Thread: 200 or 300tdi. Which is better?

The mounts I thought were not worth mentioning, I throw away every LR alternator anyway and fit a Ford item. I dont buy LR tensioner rollers, I have made my own with replaceable bearing. It makes servicing cheaper once the initial cost of machine work is paid. The ford alternator gives more current and is cheap to source too. Its tempting to replace the vee belt pulleys with serpentine items as fitted to modern alternators. It will give an 8% extra efficieny and fix the slip problem of wet vee belts after wading. I may also bin the PAS box if it leaks after the last mod, damn things drive me nuts. If there is a next time, it will be no more LR PAS box and will spend the money on a Danfoss steering unit and make up a custom bracket for it. That WILL outlast everything else, rock solid kit and priced to match.

The R380 is an ashcroft item (best gearbox people I ever dealt with) and the bellhousing is from them too, it bolts striaght in with no drama. I have another old defender rebuild due in a few months time and it too will get a 200tdi engine I have and a rebuilt transfer box with cross drilled gear and new R380 with bell housing. I have a new and genuine LR TD5 bulkhead in stock for this build and thats going for galvo prior to installation along with the chassis. That bulkhead will need some mods, but its nothing major. Now if there were only a cure for door rot.

I will take pictures and document the entire build of the next defender and it will be easier for people to see what crops up. Getting shot of the LT77 was the best thing I ever done on a LR. The R380 been very reliable and with the combination of cross drilled gear in the transfer box, no wear on splines.

I am still running on 10 spline front end and no breakages. But then again, I dont hang the thing with one wheel waving in the air and have it slam down hard and let the torque snap them. If a disco front end comes up cheap from a 95+ wagon, I will stick that on. I also have a line on a 110 wolf rear axle and if its cheap enough I will buy it. The salisbury units are strong and keeping an eye open for leaks and fix them quickly tends to keep major problems at bay. Sure they are clunky and have a personality all of its own, but thats landies fer ya.

Hmm although this is well outside the original posters request for info. I would list LR problems in order of annoyance.........

1. Leaking power steering box
2. Leaking axles
3. Leaking gearbox/transfer box

Using 2 and 3 lip seals does help in some places, but is not a cure for everything. Maybe this is why we drive the bloody things. I have another defender fitted with a 3B landcruiser engine, its a little under powered, but what a difference in the engine bay, next to a 200/300tdi there is tons of daylight around the engine and working on it is much easier. There is a lesson in that, replace all LR hoses with Silicon items and save yourself lost of hassle. No crawling underneath then to find the ****** leak


Emerald

I'm guessing you're in the UK Emerald, if you've been dealing with Dave. Only ever 'talked' to him online, he pops up occasionally on a few forums to impart pearls of driveline wisdom.
Alternative alternators aren't very thick on the ground out here, we just don't have the small pommy/euro Fords laying around in the wreckers. Hardly any were ever imported.

With all the problems I've heard of the P38 style rear axle out here, (do a search on here) would you really want a Wolf rear end over a Sals ?
The only up front advantage is clearance, and that can be remedied pretty smartly.

I went from a TD5 Disco to a 200TDi 'Fender. I have (and still am) worried at times the thing is goingt o explode at highways speeds also, but once warmed up, the thing pulls hard and plays the game well l reckon.

I have had no major trouble. Clutch selector fork. Water in solinoid of starter. Steering box. Thats it. The TD5 - well....thats a whole other story!

I am happy as with the 200. Am waiting on Rover to bring the new Defender out, that will prompt mate to buy one, and l'll grab his TD5.



Mike

Rick130, not in UK but pretty close

Dave is a nice guy indeed, a fountain of knowledge and answers my calls quickly. I must pay a lot of his wage bill these days heh heh.

I have some friends in Adelaide and one in particular in well into his Jap sports cars. It seems imported jap parts are dirt cheap there next to what we would pay. Hence my choice to go for what is cheap and plentiful here i.e ford alternators. I also use ford electric fans in place of the stock landie fan. I run it with a custom coupler with temp sensor inside the housing and have a bypass switch inside the cab in case it goes under water. Leckkie things dont like water.

