Spare parts for expedition (Defender Td5 110)

By the time we leave on our overland trip, which might be for 40,000 / 50,000 km., our LR Defender 110 Td5 (2.5 litre diesel engine) CSW will have done about 60,000 km. It has been well taken care of and serviced every 10,000 km.

I plan to carry a well-stocked supply of spare parts, including what will be needed for routine services. I would like to know “what might be likely to break first” i.e. what are the ESSENTIAL non-routine parts we should take, which parts would be “a very good idea to carry” and which parts “could well be needed”??? I’m assuming, which I think is a realistic assumption, that if and when we break down, this will not be near a Landrover dealership.

One thing I’m wondering about is the suspension. We are only two people, but I envisage carrying a fairly heavy load and wonder if the suspension will be OK carrying this day-in, day-out.

All advice appreciated.

Hi,

do a search on here and/or google, there's some good info around. I'd be inclined to fit twin rear dampers.

Also look for a book called "the off-road 4 wheel drive book" by Jack Jackson. An excellent read!

Two people in a 110 if you are sensible about what you take and how you drive should be no problem with standard suspension. Dual rear shocks or carry a spare pair, same for front, having them dual makes them have to work less hard, and if one fai9ls the replacement is already fitted.
Take hoses, belts, brake pads, wheel bearings, clutch, Idler pully for serp belt. several fuel filters, and oil filter, couple of air filters. alternator, bulbs fuses. unijoints if more than one type on vehicle . Lubricants for at least one change. coolant. thermostat, rad cap. Workshop manual. Set of reasonable quality tools. 2 spare wheels, fit new tyres before you start. Good quality electric tyre pump, tubeless tyre plug kit, spare tube. set quality tyre levers. High lift jack ,and make sure vehicle jack operates ok. tow rope (nylon) .
Try and have someone that can freight parts to you if you have a need.
Thats a start anyhow

Please tell me if I`m wrong but there should be a dealer network as long as you stay on that planet.

A friend always takes a lot of spareparts, tools, tires and everything with him when we go to the desert, His Tdi is really working hard on that load.
I like a light car and try to leave some thingsin the storage when I leave.
I try to seperate between things that can break and things that die slowly and I found my way home every time.
The next thing is that you need all the tools to repair everything and a computer to sort out and delete the codes on the ECU.
I trust in lokal mechanics if there is a hardware problem and i pray to god to keep these electronik Voodoo things working.

But I always carry a clutch kit with me, for no reason.

Just my ideas

Markus

hi

have a read of my blog abouty our 6 munth trip across asia and russia, we had a 110 defender fited with old man emu heavy duty suspension with only single rear shocks and they were great.

not sure where you are from but if you can get your self to devon you are more than welcome to come for a chat and a look at my landy.

I live in Africa, and have done so for long. Don't know if you plan to come this way.

Have Landies, and have done so for long too. Spend a good part of my time a few hundred miles from the nearest road, and I make my living there with 4x4s and good rifles as my tools.

You can sell almost any Landy in almost any conditions almost anywhere here.

You can't give away a Td5 if you add money to the deal.

It is a non-fixable item unless you happen to be parked at one of half-a-dozen dealerships on the continent where they actually have a mechanic who IS a mechanic, and working diagnostic tools. And you have a few weeks to spare.

Just my 2p...

It is a non-fixable item unless you happen to be parked at one of half-a-dozen dealerships on the continent where they actually have a mechanic who IS a mechanic, and working diagnostic tools.

Non-fixable?

popotla said:

It is a non-fixable item unless you happen to be parked at one of half-a-dozen dealerships on the continent where they actually have a mechanic who IS a mechanic, and working diagnostic tools.

Non-fixable?

Click to expand...

Too many electronics for a bush mechanic to fix - Sell it and get a TDi

......half-a-dozen dealerships on the continent where they actually have a mechanic who IS a mechanic, and working diagnostic tools

I got as far as Gambia in the A-Z dealerships list of the African continent, at which point I'd found 14 countries with dealerships, and stopped there.

I didn't check if any of the fourteen have more than one dealer.

