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It is well known that the 2.5l Td (basically the same engine as the 2.5l n/a plus a turbocharger) has a bad reputation regarding reliability. Having said that, if you don't overstretch its limits it isn't that bad at all. Stick to the service intervals and don't let it get too hot. The 200Tdi is by far the better bet, though.
Just my 2c...
Pretty much ditto to all the above. I have seen a few 2.5TDs in Africa, and they are not exactly a sought-after item. With all the 200Tdis around, they're not worth the trouble (and I have been telling a friend for years to ditch her older engine and bung in a 200...). Among other things, I seem to remember them having a reputation for stretching big end bolts...
Like all things, a good example in the hands of the right owner might be alright.... but I just wouldn't bother with one.
John
It is what it is! i owned one for 4 years in the UK did 60K mile's in that time no issues with the engine, before emigrating i sold it and it had over 300k miles on the clock, it had a zeus timing conversion on it, again people have strong opinions on these, i did not have any issues with it
As with any engine it depends on how its been looked after, and how you treat it, view it with an open mind and on its own merits.
Decibelcore
The Turdo DIEsel engine is at best 'a bit rough', but it did the job. That, and the Naturally Asphyixiated engines need about a minute of pre-heat before they will start on a cold day. Add to that, they leak oil from almost everywhere. Noisey and underpowered, but they went on (if you look after them). They are a dying breed now as if something goes wrong with them, it's easier to buy a rotten Tdi Discovery and stick the newer, better engine in rather than pay out to repair what was a pretty crap engine to start with.
You can't polish a turd. But you can roll it in glitter...
Oh, and the 2.4 and 2.5 VM engines in the RRC were ok. Not great, but ok. Again, not as good as a Tdi.
I vaguely remember this being featured in a Top Gear episode, where Jeremy Clarkson was attempting to drive one uphill. And it managed all the speed of a slug carrying some very heavy shopping.Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrain Vehicles
Or is my memory defective?
They can't have been too bad as LR held the World Diesel 24 hour speed record with a Range Rover of all things. Amazing how things diesel have changed.
Graeme Cooper once told me that in his opinion the VM 2.4 was as good as the 200-300Tdi, more torque but less power .
The main problem AFAIK became that parts became very difficult to impossible to find. They were one of the first engines with stretch to yield head bolts and AFAIR you had to set the heads up in a jig to do up the headbolts. They were really popular in Italy and almost all RRCs at the time sold were VMs. Maybe that is why they used VM .
One of the members of the NSW Range Rover Club had one and delighted in taking club trips through water 1+metre deep wihout forewarning them.
"Roger the dodger" . He had some big head gasket problems but then the car was so badly maintained that the drivers floor fell out from rust from sunroof drains.
Now you could probably bolt up a Jeep 2.5 in an old RRC.
Regards Philip A
Regards Philip A