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Originally Posted by Papaquebec
Are the Rover diesels supposed to be unreliable?
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The reputation of Land Rover oil-burners in general is good (compared to say Ford or Standard).
The original 2-litre wasn't very good- underpowered with a weak cylinder head that cracked if used at high speeds for long periods. The injector pipes were prone to splitting.
The 2.25 N/A and 2.5 N/A engines are both excellent. 62/68 horsepower, but they are quite refined (for a 1962 design) and are good starters. They are reliable and tough, as well as easy to service. They have the benefit of being economical as well. Both work well off-road, but are very sluggish and slow on it.
The 2.5 DieselTurbo is a very roadworthy engine, as well as having large amounts of low-speed torque. They aren't that economical (23-25 mpg) and the early ones suffer poor quality bottom-end castings as well as badly-designed breathers. The later ones are tougher, but need on-the-dot oil changes to remain healthy.
The 200Tdi is seen by some to the best LR engine. It is a simple, mechancal engine, but the new direct-injection also makes it powerful and very economical. It's a bit unrefined (clattery at slow speeds, lots of turbo noise at high speeds) but is good on and off-road.
The 300Tdi is a more refined 200- quieter, faster and smoother. However, a small flaw in the brackets for the cambelt pulley meant that the belt wore very quickly, often failing suddenly with catastrophic results. By 1995 this problem had been sorted, but the general design still made the belt this engine's weak point.
The Td5 is mixed. Whilst a smooth-runner and very powerful and torquey, the electronic throttle has several annoying flat spots. At high speeds in a Defender it's quite noisy as well. The timing-chain gives no problems. Some people don't like the electronic control systems, but in real terms there have been no major problems.
Jack
