So I think my Father is having an end of mid life crisis and keeps going on about buying a Defender or a 90 to pick up wood for the new wood burning stove he's fitting. I've tried to ignore it for 3 months but it seems like he's pretty convinced he wants one and he wants me to help him pick one.

I've seen loads of buying guides but nothing about what engine is best.

I would ideally like him to have a V8 but he's convinced it'll be too juicy although I'm not sure where he is planning on going in it.

What are the diesels actually like?
I personally would go straight for the TD5 but I have an obsession with anything with more than 4 cylinders but what are the other 4pots like?
Is there one in particular to go for?

Bailes.

 

People i know that have had th v8's have nothing but very expencive problems with them (mainly in the range rovers). My manager has got the disco(15 plate) with the v6 derv and rates it very highly, but then again he does not have to pay for any problems out of his own pocket.
The TD5 has been around for a good few yrs now and it seems to be standing the test of time quite well, so i would say your proberly best going for a tried and tested TD05.

 

get an older 200tdi they are built to last and the army still use them

 

My mate works for a tuning company that only do landrover and all the lads have 90 td5

So that must say something about them

 

Best engine for any defender is the 200tdi, after that the 300 tdi, td5 is pretty poor, we had endless problems with electrics, head gaskets, oil coolers etc etc.
My 110 defender is ex raf, done 250+ thousand miles and still on original turbo/ engine and its a 200tdi, can also run it on other fuels with no worries unlike others.

 

Personally I'd be looking at something jap, trooper commercial or swb shogun commercial. Will be far more comfortable and economical. If he has his heart set on a 90 I'd echo the above and get a 200tdi as a workhorse. Could also look at a disco commercial if it's a Land Rover product he wants.

 

but be careful of rust on discos mine has rusted more than any ford except my c reg xr3i ive had

 

We had a V8 and it was a thirsty bastard!

My uncle builds a lot of Landy's to order and uses the Isuzu Trooper 2.8's quite often.

 

Forget the td5 it will just cause you a load of expensive trouble.

The only diesels to go for are the older tdi200/300

Just look out for corrosion, the later 90's models don't seem to suffer as badly especially around the bulkhead

 

If you can deal with electrical problems like they can it probably is the model to go for