defender 90 2.5 n/a?

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tom1disco.300

tom1disco.300

Active Member
Posts
389
Location
southwater/horsham westsussex
Hi all, I have once again gone out and been stupid and brought another land rover,its a lime green 2.5 n/a 90 for 700 squid,witch is quite cheap i thought,and its quite solid too! it had a running problem witch i was told was a bottom end issue,being con rod or crank bearings or worse a cracked piston! it turns out that number 8 rocker is completely snapped off! so quids in for me then! i just need a new rocker shaft! i was just curious as to what sort of performance i will get out of it compared to my 10j in my little 88 series 3,obviously its a 2.25! i will eventually replace the engine but if i can run it for a while and get it a bit healthier then i will put it on the road. Also does anyone know of anything i can do other than the normal fuel filter injector cleaner, valve clearances, oil change and filter and air filter, to make it run a little more efficiently?
Thanks
Tom
 
Just set up everything as best you can, they run great as long as you don't expect too much of them:)
 
okay cool, i will do all the above obviously oil change and filters,injector cleaner and give it a good running in! but yes i may have the injectors calibrated and the timing done too! do you run a 2.5 n/a then? if so what sort of mpg do you get and what's it like everyday, im not expecting fast atall, never will in a landy, but a 2.5 will be sooooo much better than my 36 year old 2.25 diesel! cheers mate!
 
tom1disco.300 said:
okay cool, i will do all the above obviously oil change and filters,injector cleaner and give it a good running in! but yes i may have the injectors calibrated and the timing done too! do you run a 2.5 n/a then? if so what sort of mpg do you get and what's it like everyday, im not expecting fast atall, never will in a landy, but a 2.5 will be sooooo much better than my 36 year old 2.25 diesel! cheers mate!
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Mine was not set up properly, I never could get it right as no time to spend on it.
It was used daily mostly around town and returned about 26mpg, it was fine around town but once asked to go uphill at over 40mph she struggled.
Motorway fine at 50 but hills saw the speed fall to 45, don't know if mine was typical but she pulled well in the low gears at low revs, just pottering around was a pleasure, it was out on the open road where every one expects you to fly that it was a struggle:)

Took it out and put 200tdi in :)
 
landowner said:
Mine was not set up properly, I never could get it right as no time to spend on it.
It was used daily mostly around town and returned about 26mpg, it was fine around town but once asked to go uphill at over 40mph she struggled.
Motorway fine at 50 but hills saw the speed fall to 45, don't know if mine was typical but she pulled well in the low gears at low revs, just pottering around was a pleasure, it was out on the open road where every one expects you to fly that it was a struggle:)

Took it out and put 200tdi in :)
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Mine was much the same, and I went the same route as you (200 TDI). Getting everything spot on can make a dramatic difference though. Mine used to chuck in the towel at the slightest threat of incline, but I'm convinced that with the right setup, they can be a decent motor.
 
I can't imagine going 80 in a Defender! I've never taken my up to the limit, but it will do 60+ all day regardless of inclines, which is fast enough for me. I'm sure if would be quite happy to do 70, but the noise would be too much for me. Beyond that, I will never know - my life is too precious or I'm too chicken to find out
 
sp00k said:
I can't imagine going 80 in a Defender! I've never taken my up to the limit, but it will do 60+ all day regardless of inclines, which is fast enough for me. I'm sure if would be quite happy to do 70, but the noise would be too much for me. Beyond that, I will never know - my life is too precious or I'm too chicken to find out
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200 tdi 110 csw would do 90 quite easily ,if well maintained in std spec speed shouldnt be an issue
 
It's not so much obtaining the speed, although that's probably impossible in my configuration with the gearing, but more the handling should any prompt action be required. Just the weight of the vehicle, size of wheels, ground clearance - the extra time in general needed to safely brake and maneuver would all make me very nervous of trying to break any land speed records!

I was was certainly no stranger to speed in the past. My current alternative 'ride' is a 3L BMW and my previous was an Impreza WRX.

