New 2007 Land Rover Defender Review Under the Bonnet (Hood)

[vespa4ever]

Telecamera a carbone?

[dgc400]

i also have bought a new defender 2010 mine broke down after 1 day with gearbox problem i waited 3 years thinking that the problems would be fixed, it has now done over 2000 miles and has now been on AA truck 3 times my td5 never missed a beat , broke down on moterway when turbo hoses blew off, and to top off, everytime it goes back to garage the idiots scratch the paint work

[DingleZilla]

Hi dgc400, All too familiar that tale, I think some relative of your dealer idiots work up here, they didn't fit the turbo pipe on properly. I picked the motor up after a repair at 6pm ish one day & crawled through rush hour traffic only to find on the open road it was as dead as a fart & had to be rescued again! "Your turbo's gone mate" was the recovery drivers diagnosis. More lost time & more offers of Corsa courtesy cars from Land Rover, not amusing!

[PiPphiltitley]

hello dinglezilla it seems like you have had a few years experience with landys, and some knowledge. i haven't fully made my mind up on 90 or 110 but my question is , if you don't mind, what is the best engine type to go for td5 or tdi and is there much difference on torque, power and running cost in the real world from a 200,250 and a 300. i have read that the td5 needs a proper mechanic, as the tdi (pre95/97) can be looked after with basic mechanics.

any help or comments thank you kindly pip

[DingleZilla]

@PiPphiltitley

Hi young man, I am going to reply but just give me ten minutes because I need to answer your question as best I can. So, with this in mind & since I am at my computer I shall do this now for you.

Regards,

DZ.

[DingleZilla]

Narthen, Yes indeed I have some knowledge, I have had 41 or 42 including the Discovery I have now.

90 or 110, depends on what you need to carry, but if your short of room to manouvre a 90 & trailer is better, 90's also hold value better.

Td5's suffer cylinder head issues which can lead to serious engine failure as fuel gets in the sump. This also dillutes the engine oil & can knacker the turbo bearing, altogether very expensive! This of course may have been sorted on your prospective motor?

[DingleZilla]

Running costs are irrelevant really, all Land Rovers are thirsty and you need to budget for 23mpg as an average over a year! This way you wont be far off, especially if you tow or go off-road or drive on a lot of motorways.

To be fair they are no better or worse than a Jap motor. All fourwheel drives will be worse than any car.

Engine choice: 300 Tdi first is my choice, then 200 then Td5. The 200 & 300s are much easier to work on and are all mechanical, no dratted computer rubbish!

[DingleZilla]

Also the 200 & 300's are better to drive since they have real torque based on a solid flywheel not a dual mass electro/computer/ecu make yer mind up time will I stall or will I go engine! Td5's don't have real time torque, they are more like a petrol engine and require revs & fancy electrickery.

And yes you can do work on the 200 & 300's unlike the Td5 which is tricky, unskimmable cylinder head that is prone to cracking, ECU issues & it is just as noisey! Td5 = Made to a minimum tolerance!

[DingleZilla]

My Td5 featured on my channel did about 48k I think. I sold it to my neighbour & he had the head trouble. He sold to his father-in-law who has just had to replace the turbo!

Go for the best 300Tdi you can get is my advice. Nevermind with these new fangled jobs using fancy electrickery. In the event of something going wrong, you can sort it on a Tdi. Otherwise its a call out job and expensive.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

DZ.

[Ramon25D]

prefer the sound of Td5... by far

[crikarika]

well now youve made me feel like a wanker. sorry. i still enjoyed watching it and thats amazing quality for a camera phone :D good job

[DingleZilla]

Sorry, I had no intention of doing that to you. I am going to get a camcorder this weekend hopefully so I can improve playback quality and maybe I can play about a bit more to improve the viewers experience! Any recommendations to what I should look for? Regards, DZ.

[crikarika]

try zooming out..

[DingleZilla]

Hi crikarika, I used a mobile phone to video the motor. I kept close up so that some detail could be seen. And I was filming on the side of a main road. Regards, DZ.

