Hey,

New to the forum so apologies if this question has been asked before!

My brother in law is thinking of selling his 1990 Land Rover 90 with the 2.5td engine for £5,000 and he has given me first refusal.

I'm tempted however the engine is putting me off as I have heard that they can be very unreliable...

Its a low mileage engine (116,000) which has been regularly serviced and the truck is is great condition. I appreciate a 200tdi would be a better engine, however just want to find out what your thoughts are on the 2.5td. I understand that they are a little under powered, however this isn't really a concern as I wont be towing or doing any heavy offroading (I have a Disco 2 for that). This will be used for some greenlaning and camping trips.

Would the engine put potential buyers off in the future? Do any of you have any experience with this engine and if so, what are your thoughts!

Thanks,
Andy

The 19j had a lot of bad press early on in its life, quite rightly. It was in some ways a pioneer, one of the first small capacity turbo engines in automotive use, but in reality they bolted a turbo to a 2.5n/a. A few years of use (and abuse) their weak points were identified and largely addressed. The one you're looking at will be one of the last so should be updated. As it's lasted 30 years it must be a fairly good unit but servicing is the key. Correct oil at correct intervals, timing belt changed, coolant changed etc. Personally I wouldn't shy away from a 19j but others will be along with their thoughts and experiences. Without seeing the vehicle I would say £5000 sound a bit steep though.

As said price seems a bit steep.
Say you want it, but it is to rich for you, suggest they advertise it and see how many hits they get, not many I suspect at that price.

The 19j engine would certainly put me off.

On the other hand give it a few years (20) and it might actually be quite rare and desirable as it has its correct engine for an early car?

lynall said:

On the other hand give it a few years (20) and it might actually be quite rare and desirable as it has its correct engine for an early car?

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That is a very good point, there will be very few original 2.5td vehicles left, most having been converted to tdis.

wireman said:

That is a very good point, there will be very few original 2.5td vehicles left, most having been converted to tdis.

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Most not being converted that well either!

If you notice with the s1/2/3 models, it is always the early cars that end up being worth money.
I am sure most have noticed the increased interest in early 90s over the last few years?

lynall said:

Most not being converted that well either!

If you notice with the s1/2/3 models, it is always the early cars that end up being worth money.
I am sure most have noticed the increased interest in early 90s over the last few years?

Click to expand...

I agree on both points. Sometimes its the most common vehicles that become the rarest, people will always collect, the first, last, limited editions. take classic cars, standard Escorts, Avengers, Vivas etc are making good money because no one saved them as they were made in their thousands. I remember when thousands of Ex MOD 109 Land Rovers were demobbed in the early 90s, fields full of them, starting price £150, where did they all go? Broken for spares? Sat in a huge hangar waiting restoration? Or just scrapped?

Rubbleandtrucks said:

Hey,

New to the forum so apologies if this question has been asked before!

My brother in law is thinking of selling his 1990 Land Rover 90 with the 2.5td engine for £5,000 and he has given me first refusal.

I'm tempted however the engine is putting me off as I have heard that they can be very unreliable...

Its a low mileage engine (116,000) which has been regularly serviced and the truck is is great condition. I appreciate a 200tdi would be a better engine, however just want to find out what your thoughts are on the 2.5td. I understand that they are a little under powered, however this isn't really a concern as I wont be towing or doing any heavy offroading (I have a Disco 2 for that). This will be used for some greenlaning and camping trips.

Would the engine put potential buyers off in the future? Do any of you have any experience with this engine and if so, what are your thoughts!

Thanks,
Andy

Click to expand...

My 2.5 was OK, not great, but adequate. But it was very low mileage on a Turner engine, only done 30k on that engine when I sold it.
Check it carefully, not too much smoke, clean oil and water, and no chuffing from the rocker box cap.
If it doesn't do any of that, it is probably OK.
And there aren't many of these around now in good original condition.

It might well be worth what he's asking for it if the the chassis is original and solid, same with bulkhead, footwells etc.
As said if the engine has lasted this long its probably ok, when they discovered the weak spot in them they were blowing up so the fact this one hasn't means its ok I would have said.

Get some photos of it.
The 19j isnt a bad engine, I have ran one for nearly 15 years now, they are quiet, easy to work on, a bit thirsty at 27 MPG and dont go very fast. Ive driven one to Greece twice with no problems. I wouldn't think twice about doing it again. Parts are easy to find, and if it does die replacement engines are very cheap compared to latter TDI's.
At 1990 it will be the last of them made, some checks to make.
Make sure its breathing Ok, remove the oil filler cap when its running, some breathing is Ok but if its absolutely chuffing out then its worn.
Oil in the air filter is normal for these engines , so the filter needs changed regularly.
Tapping noises can indicate a worn engine.
Oil leaks, there shouldn't be any, 19j's are good at not leaking, dont listen to the common consensus that LR's are supposed to leak.
Look for genuine parts, Delphi fuel filter for instance, they cost nothing but give you a good indication of its service history.
Make sure its been run on mineral oil, they dont like synthetic or semi synthetic.
It should start first turn, they a good engines in this dept, a blast of smoke on start up is normal.

A few photos of the engine and vehicle would help.

Is 5K too steep? It depends, if its all solid and in good order you could do a whole lot worse.

Oh, and 116k isnt much for these engines, a few bits will be at the end of their lives, injectors for instance, it will need a proper service, not just oils and filters.

I picked up a 19J powered 90 and have been running it around for the last year and a half or so, until I had the engine swapped for the defender 200tdi engine. There is a big difference as the 19J did struggle on hills, crap on fuel and took ages to start when cold. I think it was possibly worn out, but always kept on going!
Now I have the 200tdi in, its become my daily work vehicle I love driving it.