These days however, I'm a little more cautious in my approach! Also, my 110 seems to be a magnet for people pulling out into it's path. Only last week a C1 pulled out directly in front of me on a narrow 50 mph B road when I was doing 50 leaving no alternative but swerve around her and overtake her. If there had been anything coming the other way, I wold have had to drive directly into the back of her. Crazy stuff.
 
well thanks for all the replys and feed back, the old girl is abit broken at the moment and does need some tlc,as usual some idiot has had the filler out rather than a welder and bodged the bulkhead up in a few places and has obviously never driven a 90 before as it looks like they have tried driving through 2 trees that are to narrow! lol! but i wont be expecting speed and i drive a 2.25 diesel series 3 everyday so anything is an improvement rite? but i will do the same and put a tdi in it at some point! but i thought 700 quid for a 90 with an MOT was pretty good! thanks anyways guys!
 
that is one thing tho,my little 88 on leafs,although its an old series 3 witch is old and decrepit,and it handles like crap it is very stable and belive it or not does stick to the road,if not it just slides, and would probably out monuvre a 110 on springs! just saying! :cool:
 
There is nothing at all wrong with a well set up 2.5N/A

In a 90 you should be able to get a return of around 30mpg and a top speed of 80mph+

Pity you are so far away :) ;) ;)
 
Oldseadog said:
There is nothing at all wrong with a well set up 2.5N/A

In a 90 you should be able to get a return of around 30mpg and a top speed of 80mph+

Pity you are so far away :) ;) ;)
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Don't worry OSD, you can fix mine at some point! It's dumped in my garage for now but I do plan on taking the head at some point to see what the story is.

If your up for it, I could run you over to give it a once over, one of these days. It's fully intact apart from water pipes, so I should be ok to run it in situ for short periods. If I could get my hands on some old pipe, I could even rig up the radiator.

I'm hoping it will just be a poorly fitted headgasket (by the dealer) as it's leaking oil from the exhaust side of the engine, at the gasket level. It was also smoking a little but that's probably a tuning issue.

I'm planning on tidying my garage over the next couple of months so that I can get back in it!
 
Good motors, been well chuffed with mine. Easy to fix, sit at 60 all day and will push 75-80 if needed. Bit slow on steep hills but its fun.
 
yeah my 2.5na in a soft top 90 is fine, bit pedestrian on motorways and you have to plan ahead a lot but back roads and off road is fine.

i set mine up as per OSD and it made loads of difference. In mine the thing that irks me driving is not the 2.5na but the military squab seats for distance/motorway work. I quite like my 2.5na though, simple as simple can be, i get about 75mph out of mine (maybe more bit scared to push it more) but its a bit of a handful, much nicer at around 60-65mph. MPG i get around the 26 mark roughly

i have been offered a defender 200tdi engine though so i am deciding what to do.......
 
flat said:
i have been offered a defender 200tdi engine though so i am deciding what to do.......
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Do it. You will not look back.

If mine had not been my daily driver, I may have stuck out the 2.5 NA - at least for a bit longer but the 200 TDI takes away all the nonsense with hills etc. The difference is like night and day.

In fact, you are normally limited on very steep hills by other traffic - modern cars with lightweight engines NOT by the speed of your own.

Defender versions are fairly rare and generally expensive so if you've found a good one, I would go for it. Conversion is much simpler with a Fender version, it really does become a bolt in upgrade if you have the ancillary bits included.
 
A mate has a defender 200tdi and a couple of disco 200tdi's aswell, he also has a couple of spare defender 200tdi exhaust/turbo manifolds so i could go the disco route with a manifold swap.

All are complete vehicles, legit and running.

I am tempted, he is going to do me a quote for the work based on me paying cash and helping and he will source all the bits. His company does overland prep work on landrovers for companies going abroad filming etc, journalists that sort of thing so he has lots of bits and pieces.

Very very tempted...... the 2.5na is fine and i would love with it as its not my daily driver, but a 200tdi at the right price would be daft to miss. If I dont have the money to do all the work i may jsut strip the engine out one of them and dry store it with all ancilliaries for the future
 
flat said:
A mate has a defender 200tdi and a couple of disco 200tdi's aswell, he also has a couple of spare defender 200tdi exhaust/turbo manifolds so i could go the disco route with a manifold swap.

All are complete vehicles, legit and running.

I am tempted, he is going to do me a quote for the work based on me paying cash and helping and he will source all the bits. His company does overland prep work on landrovers for companies going abroad filming etc, journalists that sort of thing so he has lots of bits and pieces.

Very very tempted...... the 2.5na is fine and i would love with it as its not my daily driver, but a 200tdi at the right price would be daft to miss. If I dont have the money to do all the work i may jsut strip the engine out one of them and dry store it with all ancilliaries for the future
Click to expand...

Hmm. I keep thinking I should build up a spare engine to swap in if required. Need to think of someway of getting it past the wife ;)

You could DIY it to save cash. The biggest expense for me (other than the engine) was an engine crane at about £150 for a 2 ton one.

The engine would fit in the back of your beast for transport.

If you are going down the disco route, if you do not have an oil cooler on your 2.5 NA, try to get the fender version off your mate - it will save having oil pipes made up.

Mind you, I do have a softspot of the old 2.5 NA. They are a very honest engine - great offroad, simple and reliable (except for mine).
 
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