Landrover Discovery II TD5 vs Landrover Discovery II on LPG vs Landcruiser

Dear Landy,

Thank you for your reply.

I assume you are the expert of Landrover Discovery II. I just have questions to ask you:

1. How long will a TD5 (2000 - 2004) last if look after properly? Tell me a little bit about it and its reliability.
2. How long will Nissan patrol 4.5L or 4.8 L last? Are they good cars?
3. Most people/mechanics have bad impression toward Landrover TD5 in terms of its reliability. Is the Patrol or Landcruiser better than the TD5, in what respect?

I really appreciate if you can answer these questions.

Again, thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Colonel

Hi Colonel T

Apologies for the delay in relying, we have been on holidays!
Let me answer all three questions this way…

All three brands you mention are worthy four wheel drive vehicles and each has their own individual appeal and following amongst four-wheel drive enthusiasts’.

In terms of the Landrover Discovery II, I can’t offer any specific feedback as I have only owned Defenders, one of which had the TD5 engine and in which we enjoyed around 150,000 kilometres of trouble free touring. We currently own a TDi300 Twin Cab (1995) and a TDi200 Defender (1994). Both vehicles have been fully overhauled and maintained to a high standard to ensure we enjoy trouble free touring.

But as I mentioned in an earlier response, if you are looking at a vehicle that is in the region of 8-12 years old, the chances are their will be good and bad examples of each brand simply due to the age of the vehicle, and it is almost academic to try and assess which one may be better than the other.

My tip is to pick a vehicle that suits your needs the best, familiarise yourself with their particular nuances, and maintain to a standard to ensure relatively trouble free motoring.

Beyond this, I’m not sure I can offer any further advice…

Good luck with your choice,

The Landy

Where were you a few days ago when I needed you on Thread 91268!!

Boy oh boy!!! Did you get jumped on.

No more of those traps thanks.

Phil

And it is fair to relate your experience with Land rovers, but being a Nissan man are you able to provide a count on how many of those engines have blown-up, you know the ones that are regularly spoken of on these pages... It would give some balance to reliability bewtween 'breeds'.

Cheers,

Morning Landy

No I don't think that would be answering the question.

My opinions that the 3lt Patrol engine is the least reliable of all and that the 4800 Patrol engine is probably the most reliable have been spelled out many times.

I also don't think that the odd experience of any of us with any given vehicle means a lot by itself as it is stastically small.

It has been a common impression of mine though, and backed by statistics (recently reffered to on this site) that show that Landrover and Jeep to be the most unreliable of brands.

However I differentiate between models, the GU's with different engines being a glaring example, and while I have many experiences with
discoveries I have never had any with say "Defenders" hence I have never commented on them.


P.S. Surpizingly I'm not actually a Nissan man - hence the matched competition , winner take all between a Disco TD5 and Gu I managed to arrange with dealers in 2002.
I support only what can be demonstratably be shown to be the best for my requirements - hence our history of 3 Rav4's for around town use.

Try aulro.com for all things Landy Colonel. Quite refreshing to see good responses to your question here though, instead of the more usual anti anything LR rant.
For what it's worth I've had 3 Landies - 300Tdi Disco no problems in 3 years. 2003 Td5 Defender purchased new. One problem which stopped us and that was the throttle potentiometer.
No one in Newman could look at it so LRA sent it back to Perth with our camper attached.... that took nearly 3 weeks as the lazy Austrans truck drivers didn't like it having a spare on the roof as that meant juggling their load around.
Sold that after 4 years as we no longer trusted it and bought a 300Tdi Defender thinking it'd be easier to fix if anything broke. Nothing did in over 2 years but I then wanted a change so went to a plastic Prado and have had no problems in the last 3 years with it.
Good luckfinding the vehicle of your choice.
AlanTH.

Hi Robin...

Yes, perhaps it doesn’t answer the Colonel’s specific question in this particular thread, although I think he also has another thread running asking similar questions and comparing the reliability of Toyota’s, Nissan’s, and Land Rovers in general.

But there is no doubt the Nissan ZD30 engine has a serious reliability issue that has caused much angst, and financial cost, not to mention inconvenience to many (many) owners. And many owners vowing to never hop behind the drivers wheel of a Nissan ever again.

And to my point, the best advice when purchasing any ‘breed’ of vehicle is to understand their faults and short-comings, and deal with them before they become a reliability issue...if you do this you will most likely never encounter major problems, in the least you’ll lessen the likelihood of it.

As for statistics, let’s face it we can make them tell any story we like!

Cheers

Landy

Don't be discouraged by statistics - ultimately they are all we have , but with so
much spin around these days we do have to work hard at getting to the real story.

I like to practise this and last night watched several news bits on the Shane Warne bike rider incident.

One thing that became apparent was that despite some opportunities the bike rider was careful to stay away from commenting on the vigorous assertion that the whole thing started when he latched onto the car to help get thru traffic, an illegal practise.

"Don't be discouraged by statistics - ultimately they are all we have"

True, how many ZD30's do you reckon have blown up in Australia, be an interesting statisic to see...

;)

G/Day Robin,.. I presume you are talking about the Nissan motors and which you are quoting are the most unreliable (ZD30), and the most reliable( 4.8L Pedo).. Or if you mean all Brands,.. Then really i think you are very biased as you stated from your old vehicle 250,000ks no problems, Everyone has done 250,000ks in some vehicle or other without problems, whether it be a 72mod VW, or a bloody Valiant, This 4.8L patrol thing with you is really a disease!!(sorry mate). but its got to be said, If you really wan't to know what the best Nissan engine ever built was,It is the 4.2L Non Turbo Diesel that was fitted to the GQs,......600,000,KM.not touched was a common occurance,.......Remember Willem and his travels into ball breaking country, with no troubles, ......Thats reliability!

Cheers Axle.

Hi Axle

Couldn't agree with you there , best relate to factors other than longest life, I remember test driving a GQ 4.2 D once and it was so hopelessly underpowered, I'd rate the 4.2 lt TD as a better engine.

The 4.2 TD is in what has been rated as Australia best touring wagon the GU.

Moving on to my claim - opinions are fine but really search thru these and other forums and you will find a very low incidence of 4800 failures , in fact I can't recall any other than one I reported which turned out to be leaving some bolts undone.
I don't include head failures either due to fitting aftermarket gas conversions cause these or other modifications are hardly the manufacturers fault.

On top of this the 4800 engine delivered more power than virtually any other for the first 6 years of its life , including more than its V8 cruiser rivals.

So I do feel there is some basis to what I suggest Axle - and after all , if it didn't come up with a high score I would never have got one , let alone a second one.

P.S. Yes I do remember Willem well , I remember helping him get started once , and your right on one thing I'm pretty sure I won't have my GU when it is approaching 600,000. I guess though thats for other reasons as when at uni I once had an ex-taxi FB holden with 600,000 plus on it.

Hahahahahahahaha!!!,...every so often someone lays it on the line!


Good onya Lindsay ...LOL;


Cheers Axle.

Dear Lindsay,

Thank for your comments. I have further questions to ask you:

• Are you happy with your TD5? Is that a good car?
• Which one is of those 4WD is the most reliable one?
• Which one do you like best?

Again, thank you for your time to answer my questions.

Kind regards,

Colonel

Colonel, Quite happy to talk to you re td5's. Too much detail for here. email me at lcfben@bigpond.com with your contact phone and I will ring you and tell you the pros & cons .
Lindsay.