Thread: Nervous First Timer Amid a Lemon Mine field...

Bud know what you are going through. I bought mine in march last year. First 4WD I ever owned. Was about to sign on the line for a courier when I decided I should look through the second hand yards and found my Defender. I love it. I'm doing 45,000km a year in it and think its better to drive than the 97 fairlane I had before. Even with my heavily modified 130 I still average 11.4 l/100km. Better than most cars.
Buy a good one and you are set.
If you do your own work get the workshop manual on cd and you just need to make friends with the local parts supplier for an easy to maintain beast.

Service History!
Service History!
Service History!
Service History!
Service History!
Service History!
Does not have to be dealer servicing, but try and get one that has had 5,000km oil changes and reg servicing of all items, all recalls done and fixed. The tdi is a great option and very economical. The TD5 is also great, better power. I would go an auto.
Most of it depends on your budget. A good tdi can be picked up for around $10k or a TD5 for about $20k. The TD5 is a more technical electronic motor, but have not had any huge failures in mine yet. Check for oil in the ecu and if you get a TD5 have a spare injector harness on standby or seal the one in it quickly. Also make sure the oil pump bolt has been checked and if not get it checked and loctited before pick up.
Best of luck and welcome to the world of Land Rovers.

G'day and welcome!
I bought a D2 with the TD5 last march (05) had 48k on the clock. it now has 108k!
Lots of trips incl Qld twice and all over the high country and here is my list:
Needs new brake rotors now
Leaking power steering seal
minor oil leak

Now if that makes it a LEMON I want a crate full just like it!!!

Best 4x4 I've owned by a long way and I should add that I've had pretty much all of them over the years and what I haven't owned, I've driven.

Comfort and ability....... best 4x4xfar

Originally posted by wardy!
Best 4x4 I've owned by a long way and I should add that I've had pretty much all of them over the years and what I haven't owned, I've driven.

Comfort and ability....... best 4x4xfar

Here, here!!!!

In the time I've had mine 2001MY - 106,000km with worked 190kw motor (Diesel TD5)

I've had 1 problem, thats it... And it was *my* fault.

I noticed the serpentine belt was tatty after a few muddy trips and figured I'd wait till next service....

Well that was my mistake! The belt let go at 110km/h 4kms from Pt Augusta at 8pm one night.

I missed my meeting, couldnt find my spare belt and had it flat towed home to Whyalla (72kms away) cost me $550.00 for the tow.

Took 20 minutes to clear the remnants of the belt and fit the replacement when I found it next morning :roll: ops:

Other than that she's been a dream to own, great fun to drive, and I've met wonderful people since I got a Rover...

And modifying them is addictive

Cheers
Mike

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>so I fitted a return to centre steering damper that counteracts this....but that topic will bring on a whole other debate :roll: ________________[/b][/quote]

that generated a few posts, didn't it. I think in the end I conceded that the RTC damper would help....yet it's not the right fix

But performing the right fix and then fitting the RTC is even better :wink:

BTDT

Cheers
Mike

here's my take. A Terrano and a Pajero really aren't in the same (off road) class as a Landy, either Disco, RRC or Defender, although I'm guessing they are more car like on road. The closest real competitors are a GQ/GU Patrol, or an 80/100 Series 'cruiser, and both of these are in a size category above a Disco.

