Thread: Defender Reliability

ill be cheeky here if he hates it which sounds like it plus it sounds as if he has been brainwashed or it is a landy lemon

ill make a offer sight un seen

$1000.00

Hi Tony,

This comparison is a little unfair:

"My previous work vehicle, about 5 years ago was a 80 series landcruiser and I was quite happy with that. I drove it from 56000 through to 250000 and it let me down once. This was for a gearbox rebuild. It had the 4.2 straight six diesel."

You said the Defender you've got now has got 250,000 on it (and possibly 300,000 coz the speedo doesn't work). Was the speedo changed? Wound back? Can't compare driving a car from 56,000 to 250,000 to one which has got 250,000 minimum already.

As for performance, my brother had a Toyota 4.2 (1HZ) Ute and we had a little race to see who had the quicker take off (mine's a 300Tdi Disco 1 - 1997 build). He was just a bit quicker but I upchanged at 3100rpm. I only had the Disco a short time and I didn't know to give it a little bit more revs than that to get a slightly quicker take off. But my point is the performance was comparable. But I use 10L per 100kms, he used 15L.

Can't comment on the other issues...

Pete

Tony647

I suggest you look at the silicone hose at the back of the turbo as when i brought mine it was rather slow much as you describe. The hose had split causing it to crush when under pressure cutting the effect of the turbo. Just my suggestion. My 110 was neglected when i purchased it and has let me down a few times, as with any car if you dont look after it then ofcourse it wont be 100% reliable. I wouldn't sell it for another car (well maybe upgrade to a 90, infact i would still keep it). Sounds to me like you need to take your land rover to a land rover mechanic and get it looked at!.

Adrian

[quote=ladas]

Originally Posted by crossy

Tony, I'm guessing your a POM. quote]

Now now - not all POM's winge - well not all the time anyway.

Oh yes I am also one

oh come on crossy, you can ban all the poms...

who would we thrash at cricket then?

Hi Tony
If its as gutless as you say there has to be a major problem somewhere.My mate with the 80ser and I do firewood during winter.With an empty trailer I leave him behind on the smallest hill,and with a 2 tonne load each I can pull 80kmh on a big hill on the way home in fith,Baz is down to 3rd an 60ks in his 80Ser,he says the lack of power AND torque are the Tojos worst atributes,and he loves the beast.
Andrew

Originally Posted by Tony647

Hi all,
I have recently acquired a 94 Landrover Defender 2.5 Turbo Diesel Wagon as part of a business purchase. I know this vehicle to be a very unreliable vehicle. I am told that it is no different to other Defenders in this regard. I would like to replace it with a twin cab ute, but unfortunately Landcruisers don't come in twin cabs. So if I want a twin cab that can handle heavy going I am stuck with a Defender. I don't consider Hilux, Courier, Bravo, Navara, Rodeo, etc to be strong enough for the type of work I do.
My question relates to the reliability of later model Defenders. Have they improved at all since 94 or are they just as unreliable? Externally, the design seems the same, which is a bit of a worry as some of the issues I have with the 94 model are faults by design - eg, lack of power, lack of passenger space, difficult servicing (have had two mechanics refuse to work on it), and the list goes on and on. My only other option really is to have a Toyota Troopy converted, which I guess would be quite expensive, but would certainly save on downtime. Any comments?
Thanks,
Tony

Nice way to start on this forum..
mines a 98 and Iv'e had to service it.....eeerrr tinking..nah nothing else has gone wrong and I tow a tandem 5 days a week full of brickies crap.. as for lack of power???? you a peter brock incarnate or live in the himalayas?with a stiffed head how much power do you think she has left in her??? passenger room..get a slimmer passenger, obesity is an epidemic. Difficult servicing.. I'll send my 4yrs old over who helps me do mine she will show you how in 30 mins you can do all filters and mandatory checks. Get your hands dirty mate and don't take on so much hearsay...
As for your truck it sounds abused and will phuck up like any abused vehicle, get a nice Defender 130 dual cab and enjoy it ($21000-38000) should get you a decent one as they are sort after..
What sort of work do You do? .
well you came to the right place for Landrover advice..just you may not like some of it.

Originally Posted by rangieman

ill be cheeky here if he hates it which sounds like it plus it sounds as if he has been brainwashed or it is a landy lemon

ill make a offer sight un seen


$1000.00

And I'll up his offer sight unseen too $1250.00 plus I'll drive it back from whatever you location is in the country to prove there isn't anything wrong with it