l / 3000 - 4000 km...)
I'll have to get this checked.
So long for the 300tdi, for this time.

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hopefully it is rad cap or leak, if not cracked head

Just brought a 2004 td5 with 151000 miles on the clock and the engine/gearbox is great touch wood

If i wanted to buy a Def and keep it running forever, cheaply, i'd get a 300, if i wanted something with a few more bells and whistles, i'd get a Td5.

Td5 isnt as bad as people say, but has plenty of known issues, its more expensive to repair, but they seem to love motorway miles! Also , less tractor like!


Ow, i'd still go for a Td5 though

My 1999 Defender TD5 just passed the 235,000 KM (146,000 miles) mark. The constant problem of this car has been the ABS, the failure indicator is almost always lit and I no longer pay attention to it. I use a couple of ECUs. The original one for city driving and a chipped ECU for weekend fun. So far has been a capable and reliable car. Nevertheless it has bad periods. For example last year the turbo and the clutch pump died .

Due to maintenance cost I have considered getting a Toyota Land Cruiser (J70 series)… Instead the Landy was rebuilt . This car is a hobby, so this year I plan to install TJM or ARB air locking Differentials

Hi adseybear
I have a TD5 on a 02 plate with 14000 on clock got it in October 2012 was running great until 2 weeks ago now cutting out and hard to start now looking at putting in the 300 engine

jason s4s said:

Hi all,

This is my first post!

I have had a 2003 90 CSW for six months now and it runs great (touch wood) and allways returns 28-32MPG and I drive with a lead foot so I am finding the economy great.
I have a K&N filter in it and that is all the mods I have done.

I specificaly chose a TD5 as I am not a farmer and no mater how much I love taking it off road it still does most of its miles on the road, like nearly all of them.

I think you need to weigh up your requirements and make the choice on that, the TD5 engine has been going for some years now and seems ok, all engines have their problems.

I bet when the 300tdi came out loads of people were saying steer clear & stick with the 200tdi, Land Rovers seem to attract owners who fear electronics, I say its here to stay so dive in and enjoy the ride!!!

Cheers,
Jason.

PS, please don't all shout at me.....

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Arguably the 200TDi is the better, more reliable engine. Me myself I drive a 300TDi and love it, but it's not even close to my old 200TDi

Philninja said:

Hi adseybear
I have a TD5 on a 02 plate with 14000 on clock got it in October 2012 was running great until 2 weeks ago now cutting out and hard to start now looking at putting in the 300 engine

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and lose 50% price of vehicle.Cost more to do the swap than fix the problem. Sell the fooking thing and buy a 300 then. why fook up a good thing?

Philninja said:

Hi adseybear
I have a TD5 on a 02 plate with 14000 on clock got it in October 2012 was running great until 2 weeks ago now cutting out and hard to start now looking at putting in the 300 engine

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why not just fix the fault on the TD5?

It's usually summit simple like injector seals, oil in the ecu or fuel pump.