Thread: Do up my Rangie classic or get a D2 TD5?

I just noticed it was a '91 model....Shame it's not a pre-89 ... I was just about to say tidy it up, stick it on a club permit and get modern junk that's cheap to run to do your comuting milage in and keep the Rangie as the toy. I've seen sill tanks cheap on ebay often.

seeya,
shane L.

Fit a pair of sill tanks to get back the fuel range and keep it, you might be lucky with a 10k TD5 or you may get a constant headache.

Bail and get a diesel Disco - probably TD5 (unknown aging truck)

I did this in March for my perfect 92 RRC to a 2002 TD5 D2.

You will be up for lots of expense in the next indeterminate little while like Borg Warner rebuild, auto transmission rebuild, and V8 rebuild.Whew. You are talking $10K at least

I got a 135KK D2 for the amount of money you will have to spend and I reckon with luck I will get 8 years or so before faced with BIG expenses.

I am happy with the 12Lper100Km towing my 700Kg loaded camper and have got to really respect the little engine that can. My wife loves the seating position and the seats which are just developments of the RRC although the seats are much more comfortable. The unloaded ride of a D2 is nowhere near as good as an RRC.

I have already done quite a bit of work on mine in mainly preventative maintenance by resealing the fuel pressure regulator and checking the oil pump bolt, addressing production mistakes like extending the aircon drains, fitting new shocks, etc., although yesterday I had a very frustrating day. Look in the D2 threads if you want to hear more.

Surprises are that it is MUCH quieter cruising than the RRC and I can actually hear the pips on the toll thingo and the indicator can and wind noise is much better. Also the cargo area is MUCH bigger than an RRC if you make a drawer system to use the height. My wife raves about how much easier it is to camp.

Otherwise it drives much like a RRC, with all the key chassis points such as seatbelts similar. The quality of the bits and pieces is pretty poor as my radio no longer CDs and the DVD no longer DVDs , the headlining sags just like an RRC, and the drivers seat has split,which looks to be the same on all of them. The Plastic bumpers are fragile.

All in all I am happy with my decision and hope it will last me out for my 4WD days.
Regards Philip A

buy a cheap 300tdi disco and swap over motor and boxs, then you will have a cheap to run/low tech comfy car with a good fuel range

A little of A and a little of B. Put a TD5 in it.

Awe, Jeeze! This isn't helping. I was hoping that opinion would be unanimous but the responses are pretty even across the options.

Thank you for the advice.

Sills:
A friend of mine put a hole in his sill tank, isn't it a bit too vulnerable down there?

Engine swap:
300TD1 is a possibility but I presumed a TD5 was too high-tech (sensor-hungry) for an old Rangie. Any thoughts on the Isuzu? It's 100Kg heavier than the V8 but supposed to be bomb-proof.

Originally Posted by Ezeman

Awe, Jeeze! This isn't helping. I was hoping that opinion would be unanimous but the responses are pretty even across the options.

Thank you for the advice.

Sills:
A friend of mine put a hole in his sill tank, isn't it a bit too vulnerable down there?

Engine swap:
300TD1 is a possibility but I presumed a TD5 was too high-tech (sensor-hungry) for an old Rangie. Any thoughts on the Isuzu? It's 100Kg heavier than the V8 but supposed to be bomb-proof.

Surely an ex defender TD5 could go in almost complete. Just have to hide the ECU and splice in pedal and throttle?

I have the 4BD1T in one of my rangies.
Bomb proof. Yeah pretty much. The wrong aftermarket parts are the worst thing you can do for one.
It's a bruiser that pulls the hardest between 1500-2500rpm. 600Nm in that rpm range is trivial (better turbo, fit intercooler, turn fuel screw). That means it can turn most landrover gearboxes into quivering messes.
To fit a 4BD1T and have a civilised vehicle you need to re-engineer the driveline. 5sp Isuzu box or big auto box (ZF 4 speeds aren't invited to this party) and higher ratio transfer-box.
You will want to fit more sound insulation, this is a 2 banana job. Not hard it just takes a long time to do properly.

Downsides:
Being a big engine with a lot of thermal mass it doesn't like short/cold running.
Being a bit 4 cylinder engine it can be difficult to get the vibration isolation right. Mine right now is good for vibration isolation but the engine mounts have too much vertical compliance and interact with the suspension in a bad way.
Throw away your entire driveline.

While I really rate my 4BD1T, if I didn't already have one I'd probably fit a Td5 instead. The TD5 with more smaller cylinders is far better from NVH and gearbox destroying torque pulse points of view. I believe it can acheive similar power to the 4BD1T (I think 170kw on each are possible) but will do it through more rpm rather than torque.

I went from an 88 RRC HiLine manual to an 03 TD5D2a HSE auto.

The RRC had 460K and was dual fuel with sill tanks, the D2a is a far nicer car to drive, more powerful than the V8 and better economy.

however...

The RRC was more comfortable, the arm rests seemed to extend that little bit more and give better support. The RRC also had a very useful tailgate, which you will miss.

For me the D2a was better, as I now needed a 7 Seater Diesel.

The RRC would have been nice to keep with a 300Tdi, hence keeping away from ECU complications. A well tuned Tdi on a light RRC should give pretty good performance. Ditch the LPG system and fit a Long Range tank, and you won't have to worry about jerry cans, or refilling in out of the way places with suspect fuel.

For long trips I use the 300Tdi Defender, which replaced a 2.25 SIII on LPG, and while the TD5 is great for dragging Commodores at the lights , I feel better in the Tdi in remote places. So I'd say keep it simple and put the 300Tdi in the RRC over the TD5.