Thread: Modified 300tdi v standard td5 power?

Met 2 guys at Leonora last year with 300Tdi Deefers, one had over 850000 km and the other had 470000 km, both assured me the heads had never been off. The guy with 470k km has no 5th gear and has the opinion that "you should never work on a Defender that's still going", also "nobody ever told me I shouldn't tow me caravan in 5th".

Originally Posted by isuzurover

...........Very few 300Tdi's on the other hand seem to make it past 250k km without needing a head and/or head gasket replacement. ........

Don't tell me that - I'm at 240,000kms right now. I like what 2stroke said much better

I put a Turner head on mine at 255k last year, purely as a precautionary measure before a CSR trip. There seemed to be nothing wrong with the one I took off, sold it to someone on here actually. Still, peace of mind knowing it's okay I guess.

Any diesel with an aluminium head will die if it looses its coolant.

300Tdi's aren't too bad, I had the heater header let go cresting a range several years ago and the head still hasn't been lifted, (320,000km) although I have a new head gasket here just in case

I am seriously contemplating a new AMC/Turner head though for the very reason 2stroke mentioned.

Originally Posted by rick130

Any diesel with an aluminium head will die if it looses its coolant.

300Tdi's aren't too bad, I had the heater header let go cresting a range several years ago and the head still hasn't been lifted, (320,000km) although I have a new head gasket here just in case

I am seriously contemplating a new AMC/Turner head though for the very reason 2stroke mentioned.

Rick,my heater header split 3 weeks ago,did you replace yours or repaired it?. Pat

Mines got 465k,a mate rang up this morning,he has 360 on his,neither has the head off,he rang up to find out about the timing belt,he hasn't replaced it in 140,000k's plus what it did before he bought it . Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

Rick,my heater header split 3 weeks ago,did you replace yours or repaired it?. Pat

Just by-passed it for six months, then replaced it with a newy.

JC recommended to stick with the aluminium/plastic tank versions, the copper/brass ones don't fit very well, and IMO are too bloody heavy anyway.

Karcraft didn't have any at the time (on the water) so procured one from BMI.
When it turned up was an Allmakes version made in the PRC which scared me a bit, and has a lower fin pitch than the OE one but works very well.
Can't fault it and has been in for two years now.

330k kms on mine and changed to a turners head just for the piece of mind, nothing wrong with the original that now sits in the shed.

I was out at TRS yesterday and they seem to have a lot of time for the 300tdi. Main issues they see are due to owner neglect of cooling system over a decade or two. Owner negligence aside its considered a good donk.

In my experience its been a very resilient engine, dealing with running hot, running with loose injectors and recently running with a stripped rocker shaft stud - in my experience at least.

Cops a bit of flack in this country from the usual vocal minority but I think the rest of the world has it right. LRO magazine recently voted the 300tdi Defender as the most desirable defender. I'd probably prefer the latest 2.2 tdci which is surprisingly good but the little 300 has its charms.