Your thoughts on the 2.5td 19j engine??

Just wondering how many people of this forum have the 19j engine fitted to there 90/110's and what you think of them in general and how many miles have you clocked up with this engine??Browsing the net there seems to be mixed opinions on this engine (mostly bad)and its reliability?I currently have this engine in my 90 and have just come home from the lake district , driving a total of 477 trouble free miles and couldn't really fault it?Its never gonna be a 200/300tdi but is it really that bad?

The 2.5N/A that it was built on is on the whole a brilliant engine, then LR made a mistake of putting the turbo onto it without doing anything more to the engine itself. This lead to problems such as internal cracks developing in the cylinder block, the breather is not that well designed leading to oil contaminating the air filter and then being drawn into the engine letting it run away.

The later ones did have a strengthed head so you may have one of these.

If you don't trash your engine it will do the job; you could even turn the turbo back a tiny bit so its more like a 2.5N/A with the added fuel economy because of the better combustion.

I've got one in my 110. It's done 130 thou and had a top end rebuild about 15 thousand ago. I've done about 10 thousand in it without the slightest bit of hassle. Totally reliable in the time I've had it. My only complaints are it's under powered on the road, not doing hills too well and being pants for towing, and isn't particularly economical giving about 25mpg but that drops alarmingly when you hitch a trailer up. I'm going to stick a 200tdi in out of the disco I'm using at the mo along with the disco transfer box, not because the 19j has anything wrong with it but purely for better driveability and economy.

had one in 1988 brand new suffered cracked pistons at less than 50k landrover didnt want to know said it was a unique problem with mine ! well chronicled since suggest rip it out and fit v8


Remember "drive it like you stole it"

My thoughts on this have recently changed!!! I just upgraded what was a perfectly goog TD for a tdi. The TD had covered 8000 miles with me with not a hiccup, and 100+ before that (but can't vouch for that!) and although it was a bit sticky to start from cold and tended to suddenly rev away, then stall but generally was reliable. I was getting 22 miles per gallon, foot flat to the floor all the time (living somewhere very hilly), driving round quite a lot in second, third on motorway hills, Trewey flying past me on anything more than a 1:100 incline.

Got a bit fed up (as it is now my daily driver and i do a reasonable mileage) so i got a 200tdi put in. Now i realise what an old dog the 19 was. Am getting 30+mpg, it goes when i put my foot down, 5th on any motorway (or cornish equivalent), 4th on hills i used to struggle on third in, and yes, it came with a free chuftee badge

And yes, they do have a bit of a reputation for not coping well with the turdo (! cos it sure as fook ain't a turbo - maybe they just stuck a Turbot on the side - SIRUS???) although i never experienced any of the unreliability issues with mine. The TDi starts before the engine has done a full revolution whereas before it was try a bit, heat her up, try a bit more, heat her up and eventually if the battery still had enough juice, she'd fire.

So all in all the 19J is bog standard, the later ones were better modified to cope with torbocharging but i'd say it was a serious compromise, and i did a fred a coupla weeks ago where i worked out that the TDi conversion would pay for itself in well under a year id doing reasonable mileage.

go on fit a v8

Hi, i have the 2.5TD 19J engine in my 1989 110. It has clocked up 143,600 miles. I have the usual puff of smoke on start up and small amount of black stuff on acceleration.
I change oil at about every 3000 miles, add wynns oil treatment.
I have put in new injectors and heaters within the last month as i don`t think they had ever been changed.
I have tweaked the turbo slightly and it has made a bit of a difference on acceleration and have got 75mph out of her even with the mileage.
It`s not the quietest if engines or the fastest, bit sluggish up hills, but overall it`s not bad.
As for fuel consumption, i live in wales where there are plenty of hills, well where i live and i average about 24 mpg pottering about and about 29ish on a good run, fully loaded with camping gear and depends on the wind LOL.
I did think about a 200 tdi engine, but all that work and expense for a couple of mpg more is it worth it and besides it would be a second hand engine with over 100k on clock and someone elses say so that engine was okay when they took it out!!!!
Hope i`ve been of some help
peters877

Odenne is right. Once you've been driving a tdi there's no way you'd be satisfied with a 19J. It's not just the mpg. The tdi is seriously more powerful making it a hell of a lot easier to drive. Having said that the 19J is more than capable once you bung it in low range, but very sensitive to stuff like tyre size on the road and would definitely be pathetic if used with the taller gearing of a disco transfer box. The tdi I've got for mine is in the disco I'm using while I sort out the other jobs on the 110, so I know it's a good one. Wouldn't fancy buying any engine on a pallet and without driving about in it for a bit.

hughesy said:

Odenne is right.

