L series vs Td4 driveability

As ewe know, I drive the vastly superior K series Freelander which will before long be even more vastly superiorer. However a friend of mine is looking into getting a Freelander, and me suspects that she cannot dedicate enough time to prayer, fasting and goat sacrifice to keep a K series machinhe spirit happy. Therefore I have suggested either a highish mileage Td4 for around £3-3.5k of or a far cheaper pre-facelift L series. They are less powerful spirits who are easier to appease .

All I'm interested in is how they drive comparitively, the rest I'm pretty familiar with . Is the L series a bit of a slug compared to the Td4?

I certainly like how bombproof the rover injun is . Thoughts?

Any Buddhist will tell you that the 'K' series engines died and went to Nibbanha (or was it Valhalla) from whence it was re-incarnated as the M47R.

Possibly the best engine I've ever had - ooops, almost forgot the 2.8 Litre straight 6 BMW in my E28.

OK then - the best under 2 Litre diesel engine then.

SV.

To be honest she could buy the biggest pile of Freelander **** and it wouldn't matter as long as the interior was ok - owt else I could sort for her. And if I get stuck then she can send some cake and dog treats in DD's direction and he can sort it .

But I'll be taking a 32mm socket and a breaker bar to every viewing to test the VCU's. Lots of data for Hippo !

I think a 120+k mile TD4 Facelift would be the best option, but she wouldn't have much change left from the sale of her 2009 Fiesta. If she got an older one (2001-2004) Td4 she might get more change. But the Facelift is purdy.

We have one of each. Initially when we got the 'L' series we were impressed with the handling, performance and reliability, especially when towing, sitting at 60 mph with a caravan is a doddle compared with the previous Mondeo TD. Over the 8 or so years we have had it, the only time it let us down is when the belt tensioner pully failed, although it has had the IRD, VCU and rear window mechanism changed.
When we got the TD4 we realised how sluggish the 'L' was, and it had a bit more room in comparison. It still tows just as well as the earlier one, if not better. The only problem has been, and took months find the cure, was the harness from the pressure sensor, it caused a multitude of warning lights and engine problems that came and went, but has been perfect since it was replaced.
My recomendation would be to find the best TD4 for the price, especially one that has had the usual culprits replaced, and with a warrenty of at least 3 months to give you time to find any possible problems

Yep the Td4 is the better of the two in terms of performance. I think they're reliable enough too. She's lucky that she knows two people who know the cars .

nephew is a mech and a few pals too they all sware the L is the best td4 is problamatic and expensive but you will get mor mpg and power most likely , l series is the dependable rover engine lol

thequeenscheese said:

nephew is a mech and a few pals too they all sware the L is the best td4 is problamatic and expensive but you will get mor mpg and power most likely , l series is the dependable rover engine lol

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I agree - I have to admit the TD4 can be problematic.

I once parked at the Edelweißspitze at the summit of the GroßGlocknerHochAlpenstraße at an altitude of 2,571m (8,435ft) and the beggar wouldn't start when I came back to the car after a half-hour or so.

But I managed to solve the problem - I turned the ignition-key a second time. ound:

SV.

It depends on how badly she wants a newer car. I can't see there being a huge difference between an older L series and a newer TD4 in terms of comfort and enjoyment. Hopefully she can take both for a test drive and see which she likes better. But the fact that we never see threads about L series problems is a good sign - well almost never.

WLJayne said:

It depends on how badly she wants a newer car. I can't see there being a huge difference between an older L series and a newer TD4 in terms of comfort and enjoyment. Hopefully she can take both for a test drive and see which she likes better. But the fact that we never see threads about L series problems is a good sign - well almost never.

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True.

long live the mighty L-Series doozle Rover lump

vastly superior in reliabilty to the german pretender





i've been saying that for long enough btw

You could probably remap it to be as powerful as the stock Td4.

i got the L series. I have drove a few TD4's (albeit not for a huge amount of time) but i prefer the L series personally. Little bit more aggriculteral but i would rather spend good money on a good L series than not so much on a TD4 and waiting for things to go wrong

WLJayne said:

You could probably remap it to be as powerful as the stock Td4.

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you can turn the turbo boost up a little to te
he max, did it on mine not a massive gain but some...

think i got a small issue on mine somewhere - somedays shes normal ( well i say normal as thats what shes usually like) and everynow and again she feels really nippy and lively can i guess at aticky injectors? is there a fix/addative that will help them other than redex ?

thequeenscheese said:

you can turn the turbo boost up a little to te
he max, did it on mine not a massive gain but some...

think i got a small issue on mine somewhere - somedays shes normal ( well i say normal as thats what shes usually like) and everynow and again she feels really nippy and lively can i guess at aticky injectors? is there a fix/addative that will help them other than redex ?

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No idea mate but it sounds like maybe it would be worth fitting new ones or getting them reconned if that's poss?

Singvogel said:

But I managed to solve the problem - I turned the ignition-key a second time. ound:

SV.

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Quality SV! Since bringing my TD4 up to scratch, replacing all the basics, and servicing, it's one lovely drive. Smooth on accelerating, but for a 2 ton + car it pulls very well, starts every time...... all in all a little gem.

crockett007 said:

Quality SV! Since bringing my TD4 up to scratch, replacing all the basics, and servicing, it's one lovely drive. Smooth on accelerating, but for a 2 ton + car it pulls very well, starts every time...... all in all a little gem.

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I can say the same for me 1.8 . I reckon that 90% of it all comes down to maintainance and not being a lobster clawed buffoon.

Knocked the nail on the head there WLJ. Nowadays people think cars should run for tens of thousands of miles without so much as a glance under the bonnet. I remember when I was younger, there was always a bonnet up at the weekend, someones dad tinkering around with whatever engine it was, and us kids helping like a surgeons' assistants!! Those were the days............

crockett007 said:

Knocked the nail on the head there WLJ. Nowadays people think cars should run for tens of thousands of miles without so much as a glance under the bonnet. I remember when I was younger, there was always a bonnet up at the weekend, someones dad tinkering around with whatever engine it was, and us kids helping like a surgeons' assistants!! Those were the days............

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Ah! ..... I feel another nostalgia attack coming on ..... helping my dad and my uncle change the oil in the Humber Super Snipe - every 1500 miles - straight SAE 30 ...... and my own first car - an A30 - which had a starting handle - with a wooden grip ......

Pass the brandy - it's going to be a lovely evening ..... Zzzzzzz.

SV.

Singvogel said:

Ah! ..... I feel another nostalgia attack coming on ..... helping my dad and my uncle change the oil in the Humber Super Snipe - every 1500 miles - straight SAE 30 ...... and my own first car - an A30 - which had a starting handle - with a wooden grip ......

Pass the brandy - it's going to be a lovely evening ..... Zzzzzzz.

SV.

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this time last year i didnt have a choice... i had a spitfire lol

I am only driving my L series a week now and i think it is ok, and the bmw engine is better
for power, with blanking EGR valves etc is to much hassle. the the freelander has
enough problems with IRD and VC ELECTRICAL, etc . i drove a tg4 and i was impressed, but
done some homework on both engines and went for the good old L series.
the freelander is a comfortable jeep to sit in and it is no different in diesel or pretol form.
what ever paddles your boat.