Chester18

Chester18

New Member
Hello
I recently acquired a 1987 soft top Defender 90, I will admit I am an enthusiast having wanted one for years, but in reality I know very little mechanically about them but willing to learn and although I am practical I need some advice as I have spoken to 4 4x4 repair workshops and am completely confused. Long story short, the engine has 112K on clock and the cyclinder head went on the way back from Cornwall. It is a 200 tdi that was re-built about 10 years ago.

I would like some help in deciding what to do next, apologies, if this sounds naive or over simplified as I appreciate there are many of you with encyclopedic knowledge of Defenders, but simply as I see it, these are my options (?):

1. Repair the 200tdi. Can be a simple and less expensive job but I am still faced with the worry that it won't like long journeys. I was advised that I should repair the engine and sell it as it will never do long distances and buy something newer, but then the cost goes up.

2. Replace the 200tdi with a new engine? This could be a Puma 2.4 Diesel, very expensive, but a BMW N57 would be a cheaper option? Does a re-conditioned 300 tdi fair better on longer journeys?

3. Replace with a Discovery engine?

Have a I missed anything? If I need to add any more information to allow you to advise please let me know and I will add to original post.

Any help and simplification on the matter would be appreciated.

Best

James
 
Chester18 said:
the engine has 112K on clock and the cyclinder head went on the way back from Cornwall. It is a 200 tdi that was re-built about 10 years ago.
Click to expand...

112k is nothing, headgaskets fail on 200tdi's but rarely anything worse:cool:

I will ask if the "10 year" rebuild was actually when the 90 was converted to the 200tdi engine as these were not factory fitted untill a few years later;)

Chester18 said:
Repair the 200tdi.
Click to expand...

^^ THIS:cool:


200tdi is an almost like-for-like swap in a ninety whereas anything else will be a conversion with costs etc.
200tdi is a wonderfull engine, nearly 200ft/lbs of torque & ~115hp iirc, a true workhorse and easily repaired (headgasket is a tenner?)

300tdi has same power as 200tdi.

the 300tdi eats heads.:rolleyes:
the puma eats cranks.:confused:
bmw, well theres more work again:eek:

probably more but this should be enough reason to replace the headgasket:cool:

ps. the cynic in me wonders about this....

Chester18 said:
I am still faced with the worry that it won't like long journeys. I was advised that I should repair the engine and sell it as it will never do long distances and buy something newer, but then the cost goes up.
Click to expand...

if the landy is a nail then why did you buy it?

OR....

was the person advising you trying to buy said landy cheap with ideas of proffit?



Rich.
 
Chester18 said:
This could be a Puma 2.4 Diesel, very expensive,
Click to expand...
You would also need to fit the puma 6 speed gear box, and possibly transfer box, front and rear diffs, prop shafts. Then fit the puma pedals, they all have sensors connected to the ECU. Add exhaust system, fuel delivery system with fuel cooler, ECU and programming, - the list goes on and on. You are right, very expensive. On the other hand a new head gasket and a weekends work - pocket money by comparison.
 
Stick with 200TDI, good solid reliable engine.

Only 3 engines worth bothering with and only 2 easy and you have one already.

No real benefit to 300 and the TD5 is a lot of work
 
kermit_rr said:
Was it head gasket failure, or something else?
Click to expand...
Don't exactly know until recovered and mechanic has a look, either gasket or head, the coolant was bubbling up and blew, so defintiely the gasket, just don't know whether it is the head yet.
 
MJI said:
Stick with 200TDI, good solid reliable engine.

Only 3 engines worth bothering with and only 2 easy and you have one already.

No real benefit to 300 and the TD5 is a lot of work
Click to expand...
Thank you, having read yours and other will stick with the 200 tdi engine and see what we can do to make it more durable on long distance journeys.
 
Zed. said:
112k is nothing, headgaskets fail on 200tdi's but rarely anything worse:cool:

I will ask if the "10 year" rebuild was actually when the 90 was converted to the 200tdi engine as these were not factory fitted untill a few years later;)



^^ THIS:cool:


200tdi is an almost like-for-like swap in a ninety whereas anything else will be a conversion with costs etc.
200tdi is a wonderfull engine, nearly 200ft/lbs of torque & ~115hp iirc, a true workhorse and easily repaired (headgasket is a tenner?)

300tdi has same power as 200tdi.

the 300tdi eats heads.:rolleyes:
the puma eats cranks.:confused:
bmw, well theres more work again:eek:

probably more but this should be enough reason to replace the headgasket:cool:

ps. the cynic in me wonders about this....



if the landy is a nail then why did you buy it?

OR....

was the person advising you trying to buy said landy cheap with ideas of proffit?

Thanks for your advice, really helpful, will stick with the 200 tdi and hopefully, the work is straightforward to do. I am not going to second guess advice received prior to putting on this forum, I am going to keep it and will enjoy the next time it breaks down!



Rich.
Click to expand...
 
MJI said:
Stick with 200TDI, good solid reliable engine.

Only 3 engines worth bothering with and only 2 easy and you have one already.

No real benefit to 300 and the TD5 is a lot of work
Click to expand...
Thank you, have decided after reading responses to stick with the 200 tdi engine.
 
Wimblowdriver said:
You would also need to fit the puma 6 speed gear box, and possibly transfer box, front and rear diffs, prop shafts. Then fit the puma pedals, they all have sensors connected to the ECU. Add exhaust system, fuel delivery system with fuel cooler, ECU and programming, - the list goes on and on. You are right, very expensive. On the other hand a new head gasket and a weekends work - pocket money by comparison.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your time, appreciate the advice, I would of course like nothing more to do it over a weekend, but I'll get a mechanic to do it!
 
My vote is for the 200Tdi as well.
Head gasket is easy enough to do, and if it turns out the cylinder head has had it, a sourcing a replacement would most likely be more cost effective than transplanting an entirely new engine.
As others have said, they are quite a sturdy reliable engine - mine from 92 clocked about 320k before the speedo died, and in all that time, only issue EVER experienced with it was when the head gasket failed, but in mine, it was leaking from cylinder 4 outside if I remember correctly.

Have had her laid up for about 2 years now as work commitments required the daily use of a pickup, but when we had to move it to make way way for the installation of a new backup genset, it started first turn of the key.
Fix yours and enjoy it.
 
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