maxperformance
21st March 2021, 01:49 AM
Over the last few years, I have been owning and driving 3 different D2. First one was 2001 Auto Td5 with extremely low kms, second one was a 2004 Td5 Auto HSE with 250k kms, and my 3rd one is a 2003 Manual Td5 with now close to 300k kms. So my small writing is for anyone who are considering to buy a D2, no matter what V8 or Td5, manual or auto.
Why the hell I bought the first Td5, so now I have to waste so much of my lifetime to join this group and write my heart blood words to send to any future owners of any D2? How much I hate them in either Auto or Manual? I share with you my hard lessons, just read and do not really misread my reasons.
1. They are a hell noisy motor even if it is built in such small engine just 2.5L. Even in stock form and standard exhaust I would feel very guilty with my neighbours when come back home at midnight. I do not even dare to rev it on the street in the night otherwise the whole street might wake up.
2. Sluggish. Snail. Slowly. That’s all the words you would remember about it when you first buy it. Do not expect a rocket like a Rangie you normally see crossing your street, you will find it like a very under powered 4WD. Thinking of towing 3500kgs with this very small form and shape and slow and under powered? It is like a joke at first. Even me myself always think it is totally illegal to tow 3.5T with this car, and I would not even move my axx if I plug any 3 tons to this D2 not even thinking of 3.5 tons. Anyway, just read my note at the bottom.
3. Strange noise when revs at around 2200 – 2350 rpm on many of the Auto (not all of them). I was shocked of this “grounding” noise from the bottom up to the cabin when I was driving just 129k kms D2 S 2001.
* WATER LEAKs, you will find water on your floor at some point of the D2 lifetime. Great, and good luck for the water fix as this is one standard for a D2.
4. Problems with electrical things. You will find UNLIMITED reasons to fix your car at anytime. Do not expect a happy wife when you own a D2 because likely she would claim you spending more time to fxxx your car than others.
Now just start from the front to the back end electrical issues:
4.1. Engine bay electrical problems: Lots of troubles here.
4.1.1. Very common is EGR delete or fail. What the point to replace it with a blank kit? I just did it as an idiot guy who just desperately want to gain some sort of performance. Grr.
4.1.2. ABS pump, ABS valve fail. What a joke if you know this is the most common fail of this car model. Someone must be very sleepy when they designed this system.
4.1.3. ABS sensors fail. I have to admit that this is the top famous issue of a D2 which has the name 3AMIGO to the car. Why you should see 3 party warning lights on your dash just because of a crook ABS sensor lead or a wear sensor somewhere crazily fitted deep in your wheel hub?
4.1.4. Head gasket leaks and then it might or will be some serious consequence on your head and motor.
4.1.5. Turbo leaks, or stuck waste gate. Why the car only could last about 200k kms or 300k kms then needs to do job on this piece supposed to last the whole lifetime?
4.1.6. Water leak or stuck open thermostat. Well, it is quite standard that you will hear the coolant tempt gauge in your car is useless, so why did they fit it there for nothing huh?
4.1.7. Overheated. Various reasons but many people enjoy this crazy situation that might lead their beloved D2 to a beautiful donor to others. Good luck if you buy a D2 with overheated issue.
4.1.8. Engine oil leak, transfer case oil leak, diff oil leak, all general oil leak. Since when the car industry accepts that oil leak is a “standard” in a Landrover? Especially, in a D2 if you find no oil leak it means your car is out of oil.
4.1.9. Cracked plastic pumper, and various other parts in the car will naturally crack themselves. Then it will be expensive to get replacement from any wreckers. So just add “CRACK” into your Landrover standard.
4.1.10. Suspension is far less comfort than many other SUVs or 4WD out there. You would find your bottom rocks when going over the stops. If you do not want to lift the car then the standard suspension would massage your back in a very different way vs. Thai massage.
4.1.11. At some (very soon) points you will need to change solenoid or the whole starter motor, and I guarantee you will throw out all the most @#$%$#@@ words when you do this job yourself.