So that would mean that the large majority of dealerships on the continent.don't have a mechanic who IS a mechanic, and working diagnostic tools. As I myself don't know any differently to that, I'm not in a position to question it.

Given, you note, the great difficulty of selling a Td5 in Africa, I'd be surprised to find that the vehicle is available there, at dealerships.

I get the drift of what you're saying. That the Td5 has complex electronics, I already know, but what to do? Selling it and buying a different vehicle is not feasible. Not EVERYTHING on a Td5, I think, needs electronic diagnosis in order to be fixed, so one must hope that whatever needs fixing, if anything, can be done with the help of the workshop manual, the electrical manual, and a mechanic.

If "non-fixable", that puts it in the category of a Chinese toaster: if it breaks, walk away. In real life there has to be a way of getting a Td5 fixed.

What I mean by "non fixable" is that if you have a problem with an essential electronic whatever, there you are. Stuck.

I once repaired the distributor of a Peugeot 505 by the roadside, with a rubber band, a paper clip, a couple of washers cut from a plastic container lying on the ground, and a piece of cardboard from the trash in the car's boot. Took me home 150km away, and was properly fixed only three weeks later. What if it had been an ECU problem on a "modern" engine?

Dead electronics immobilize you for good, no matter how much you know, and no matter how eager you are to tinker around.

The No. 1 key for the survival of a vehicle in Africa is not reliability (although this helps, hence Land Rovers have been replaced with Land Cruisers most everywhere on the continent...), it is fixability with simple tools, anywhere, anytime.

That's why a battered LR pickup with the old 2.5 diesel sells before you ask, and a RR 4.6 HSE will stick with you muuuuuch longer than you want. I've seen several HSE abandoned outside the dealership...

Another problem for engines with more sensors than sense, is that they have a real tough time digesting what is referred to as "fuel" in many localities. What happens if you feed it a steady diet of high sulphur diesel, with the occasional binge of diesel mixed with kero, paraffin, or petrol (depending on the scarcity and price of the ingredients, the local dealers can be very creative in the cocktail department)?

If you want to elicit Ooooh's and Aaahhh's from Land Rover aficionados around here, you just need to open the bonnet and show a four pots, aspirated, in-line pump, 50 years old concept boat anchor made in Japan. Envy will deform the face of the onlookers. Because that will drink anything you give it, get fixed with a hammer and a spanner, AND you'll find the spare parts when needed.

Can't even get parts for the 200Tdi that afflicts my Rapier!

And no, I don't want to get them from the local dealership. Would be cheaper for me to order them from the UK via DHL, even with a 63% tax and the £XXX.95 for the shipping, and I'd get them much sooner than the 3-4 months he needs.

If you seriously plan to spend months in Africa with your Landy, then maybe you could sell the Td5, get an older one, and use the change left to fit it for the trip? Just thinking aloud...

I bought the Td5, new, here in Oman, in December 2006, and have invested in it a lot of time and effort -not to mention money-in making it "trip-worthy". At that time I wanted a diesel vehicle and the choice was either a Defender (there were two new ones in the country at the time, in the dealership, waiting to be sold) or a Landcruiser. At 10.8-11km per liter compared to 6km / liter, and for other reasons, I bought the Land Rover. I couldn't see myself going anywhere in a vehicle as thirsty as the Landcruiser. I could, no doubt, have found an older Land Rover, but wanted a new one (there is some justification, I believe, in never buying a second-hand vehicle owned/driven by an Omani) and in any case didn't know that a Td5 engine, electronically controlled, has the drawbacks it does. Since then, I've been finding out that the Td5 engine isn't really such a good idea for long periods away.

Yes, even here in Oman, owning a Toyota makes a lot of sense: parts grow on almost every thorn bush, while for any Landrover they can be had in only four locations, and then -perhaps- only after a wait. However, I treat the vehicle with consideration, get it serviced every 10,000 km, and keep my fingers crossed.

I expect to be going to Europe and the Americas from here, not Africa, in fact, unless we count Morocco, but of course a breakdown is a breakdown. And yes I do worry about that.

Selling and replacing isn't really an option (see my first two lines, and in any case replace with what[/I (availability problem)?

