Are TD5 Defenders more Problematic than TD5 discoveries

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cornish rattler

cornish rattler

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Hi guys

Can anyone give me a honest answer please, are td5 defenders as troublesome as td5 disco's, when I had my td5 disco it was riddled with prob's and once I had it sorted I sold it as after 6 months I had had enough of it and swore I would never have another but I still like the sound of the td5 and I just wondered it the td5 defender is just as troublesome as a td5 disco or should I buy a 300tdi defender.

when I get to the point of buying a defender it will have to be either a late 300tdi defender or an early td5 defender, what do you think :)
 
less to go wrong if you get basic defender, but you must have been unlucky with disco ,defender also has the old type whel bearings
 
Hi Cornish Rattler, mine's a 2001 Td5 Defender. I've had it coming up 5 years and it's been great. Its got 118k on it (it had 92k when I bought it). I've replaced the throttle sensor, clutch sensor, fuel sensor which all went within about 2 months of each other. Apart from that I service it every year (oils and filters). I changed the front discs and calipers about 8 months ago, but they were the originals so expected for the mileage. I've owned a 300Tdi, 2.5 NA ex-army and a 2.5 turbo and had no real issues with any of them. The Td5 leaks oil less than the others!

I have had two 300Tdi Discos and they were the most boring car I have ever owned or driven... Sole less. Every 90 I've owned have their own personality and blow the doors off a Disco. A mate of mine had a Disco 2 Td5 and he had endless problems including steering box, turbo failing and sucking oil and endless other issues, so he sold it......

Buy a Td5 90 :cool:

Frosticles
 
Probably had a bad egg really as my Dads '03 one has been trouble free for the last 3 or 4 years other than just a headgasket (his own doing as it ran low in coolant from a pin-hole in the rad) and a couple of ABS sensors needing replacing.


But, I would say the Defenders are less problematic as they have less to go wrong as a much more basic vehicle especially if you get one without the ABS, TC etc.


I once was talking to somebody about my nanocom and was asking me what made me get it when I was showing it to him in my Defender. I replied "my Dad has a Disco" and he laughed :D
 
Cheers guys just what I wanted to here, when I am ready I will be looking for one for about 5k-7k was hoping the sale of my static caravan would have for most of it but it only sold for 2k so I need to start saving like mad now but reckon I can put £500 a month away and if I can I will add to it :)
 
ratty said:
My 110 is an early td5 and gets a hard life for the majority of its useage but has still been far less trouble than the ballasts chav box.
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Apart from usual filters and oil every 5k miles I've not had to do anything to mine for the last three years and 30k miles. However I did fit a new engine back then so I'd not expect anything to play up just yet. Old engine ran for two years with diesel in the sump oil (I got it cheap for this reason) then went bang when oil pump sprocket bolt came loose at 60mph. It had done nearly 120k miles. Guess it would have been the same if it was in a Disco. When stripped down the old engine showed serious wear on the camshaft lobes and bearings but nothing on the crank and bearings or the barrels. Sold the bottom end on and its still running strong with no issues.
 
cornish rattler said:
Hi guys

Can anyone give me a honest answer please, are td5 defenders as troublesome as td5 disco's, when I had my td5 disco it was riddled with prob's and once I had it sorted I sold it as after 6 months I had had enough of it and swore I would never have another but I still like the sound of the td5 and I just wondered it the td5 defender is just as troublesome as a td5 disco or should I buy a 300tdi defender.

when I get to the point of buying a defender it will have to be either a late 300tdi defender or an early td5 defender, what do you think :)
Click to expand...

I don't think TD5 Disco's are that problematic to be honest. The problem with them is people expect to be able to run them the same way they ran their 200/300tdi Discovery's where they will just keep going even with faults, a TD5, like all modern cars need fixed or they just tend to stop in their tracks. Maintenance by neglect probably doesn't suit TD5's.

Look after them and they will be just as reliable, yes more expensive, but they have more to go wrong and parts are more complicated. I was very against this new technology in vehicles up until about a year or so ago, but I have learnt to embrace it.
 
Exactly. Sure they have more to go wrong but if I was given the choice of a TD5 Disco 2 or 300tdi Disco 1, I know which one I'd be going for!

The Disco 2 is just a far better vehicle all round to drive.


The argument for a TD5 or 300tdi Defender isn't as clear cut i suppose given that it's literally just the engine thats the difference.

For the power and tunability of the TD5, I'd pick that but I can see the appeal of a 200tdi too in terms of being able to drive it into the ground and I would enjoy the idea of being able to stick it into sustained 6ft of water without anything to worry about as oppose to when wading with the TD5, you always have to be sure of an escape route and keep moving in fear of the water getting into the ECU or DBW throttle.

In saying that though, I've seen off-road TD5s with the footwells and seatboxes full of water without any drama but I just don't like the risk.


the potential of the power from a tuned TD5 would still be the deciding factor for me though as well as they sound brilliant with no cats or silencers :)
 
DaveM-sport said:
Exactly. Sure they have more to go wrong but if I was given the choice of a TD5 Disco 2 or 300tdi Disco 1, I know which one I'd be going for!

The Disco 2 is just a far better vehicle all round to drive.


The argument for a TD5 or 300tdi Defender isn't as clear cut i suppose given that it's literally just the engine thats the difference.

For the power and tunability of the TD5, I'd pick that but I can see the appeal of a 200tdi too in terms of being able to drive it into the ground and I would enjoy the idea of being able to stick it into sustained 6ft of water without anything to worry about as oppose to when wading with the TD5, you always have to be sure of an escape route and keep moving in fear of the water getting into the ECU or DBW throttle.

In saying that though, I've seen off-road TD5s with the footwells and seatboxes full of water without any drama but I just don't like the risk.


the potential of the power from a tuned TD5 would still be the deciding factor for me though as well as they sound brilliant with no cats or silencers :)
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Yeah I would off road it but not wade it though, its just I have had two 300 tdi disco's in the past and never had a problem with either of them but when I put 10k into an 03 plate td5 D2 just over 3 years ago and within a couple of days owning it I had problems with the car for the 6 months I had it and spent the 6 months struggling with it and getting it sorted then decided to get rid as I had had enough of it and bought another 300tdi disco and before I had the the disco's I had a s11a swb that I converted to 200tdi which again had no problems with so I am just a bit weary of owning a td5 defender that's all :)
 
ive a td5 defender 110 and never had any probs with wading etc its been over the windscreen and never missed a beat so long as you have a decent snorkal, mines pretty well prepared for off roading and will be up for sale soon
 
johnlad said:
ive a td5 defender 110 and never had any probs with wading etc its been over the windscreen and never missed a beat so long as you have a decent snorkal, mines pretty well prepared for off roading and will be up for sale soon
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Yea, its fine and I've dipped into places that had the water over the bonnet too but just mean, I wouldn't like to be hanging around long enough for the water to get into every corner it can and fill the cabin of a TD5 unlike say a 200tdi where you'd be happy to leave it submerged overnight and still be confident it'll stay going :D

Can easily sort the only things that could cause a problem anyway by moving the ECU and doing something with the throttle if you were nervous of them getting wet regularly.
 
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