And most of the other jobs will help you suddenly find yourself in a master of slang and swearing words. Don’t be surprised that Landrover D2 will help you put all the deep mother nature language from your internal dark soul on your beautiful lips.
4.2. Cabin electrical issues: well, anywhere you can think of. Lights, radio, control panels, doors, handles… You will swear to ground when you have to change the door lock mechanism for the front door, then found out the next week is to change the rear door lock mechanism again, and next month might be the rear tail gate not open from inside and outside, or next day your FOB will die without a question.
4.2.1. SRS, why LR design it the way that if you slide your seat then you would see the SRS light on? Or some other funny reasons relating to this scary light.
4.2.2. M+S light, good luck with your Auto D2 whenever you see this flashing light on. Should someone enjoy the same time with MIL or DHC and ABS party lights would know how headache it could be.
4.2.3. Putting your Auto gear into reverse or drive and it would not move? It might be another standard on a D2.
4.2.4. Diff lock is not standard in all D2. You have to find an early D2 or late D2a to have this standard. Can’t understand why LR tried to do that but if you love diff lock that’s it. And if you engage the diff lock and released it then can not unlock the diff light on the dash, you get another problem.
5. CRACKED, again, fuel line. And the most very common one is the GREEN fuel line in a Td5. It is plastic, and it was designed to stay there for no more than 250,000kms (once I had the first td5 that it would not last more than 135k kms). This is one another standard in D2.
I am sure there are many other ISSUES that other experts, members here in this forum will jump in and sing a long with me, as I am already tired of listing them.
So, if you want to keep a nice image with your family and kids and your neighbours, the best is to let someone does all the fixes for above problems from far distance (even my neighbour mechanic refused to do the job for my D2 starter motor as he knew it was an axx hoxx kind of work, and when I told him I did it “easily”, he was a bit of shocked ;D )
Now, my disclaimers:
1. This small writing is surely not my intention to push up the price of a D2 on the market but rather desperately to drag down any potential price of a Td5 related vehicles including D2 and Defenders until I could afford a great condition Defender Td5 as a 2nd car for off-road. I do not use my D2 for off-road, PERIOD!
2. I do use my D2 for towing 3.5T all times. I am not towing for living, and I am always thinking myself that my D2 is suck, slow, and would stuck on the road. Well, only when I jump into my driver seat then I could recover all of my confidence. Trust me mate if you read till here, a D2 is MORE THAN WHAT YOU WANT to tow a real 3.5 tons trailer behind with whatever boat or cars on it. Either an Auto or Manual would tow 3.5T like a piece of cake. It will tow anything whole day long in any weather conditions, and pull the low range gear (if too very steep hills) then it will tow anywhere you point it to.
However, to tow it well you definitely need to treat it like your own woman (gentle touch, heavy use, but not abuse, and please make sure she is fully wet inside with full of right water and oil everywhere she needs water and oil before you jump in, or jump on or whatever you might say "jump around" with your "D2"!).
3. DO NOT BE SCARED by all the above reasons, most of them they are all sort of common and easy things that you could do with normal tools at home, and with the help of the guys in this forum, and be fair to say that many of the same issues could be found in other 4WD brands too.
I would be happy to mention that this writing is also to entertain all the unseen guys in this forum who I think they are very suck, in term of LR, (like me :D) but very friendly and helpful with deep knowledge of D2 and other LRs.
4. I DEEPLY HATE D2 if you want to understand my writing in its mother nature way. However, just like my woman I told her that I marriage her whole body and grumpy person ONLY because of her curved bump. I do not love my D2 bumper because it would be cracked anytime (it did crack on my 04 Auto), but actually I ONLY LOVE MY D2 because of its very distinguishable spare wheel when fitted with a Chrome cover. This chrome look spare wheel really stuck in my mind just like what I mentioned above about my woman.
I also should not forget to say that soon as I hear first time the noise from this hell small 2.5L Td5 engine in a night back a few years, I knew that it was the sound my heart wanted to hear. And, very frankly, my woman changed her voice tone up and down quickly after the marriage, but I appreciate my D2 still produces same lovely and tireless noise after I "marriage" her 50k kms ago, or even if after a 1200kms towing trip with me alone singing inside in just 20 hours.