Since Mrs Rick and I have been together, she's had (from new) a succession of Nissans, an MQ shorty (petrol) GQ Ti wagon (petrol) and now a GU 4.2 turbo ute (diesel), so I reckon I'm qualified to comment on the pro's and cons of a Nissan vs a Landy (at least a Defender 300Tdi)
Straight up, even though the Patrols have an LSD (and a very good one) stock, the Defender, even with the huge anti-roll bars fitted to crew cabs, was more capable, and far more comfortable, off road in stock condition. Obviously both are easily modified in the suspension department, as, at least at the front, they are very, very similar. All the Nissans have been very reliable, and so has the Defender. I've clocked up close to 110,000km on the Landy so far (total 180,000km) and these are the bits that have needed replacing.
1. Brake discs all round (fairly soft iron) replaced with DBA/Brembo discs. much better wear and performance over stock, and a set of pads all round. The GU is still on its original discs and front pads.
2. fuel lift pump. It was working fine, just starting to leak a bit.
3. timing belt. twice. normal maintenance.
4. fan and a/c belts. they started to develop a few micro cracks, so replaced. normal maintenance.
5. valve stem caps. two broke up on me. very unexpected, found through checking why I had a noisy tappet. Apparently it isn't uncommon, so that's something to look out for in 300Tdi's.
6. engine mount. scheduled for this weekend. LHS tears in any vehicle, just depends on how hard it's been used/abused. I consider it normal maintenance.
7. front and rear suspension bushes. most of the rear ones were swapped out at @ 110,000km. All the front ones are being replaced this week end (flogged out) Our GU is still ok in this department, yet I saw the front hockey sticks out of another local GU in my mates workshop yesterday which needed all the front bushes replaced, they were falling apart, and I think its only just passed 100,000km.
8. Shocks and steering damper, at various times. As would any vehicle with these km's. For most purposes, I like Bilstein and Koni.
9. rear axles/drive flanges, but that's a Defender thing. This is not a problem in a Disco or RRC.
10. engine oil cooler hoses. Bad crimps from the factory. Took them to Pirtek and had new hoses fitted.
11. Door strikes. Again, I think this is just a Defender thing.
12. For the external size of a GQ, they sure are small inside
13. bearings in the various belt tensioners. haven't had to do any in the Patrol...yet.
14. a couple of batteries. normal maintenance for any vehicle.
15. sump gasket when I bought the vehicle 4 years ago. These have a habit of leaking on 300Tdi's. They are RTV silicon, and if both faces aren't perfectly clean/dry before sealing, they let go. Mines starting to weep a tiny bit again, and I believe that a few of the specialist Landy places have a reinforced cork gasket that fixes this problem.
16. replaced the useless/dangerous plastic plugs in the radiator and t/stat housing with 1/2" BSP brass ones. just for safeties sake.
17. t/stat, top radiator hose, coolant, etc. just for peace of mind. normal mantenance.
18. Welch plug in the rear of the head. A very small pin hole of corrosion, (the rest of the plug was bright and shiny) yet my coolant was always in the correct ratio... :?
19. Coolant tank. the original black ones are a known problem as they split and dunp all your coolant. Replace with a later version (white/opaque)
20. tie rod end boots. These don't last, at least for me.
21. drag link and tie rod. these are really undersized for serious off road work, and you will bend them. Replace with some heavy duty aftermarket ones, eg Maxi Drive. Nissan has upgraded theirs. Compare the rods and tie rod ends from an early and a late GU, there is a massive difference in size/beef and the smaller early GU ones are still bigger than Land Rover ones.

The only time/s I've ever been 'stuck up' by it , it has been corrosion on the spade terminal of the stop solenoid on the injection pump. Usually just a jiggle on the terminal will get you going again until it can be cleaned properly.
Other than those coupler of small 'issues' above, my (fully loaded with work gear, and very heavy and heavily worked) 300Tdi has been a model of reliabilty, and with a 3" exhaust and a few pump tweaks, its quicker than a stock 4.2TD Patrol with better fuel economy and, at least for me, more fun and more comfortable to drive both on and off road. (although the quietness and better a/c of the GU is nice sometimes.. ops: )

Just from the amount of enthusiastic feedback from this forum, it is becoming increasingly obvious that these Landy's can become addictive. I haven't even bought one yet but i'd be lying if i said i hadn't been looking up the local websites for aftermarket additions....

Firstly, my sincere thank you to all who have provided their 300tdi/td5 experiences and technical insight- it has helped immensely and, if others out there have similar experiences/advice to share, i would really appreciate to read more!! Rick130, my hand started to cramp up listing down all the points to keep an eye on :wink: but this kind of info is what i soak up. From One_Iota's history to Pavo's service list costing, it has all helped.

Does anyone know whether a checklist has been compiled when inspecting a 300tdi engine/Disco 1 vehicle? I've jotted down a few things but if someone has developed a trouble shooting list, it would be great to have a read so i can spot the issues i need to sort out....water pumps, valve stem caps, welch plugs, heat matrixs???

I will aim to do most of the basic maintenance stuff myself but i certainly will consult the landy pro's for any intricate projects...... but here lies the invaluable nature of this forum. People seem so willing to help out when things go wrong and part with their wisdom and experience- so a lot of time and money can be saved just because people are willing to help others.

Without wanting to sound like something from Oprah, you should all be proud of what you have created here!!!