Advice needed on buying 110 double cab TD5?

Some of you may of read my previous topic, about me considering buying the 1985 110 with an Isuzu 2.8td engine fitted,Unfortunately I cant get an insurance company to touch it with the engine swap so Ive discarded that idea.The same company has a Y reg 110 double cab TD5 with 68k on the clock for sale.Im just wondering what your thoughts are on this engine and is there any main things to look out for when purchasing a td5?Ive currently got a 1987 90 with the 19j fitted so I suppose just about anything can be an improvement on that

Your comments much appreciated.

i dont like the TD5 simply because it needs electronic tools, if it goes wrong it wont be a socket set that you'll reach for first it'll be a laptop - so unless your wanting to help send yer local garage owner orf on lots of expensive holidays i'd say get a late 300 engined version

but then again you might be one of those odd peeps who has got a landy but doesnt own any tools

Sean said:

i dont like the TD5 simply because it needs electronic tools, if it goes wrong it wont be a socket set that you'll reach for first it'll be a laptop - so unless your wanting to help send yer local garage owner orf on lots of expensive holidays i'd say get a late 300 engined version

but then again you might be one of those odd peeps who has got a landy but doesnt own any tools

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Ive read this somewhere before and this is my main worry,,not been able to fix it myself unlike the old 19j? any other things to look out for? Would also be interested to hear how many miles you defender td5 owners have clocked up with this engine without problems?

thanks for your response

bowers1986 said:

any other things to look out for?

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there's plenty of depender buying advise on here, i'd rather not have to type it all out - search is a good idea

my local landy garage wont touch tds simpley because of the computor diagnostic equipment you will need,im sure if you look on here everyone will give you there own opinions but reliability seems to be the biggest problem,but its like all things people with a td5 will tell you they are brilliant
and people with a tdi will tell you they are brilliant
do some research on here and make your own mind up
me personally i prefer the tdis or the tds as they are simple mechanics and easily worked on

Anything is fixable, but Sean is right, without the diagnostic software it'd be a slow and very expensive process. Have a look on Paddocks website for a comparison of costs involved with fixing a broken TD5 compared with a Tdi. Scarey stuff I reckon

Example... exhausts for a 90.

200 Tdi
front pipe: £17.30
middle pipe: £38.69
back box: £32.00

300 Tdi Non CAT
front pipe: £21.25
middle pipe: £32.00
back box: £40.00

300 Tdi CAT
front pipe: £224.50
middle pipe: £32.00
back box: £40.00

TD5 (Early)
front pipe: £125
middle pipe: £105
back box: £75

TD5 (Late)
front pipe: £125
middle pipe: £95
back box: £75

If you're going to go for a Tdi, the difference between a 200 and a 300 is largely negligible (as long as you ditch the cat, if it has one, and block up the EGR on the 300), buy a sound chassis and bulkhead combination first and choose the engine last

Cheers,

Heh - better example:

200 Tdi Cylinder Head: £500
300 Tdi Cylinder Head: £245
TD5 Cylinder Head: £1,150

Err... wouldn't want to replace a head on a TD5

My TD5 has done 125,000 miles and is still going strong.

My 200 Tdi has done 136k miles and all I've had to replace is a water pump...

200Tdi water pump £30.50
300Tdi water pump £14.95
TD5 water pump £38.95

I'm not saying they're not reliable... but they are expensive for parts compared with a Tdi and as they're more complicated they're also harder to work on.

Thanks for the advice guys,,To be honest Im unsure what to do,,My current 19j has been 100% reliable considering what ive read on this engine,but to be honest a little slow for the driving I do,,My only fear is I get rid of this and buy the td5 and have nothing but problems and thats especially worrying seen as the td5 double cabs asking price is £10k.

get a 300tdi double cab for 2/3rds that price!

get a defender 200 or 300 tdi cant go far wrong there

Hi Mate,

I have just purchased a double cab TD5, 2001 with 100k on the clock.
Sweet as a nut, had it checked over and with regular oil changes, should be good for 250k, nice engine, bit noisy but very powerfull.