Thus I have two choices: sell, or keep it and hope for the best.

I noticed this evening that a man named Kingsley Holgate Kingsley Holgate Land Rovers - African Expedition and Adventures used LR Td5's for Africa expeditions for many years, without back-up, I understand, and wonder why he made that choice.

The clue to why Kingsley Holgate did his trip's in TD5's can be found in the line

His vehicles are sponsored by Land Rover.

Click to expand...

It's the same reason they did a Camel trophy in Gaylanders, to try and sell Land Rovers. Doesn't mean it's the best vehicle for the trip


If you want keep your TD5 then keep it. You may do all your travels without any electrical problems, TD5's are pretty reliable. But if you have a catastophic electrical problem 100's of miles from a land rover main dealer, then just be ready to fork out for a tow.

Kingsley Holgate's vehicles are sponsored by Land Rover, so he does not have much choice, and he'll definitely have a good source for parts whenever needed (I don't think that Solihull would sponsor someone, just to leave him stranded by the roadside when something messes up!).

Land Cruisers are not that thirsty, with a 1HZ (6 cylinders, 4.2 aspirated diesel) I use 10.5 to 11 lt/100km on long trips, fully loaded and on bad roads (9 to 9.5 km/lt). But sure they do not handle like a Landy...

If you're going to Europe, no problem. North America, not sure. South America, they have some pretty remote and rough places there.

I do agree that a car used in Oman would not be a very wise choice... I've seen how they drive in the Gulf! Same here, a car that has been used locally is generally pretty well screwed up. And if you've spent a lot of time preparing your car, you're not going to get that value back.

Swap engine? Don't really know what are the market conditions in your place, and don't know how appealing the idea to embark on one more "project" is to you!

Sorry guys but you are massively over sensitive re the electrics in a TD5. The TD5 is absolutely rock solid - and can take much abuse. I have a Td5 expedition 110 135,000 on the clock and the engine is the best bit. I;ve also driven a disco v8 3.9 EFI 230,000 km and never had an issue with the ECU. Both vehicles driven in hostile conditions all their lives including trips across oman to salalah and back. Yes if you have an ECU failure then you have a problem but you also have a problem if you have complete engine failure or tranny failure. TD5 rocks and if you are scared of it then you must also be scared of the moon - surprised you guys have the presence of mind to use the net

Dubai, I'm only talking for Africa. I can have a dead gearbox in the middle of the bush, no problem. I just need to send someone on foot with a message, he'll find his way to the nearest village, will get in touch with a friend 600km away, who'll get a used tranny and send it up the coach to the town 150km away, where it will be put on the back of a rattling truck who'll take it to the village, where it will be loaded on a Land Cruiser, and I'll fix it back, and that's all.

Or I can be in town and send whatever second hand bit I need to my guys in the bush, and I know that even though they'll mess up a couple of things they'll get the car back on its feet.

But an electronic problem, you can't diagnose it, and can't fix it because you can't get the parts, unless you're ready to spend thousands and wait weeks or months. You very simply can't get the car back to where hopefully, maybe, perhaps, peradventure they have the diagnostic equipment, the tools, AND the guy who knows how to go about it.

You have no idea of the conditions in which we work here, of the stark total absolute complete incredible lack of any skilled personnel, or tools, or anything that even remotely tries to do its job. Carburettors are disassembled with a chisel and a hammer, welders use SUNGLASSES to weld, mechanics can't explain you how an engine works because they don't know , in the area where I work there is 1 (one) petrol station for 4 (four) districts covering 20,000 km2...

If each and every single one of the guys I know who have been running safaris for decades, or are full time in the business of fixing vehicles that do nothing else but African bush, do not want electronics on their personal vehicle, they may know something...!

Piston engines for aircraft use magnetos, not even coil/distributors, and certainly no electronic ignition, for a reason: better be less efficient, but be as close as possible to 100% reliable.

So, scared of electronics? Not in the least. But in my nick of the woods, computers are meant to be on a desk, and not in an engine...

Thanks for all contributions and comments, which I'm following up on.

sorry for a stupid question but what is the best model landy for a Trans African trip? series III?