TD5 - Is it really all bad?

I have always heard the bad points of the TD5 but is it really all bad or is it just more difficult to work on due to electrics?

If i was buying a defender or disco with a TD5, what are the key things to check? Is their any particular age that i should avoid.

I have been looking for a defender for a while and was set on a 200 or 300tdi but seeing as there are some TD5's half the age of the more sought after engines at a very similar price, it does make me wonder. Buy a newer defender, newer chassis, newer interior etc and just have the engine to worry about? or go for the old faithful and upgrade everything else?

Thanks

Joe

Its a great engine.
There are bigger problems than the engine

Td5 is one of land rovers strongest engines they have made

biggeeeee said:

Its a great engine.
There are bigger problems than the engine

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What other problems could there be that are typical to the TD5?

Monkey13 said:

Td5 is one of land rovers strongest engines they have made

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One of, But i am really looking for THE stongest engine land rover has ever made. ...within my price range

joezef87 said:

What other problems could there be that are typical to the TD5?

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There is a multitude of information on here regarding buying both models you have quoted.
Here's an example
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/help-advice-please-278436.html

Don't know where you are in Scotland but if you're close and see a Discovery Td5, let me know and I'll tag along and bring my Nanocom code reader to assist you.

Defenders, don't have a clue but think they are driven by folk who would prefer a real Land Rover but don't have the social standing

joezef87 said:

One of, But i am really looking for THE stongest engine land rover has ever made. ...within my price range

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Not one model - think its more to do with servicing and maintenance.
There are 1948 model Land Rovers still running with original engines!

biggeeeee said:

There is a multitude of information on here regarding buying both models you have quoted.
Here's an example
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/help-advice-please-278436.html

Don't know where you are in Scotland but if you're close and see a Discovery Td5, let me know and I'll tag along and bring my Nanocom code reader to assist you.

Defenders, don't have a clue but think they are driven by folk who would prefer a real Land Rover but don't have the social standing

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haha well i never was a huge fan of the discoverys until the other day, i saw a really tidy, blue TD5. Alot of money spent on it. It was 150k miles but looked mint, all undersealed. Going for 5500 quid. I love the look of the defenders but i still question the ride comfort/road driving quality for my day to day needs. More character to the defenders I would say. Regardless to say, my next 4x4 will most probably be a Land Rover. I have a Mitsubishi just now, and when comparing part costs to a friend of mine who owns a Disco, i was amazed at the cheapness of them.

I'm from Angus. you?

joezef87 said:

I'm from Angus. you?

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The West..............................................................................................Look above and to the right

ive a disco and fender td5, excellent engines, ive also got a 90 with a 200tdi purely as an off roader, if the 200 ever goes tits up, I'll replace the engine with a td5 lump

One of the best engines ever fitted to a Land Rover product and the last decent Defender engine.

Pokey, full of grunt, full of character, smooth, VERY tuneable

For day to day driving, the td5 is fantastic... It's as reliable as any other rover engine, if it's properly looked after. As mentioned, it's highly tunable.

If you end up with a td5, get yourself a nanocom. Consider it a tool in the box.

Don't let the electronics scare ya, they are easy to work on. There's also a lot of info on the forums, regarding td5s.

My TD5 has been very reliable-just turn key and go-so much better than my 300 tdi,but that may have been neglected before I had it

The electrics on a Td5 are pretty basic compared to newer cars, few sensors here and there and a ECU under the drivers seat. All the sensors are accessible, the twin oil filter set up is a great idea, I prefer them to the tdci.

Up to a couple of weeks ago I would have said the TD5 was one of the best diesels Ive seen, BUT then mine ran away on the M8, managed to stall it before it blew its guts out.

Could just replace head but theres a good chance a rod was bent as well.

No warning signs whatsoever, new seals etc now fitted but I thought Id do the fuel purge before putting the cam cover back on, glad I did because after a few mins I started to see fuel leaking from around No.2 injector, looks like the head is cracked.

So now Im looking for a 2nd hand P15 engine, but if I cant find one Ill downgrade to a P10 or just sell the whole thing for spares, bitterly disappointed.

Mark

There are one or two catastrophic failures, of course, but many TD5 engines seem to be soldiering on very nicely. Even the later ones are around 8 or 9 years old now and a lot seem to still be going, still on the original head gasket too in many cases. TD5 defenders in good condition seem to be holding their own in value very nicely against the later TDCI Puma models and seem to be getting quite collectable.

My partner has just bought a Disco 2 TD 5. I'm pleased to hear it's a good engine. Ours at the moment has an oil leak, diesel leak and water out of the expansion bottle, but nowhere else. But hopefully once all sorted and reliable we are looking at modifying for some extra performance. Very tune able? Does that mean, EGR blanking, mapping etc. is there an order that would be recommended?
Nanocom? A new thing for me as I had a Disco 1 before.

Mine is a 2005 15p engine, well maintained and loved, just done 5600 miles to Morocco and back, not one issue at all. It's now done 105K on the original head gasket, turbo. but it's had a lot of money spent on it in maintenance.

I've always been a foaming at the mouth V8 fan, but after going to Morocco I prefer a tuned Td5 now.

joezef87 said:

I have always heard the bad points of the TD5 but is it really all bad or is it just more difficult to work on due to electrics?

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Without wanting to state the obvious. But V8's with electronics and ECU's have been used since the 1980's in the Land Rover products. So how does having an ECU on a diesel make it more difficult to work on? Not too mention the last of the line Tdi's (Disco) also had ECU's.

And to top it all. What do you think almost every other car on the road uses for almost the past 30 years? Yep that's right an ECU And by and large such cars are no more difficult to maintain than carb equipped older models.

182,498 on my TD5 and still going strong - look after it and she will repay you well.