Thread: Defender 130 td5 engine cuts out

Originally Posted by shack

Offer someone on here a carton of beer if they will swing past with a diagnostic tool that is compatible.

I knew I was doing something wrong.... I never charged beer..

Originally Posted by Tins

I knew I was doing something wrong.... I never charged beer..

Typical rookie mistake...

Originally Posted by Tins

OK. Nanocom. These are great. As I said previously I sold mine for reasons I won't go into. I regretted it so much that I bought another one last year, and my D2 is currently not being driven. You are free to start a Group Buy, although I'm not sure if the demand is still there, but suck it and see, I guess. If you choose to get one, I would recommend sooner rather than later, as the interface is "interesting", so better to familiarize your self with it before you find you need it.

230,000 for a 20 year old TD5? It's barely run in. I can't see why it would need a whole lot of work. I would have a couple of suggestions though. TD5s of that vintage had a couple of quirks, well the Disco ones did and I imagine the Defender ones came down the same line. I would suggest checking with those with more accurate knowledge than mine if your engine is one that had the plastic dowells to locate the cylinder head. If it did you have either had the head gasket replaced, or you are about to. If it was one of the later ones then don't worry. Same thing applies to the oil pump bolt. Some were built without this being fitted with no thread lock, and that is serious. Once again, your engine may not fall into this category but it's a must to at least check. I'm fairly sure folk like discorevy would be able to tell you based on its production year. I think it was a narrow window, but its a 'fail to proceed' item if ever there was one. It's no biggie to do a preventative fix.

For a trip like that I would suggest at the least a low coolant/high temp alarm, although you could rig your new Nanocom to display temps. Obviously you'll be carrying spares of stuff

Just a couple of thoughts. I'm sure folk will have others.

This is very helpful, Tins. A friend of mine had a discovery td5 on which the oil pump bolt fell out, ruining the whole engine on his way to Brisbane. Land-Rover had to be dragged kicking and screaming to help as it was out of warranty by a month, but in the end they replaced the entire engine and lent him a car while it was being done. What a waste for them of an opportunity for very good publicity. My Defender was made in December 2002, so if anyone knows whether it is prone to the oil pump bolt problem, please tell me and if it is I'll definitely cure it before setting off to the Kimberley in May.

I see there is a NANOCOM Evolution for TD5 Defender kit. AU$634.41 excl VAT from the UK. Is that the one I want? If it's as good as reputed, it might not only solve this problem, but give a sense of security on a long trip in the wilderness.
Kinc

Originally Posted by MDAkinc

Land-Rover had to be dragged kicking and screaming to help as it was out of warranty by a month, but in the end they replaced the entire engine and lent him a car while it was being done. What a waste for them of an opportunity for very good publicity.

Not wrong, especially as it was a known issue, but LR don't have a great track record here, as certain owners of L319s can attest.

Originally Posted by MDAkinc

My Defender was made in December 2002, so if anyone knows whether it is prone to the oil pump bolt problem, please tell me and if it is I'll definitely cure it before setting off to the Kimberley in May.

If nobody can tell you, it's really just a take the sump off thing. OK, perhaps that's oversimplifying it a little, but it's not huge. I think mine wasn't in "the window", but it concerned me so much I checked it anyway. It was fine, but the peace of mind was worth it.

Nanocom for defender td5 wanted to buy, hire, or borrow. Please reply to MDAkinc (Sydney)

Originally Posted by MDAkinc

Nanocom for defender td5 wanted to buy, hire, or borrow. Please reply to MDAkinc (Sydney)

Which part of Sydney are you in?

Originally Posted by MDAkinc

This is very helpful, Tins. A friend of mine had a discovery td5 on which the oil pump bolt fell out, ruining the whole engine on his way to Brisbane. Land-Rover had to be dragged kicking and screaming to help as it was out of warranty by a month, but in the end they replaced the entire engine and lent him a car while it was being done. What a waste for them of an opportunity for very good publicity. My Defender was made in December 2002, so if anyone knows whether it is prone to the oil pump bolt problem, please tell me and if it is I'll definitely cure it before setting off to the Kimberley in May.

