DividingCreek
Explorer
I have a white rhd 110 5 door with 2.5 natural in it here on consignment. 89 model with smooth roof push button doors etc. Asking price is $20k
200 TDi North America Serviceability.
- Thread starter TexasTJ
- Start date
Javelinadave
Adventurer
junkyddog11
Oil Soaked Filter
From actually driving them and working on many in the shop I would have to say that most 200tdis I see are pretty well worn. Id be careful of that. its fine to say you'd be throwing all the above mentioned bits at it in accordance with the 'picky' version of how to take care of a 200, but that all gets really expensive quite quickly.
Things Ive noticed are;
Hard to find good cylinder heads. If you overheat it very likely you'll need one.
and it seems as if plenty get overheated trying to cope with US highway speeds and the crap radiators that many rigs show up with.
Injectors are often seized into head.
Turbo SHOULD have play in the shaft (an often misdiagnosed issue).
Beware of trucks that already have 'upgrades' like bigger intercoolers and 'tuned' pumps. Fine most of the time but without good history Id be scared.
Discovery 200's and Defender 200's are very different and the Discovery version installed into a Defender is not going to do you any favors, plus the ancillaries are not interchangeable and parts sourcing becomes a challenge.
Almost every 200tdi I have had in the shop has had some pretty chronic oil leaks often from the rear main seal.
Generally speaking most of them need some sort of rebuild.
I have 5 clapped out 200tdis on the shop floor that need complete rebuilds. They will probably get scrapped and / or built into a couple of salvaged units. This is compared to (1) V8 and (1) 2.5 and (0) 300's.
Things Ive noticed are;
Hard to find good cylinder heads. If you overheat it very likely you'll need one.
and it seems as if plenty get overheated trying to cope with US highway speeds and the crap radiators that many rigs show up with.
Injectors are often seized into head.
Turbo SHOULD have play in the shaft (an often misdiagnosed issue).
Beware of trucks that already have 'upgrades' like bigger intercoolers and 'tuned' pumps. Fine most of the time but without good history Id be scared.
Discovery 200's and Defender 200's are very different and the Discovery version installed into a Defender is not going to do you any favors, plus the ancillaries are not interchangeable and parts sourcing becomes a challenge.
Almost every 200tdi I have had in the shop has had some pretty chronic oil leaks often from the rear main seal.
Generally speaking most of them need some sort of rebuild.
I have 5 clapped out 200tdis on the shop floor that need complete rebuilds. They will probably get scrapped and / or built into a couple of salvaged units. This is compared to (1) V8 and (1) 2.5 and (0) 300's.
junkyddog11
Oil Soaked Filter
Oh, and putting additional gauges on a standard Land Rover diesel is fine if you really like the info but really uneccesary as you can't get the EGTS or boost pressure anywhere close to dangerous (in stock tune), and any issues that you'd be likely to have will be very obvious and you'd not likely need a gauge to tell.
TexasTJ
Climbing Nerd
Acceleration it not a major problem for me I would just like to be able to keep up once out on the High way. I don't want to get rear ended by an 18 wheel doing 70 on I-35... One up to speed on the Interstate would I be able to hold 65 regular in the 2.5NA? If I would be able to do that around town I would be happy. When I make trips out west that not so much of a problem as I try to avoid the Interstate on them. I would really like a Deicel but Maybe I should add V8 to my search. I can always swap and American Small block in to one of them Later.
optimusprime
Proffessional daydreamer.
On a nice level rd,then probably,depending on condition of the particular engine,but on a long incline,or hilly areas,then probably not. A 'good' 200 Tdi is a very good engine, however as has been previously mentioned,get a worn one,and it'll need work,time,and more importantly, money spending on it.
Still could be worse, could be a Td ( designation 19J) now that is a problematic engine.
meatblanket
Adventurer
You should be able to cruise at 60-65 mph on the level with a 2.5na diesel. Until you get to a hill. Or worse yet, a high altitude hill. When my exmod had the 2.5na in it, I couldn't break 25 mph in some places heading eastbound on Vail Pass. But the truck would cruise at 100 kph (62 mph) quite easily so long as it was flat. I averaged 22 mpg with that engine. With the 200tdi I now get 26 mpg and I can go over 80 mph on the flat. Same spot on Vail Pass I'm going 55 mph now with the 200tdi rather than 25 mph with the 2.5na. Big difference. I suppose a 19j would fall somewhere between the two in terms of performance (if in good shape).
