Thread: The "new" TD5

I don't know any engine that will run with a blocked radiator or stuck thermostat. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

I don't know any engine that will run with a blocked radiator or stuck thermostat. Pat

actually my disco did......had a bllocked radiator 20% internal 100% external ran normally only way I knew was pushing it up the steep hill to the blue mountians! and when I got to the top we decided to not go out for the day and return home car ran normally all the way hom at normal temp range on the guage......

I would certainly not recomend it, but had I not of pushed the car up that hill I probably wouldn't of realised!.......it was blocked with mud obviously and although I washed my radiator, at least I thought I did after playing in the mud some weeks previous the car kept chugging along as normal

I think that a TD5 is actually one of the best engineered proper Land Rover engines, and unfortunately one of the last. I agree maintenance is critical - for example replace the radiator and water pump at 100,000k intervals might be a good ideal. Seems to me a lot of the ancillery components are now much more disposable than in the past - ie you can't really rod out a TD5 radiator reliably because of the plastic tanks.

Vehicle wise I think the PUMA is better engineered than the TD5 - the body and electricals have lots of the niggling faults on the TD5 fixed. (There are many many subtle changes in the construction.)

Perhaps the only negative is that based on the way it's mounted in the Defender, the PUMA motor is not as good a purpose built engineered solution as the TD5 engine.

I also worry that the PUMA motor is only used in the Defender - and that in 10 years time will there be any support for parts? For example will the 3rd party suppliers even bother to stock TD4ci parts? There's only a small number of Defenders on the road compared to the way the TD5 was used in the disco etc....

So my ideal would be a PUMA body - with a proper land rover motor, that fits a bit better.

Originally Posted by BilboBoggles

I think that a TD5 is actually one of the best engineered proper Land Rover engines, and unfortunately one of the last. I agree maintenance is critical - for example replace the radiator and water pump at 100,000k intervals might be a good ideal. Seems to me a lot of the ancillery components are now much more disposable than in the past - ie you can't really rod out a TD5 radiator reliably because of the plastic tanks.

Vehicle wise I think the PUMA is better engineered than the TD5 - the body and electricals have lots of the niggling faults on the TD5 fixed. (There are many many subtle changes in the construction.)

Perhaps the only negative is that based on the way it's mounted in the Defender, the PUMA motor is not as good a purpose built engineered solution as the TD5 engine.

I also worry that the PUMA motor is only used in the Defender - and that in 10 years time will there be any support for parts? For example will the 3rd party suppliers even bother to stock TD4ci parts?

There's only a small number of Defenders on the road compared to the way the TD5 was used in the disco etc....

So my ideal would be a PUMA body - with a proper land rover motor, that fits a bit better.

only here though bilbo there are plenty on the roads in the uk and europe......they still stock P38 stuff dont they


any how landrover have only used this for the defender but the engine is in other fords so although some parts are landrover parts should still be able to get parts I would of thought

Originally Posted by Redback

I'd have to agree on the comments about the TD5, apart from my hicup with the head it's been a great engine, I think that was my fault though, NOT MAINTAINING it as well as I should have.

No way in the world would I buy a new Puma Defender, after reading about all the engine replacements in the UK and the problems here, a shame realy as I realy wanted a new Fender, guess a second hand D3 will be our next chariot.

Baz.

I don't wish to hijack the thread.

There is no doubt that the TD5 is a good motor conditional on what has been said above.

I think that the TDV6 is probably better so the D3 is is a good choice if the rest of the package is right.

The Puma engine has been much criticised (and with some justification) but my limited 6 month and 14,000km experience has been positive in performance, reliabilty and servicing. Out of the box it suits the Defender very well and over 12 months of beta testing in the real world has ironed out a lot of the initial bugs. No rocket but not a slug either. The Defender suits my needs well where as the D3 didn't.

Do I feel the need to tinker with it....no because I don't have the need, the time, the inclination or the expertise.

If I did I would be up to my weekend armpits in grease tinkering with the 300 Tdi Disco not seeing the country and gaining minimal return in performance for the effort.

The problem with the Td5 is that no sooner had it matured into a very good engine it was replaced.That seems to be the problem with LR,they don't have things long enough to iron out the bugs. Pat

how many rwkws does a chipped td5 produce ?

Originally Posted by defmec

how many rwkws does a chipped td5 produce ?

I have never RW a TD5 always 4W them.

It depends on tune, mods etc... And if Auto, then limited by Transmission.

Stock - around 48kw at all 4
Basic chipping - around 80-90kw at all corners...

Others I've mapped make over 100kw on the corners... Discowhites should be close to that.


As a basic tool - Experience has shown that Landies lose around 50-55% in driveline losses as opposed to around 30-35% for most road cars.