Thread: TD5 worse than I hoped

blowby? rings, excessive oil in intake system? well yes there will be if the turbo failed........ Miss in engine? I daresay with a gutful of oil from a blown turbo that may just be possible..., none of the afore said is irreparable, can be done fairly reasonable. Highly suspect major engine damage? cool thing to say without actually looking inside............ Recommend second hand replacement engine? Well I know this mate of a mate whos parting out a TD5 he got from a bloke who was going to fix it up and he got it......................... Saves me some spannering on a landrover.............
But that is my thoughts only. You have the final say as to what you want done / to do.
Cheers Scott

Originally Posted by Alex 110

The mechanics report says "1. Excessive blowby. 2. Excessive oil in intake system. 3. Miss in engine
Highly suspect major engine damage.
Recommend second hand engine replacement. Ensure turbo tested. Check oil quality. Clean intercooler & futbo hosrs etc. Replace radiator & cooling hoses"

Discussion of relative costs makes a replacement vehicle seem cost effective compared to a new/secondhand engine

Sent from my GT-I9505 using AULRO mobile app

Find a better mechanic.

the miss in the engine could be as simple as the oil in the harness fault.

I highly expect that your grease monkey doesnt want the job because its not what hes familiar with and doesnt know the short cuts so isnt expecting it to be easy money work so hes making it lots of money work.

so far he hasnt listed anything I couldn't get an interested 10 year old to do and get right.


Im kind of interested how he did the blow by check.

Ultimately what it comes down to is that while I love a lot of the features of the d2 & loved this one, after the last 6 months I just want to move on. Ideally get a simpler engine that I understand & can work on better. Probably wouldn't go all the way back to the series engines, which arguably I know best, but maybe a 300tdi, early carby v8 or isuzu 4BD1

Sent from my GT-I9505 using AULRO mobile app

The TD5 isn't a particularly complicated engine.
In my family the TD5s has been a greater success than 300 TDi in terms of reliability
They aren't perfect but I am suspicious of your mechanics diagnosis it seems pretty general

Originally Posted by Alex 110

Ultimately what it comes down to is that while I love a lot of the features of the d2 & loved this one, after the last 6 months I just want to move on. Ideally get a simpler engine that I understand & can work on better. Probably wouldn't go all the way back to the series engines, which arguably I know best, but maybe a 300tdi, early carby v8 or isuzu 4BD1

Sent from my GT-I9505 using AULRO mobile app

mate if you can do a tdi you can do a td5, once you know the foibles its actually a lot easier.

what takes longer and more effort.

valve adjustement on a td5 or tdi 300?

timing belt on a tdi or a td5

Fuel injector pump change on a td5 or a tdi300

fuel system bleed on a td5 or tdi300?

Only you can make that decision. If you want a simpler engine then that is good enough for you.

There is nothing that says you have to be an owner for life, I just don't currently foresee what is going to cause me to part with mine. It will eventually get too old but it will do me for now.

Good luck with your search for a replacement.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

mate if you can do a tdi you can do a td5, once you know the foibles its actually a lot easier.

what takes longer and more effort.

valve adjustement on a td5 or tdi 300?

timing belt on a tdi or a td5

Fuel injector pump change on a td5 or a tdi300

fuel system bleed on a td5 or tdi300?

I think you forgot about fitting the spark plugs too, Dave.

Originally Posted by Alex 110

Ultimately what it comes down to is that while I love a lot of the features of the d2 & loved this one, after the last 6 months I just want to move on. Ideally get a simpler engine that I understand & can work on better. Probably wouldn't go all the way back to the series engines, which arguably I know best, but maybe a 300tdi, early carby v8 or isuzu 4BD1

Sent from my GT-I9505 using AULRO mobile app

Early carb V8 will suck fuel and probably need a rebuild by now.
Isuzu goes forever but noisy (by comparison) and single application availability.
300TDI (or pretty much anything else) you're going backwards in models.

I tossed up when I bought mine between TD5 or V8 and it came down to I knew the V8 and parts are cheaper for them and there is less ongoing maintenance than a TD5. That said of course it's offset by fuel use.

Of course 2 months after I bought it the engine went so in went a 4.6. Recently due to inept mechanics who claim that you can't install a D2 thermostat the wrong way it blew head gaskets, <$300- later (apart from the niceties of renewing the cam and valvetrain) it was back on the road.

You seriously NEED to find a better mechanic, as said "Highly suspect major damage" just means if you choose to have me fix it I'm going to make sure you pay well and truly for the inconvenience of me having to work on something that isn't a falcadoore. I bet he has a "mate" who just happens to have a good second hand engine if you go back and say yes.

The 300Tdi next to a TD5, I really wouldn't say that in anyway you'd be worries about that the 300 is a simpler motor. As Blknight said anything the a 300 needs a TD5 needs. The D2 is pretty much the last "simple" Land Rover, even Defenders get beyond enthusiast level stuff these days. You get a decent sized vehicle with room for 5 real people and a decent luggage space (vs D1 with 300Tdi). Something that's comfortable by comparison and certainly not as long on the tooth as a county with an Isuzu. And going to require far less ongoing/restorative maintenance to get it up to a reasonable/capable spec by comparison to what you're used to with the D2 than a RRC/County with Carb V8 or County Isuzu.

Ultimately it's up to you but what you have now is a good vehicle you've probably already sunk some dosh into that needs something done to it. I think that everyone here believes that with the signs & symptoms it has it shouldn't be major surgery.

Lets look at the symptoms;

1. Excess blowby: Rings, maybe IF it's broken a ring it's scored a bore so a new liner (extreme case).
2. Excess oil in intake: Turbo seals? Could be (and I don't kow where it plugs in but) the blow by could be pressurising the crankcase to the point it's blowing the oil out the top and feeding it back into the system. Where exactly is the "excess oil"?
3. Miss in engine: Oil in harness, again blowby pressurising the crankcase forcing oil back up the harness to the ECU. It gets up there at the best of times, extra pressure isn't doing it any favours.

Have you plugged it into a nanocom to check faults? I really think that by comparison to getting a good diagnosis, how can he even suspect major damage without opening it up given that we can provide options that could be overcome in a weekend, you'd really be taking a bath on selling it with an engine "suspected of major damage". You'd loose at least the cost of repairs if not more.