whats the best defender engine ?

  • 2.25 doosil

    Votes: 5 0.4%
  • 2.25 petrol

    Votes: 6 0.4%
  • 2.5 na diesel

    Votes: 35 2.6%
  • 2.5 petrol

    Votes: 11 0.8%
  • 2.5 turbodiesel (19j )

    Votes: 46 3.4%
  • 200tdi

    Votes: 428 31.9%
  • 300tdi

    Votes: 423 31.5%
  • td5

    Votes: 247 18.4%
  • 2.4 tdci

    Votes: 47 3.5%
  • 3.5 rover v8

    Votes: 95 7.1%

  • Total voters
    1,343
My old 200 tdi had upwards of 200k miles on it, it was still ok, bit of blue smoke on start up but it was fine once it was running. Great engines, but I'm a V8 man now :D
 
i once owned a 130 double cab hi-cap pick up with a 7.4 chevy big block in it :)that was nice.
 
200 tdi over 300 tdi = head gasket failure n cracked heads

WHAT!?
Sounds like pure hoop to me. Keep it maintained and oiled and the 300 TDI will rock around the clock.
It's updated, more robust and the zenith of defender powerplants as after them the TD5 arrived and it went downhill...
 
had loads of 200tdi discos and 1 200tdi 90. now ive got a 300tdi 90 and the power is awesome compared to the 200tdi. will sit at 95 for miles and miles and miles and miles. never smokes. temp is never over half way. starts on the button. no problems yet and it get serviced every 5000 miles
 
had loads of 200tdi discos and 1 200tdi 90. now ive got a 300tdi 90 and the power is awesome compared to the 200tdi. will sit at 95 for miles and miles and miles and miles.
Bollocks - its a ****ter. At 95 its ragged to buggery and makes your ears bleed.

Check your speedo for over reading.
 
slightly hijacking the thread (if you dont mind!) i have seen 200tdi's with the exhaust manifold above the inlet manifold, and my thinking was the the 300tdi was the otherway round. but i have seen people calling engines with the inlet above a 200tdi. are they wrong, or is there two diffrent types of manifold arrangement!?
ta
 
slightly hijacking the thread (if you dont mind!) i have seen 200tdi's with the exhaust manifold above the inlet manifold, and my thinking was the the 300tdi was the otherway round. but i have seen people calling engines with the inlet above a 200tdi. are they wrong, or is there two diffrent types of manifold arrangement!?
ta

one is a disco 200tdi, the other a defender 200tdi :)
 
Ahh that makes sence.. At a guess I'd say the inlet manifold above is the disco? Turbo above is the defender?
 
Defender 200tdi

camper5.jpg


Disco 200tdi

thumb_Disco_200_2500_TDI_H961.jpg


Disco/defender300tdi

300Tdi.jpg
 
my TD5 (2001) is got almost 170,000 miles and i am extremely satisfied with it, now comes the question....what is the average life span of these engines provided that all the maintenance is done properly and that it is driven pretty much gently.....no 4WHEELIN or muddin´around.
 
As said by Treworgey in the very first post, it all depends...

I voted for the 2.5NA diesel, for a number of reasons that do not necessarily apply in Europe, but are VERY relevant for an African bush vehicle.

- The 2.5NA has greater torque at low revs than the turbo versions: you can trod along at idle all day, while with a TDi you're always working the clutch and throttle.

- There are no electronics whatsoever and the engine is simple to access and fix if need be

- The 2.5NA is underpowered. Yes, this IS a great advantage: local drivers can't overspeed the car, and they hit things with far less damages occurring. It becomes more difficult to overturn the rig as well. Also, the car being slow, on rutted trails rivets, bolts and nuts last much longer without getting loose. A common remark around here is that Landies with a 2.5NA last much longer than their sisters.

- It's a noisy engine, but the rattle and clanging is much less an encumbrance than the high-pitch of a turbo. Turbos scare animals. When you're in the business of looking for animals, you'd rather not have them bouncing away as soon as you pass the 5 miles marker...
 
As said by Treworgey in the very first post, it all depends...

I voted for the 2.5NA diesel, for a number of reasons that do not necessarily apply in Europe, but are VERY relevant for an African bush vehicle.

- The 2.5NA has greater torque at low revs than the turbo versions: you can trod along at idle all day, while with a TDi you're always working the clutch and throttle.

- There are no electronics whatsoever and the engine is simple to access and fix if need be

- The 2.5NA is underpowered. Yes, this IS a great advantage: local drivers can't overspeed the car, and they hit things with far less damages occurring. It becomes more difficult to overturn the rig as well. Also, the car being slow, on rutted trails rivets, bolts and nuts last much longer without getting loose. A common remark around here is that Landies with a 2.5NA last much longer than their sisters.

- It's a noisy engine, but the rattle and clanging is much less an encumbrance than the high-pitch of a turbo. Turbos scare animals. When you're in the business of looking for animals, you'd rather not have them bouncing away as soon as you pass the 5 miles marker...
who told you that bollox ive safaried in africa and all the vehicles were turbo engined nissan urvans, and we got within 6' of feeding lions, another point is turbos dont winw at tick over speeds.
 
who told you that bollox ive safaried in africa and all the vehicles were turbo engined nissan urvans, and we got within 6' of feeding lions, another point is turbos dont winw at tick over speeds.

I'm telling the bollox myself... It so happen that I actually run safaris, not in National Parks where animals are used to vehicles and tourists, but out in the wild.

80 or 90% of the vehicles used by professional hunting operators are Toyotas LCs with 1HZ, 4.2lt 6 cylinders normally aspirated engines. The Prado turbo, Pathfinders, etc, are "town expat cars", not bush cars.

I own and operate LCs and LRs, and I make a living in the bush. With a LC, I can get close to dik-dik, duikers, oribis and other smallish and nervous antelopes (I can even get close to poachers before they hear the car!). If my LR 200TDi follows up, the animals run away long before I can see the car myself.

You're right about the turbo not whining at idle, but then at idle the turbo has no torque and in offroad with 7-8 people and 200kg of load it just can't hack it.
 

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