Youve got to move with the times mate, if your trecking round the world then maybe i can appreciate some of the views re diagnostic kit, however in the real world, using it as a daily car with weekend trips away off roading...no problem at all.

discocuzzy said:

Youve got to move with the times mate, if your trecking round the world then maybe i can appreciate some of the views re diagnostic kit, however in the real world, using it as a daily car with weekend trips away off roading...no problem at all.

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and when it does go wrong - and it will - you'll be paying £100s to some child just to plug it into his diagnostic kit

discocuzzy said:

Hi Mate,

I have just purchased a double cab TD5, 2001 with 100k on the clock.
Sweet as a nut, had it checked over and with regular oil changes, should be good for 250k, nice engine, bit noisy but very powerfull.

Youve got to move with the times mate, if your trecking round the world then maybe i can appreciate some of the views re diagnostic kit, however in the real world, using it as a daily car with weekend trips away off roading...no problem at all.

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Hmmmmm. You have just bought it and you have no problems............YET

Originally Posted by Sean
and when it does go wrong - and it will - you'll be paying £100s to some child just to plug it into his diagnostic kit

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Discocuzzy I am afraid I am with Sean on this. I too have just bought a TD5. I got mine cheap enough that if I have to buy mine a new engine it is still a bargain. I still wouldn't have bought it if a mate of mine didn't work for landrover assistance to give me access to a diagnostic computer.

discocuzzy said:

Hi Mate,

I have just purchased a double cab TD5, 2001 with 100k on the clock.
Sweet as a nut, had it checked over and with regular oil changes, should be good for 250k, nice engine, bit noisy but very powerfull.

Youve got to move with the times mate, if your trecking round the world then maybe i can appreciate some of the views re diagnostic kit, however in the real world, using it as a daily car with weekend trips away off roading...no problem at all.

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The one im thinking of buying has roughly 68k on the clock,,gonna go and have a proper look round it on Thursday morning,,they also have a 2003 disco td5 forsale with lower miles on the clock for less but to be honest my hearts set on the 110.

Ive been looking through the net trying to find the pro's and cons with this engine,,apart from the expensive diagnostics and slightly more expensive parts (which i can fully understand seeing this is a more modern engine than previous landrover models)is there really anything else really wrong with this engine to make it so disliked?

bowers1986 said:

The one im thinking of buying has roughly 68k on the clock,,gonna go and have a proper look round it on Thursday morning,,they also have a 2003 disco td5 forsale with lower miles on the clock for less but to be honest my hearts set on the 110.

Ive been looking through the net trying to find the pro's and cons with this engine,,apart from the expensive diagnostics and slightly more expensive parts (which i can fully understand seeing this is a more modern engine than previous landrover models)is there really anything else really wrong with this engine to make it so disliked?

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The engines are good. It is the cost of the repairs when they do go wrong.

Yeah... it's got electronic fueling control and an ECU. This will affect how 'waterproof' your car is - electrics and water being what they are.

Check that the ECU wiring isn't soaked in oil, the injector harness is can become flooded with engine oil which can in turn damage the ECU - steer clear if it is or insist it's rectified or you're indemnified against damage to the ECU before buying.

DTZ said:

Yeah... it's got electronic fueling control and an ECU. This will affect how 'waterproof' your car is - electrics and water being what they are.

Check that the ECU wiring isn't soaked in oil, the injector harness is can become flooded with engine oil which can in turn damage the ECU - steer clear if it is or insist it's rectified or you're indemnified against damage to the ECU before buying.

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Thanks for the advice,,where am I to look for the Ecu/Injector harness and I'll be sure to check it out on thursday

Guys,

Ive got a Disco 3 as well, should i have not bought that as well as its expensive if it goes wrong?

Re the clever so and so highlighting the "ive just bought so what the feck does he know"...did i put anywhere on my message that its my first TD5?.

Finally just to clarify...i run 3 21st century cars, and they are all electronic in some way or another, even the most basic vehicle these days typically will require some form of diagnosis, the difference is i can afford to get them repaired/serviced with new parts rather than throwing good money after bad on rusting old tat.

Rant over, good forum, you pays ya money etc etc...personally i dont want to drive noisy slow ageing technology, as i said before would agree with you if im going to Mars and back but 99% of us dont, and if i did, i would question whether i would want to do it in a Landy regardless of age...Probably would be a Toyota gents