TD5 versus M51

Datatek said:

Never seen any smoke out of mine even reving to the limit in second up an Alp

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zzr1200 said:

Its not smoke as such, I presume its just the general build up of carbon in the exhaust system that gets cleared out at high gas flow/temperature through the system, could be the catalyst cleaning itself (if fitted?).

Possibly a bit of over fueling at the very top end due to wear, as far as I know the injection systems never been touched set up wise on my engine.

And of course Datatek you don't have the luxury of London style traffic down your way....

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sovereign said:

You lucky sod living there
Just back from 3 weeks touring around SW France, based in Capbreton.

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Moron said:

I hated diesels with a passion........untill I bought my P38 td.......its impressed me no end, quick for a large brick and frugal with it too

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StuckAgainSteve said:

Diesels are fine for tractors, lorries and proper utility vehicles - but why sully a luxo-barge with one?

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Datatek said:

In the case of the P38, because they are economical, reliable and don't slip liners

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StuckAgainSteve said:

Some people don't care about economy (me included) and would much rather have the smoothness and power of a V8 over an oil-burner - as for reliability there seems to be plenty of broken diesels on here - and other than in the world of the internet I've yet to actually experience a P38 with slipped liners. I know a couple of chaps that - like me - rack up thousands of miles in a V8 P38s without any major dramas. I think you only see the worst of any car on forums - people don't hunt out internet forums to post how reliable their car has been! Most Rover V8s die from being driven for thousands of miles with a knackered camshaft (often fro neglected oil changes) - the swarf from which damages the rest of the engine. Of course slipped liners do happen (allegedly) - coz I've still yet to see one with my own eyes! I think the M51 is more negligence-proof, but when well-maintained both can last a reasonably long time.

Back to the post(ish), the TD5 was an excellent engine which never received the development budget it deserved - I think it's better than the M51, but then so were the later BMW units.

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jamesmartin said:

blocks cracking behind liner is/was a very real issue,some on new cars some only when cooling system had become less effective

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StuckAgainSteve said:

I believe (dunno if it's internet mythology) that there were many NOS 3.5 blocks machined by different outside suppliers to become 4.6s. Some go and some don't.

Of course if Rover had taken a leaf out of Buick's book and cast keyed liners into the blocks instead of pressing them in the cheap-skate way - or at least used tophat liners when they stroked the engine to the point where they ran out of metal around the base of the liners - none of the issues would have happened!

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fortgrange said:

I thought new Defenders had the Transit 2.2 TDCi engine?

Although I do think there are some rose coloured specs being worn. I must confess I've never driven a fettled diesel P38, but having driven many with standard issue have found the TD5 to be a much nicer unit.

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Bix said:

Mine makes an interesting smoke screen that is only really visible at night when I absolutely nail it. During the day it cannot be seen, but once it gets dark out and the lights are on. No doubt something expensive is wrong.

But she goes well, I've taken many the nob at traffic lights without really trying and the motor does sound lovely when you're putting some load in it, going up a hill for example. Just makes me yearn for a V8 though.

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