newbie looking at a 02 defender

[aj23484]

Hi all, i am looking at a 02' model,

What should i look out for? as i don't know much about land rovers.

Is the TD5 a good engine?

How much should i look at spending on one

Cheers AJ

[Landy Smurf]

it all depends on the vehicle,kms on it,rust.damage i think the td5 is ok i have heard some problems about it.is there one that you are looking at or just in general

[aj23484]

there is one im having a look at.

it looks pretty good, 155,000kms, has a bull bar, winch and long range tank

[spudboy]

TD5's are great engines, but can suffer from:
+ Oil in the loom
+ Oil pump bolt coming loose
+ Fuel reg on the rear of the engine can leak

Do a search here on these topics and you will be filled in. By 2002 the Oil Pump Bolt will probably not be an issue, but the oil in the loom can affect any year model. Luckily it is not very expensive to fix it.

The fuel reg is pretty common, but again about $300-400 to get it put right, so if you find one with diesel all over the back of the engine just see if you can knock a few hundred off the price and get it fixed.

HTH
David

[ugu80]

Got a 300tdi myself, but I think the only thing with a properly serviced td5 is oil getting into the engine management electrics (wiring). Apparently easy to check, (just inspect the computer I believe). No doubt a td5 owner will post advice on this.

Good kms, all I can advise is make sure of the service history. Verifiable, not just verbal.

Hopefully we can welcome you to the club. Just don't forget to wave.

[aj23484]

Test drove the vehicle this afternoon,
It seemed to make a bit of a clunk (from the rear) when i changed gears could this be uni joints or just my crappy gear changes.

We went out to a decent rocky dirt hill and had a go up it, didn't make it untill i locked in the diff lock stick and then it just powered up it, no problems

Question to all defender drivers.
Do you all have a huge left leg? because that clutch is pretty tough to push in.

Didn't check for oil in the loom or fuel at the back of the engine, as i checked it out before you guys posted, but if i have a 2nd look, i will.

[Snake2093]

Test drove the vehicle this afternoon,
It seemed to make a bit of a clunk (from the rear) when i changed gears could this be uni joints or just my crappy gear changes.

We went out to a decent rocky dirt hill and had a go up it, didn't make it untill i locked in the diff lock stick and then it just powered up it, no problems

Question to all defender drivers.
Do you all have a huge left leg? because that clutch is pretty tough to push in.

Didn't check for oil in the loom or fuel at the back of the engine, as i checked it out before you guys posted, but if i have a 2nd look, i will.

Mate, the clunk from the rear is from axle backlash. Just means that the axles are starting to have a bit of play in them.
I have 99 TD5 and had the cluck as well. Replaced the rear axles with maxi drive and clunk gone.
Check for Rust on the underside of the doors, left the floor mats in the front and look for rust in the kick boards. Really just have a look around and if you see any bubbling in the paint work, generaly means start of rust.
Other than that, I do have a huge left leg. The clutch is heavy but that is great. You know you are driving a Defender....
I just love the Defender.
Mark....

[Michael2]

Question to all defender drivers.
Do you all have a huge left leg? because that clutch is pretty tough to push in.


I had a heavy clutch (1997 300Tdi Defender), but it popped a spring and I had to replace it at 165,000km. I replaced it with a heavier duty clutch for the Defender 130. The new clutch was so light, it felt like I was driving a girls car.

If you have a couple of mates and an engine crane, you can do the clutch for under $400. Be prepared to, just in case you need to replace the clutch in the next couple of years. It took us 2 days, as we did the timing belt at the same time, as well as pressed out and replaced all the bearings for the fan belt tensioners / rollers.