Thread: late td5 or early puma?

Originally Posted by manic

td5 + puma , both common rail. You can put a ton of water traps and a water alarm on your fuel line if you want to be super careful. So no the possibility of bad fuel does not rule out a td5 or puma.

Umm, no.

TDci = common rail (fuel rail fuel pressure generated by a high pressure electric pump)

TD5 = unit injector (fuel pressure is generated individually for each cylinder mechanically in the injector by a plunger working off a cam lobe)

But yes, both are high pressure injection compared to a mechanical inline or rotary pump diesel.

Originally Posted by manic

td5 + puma , both common rail. You can put a ton of water traps and a water alarm on your fuel line if you want to be super careful. So no the possibility of bad fuel does not rule out a td5 or puma.

Aside from water, what about other contaminants that can be found in questionable fuel that can be found in remote parts of the world - solvents, waxes and other undesirable things that modern motors don't like? Will dual filtration and water trap/alarms be enough to give peace of mind?

The quandary I have is if I choose a 300tdi or TD5 engine for it's simplicity and reliability - what will the rest of the vehicle be like mechanically given I would have close to 200,000 km clocked up by the time we left (five years from now)

I see my options as - buy used Td5 with 100,000km(ish) on the clock now and spend the next few years maintains and kitting it out, or put aside savings to my a new vehicle closer to the trip and take fuel cleaning measures to ensure a safe and reliable trip with a new car.

You can definitely drive around the world in a PUMA. I posted a link a few weeks ago about a Victorian bloke who took his fairly bog standard PUMA and drove it from Australia to Europe, through a lot of 'dodgy' countries. He did 20,000 KMs without any drama at all.

A quick search should find the link, and you can read how he got on.

Found the link: Blog: Travelling from Sth Africa to Europe in a PUMA

Another thought - if you take a new car overseas, think about how much the Carnet will cost. An older car will be hugely cheaper from that point of view.

Also, we just had an English couple stying with us on the weekend (David & Jayne from LissyBus.com) and they are travelling with no comprehensive insurance because it is almost impossible to get internationally. An older vehicle means less invested and less to lose if it is stolen or written off.

Cheers
David

Had the same dillema & eventually bought a very late 06 model TD5 about 6 months ago.

Through a yard (not private sale) it was $23.5k + my old 01 Falcon (worth 2k at best). 12months rego, all transfer duty etc. I just drove it out of the yard!
Now I know I got a good deal, but they are out there when you look.
My 23.5k got me a vehicle that looks as new with 100k on the clock - seriously it has no marks, dents, anything inside or out. It has never been off road (until I got it), had no options except bullbar, side steps & unusually cruise control.

Don't believe you can buy a good one at that? The boys at MR have looked over it & said its one of the best 06's they've seen, it looks new underneath as well.
With all the money I've saved I've been able to fit a Hannibal Rack with awnings on passenger side & the back as well as an LRA 127ltr fuel tank.
Its going into MR in 2 weeks time for a dual battery system, snorkel, some driving lights & ecu upgrade.
Only other mods I am likely to look at are a rear locking diff & maybe some suspension upgrades both a fair way off.

In the time I've had it all thats been done other than regular servicing is to replace the injector harness (I suspect thats why the owner sold it) - it ran like a pig when I bought it, which helped bash the price down. Oil in the harness was a sub $300 fix at MR & now it is perfect. The 120k service is a big one (worth remembering if your choice has not had it done & is getting near the mark).

The big bonus with the TD5 is that at 110kph I can't hear the wife over the engine noise - it is a tad noisy, but it is a Defender.
My 7 & 9 year old Kids in the back whinged about the aircon, but a $10 fix with some pool hose plugged into the LHS vent and routed between the passenger seat and console sorted that on the last 35deg day. If it gets to 40deg & they whinge, I'll sprinkle a little concrete dust over them & tell them to harden up (as kids we had vinyl seats in the HQ & window winders. Air-con, what was that? I think we turned out ok? didn't we???)

Cleaning is remarkably easy - spilt coffee (wife), projectile vomit (7 year old) & plenty of sand & mud already. Its the easiest to clean vehicle for kids imaginable.
1 word of advice - buy the best you can with a full service history & be happy with your choice.

P.S. I love my air vents on the TD5
P.S. 2 - a mate has a PUMA and loves it, the build quality on the TD5 looks a fair bit better to both of us, but maybe thats a one off thing??? I'm not sure...........

Good read Guzziman! Sounds like you got an awesome deal.

My Puma arrived on Monday! Love it. Would love vents also but c'est la vie

Cheers

Great that you found one - I'm fairly sure you'll love it