Wolf axles are strong, I saw a few hit by land mines and even when the ends were ripped off, the diff was in perfect shape. In normal mil use (if there is such a thing) I have not heard of major failures other than the hooligan induced ones. I wont change my rear axle unless the wolf goes real cheap. I already converted it to disc and that solves the braking problem. I dont fancy cutting the salisbury either, its a waste. I have never managed to get the rear axle running as I would like. It always has some clunk or slop some place, annoying as you dont know is it running normal today or about to bust something?...I run 85 profile tyres and the next 110 will get OME springs with 2inch lift. I have some winter LR use that requires carrying weight over tough terrain. OME have a good reputation and last a long time. I dont mind spending the money if I get good years from them and the spring rate looks good.

Mike_b, yes at highway speeds the thing just screams. I dont use mine for long haul. It just is not designed for that kind of use. A common mod to make cruising bearable is a transfer box from a disco. Or burn more money with a GKN over drive, or better still the ultra reliable Rocky Mountain OD, no problems with that unit. The GKN leaks and has leckkie problems. I need towing capacity so I keep the stock transfer box and use my car for long distance runs. Maybe one day I will fit a Rocky Mountain OD...when I win the lotto

Failed clutch forks are very common. I think LR brought out a strong (thicker metal) on the later clutch forks. What I do is buy what ever the dealer has in stock and when back in the workshop I weld a thick washer on the domed part of the fork where the rod pushes...from the other side. I first shape the washer into well fitting shape. No more failures after that.

The brakes are not that great either and I replace all lines with stainless steel. The pedal is instantly better. The next 110 rebuild also gets stainless steel pistons in the calipers. I am fed up with tossing out stock pistons on older LR's, its such a waste and rebuilding them is a right bugger.

Another wise mod is to change the headlight wiring so they have a relay for each globe and used in dip and main beam. The difference is dramatic!

You never finish with an LR, its a life time of work


Emerald

Originally Posted by emerald

Rick130, not in UK but pretty close

So I'm guessing your handle points to where you're from

Failed clutch forks are very common. I think LR brought out a strong (thicker metal) on the later clutch forks. What I do is buy what ever the dealer has in stock and when back in the workshop I weld a thick washer on the domed part of the fork where the rod pushes...from the other side. I first shape the washer into well fitting shape. No more failures after that.

I was going to do this until I stripped everything out and found the slipper pivots all but gone, one slipper pad in the bottom of the bell housing and the diaphram in the cover was about to die too. Posted some photos a few days back.

The brakes are not that great either and I replace all lines with stainless steel. The pedal is instantly better. The next 110 rebuild also gets stainless steel pistons in the calipers. I am fed up with tossing out stock pistons on older LR's, its such a waste and rebuilding them is a right bugger.

Don't have the piston problems here everyone has there. Drier climate helps big time.
Can highly recommend the braided hoses, a lot of fella's here run them.

BTW, interested in your thoughts on the Disco 200Tdi inlet plenum vs a 300Tdi plenum. It has been suggested that the 200 item flows better than the 300 version.

Rick130,


Yeah the name does point to it indeed, you must be from the old school. The younger lot has far too much go over their head

Hmm thats a new one on me, never saw pivot points go before. It has always been the dome get a taken off. I will locate your post on those and see the pics.

Yes you are lucky in one way with a drier climate, but them worse off in other ways. Its an old saying here...far away cows have long horns. Dunno if that one clicks with you

Rusted pistons are pretty common here on old landies. Just about all I see need them rebuilt. Of course its recommended that calipers are not rebuilt, thats the LR line and not my way of thinking.

Not 100% made my mind up on the plenums, the next 110 rebuilt is a money pit and an invest in engineering on my part. I am building my own exhaust mainfold and tuned for the engine, pistons, valves and head all go for ceramic coating to Germany. It wont be cheap, but by golly the thing will have a rather nice power curve and tons of torque when I am done. Its safer and aids longevity if the engine itself gets tuned rather than **** about with more fuel and turbo mods. I have a few 200 tdi's with ceramic coated pistons already and we can boil the water in the engine without causing any damage. Even though, I keep telling the guys, use the bloody fan!

I would like to have external oil cooling and oil tank for the turbo. I saw a few engines where the turbo sucked out lots of oil. It wasnt a pretty or cheap repair either.

The R380 box suffix L I have coming has some external oil cooler lines and that will get installed during rebuild time. Some things are just a given, and not an option.

If you are in need of an intercooler and dont want to pay the 400 quid that some UK forms charge, look locally for a Supra turbo or RS500 cosworth intercooler. They are close to full size for a landie and far cheaper than 400 quid sterling!

Emerald