04 Defender .... buy??
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Check it has an engine and gearbox, four wheels.... etc 
foto??
foto??
I know all about buying landy up to about 1995, after that l haven't a clue, don't even know what engin is in it yetCheck it has an engine and gearbox, four wheels.... etc
foto??
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Td5. Still chassis and bulkhead to look at. The rear cross members are designed to hold as much crap as possible.
tottot
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Engine should be TD5, but as with every thing to do with older Land Rovers condition of chassis bulkhead is the main thing
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Doors! I recently added an ‘05 90 to my fleet. Chassis looks to have been waxoyled from new and had the two front and rear doors replaced with new puma ones, so at 04 the doors could be getting crispy if original and they can be expensive
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Yes, it's rust as usual. TD5s are apt to rust in pretty much the same places as the other variants and have now reached the sort of age where it is likely to be fairly well advanced.
In 120,000 miles of TD5 ownership the most unreliable thing I've found is the electronics. The ECU has expired on me more frequently than I've had flat tyres, so I've now got two good ones and keep the spare in the car with me so I've got a known working one to swap in when I need it. The injector wiring loom is more or less a consumable item as it gets oil in it which can lead to the engine running poorly or dying unexpectedly. I've been through several crank position sensors and an airflow mass sensor. In addition the main 'red plug' wiring loom is prone to problems as the insulation deteriorates and the wire itself seems to be very stiff and brittle. I had a new one put in about six years ago and it's much better. These are not prospective faults you can easily predict when you go to look at a TD5 for sale, of course, but it's important to be aware that they can happen. After all, you wouldn't expect a near 20 year old computer to be entirely reliable so the same is true of these things. All this is not to put you off, but they're just things that can happen to them.
The TD5 engine itself can be a very long lived unit. This is just as well as Land Rover does not recommend any of the usual machining, like rebores, crank regrinds or cylinder head skimming. There are some vulnerabilities, particularly around the cylinder head and cylinder head gasket, which are well rehearsed on here so I won't repeat them. If it sounds fairly sweet, isn't too smoky and doesn't appear to be emulsifying its oil or coolant it's probably worth a punt.
In 120,000 miles of TD5 ownership the most unreliable thing I've found is the electronics. The ECU has expired on me more frequently than I've had flat tyres, so I've now got two good ones and keep the spare in the car with me so I've got a known working one to swap in when I need it. The injector wiring loom is more or less a consumable item as it gets oil in it which can lead to the engine running poorly or dying unexpectedly. I've been through several crank position sensors and an airflow mass sensor. In addition the main 'red plug' wiring loom is prone to problems as the insulation deteriorates and the wire itself seems to be very stiff and brittle. I had a new one put in about six years ago and it's much better. These are not prospective faults you can easily predict when you go to look at a TD5 for sale, of course, but it's important to be aware that they can happen. After all, you wouldn't expect a near 20 year old computer to be entirely reliable so the same is true of these things. All this is not to put you off, but they're just things that can happen to them.
The TD5 engine itself can be a very long lived unit. This is just as well as Land Rover does not recommend any of the usual machining, like rebores, crank regrinds or cylinder head skimming. There are some vulnerabilities, particularly around the cylinder head and cylinder head gasket, which are well rehearsed on here so I won't repeat them. If it sounds fairly sweet, isn't too smoky and doesn't appear to be emulsifying its oil or coolant it's probably worth a punt.