That’s it, if you ever find one, or even ONLY ONE half of, reason to love this car, then see you in the forum mate ;).
Cheers,
James
Why the hell I bought the first Td5, so now I have to waste so much of my lifetime to join this group and write my heart blood words to send to any future owners of any D2? How much I hate them in either Auto or Manual? I share with you my hard lessons, just read and do not really misread my reasons.
1. They are a hell noisy motor even if it is built in such small engine just 2.5L. Even in stock form and standard exhaust I would feel very guilty with my neighbours when come back home at midnight. I do not even dare to rev it on the street in the night otherwise the whole street might wake up.
2. Sluggish. Snail. Slowly. That’s all the words you would remember about it when you first buy it. Do not expect a rocket like a Rangie you normally see crossing your street, you will find it like a very under powered 4WD. Thinking of towing 3500kgs with this very small form and shape and slow and under powered? It is like a joke at first. Even me myself always think it is totally illegal to tow 3.5T with this car, and I would not even move my axx if I plug any 3 tons to this D2 not even thinking of 3.5 tons. Anyway, just read my note at the bottom.
3. Strange noise when revs at around 2200 – 2350 rpm on many of the Auto (not all of them). I was shocked of this “grounding” noise from the bottom up to the cabin when I was driving just 129k kms D2 S 2001.
* WATER LEAKs, you will find water on your floor at some point of the D2 lifetime. Great, and good luck for the water fix as this is one standard for a D2.
4. Problems with electrical things. You will find UNLIMITED reasons to fix your car at anytime. Do not expect a happy wife when you own a D2 because likely she would claim you spending more time to fxxx your car than others.
Now just start from the front to the back end electrical issues:
4.1. Engine bay electrical problems: Lots of troubles here.
4.1.1. Very common is EGR delete or fail. What the point to replace it with a blank kit? I just did it as an idiot guy who just desperately want to gain some sort of performance. Grr.
4.1.2. ABS pump, ABS valve fail. What a joke if you know this is the most common fail of this car model. Someone must be very sleepy when they designed this system.
4.1.3. ABS sensors fail. I have to admit that this is the top famous issue of a D2 which has the name 3AMIGO to the car. Why you should see 3 party warning lights on your dash just because of a crook ABS sensor lead or a wear sensor somewhere crazily fitted deep in your wheel hub?
4.1.4. Head gasket leaks and then it might or will be some serious consequence on your head and motor.
4.1.5. Turbo leaks, or stuck waste gate. Why the car only could last about 200k kms or 300k kms then needs to do job on this piece supposed to last the whole lifetime?
4.1.6. Water leak or stuck open thermostat. Well, it is quite standard that you will hear the coolant tempt gauge in your car is useless, so why did they fit it there for nothing huh?
4.1.7. Overheated. Various reasons but many people enjoy this crazy situation that might lead their beloved D2 to a beautiful donor to others. Good luck if you buy a D2 with overheated issue.
4.1.8. Engine oil leak, transfer case oil leak, diff oil leak, all general oil leak. Since when the car industry accepts that oil leak is a “standard” in a Landrover? Especially, in a D2 if you find no oil leak it means your car is out of oil.
4.1.9. Cracked plastic pumper, and various other parts in the car will naturally crack themselves. Then it will be expensive to get replacement from any wreckers. So just add “CRACK” into your Landrover standard.
4.1.10. Suspension is far less comfort than many other SUVs or 4WD out there. You would find your bottom rocks when going over the stops. If you do not want to lift the car then the standard suspension would massage your back in a very different way vs. Thai massage.
4.1.11. At some (very soon) points you will need to change solenoid or the whole starter motor, and I guarantee you will throw out all the most @#$%$#@@ words when you do this job yourself.
And most of the other jobs will help you suddenly find yourself in a master of slang and swearing words. Don’t be surprised that Landrover D2 will help you put all the deep mother nature language from your internal dark soul on your beautiful lips.