Click to expand...

Heehee i see a new quote coming on at the bottom of me posts!!!

Over 229K on the clock. Starts first, second or third time (even from very cold) Last time I did the maths 28mpg in hilly north yorkshire, engine rattles like a bastard (must do mi tappets some time). It runs on any old oily **** I can find, I'm never in that much of a rush to care how fast I'm going but if I push it a bit it will do 15mph in first, 26 mph in second, 41 in third 60 in fourth and I bottled out at 75 in top (It was like trying to stear a fat overfed cow). It smokes more than I do and sometimes I think its on its last legs but it keeps on going. Brilliant fun...when I eventually break it i'll have to think about what I'm gonna do with it but as the rest of my landy is like a jugsaw puzzle of landy bits I don't think It matters that much.

Let it warm up before you push it too hard.

156k in my landy 90 1988 model,yes its not a sports car with super fast acceleration or top end speed but when i weigh up that i do 90% off road and your average speed off road is 10-20mph why would i want any more power,low range is great up and down hills i probably would go for a 200 tdi but not untill this one falls apart as it does the job very well

dirty hands said:

Over 229K on the clock. Starts first, second or third time (even from very cold) Last time I did the maths 28mpg in hilly north yorkshire, engine rattles like a bastard (must do mi tappets some time). It runs on any old oily **** I can find, I'm never in that much of a rush to care how fast I'm going but if I push it a bit it will do 15mph in first, 26 mph in second, 41 in third 60 in fourth and I bottled out at 75 in top (It was like trying to stear a fat overfed cow). It smokes more than I do and sometimes I think its on its last legs but it keeps on going. Brilliant fun...when I eventually break it i'll have to think about what I'm gonna do with it but as the rest of my landy is like a jugsaw puzzle of landy bits I don't think It matters that much.

Let it warm up before you push it too hard.

Click to expand...

229K Is fantastic mileage,,,Myns a 87 model and im only the second owner from new,its just clocked up 90k yesterday ive thought once or twice about the 200tdi conversion but think ill just hang fire and see how long the 19j lasts me.hopefully in this time the price of a 200tdi engine may have come down(hopefully)

Thanks all

Kin brilliant injun, if you look after it. Ant ad any trouble with mine an its done over 170 thousand, vehicle will do getting on for 70 when I want, which int often if I want speed I'll get my bike out, horses fer courses I spose.

I've just spent along the lines of £6000 on a full nuts and bolts rebuild and decided to KEEP the 2.5TD intsalled, so fond am I of the little tyke.

( but I have dibs on a 200tdi if it all goes wrong)

odenne said:

Am getting 30+mpg, it goes when i put my foot down, 5th on any motorway (or cornish equivalent), 4th on hills i used to struggle on third in, and yes, it came with a free chuftee badge

Click to expand...

and if you fancy an extra 25 BHP for 20 minutes work

Land Rover Owner :: View topic - 200/300tdi pump adjustment for +25 BHP

specifically the word documents contained within the zip file in post 3 of that thread

Mate of mines Dad had a TD fitted to his SIIA camper. It had been modified to open up the block a bit to stop overheating here in SA. He was very happy with it until a precombustion chamber dropped into the cylinder when he was on holiday. Made a bit of a mess of the engine, so we put in a 300tdi. Now he has to be careful, as the engine is a bit too fast for the brakes etc, but it is also easier to drive and much quieter.

Great to see theres still a few 19j's going strong,,so not all bad.As mentioned in my first post,i cant really fault myn,maybe a little bit on the thirsty side when driving around town but that doesn't really bother me,its never let me down(yet) ,hopefully she'll hang on in there for a little while yet.

discomania said:

The 2.5N/A that it was built on is on the whole a brilliant engine, then LR made a mistake of putting the turbo onto it without doing anything more to the engine itself. This lead to problems such as internal cracks developing in the cylinder block, the breather is not that well designed leading to oil contaminating the air filter and then being drawn into the engine letting it run away.

The later ones did have a strengthed head so you may have one of these.

If you don't trash your engine it will do the job; you could even turn the turbo back a tiny bit so its more like a 2.5N/A with the added fuel economy because of the better combustion.

Click to expand...

How would I go about turning the turbo back slightly??Cant find anything in the haynes,,can you please enlighten me....Thanks

bowers1986 said:

How would I go about turning the turbo back slightly??Cant find anything in the haynes,,can you please enlighten me....Thanks

Click to expand...

just lengthen the rod if you want less boost - best not to mess with the turbo unless you have a boost guage fitted

i would still have a v8 fitted