When I was running the 2.5na I would generally try to avoid Interstates where possible. But I did take it up to Montana and down to Arizona, mostly on dirt roads and state highways and had a great time with it.
When I was running the 2.5na I would generally try to avoid Interstates where possible. But I did take it up to Montana and down to Arizona, mostly on dirt roads and state highways and had a great time with it.
From my experience,200/300tdi rear ( & front)oil seals that leak will if not original,probably have been replaced at some point without a genuine LR oil seal. My 200tdi has 119,000kms and my 300tdi has 400,000kms......
Anything,IMO,that seals and is in a Britpart box should be avoided like the Black Plaque. Corteco make the seals for LR and should be installed instead of Britpart. You'll find some Corteco seals in Bearmach boxes also. In my experience Britpart parts should be SELECTIVELY chosen...e.g. discs are OK but clutches not.....timing belts not...but exhausts OK....etc etc etc....
These engines are of the old design pushrod type. Keep them serviced(I change all 3 filters every 5000kms) and they'll go on forever and OK with it.
You can have play North and South at the turbo impeller but none fore and aft.....if you search via utube you'll find lots of tutorials on reconditioning of the 200tdi etc and changing timing belts etc. ...all easy work with a home tool kit. When changing timing belts order a kit form Bearmach using Dayco timing belts(as opposed to Land Rover OE)and never Britpart.
Bearmach make kits for reconditioning these engines...not at all expensive. Having said that maybe postage to the USA could be a killer? Easy to find out though by email
e.g. www.paddockspares.com do pistons with rings for 66 dollars each......inlet valve for 8 dollars etc etc ..all plus shipping.
Fitting a Discovery 200tdi to a LHD Defender can be done with only a few bits needing fabrication...or you can buy all that's needed from www.steveparker.co.uk. I have a 300tdi turbo and inlet manifold fitted on my 200tdi to allow this...easily found second hand.
Having said this,the best idea though is just to find a 200tdi Defender engine....but expect to pay twice as much and more for same,as opposed to a Disco 200tdi(plus shipping) You can find a 200tdi Disco engine for about £500-700.
www.steveparkers.com and or http://steveparkers.com/200tdi-90/110 has kits to assist with the conversion...
My 110 ex army 110 has a Defender transfer box fitted as the army ones are shorter geared(hence 60-80mph)to compensate for the low bhp of the 2.5D engine. Don't forget the 110's were required to pull 9 or 10 soldiers with a laden Sankey trailer!!! I have a Disco transfer box to fit if the Defender one goes zap. This is taller geared still.
What I find is that older Defenders can be bought here in Europe at OK money for what they are I guess.Have a look at www.leboncoin.com and see what's what. A reasonable LHD plus 25yrs old Defender here will set you back about 7500 dollars upwards...cheaper still in Spain due to the economic crisis there.(I spied a utility 300tdi 5 door station wagon 110 with 400k kms last week going for 3500 dollars...but too young for the US) A rough Defender needing the crap Turbo Diesel from old replaced/or with a seized motor can be bought from 2000 dollars. Here the chassis(if sourced from Southern France) will be relatively rust free compared to the north where they use salt on the roads in winter.
Try www.ebay.co.uk .co.uk and www.autotrader.co.uk to see relative prices for Defenders (and how much IMO you're getting fleeced for)...albeit RHD ones..another site for LHD is www.mobile.de
At the end of the day they're basic and easy to work on and if you allow a few thousand dollars you can get it up to spec....some folk stateside these days are paying 30K upwards just to have someone else do the work,which is fine if the same folk can't do it themselves.
All this to say,IMO,if one takes their time to work on a project Defender then there's significant money to be saved....even if it's pushed onto a container for export!!(that is to say if authorised to do so lol)
I trust this helps normal people to avoid getting too fleeced by suppliers. The sooner people pay less the sooner the prices come back to normal!!!
.
Anything,IMO,that seals and is in a Britpart box should be avoided like the Black Plaque. Corteco make the seals for LR and should be installed instead of Britpart. You'll find some Corteco seals in Bearmach boxes also. In my experience Britpart parts should be SELECTIVELY chosen...e.g. discs are OK but clutches not.....timing belts not...but exhausts OK....etc etc etc....
These engines are of the old design pushrod type. Keep them serviced(I change all 3 filters every 5000kms) and they'll go on forever and OK with it.
