Technical and Running In Advice

[LouisW]

Defender 2.2 Puma experts.

I have a few questions re running in and maintaining my New Defender 90.

1. How should I drive it, like "Miss Daisy" or with some "Purpose" ? (I have been told diesels need to be Driven!)?

2. Should I have the oil changed every 5000km ?

3. And can someone explain this catalytic or DTF (whatever that is fitted to the 2.2 Puma) whats it all about ??

Thanks Guys

PS I changed the steering wheel myself and as someone who has never picked up a Spanner in his life, I feel DEAD PROUD of myself

[Lagerfan]

When we got ours new a couple of years back I found an Ultra-Gauge UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center was a very useful addition, gives you access to all sorts of internals which can be useful in getting the feel for your new Deefer.

I was told by LR (several times) that changing the oil more often than the 20k intervals was a waste of your money. Jury here seems to still be out on that one but I've gone for a compromise 15k interval depending on what we've been up to, which seems to be the best advice... "it depends".

Oh and they say "drive it like you stole it" to run it in, I never understood what that means... only at night? Avoiding police stations? Seriously though I understand from the gurus here that diesels like to get nice and hot, hotter the better so long runs at a reasonable load are good for it when running in.

[LouisW]

When we got ours new a couple of years back I found an Ultra-Gauge UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center was a very useful addition, gives you access to all sorts of internals which can be useful in getting the feel for your new Deefer.

I was told by LR (several times) that changing the oil more often than the 20k intervals was a waste of your money. Jury here seems to still be out on that one but I've gone for a compromise 15k interval depending on what we've been up to, which seems to be the best advice... "it depends".

Oh and they say "drive it like you stole it" to run it in, I never understood what that means... only at night? Avoiding police stations? Seriously though I understand from the gurus here that diesels like to get nice and hot, hotter the better so long runs at a reasonable load are good for it when running in.

Thanks Mate ! I will give it some "wellie"

[Summiitt]

5000km oil changes won't hurt but it's abit of an old school diesel thing..on our Tdi and td5 we change at 12,000km.. The Pumas are changed at 20k.. Oils have got better as have engines, and economically I can't afford to do oil changes every 5000km.. In the case of the Pumas that would be an oil change every 6 weeks.. As for running in, warm it up then drive it hard, at around 35k my fuel consumption started to drop and the motor started to free up and pull harder. Don't drive it like miss daisy!!

[LouisW]

5000km oil changes won't hurt but it's abit of an old school diesel thing..on our Tdi and td5 we change at 12,000km.. The Pumas are changed at 20k.. Oils have got better as have engines, and economically I can't afford to do oil changes every 5000km.. In the case of the Pumas that would be an oil change every 6 weeks.. As for running in, warm it up then drive it hard, at around 35k my fuel consumption started to drop and the motor started to free up and pull harder. Don't drive it like miss daisy!!

Thanks Mate but, How hard is hard, do I exceed 4000 rpm?

[Pickles2]

Drive it normally & service it by the book. Don't let it labour & don't over rev it.
4000RPM??...Never been there,....I usually drive up to around 2800RPM, but not much more.
DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter)?.....Not fitted to Aussie 2.2Puma Defenders.
Pickles.

[simmo]

This is a timeless argument , but I agree with Pickles , just drive normally and a little bit considerately, don't flog it for the first 5000 kms, avoid high sustained speeds/ loads, avoid over torque situation, ( low revs/ hard work). I don't see how flogging the engine early on can bring a benefit to you, it's contrary to conventional ideas.

I don't see any need to change the oil if the engine has a centrifuge filter and good oil filtration. That idea has fallen out of favor. We do oil analysis after running in and the the oil is normally fine to go until the recommended oil change time. But people need to need careful about about ( "Changing oil before 20,000km is a waste of money") The oil might look clean that doesn't mean it has the same viscosity characteristic, or that the chemical additives are still the same. The longevity of those characteristics is very much dependent on the oil. Eg in my volvo 265, ( they were tough on Lube oil), the XXXX oil I was using would go in thick, 5000 km s later you could hear the cam chains and valves, and notice the LO pressure was going down. ( change to Penrite HPR30)
I have attached, (maybe ) a factory running in instruction for a marine CRD high performance diesel similar to the modern landrover engine for your interest.

I would change the gearbox , transfer case, and diff oils after the first 5000-10000k, Those gears will be lapping themselves in , and the debris will have not be filtered out, but held in suspension mostly.

cheers simmo

[LouisW]

Drive it normally & service it by the book. Don't let it labour & don't over rev it.
4000RPM??...Never been there,....I usually drive up to around 2800RPM, but not much more.
DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter)?.....Not fitted to Aussie 2.2Puma Defenders.
Pickles.

Thanks Pickles. I meant change at 4000rpm not drive there but I will change around 3000 to 3500 and drive under 3000

I was told that DPF are fitted to new defenders not catalytic converters. Either way can you explain the difference to me ?

[LouisW]

This is a timeless argument , but I agree with Pickles , just drive normally and a little bit considerately, don't flog it for the first 5000 kms, avoid high sustained speeds/ loads, avoid over torque situation, ( low revs/ hard work). I don't see how flogging the engine early on can bring a benefit to you, it's contrary to conventional ideas.

I don't see any need to change the oil if the engine has a centrifuge filter and good oil filtration. That idea has fallen out of favor. We do oil analysis after running in and the the oil is normally fine to go until the recommended oil change time. But people need to need careful about about ( "Changing oil before 20,000km is a waste of money") The oil might look clean that doesn't mean it has the same viscosity characteristic, or that the chemical additives are still the same. The longevity of those characteristics is very much dependent on the oil. Eg in my volvo 265, ( they were tough on Lube oil), the XXXX oil I was using would go in thick, 5000 km s later you could hear the cam chains and valves, and notice the LO pressure was going down. ( change to Penrite HPR30)
I have attached, (maybe ) a factory running in instruction for a marine CRD high performance diesel similar to the modern landrover engine for your interest.

I would change the gearbox , transfer case, and diff oils after the first 5000-10000k, Those gears will be lapping themselves in , and the debris will have not be filtered out, but held in suspension mostly.


cheers simmo

Thanks Simmo I will drive it normally and take your advice about changing the gear box, transfer & diff at 5000km.

But no harm will be done if I change the oil early just the cost

[AndyG]

Well, I got mine in Sept, and 3 weeks later and 5,000 km via Birdsville, Marree, Lake Eyre, Innaminka I gave it a service at an independent. Change oil & filter and went over the dangly bits with a torque wrench, 0 issues.
I made a point of varying the engine load in the first 1000 km and gave it a fang up the Toowomba Ranges. 2400 is my normal change point and beyond 3000 no point.
Simmo makes a good point re the driveline and I will have the oils changed at the next service.
Given the recommended service for arduous use is 10,000 I will be doing that. As mine is a toy not a commute, and hopefully will spend its time on the dirt.
BTW you will find the service schedule in the files up top.
And we'll done on doing the wheel.
How did your ebay sale go?