Buying a Tdci high mileage, ok or stay away?

Hiya

I am looking to buy a 110 due to new addition to the family and the added space it brings for camping and trips etc.
I currently have a defender 90 td5 2002.
Looking around I can afford a 110 tdci xs 2008 but with 120,000 on the clock. So....

Is that mileage a concern for the tdci engine? I know a td5 it is not problem but are there niggles to be aware of on the tdci?

Will I regret moving from the diy fixability of the td5 to the less so tdci?

Is there anything specific to look for when viewing the vehicle?

Any advice gratefully received

Thanks

Brent Peal said:

Will I regret moving from the diy fixability of the td5 to the less so tdci?

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I can't think of anything you can do to a TD5 that you can't do to a Tdci.

I wouldn't worry about it, plenty more transits out there with more than 120k than defender td5s I expect

EGR cooler's leak.

A local specialist near me said they have more of the newer transit engined Defenders in for major mechanical problems than the older engines. They indicated that the transit engines aren't built to take the amount of abuse they can be subjected to when in the Defender. Part of me can't see how a newer engine can be weaker, but at the same time it kind of makes sense!?

Admittedly I only spoke to them briefly when I was having some tyres balanced at the garage next door. So they may have just been brown nosing in hope of future work!?

just the transmission issue with the output shaft bearings. Ashcroft transmission tells about and they got a fix for it. usually goes at about 60k miles or so. It might of been fixed, but check UJ's and brakes/rotors to see if they been replaced or needs to be replaced

Thank you for the replies. Good point about transits kev12 and gives me more confidence and thank you wimblowdriver that is good to hear as was enjoying the learning side of fixing the td5.

Foxyred said:

EGR cooler's leak.

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Is that a costly fix do you know?

Thor1950 said:

just the transmission issue with the output shaft bearings. Ashcroft transmission tells about and they got a fix for it. usually goes at about 60k miles or so. It might of been fixed, but check UJ's and brakes/rotors to see if they been replaced or needs to be replaced

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Thank you good to know what to specifically look at when viewing

NinkyNonk said:

A local specialist near me said they have more of the newer transit engined Defenders in for major mechanical problems than the older engines. They indicated that the transit engines aren't built to take the amount of abuse they can be subjected to when in the Defender. Part of me can't see how a newer engine can be weaker, but at the same time it kind of makes sense!?

Admittedly I only spoke to them briefly when I was having some tyres balanced at the garage next door. So they may have just been brown nosing in hope of future work!?

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Yeah that’s what someone had said to me too, hence the ‘fear’ of moving away from the td5....

Brent Peal said:

Yeah that’s what someone had said to me too, hence the ‘fear’ of moving away from the td5....

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Will quite happily say I haven't a clue if it is true or not, but for some reason it just sounds like it's probably true.

The best option would be to Google common Transit engine issues/failures and see what crops up. It's a Ford so it will probably have it's fair share of common issues, but from experience they're cheap to fix. Even if they need replacing there should be plenty available if you take the 2nd hand lottery. Admittedly I haven't owned a Transit, 1 Fiesta, and 2 Foci, one of which had a Volvo lump. Still miss that engine

I've heard of timing chain "stretch" on that engine around 100,000 miles

I have a mate who does a lot of work on tdci Transit engines.I asked him why this was so and were there any particular problems.
The main one he said was the buggers don't service them!

This will be the biggest trouble i expect, a few years ago I was a courier driver and the company serviced their vans (sprinters, transits and movanos) at 22-24k intervals

The one we had had done over 230k and put out white smoke like one of the RED arrows. easy fix with a second hand part but symptoms pointed to cylinder head gasket