You can have play North and South at the turbo impeller but none fore and aft.....if you search via utube you'll find lots of tutorials on reconditioning of the 200tdi etc and changing timing belts etc. ...all easy work with a home tool kit. When changing timing belts order a kit form Bearmach using Dayco timing belts(as opposed to Land Rover OE)and never Britpart.
Bearmach make kits for reconditioning these engines...not at all expensive. Having said that maybe postage to the USA could be a killer? Easy to find out though by email
e.g. www.paddockspares.com do pistons with rings for 66 dollars each......inlet valve for 8 dollars etc etc ..all plus shipping.
Fitting a Discovery 200tdi to a LHD Defender can be done with only a few bits needing fabrication...or you can buy all that's needed from www.steveparker.co.uk. I have a 300tdi turbo and inlet manifold fitted on my 200tdi to allow this...easily found second hand.
Having said this,the best idea though is just to find a 200tdi Defender engine....but expect to pay twice as much and more for same,as opposed to a Disco 200tdi(plus shipping) You can find a 200tdi Disco engine for about £500-700.
www.steveparkers.com and or http://steveparkers.com/200tdi-90/110 has kits to assist with the conversion...
My 110 ex army 110 has a Defender transfer box fitted as the army ones are shorter geared(hence 60-80mph)to compensate for the low bhp of the 2.5D engine. Don't forget the 110's were required to pull 9 or 10 soldiers with a laden Sankey trailer!!! I have a Disco transfer box to fit if the Defender one goes zap. This is taller geared still.
What I find is that older Defenders can be bought here in Europe at OK money for what they are I guess.Have a look at www.leboncoin.com and see what's what. A reasonable LHD plus 25yrs old Defender here will set you back about 7500 dollars upwards...cheaper still in Spain due to the economic crisis there.(I spied a utility 300tdi 5 door station wagon 110 with 400k kms last week going for 3500 dollars...but too young for the US) A rough Defender needing the crap Turbo Diesel from old replaced/or with a seized motor can be bought from 2000 dollars. Here the chassis(if sourced from Southern France) will be relatively rust free compared to the north where they use salt on the roads in winter.
Try www.ebay.co.uk .co.uk and www.autotrader.co.uk to see relative prices for Defenders (and how much IMO you're getting fleeced for)...albeit RHD ones..another site for LHD is www.mobile.de
At the end of the day they're basic and easy to work on and if you allow a few thousand dollars you can get it up to spec....some folk stateside these days are paying 30K upwards just to have someone else do the work,which is fine if the same folk can't do it themselves.
All this to say,IMO,if one takes their time to work on a project Defender then there's significant money to be saved....even if it's pushed onto a container for export!!(that is to say if authorised to do so lol)
I trust this helps normal people to avoid getting too fleeced by suppliers. The sooner people pay less the sooner the prices come back to normal!!!
.
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I've no idea what you guys would be paying for importing stuff. A call to your local ports/customs could be made to find out? Once you knew what any import guff would be on any given price then you could make a more informed decision? I know there are companies in the UK that will ship reconditioned tdi engines on a palet so they have a shipping agent who sorts all the guff out.
.
I am in tx as well, looking at doing much the same as you. As stated above paying the extra to someone that knows what they're doing is usually worth it. A co-worker, my brother and I are looking at buying ex mod defenders in the u.k. But I have just started searching in Spain and France as well. Shipping from the u.k. is roughly $3500 for a 40 ft container. Split 3 ways it's not so bad.
Add on 6% duty at the port and afew processing fees and you're in the u.s., then almost $1000 to ship from the coast to Austin, unless you can find find a shipper that comes into Galveston or Houston, just thought about that, might be less. Then local TTL and you're good to go.
On a side note, I am currently trying to work out a trade for a series 3 station wagon and a 95 range rover lwb together. My plan is to drop the series body onto the coil sprung, v8 chassis and eventually swap in a diesel. Although I would like to go with a cummins 4bt. Homemade could sprung v8 or diesel 5 door station wagon for under $10k, if you access to a good shop.
Add on 6% duty at the port and afew processing fees and you're in the u.s., then almost $1000 to ship from the coast to Austin, unless you can find find a shipper that comes into Galveston or Houston, just thought about that, might be less. Then local TTL and you're good to go.
On a side note, I am currently trying to work out a trade for a series 3 station wagon and a 95 range rover lwb together. My plan is to drop the series body onto the coil sprung, v8 chassis and eventually swap in a diesel. Although I would like to go with a cummins 4bt. Homemade could sprung v8 or diesel 5 door station wagon for under $10k, if you access to a good shop.