J

jcf1

Member
First things first - hi all! Secondly - I just picked up a cheap as chips defender 90 which was sold as having a newish engine from a discovery fitted some 20k miles ago. Looking under the bonnet it looks nothing like any disco engine I've seen - can anyone make a positive identification? I'm not that fussed as it was supercheap, but would like to know what it is.


Apologies in advance for the crappy photo - but it was in the pitch black on my phone illuminated by a keyring LED torch! I'll take a better piccy in the morning of noone can ID it from this.

image006tm1bb1.jpg
 
Cheers fellas - thought as much. She seems to run fine anyway so I'm not too bothered, just a bit smoky on startup.
 
A lot of people tend to heavily slate the 19J land rover engine (or Turbo Diesel) because it is deemed as unreliable and totally worthless. On the other hand, you might consider that it is a slightly more powerful revision of land rovers most reliable engine, the 12J 2.5 litre naturally aspirated (non turbo) diesel engine. The 19J (or TD) did tend to have problems with regards to both the cylinder head and pistons cracking due to the extra heat generated by the increased level of compression / combustion contributed by the up-rated fuel injection pump and turbo charger. This is where the date of manufacture for your vehicle is important. I think (and I may be slightly out) that the later 1988 to 1990 TD had a better, more substantial construction which was designed to cope with the extra heat, and if you have managed to get your hands on an engine from this particular year, consider it a genuine bargain because you can (if you really want) re-condition it yourself to "like new" state for within the region of £200 and it'll only take you the best part of a good weekend to get it done.

If you do have the earlier 19J, there's still no need to worry yourself too much but just make sure that it runs cool and perhaps flush the radiator and cooling system just to ensure that it runs as cool as possible.

The best way to tell if it needs any attention (ie. cylinder hone and new piston rings) is to start the engine and remove the oil dip stick. Press your thumb over the tube and then slowly release it. If there's a build up of pressure, new piston rings will have it running spot on. Of course, if there doesn't look to be any oil leaks around the oil filler cap or rocker cover bolts, don't worry, and just use the thing until it does drop out of your chassis!

Don't let people tell you that it is a totally crap engine,
-Pos
 
found it:D
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]2495cc turbodiesel, overhead valve, type 19J: Given the strength and reliability of the 2.5 diesel, you can understand why Land Rover thought it would cope with turbocharging, but the result was a warranty nightmare. 2.5TDs can fail in any number of ways, but the most common seems to be internal cracks developing in the cylinder block. This gives the same symptoms as a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder head, but is not repairable. Due to a defective design of crankcase breather, these engines also tend to dump large amounts of engine oil into the air filter housing, which turns the paper air filter into a soggy black lump. This in turn leads to oil being drawn into the air intake, causing the engine to 'run away' and self-destruct. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]
Land Rover introduced a new cylinder block for the 2.5 Turbodiesel (part no. ERR479) from engine number 19J27515C.

I have not been able to confirm, but suspect that this block was strengthened to get round the block cracking problems I would consider rebuilding a later engine, but not one of the earlier ones. In general, if the vehicle itself is any good, the sensible thing to do is to upgrade to a 200TDi (see below), or for old and tatty TDs the 2495cc non-turbo engine is a very straightforward swap, with only the air intake hose and exhaust system needing to be changed.[/FONT]
 
Well, having investigated further it was a brand spanker 20000 miles ago. I can't seem to locate an engine serial number though - on the plate where I thought I'd find it (below the front exhaust port) is stamped a number 2 - but no number.
Cheers for the info though lads - most helpful. It seems a fairly clean lump - no major leaks as far as I can tell.
pos - what work would this involve? I'm more than willing to give up a weekend if it'll save me grief in the future. It seems to run cool and steady, even on slow work through town on the way to my shoot the temp dial doesn't budge. We'll see how she fares in the summer!
 
Generally speaking if your engine seems to be running fine (ie. no oil forced out from anywhere) a good service including fuel, oil and air filter change a radiator flush and some new engine oil should have it running sweet as a nut for years, but if there are any signs of wear or if you really fancy having a go at it, it is by all means a reasonably simple and straight forward job to achieve.

These engines are extremely simple, and changing the pistons doesn't even require you to start messing about with the timing / timing belt or the water pump etc. There's just the three rocker cover bolts to remove, the rocker which comes off as one whole thing, the push rods to pull out and then the head to lift off. Of course, to take the pistons out you just need to take the sump off ad then undo the big end cap and knock it up and out of the cylinder. Simple!

If you want to have a go, I can write you a quick guide as to what to do and how to do it, but as I've already said, you only really need to do it if you think it needs doing. If you're happy with it, don't do it, if you would feel a little happier knowing its like new, by all means have a go!

-Pos
 
just look after it usual servicing and a quality anti-freeze with a corrosion inhibitor added,should be good for about 140,000 with no major issues if used gentle and not thrashed about to much,
depending on where the enjun was remanufactered will depend on there system for numbering,if it was done with the later block mores the better
 
HANG ON!
You sure that's TD?? It has a TD oil filler cap but the TD ain't got them pipes goin down the side, that's a 200 innit??? You sure it ain't a 200 (or 300?) just with the filler cap off of a td?? My td din't look much like that (even on the dark!!)
 
Sorry, just bin and had a look, mine are just about one above the other but they are there! Summat does look different though and can't quite put me finger on it - maybe it's just coz it's dark - can't really see the turdo. :)
 
pos - if you get a bit bored I'd appreciate your home made guide! I can always do with something to keep me out of the house on weekends :)
 
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