Td5 or 300tdi...help me with Christmas!

Hey All -

Here in the States, Defenders aren't so common, and diesels are like hen's teeth.....so....

I bought a lovely Td5 here a few years ago from a really nice chap - never would give me his name - and have been quite pleased with it through think n thin. Generally a brilliant engine, no complaints, but then, I haven't had any ECU issues yet, either. I'm buggered if I ever do....

I've been ruminating over buying another one, a 110 SW for more seating compared to my present Hi-Cap. I'm not at all familiar with the 300tdi engine, so I put it to the lot of you.....which would you recommend, another Td5 or a 300tdi?

I don't have any access to computer diagnostics for the Td5, but so far it hasn't been a problem.....I know full well it could be, though. On the other hand, I read about the timing belt issues with the tdi's....how much of an issue is it and how often in the real world does the tdi timing belt need replacing? Are there any other issues I ought to consider when deciding between the two engine options?

Parts are not an issue....it's just knowing which one's I need and what to do with them when I got 'em!

Thanks

How are you managing to get late model defenders into US? I tried getting one to Canada and gave up in the end..

Didn't emmigrate in the end because of it -Thats Landy devotion.

My thoughts exactly. No 300tdi defenders over there , are there?

Yankee Vet,

In my humble opinion i would go for a 300tdi, its an basic engine that will go on and on, its like a tractor engine, bloody great. Nice and simply to work on by the owner for the basic maintenance tasks and also by the normal mechanic in the garage for the more complex jobs. If possible go for the 1997/98 300tdi. These are the last of the 300tdi off the line, so most of the teething problems had been sorted and improvements added. My 300tdi station wagon only has a 45litre tank fitted, against the bigger 55/60litres of the TD5, although having said that i get 300 miles from a full tank, against my mate who has a td5, and he gets 280miles to the full tank, but he does drive like a lunatic. Hope this helps in you decision making process.

try Landrover restoration and sales - Yorkshire, uk, they'll ship a land rover pretty much anywhere I think

id go for 300 they are more durable . i think

Percy Pongo said:

Yankee Vet,

In my humble opinion i would go for a 300tdi, its an basic engine that will go on and on, its like a tractor engine, bloody great. Nice and simply to work on by the owner for the basic maintenance tasks and also by the normal mechanic in the garage for the more complex jobs. If possible go for the 1997/98 300tdi. These are the last of the 300tdi off the line, so most of the teething problems had been sorted and improvements added. My 300tdi station wagon only has a 45litre tank fitted, against the bigger 55/60litres of the TD5, although having said that i get 300 miles from a full tank, against my mate who has a td5, and he gets 280miles to the full tank, but he does drive like a lunatic. Hope this helps in you decision making process.

Click to expand...

do all 300s have a 45 litre tank. also dads got a td5 which he drove to north wales n back in a day . he averaged 32 miles to the gallon.

well how you got it into canada or the state still amazes me. a fellow LROS member just relocated to NY and couldn't take his Td5 from singapore along. so he ended up buying an ex-police Tdi200 here with 50000km on the clock in 15yrs, modifying it and shipped it over to canada.

ok, that aside if you already have a Td5, why not stick on with it. the nanocom is a pretty value for money diagnostic system and will even allow you to rewrite the 2002 and beyond ECUs.

if learning new stuff is your game, then the Tdi300 is your choice. the timing belt, if it really bothers you, there a timing belt to gear conversion so you'll never face the problem again. but in the real world, just make sure you change the belt religiously according to the manual and it should hold up well.

can't say much as i'm a Td5 owner, so i've never owned a Tdi.

I looked into bringing over my 2002 TD5 and the only way I could have done it (and one of the well known landy conversion specialists does this regularly), was to buy an identity of a 15 year old 110, and put all my bits onto a new chassis, selling the td5 engine and chassis plus identity, to help pay for the work and installing a 200tdi... was going to cost me 3k to turn what was at the time a 2 year old into a "15" year old.

I didn't in the end.

So again, how the hell you getting them in? They cant be there permanently surely??

Thanks for all the replys!

As to how the truck got here....I bought it from a man who specialises in importing classic Mini's into the States, and occassionally Land Rovers if there is an interest. He got me what I asked for - how is his buisness.

Now, if the US$ would stop tanking against the Euro....

Cheers!

good luck to you! Hopefully your new truck will avoid the crusher!

truck?

TRUCK?

was merely speaking Americanese. Anyone knows a landy is a jeep

I've had discoverys with both these engines. It's true the TDi is simpler, but I suspect that if you're used to a TD5 you'd find the older machine very "agricultural" (slow, noisy, etc etc)