I see there is a NANOCOM Evolution for TD5 Defender kit. AU$634.41 excl VAT from the UK. Is that the one I want? If it's as good as reputed, it might not only solve this problem, but give a sense of security on a long trip in the wilderness.
Kinc

Yep! on the Nanocom kit you described there.
Just an FYI on how it all kind'a works... and sometimes doesn't ... (they can be a bit temperamental these things)

You buy the hardware unit, which will come with a cable. You also have to specify which vehicle type you want it for. ie. in your situation, you will order a Defender software setup.
The nanocom works on a variety of LR vehicles, both petrol and diesel. Defers only came in diesel, as it's the only option in the nanocom spere.
D2s came in petrol or TD5, so as an example of how the software works, you could also order a Discovery 2 software addition(cost extra) but you also have to specify petrol or diesel.
Just something to keep in mind! .. ie. don't order a TD5 for a D2 .. unless you have a D2 TD5 .. it's useless to you. Defender TD5 is what you need. If at any future point you end up with a D2(v8 or TD5) .. you can add the necessary option for it(to your nanocom hardware).

I'd recommend buying a mounting kit for it too as an option. It's a good device to monitor your TD5 vitals(like an OBD gauge display tool, but for TD5s). Good for watching coolant temps, because the temp gauge on the dash is useless. Also voltages too.
I recently had intermittent voltage dropouts in the D2. obviously the alternator was on it's last legs(which you'd expect after nearly 400K klms .. that I assume it's done). Alt is quite low on the engine and prone to both oil build up and dirt/mud/crap .. so they will wear. I reckon the brushes will be worn, but the main issue is that the commutator will be too worn for an easy fix. So good to know that voltages were intermittently dropping the way they did, wayyyy before it became an issue in some isolated location.

I guess this is why I'm having such a hard time parting company with my beloved Tdi! I once ran it for close to two weeks with a dead alternator(waiting for one to come into stock) .. but the tdi has so much purity, in the form of zero electronics .... running with a battery at 11.0 volts isn't an issue. Tdis' just chug along without really needing a lot of electricity!
Anyhow, nothing to do with TD5s and keeping a watch on them, but just to highlight a point. If you keep on top of it, it WILL last close to forever.

Hence why gauges are my favourite recommendation.

Can't help re the oil pump bolt, but if you do your own services/oil changes .. do one with sump off and check whilst your in there(so to speak). I think the conventional thinking is to get the new bolt part(will have locktite on it) and just replace it while sump is off. Sump uses a gasket, so have the required gasket and bolt ready to go and do the service.
I suppose you could just remove bolt, clean it and loctite it without a new bolt. I think a genuine bolt costs about $5 or so.

Originally Posted by AK83

.

D2s came in petrol or TD5, so as an example of how the software works, you could also order a Discovery 2 software addition(cost extra) but you also have to specify petrol or diesel.
Just something to keep in mind! .. ie. don't order a TD5 for a D2 .. unless you have a D2 TD5 .. it's useless to you.

Not 100% the case. I was able to help a fellow member with a TD5 Defender, with his Two Amigos. The TD5 bit works fine. I think the VALEO bit does too. But it isn't much use the other way round as the D2 has more systems. Still, makes sense to get the right one for the car owned.

Everything else is spot on. Especially the bit about them being temperamental!

As for the alternator, I was driving the D2 to work one dark, wet early Melbourne winter morning when the car went Bong! Bong!. Never heard it do that before without me pressing something. Red light on on dash. OK says me, I'll get to work and sort it out in the arvo. Huh. Car had other ideas and failed to proceed after about a K. My 300TDi, I could remove the battery, jump the fuel cut-off with a drill battery and roll start it and it would go until it ran out of fuel. Probably not ideal for other road users or after dark, but it could get you out of trouble. My OKA is the same, Bosch VE injector pump.