4.2. Cabin electrical issues: well, anywhere you can think of. Lights, radio, control panels, doors, handles… You will swear to ground when you have to change the door lock mechanism for the front door, then found out the next week is to change the rear door lock mechanism again, and next month might be the rear tail gate not open from inside and outside, or next day your FOB will die without a question.
4.2.1. SRS, why LR design it the way that if you slide your seat then you would see the SRS light on? Or some other funny reasons relating to this scary light.
4.2.2. M+S light, good luck with your Auto D2 whenever you see this flashing light on. Should someone enjoy the same time with MIL or DHC and ABS party lights would know how headache it could be.
4.2.3. Putting your Auto gear into reverse or drive and it would not move? It might be another standard on a D2.
4.2.4. Diff lock is not standard in all D2. You have to find an early D2 or late D2a to have this standard. Can’t understand why LR tried to do that but if you love diff lock that’s it. And if you engage the diff lock and released it then can not unlock the diff light on the dash, you get another problem.
5. CRACKED, again, fuel line. And the most very common one is the GREEN fuel line in a Td5. It is plastic, and it was designed to stay there for no more than 250,000kms (once I had the first td5 that it would not last more than 135k kms). This is one another standard in D2.
I am sure there are many other ISSUES that other experts, members here in this forum will jump in and sing a long with me, as I am already tired of listing them.
So, if you want to keep a nice image with your family and kids and your neighbours, the best is to let someone does all the fixes for above problems from far distance (even my neighbour mechanic refused to do the job for my D2 starter motor as he knew it was an axx hoxx kind of work, and when I told him I did it “easily”, he was a bit of shocked ;D )
Now, my disclaimers:
1. This small writing is surely not my intention to push up the price of a D2 on the market but rather desperately to drag down any potential price of a Td5 related vehicles including D2 and Defenders until I could afford a great condition Defender Td5 as a 2nd car for off-road. I do not use my D2 for off-road, PERIOD!
2. I do use my D2 for towing 3.5T all times. I am not towing for living, and I am always thinking myself that my D2 is suck, slow, and would stuck on the road. Well, only when I jump into my driver seat then I could recover all of my confidence. Trust me mate if you read till here, a D2 is MORE THAN WHAT YOU WANT to tow a real 3.5 tons trailer behind with whatever boat or cars on it. Either an Auto or Manual would tow 3.5T like a piece of cake. It will tow anything whole day long in any weather conditions, and pull the low range gear (if too very steep hills) then it will tow anywhere you point it to.
However, to tow it well you definitely need to treat it like your own woman (gentle touch, heavy use, but not abuse, and please make sure she is fully wet inside with full of right water and oil everywhere she needs water and oil before you jump in, or jump on or whatever you might say "jump around" with your "D2"!).
3. DO NOT BE SCARED by all the above reasons, most of them they are all sort of common and easy things that you could do with normal tools at home, and with the help of the guys in this forum, and be fair to say that many of the same issues could be found in other 4WD brands too.
I would be happy to mention that this writing is also to entertain all the unseen guys in this forum who I think they are very suck, in term of LR, (like me :D) but very friendly and helpful with deep knowledge of D2 and other LRs.
4. I DEEPLY HATE D2 if you want to understand my writing in its mother nature way. However, just like my woman I told her that I marriage her whole body and grumpy person ONLY because of her curved bump. I do not love my D2 bumper because it would be cracked anytime (it did crack on my 04 Auto), but actually I ONLY LOVE MY D2 because of its very distinguishable spare wheel when fitted with a Chrome cover. This chrome look spare wheel really stuck in my mind just like what I mentioned above about my woman.
I also should not forget to say that soon as I hear first time the noise from this hell small 2.5L Td5 engine in a night back a few years, I knew that it was the sound my heart wanted to hear. And, very frankly, my woman changed her voice tone up and down quickly after the marriage, but I appreciate my D2 still produces same lovely and tireless noise after I "marriage" her 50k kms ago, or even if after a 1200kms towing trip with me alone singing inside in just 20 hours.
That’s it, if you ever find one, or even ONLY ONE half of, reason to love this car, then see you in the forum mate ;).
Cheers,
James