just how good is the td 5

Submitted: Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 15:03

ThreadID: 6790 Views:1826 Replies:5 FollowUps:13

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marcus

Hi all,Just wondering if anybody has clocked up over 200000 k,s and how is their td5 travelling since it came out in 1998.This is a high tech engine and how is it travelling for reliability,economy etc.Should full synthetic oil only be used?Mine is only up to 90000 k's and the word that comes to mind at the moment is sensational.Will be towing a 1240kg van to Qld next month am i going to lose much in economy? thanks in advance mark

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Reply By: haze - Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 15:28

Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 15:28

marcus. if you care to look in the handbook your vehicle came with it will give you the specifications of the recommended lubricants. (not necessarily the brand). If you are happy with the vehicle, I suggest you should be happy with what the manufacturer reccomends you put in it.
When the defender first came out many had the gearbox refilled with 90 gear oil.(I know 2 who did it) They reckoned manual boxes cant run on ATF, what a sad mistake. And there was a lot of anguish over knocked back warranty claims!
Stick with the book (I do with my disco) and you should be looking at 1/2 mill. easy.
cheers haze

AnswerID: 28914

Follow Up By: donc - Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 22:27

Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 22:27

Haze I agree, manual gearboxes can definantly run on ATF, seems to be a very common practice with the European makes, and they definantly are a pig of a thing to change if its not used.

The biggest problem is a lot of mechanics assume a manual gearbox should run gear oil and don't check the owners hand book specs. Recently did a full il change on my patrol and its transer case should use ATF but when drained out came gear oil, its back on the right stuff now, but definantyl something to be wary of.

FollowupID: 20180

Reply By: Steve from Drive Systems Victoria - Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 17:33

Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 17:33

That's the 64 dollar question isn't it? The runs are not yet on the board for the TD5, longevity is still being put to the test. All you can do is stick with the recomended service program,lubricants and the rest is luck. Subtract a margin of 20% extra fuel for towing, moving weight costs money.

AnswerID: 28923

Follow Up By: marcus - Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 18:02

Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 18:02

Yes Steve,I don't mind doing the services although 20000 klms intervals as suggested in the book seems a bit excessive and i use the synthetic oil.This is such a good strong,sweet donk i reckon the runs are on the board just want high k's users to let us know. mark

FollowupID: 20155

Reply By: Manfred from Off Road Safaris - Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 22:25

Sunday, Aug 24, 2003 at 22:25

Good motor - especially re economy. Not so great for power though - but I guess it's hard to have it both ways. Watch out for alternator troubles not much after 100,000kms. Actually there's not much you can watch for - just don't be too surprised if it fails.

AnswerID: 28974

Follow Up By: haze - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 07:19

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 07:19

Manfred - can you tell me what goes wrong with the alt.? Mine must be getting to the critical milage. Is it brushes, bearings or diode problems. I know they are used to operate the tacho, the connection came loose on mine causing the needle to jump all over the place.
Any clues appreciated
cheers haze

FollowupID: 20191

Follow Up By: Member - Bob - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 08:34

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 08:34

You can get them chipped at Brown Davis for $850 which is a good price for a huge increase in grunt, but I honestly can't say I need the extra. I'm looking for long haul reliability over acceleration. Bob

FollowupID: 20195

Follow Up By: Manfred - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:06

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:06

Haze I can't be of much help sorry - the 3 people I know of had complete failure and had the alternator replaced. A "quick fix" I guess with no diagnosis.

FollowupID: 20200

Reply By: Greg - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 00:34

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 00:34

Hello Marcus,
I've clocked up 210,000 kms now in my 1998 and I agree with you that it's sensational. It's very economical and a dream to drive. It's been virtually trouble free except for alternator failure at 135,000 and clutch failure at 170,000. It has several relatively small oil leaks now but oils cheap compared to the cost of repairing them! I'm on my second engine now and am looking forward to just as many kms as the first one. Cheers

AnswerID: 28989

Follow Up By: pathfinder - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:05

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:05

second engine at only 200K kays - why so few? We have a 200tdi Disco with almost 400K kays still going strong on original motor...

FollowupID: 20198

Follow Up By: pathfinder - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:06

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:06

second engine at only 200K kays - why so few? We have a 200tdi Disco with almost 400K kays still going strong on original motor...

FollowupID: 20201

Follow Up By: Member - Geoff - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:09

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 09:09

Hi Marcus,
I agree with Greg about the general reliability of the Td5's. The LR Agents that I know in Sydney have quite a few Series II's on their books with over 200k's on them and they are still using Castrol Softec+ in the engines.This is what is recommended by the manufacturer.
As a source of information have a look at this site:
http://www.castrol.com.au/lube_guide/
Cheers Geoff W.

FollowupID: 20202

Follow Up By: StephenF - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 10:36

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 10:36

Wrong thread, Greg. This is about Landrovers, not 3.0L Patrols.

FollowupID: 20207

Follow Up By: marcus - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 18:07

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 18:07

what happened greg you were thinking about a snorkel and it didn't took that deep right?

FollowupID: 20262

Follow Up By: Greg - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 20:03

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 20:03

Bit confusing this is!! Pathfinder I thought 2 engines was quite enough - would you have expected more? Stephen I am talking about my Landrover .... who mentioned Patrols??? (apart from you). Marcus what are you talking about? Can't find the reference to snorkels. Are there a lot of people on here smoking funny cigarettes?

FollowupID: 20269

Follow Up By: marcus - Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 20:13

Monday, Aug 25, 2003 at 20:13

what we want to know is why a second engine already?what happened to the first one by 200000klms.

FollowupID: 20271

Follow Up By: StephenF - Tuesday, Aug 26, 2003 at 05:12

Tuesday, Aug 26, 2003 at 05:12

Well Greg, as it's your second engine in 200000kms, 3.0L Patrol naturally sprung to mind. What happened to your first engine? (or are you taking the p*ss?)

FollowupID: 20310