[Migrieli]

I speak only from a defender,the series1 2 or3 are not defenders .I have a95 defender 300 tdi ,I by him new ,and I drive with him over 500.000 km with no problems !!!!! sorry for my english , but i speak only german and spain!! regards from tenerife michael.

[DingleZilla]

Thanks Michael, I have also had a 300 Tdi. It was a good vehicle. The Td5 I own now I have owned from new, it is also very good. Kind regards, DZ.

[Migrieli]

this is not a defender ,this a fucking ford !!!!! a real defender is 300 tdi!!!!!!!!

[DingleZilla]

Hi Migrieli, Please do not swear. 300Tdi Defender's were made by Land Rover, owned by British Aerospace after they bought off British Leyland. Of course BMW owned it for a while and then Ford, who still own a percentage. So now TATA own it, does it really matter who owns it so long as the brand lives on! As for Defender, some would say the only real Land Rover was the original 80" Land Rover and then the Series One! Regards, DZ.

[LiamOlf]

So it's true, you CAN see Land Rover panel gaps from space! lol

[DingleZilla]

Hi LiamOlf, Yes, and you can probably drive a bus through some of them! Seriously though, I have to say I was disappointed with the fit of the bonnet. I suppose you could call it character! After all, they are hand built by humans. Regards, DZ.

[lagranpichota]

Dear Dingle!

Thanks for your time pointing all these important matters, I would suggest you, if you allow me to do so, to explain a little bit more about location of engine parts, such injectors, turbo, intercooler, etc.

In the other hand Ford returns to the very basic LR problem: speed. I guess time will tell, but a 2.4 L is BIG letdown and if Ford thing that slowering 1st gear and extending the gear box with a 6th will fix the problem...well, I have my concerns about it. Thanks again!

[DingleZilla]

Hi Iagranpichota,

Thanks for your comments. The Defender is not exactly a speed machine at the best of times. My next video will be a about living with a Defender Td5, I will try to answer your question in another video, dependent on if I can blag another one for a test drive. My Td5 will just manage 90 on the flat. Fast & noisy enough for me anyway! I wish Ford had put in the Jaguar 3.0 V6 Diesel as found in the Discovery 3. Now that would have made a big difference! Regards, DZ.

[tenpolequint]

Great series of reviews. next time get someone else to do camera work and dub the video after so we can hear what you are saying.

Need another review on living with the Defender.

[DingleZilla]

Hi tenpolequint, Thanks for your advice. I will do a review of living with a Defender, it's a good idea that one. I shall enlist Rob, my mate from the blobby welding videos to do the camera work. Since I only use a mobile phone camera, the audio dubbing could be tricky. we will give it go anyway. Regards, DZ.

[Lidikalium]

Thanks for the video, here is what I know:

The hole is used for a centrifugal filter in 140PS Transits for making extended service interval possible, that is in addition to the regular oil filter used. Its cover may be bought from Ford dealers, but function beats form, who cares for the makeup in a Defender :-)

Viscous fans are also "proven technology" and runs for more than a decade without any known problem for Transit, it may be accepted as a good choice from that aspect.

[DingleZilla]

Hi Lidikalium, Thanks for the information. You have solved a minor puzzle of mine with regard to the "hole". I agree about the Viscous fan system but surely by now electric fans are proven technology. Anyway, I suppose that Land Rover are more concerned with developing the all new Defender due in 2012. Regards, DZ.

[tomski3]

nice work, its nice to find out more about the greatest off roader of all time

[DingleZilla]

Thanks tomski3, When I have time I will do some more. I am going off to an off road weekend at some point in June hopefully so I will try to get some off-road videos. Regards, DZ.

[tomski3]

Hi DZ, it's me again, just out of interest, where are you from? I'm from Halifax (West Yorkshire) you sound pretty northern to me, am I right?

[DingleZilla]

Hi tomski3, I am within the flight of hungry Buzzard from you! I venture over them there hills to Huddersfield on a regular basis. I live nearish to Skipton! Regards, DZ.

[issar52]

Okay ! That explains it, sorry if I have offended you. I have also done some recording of my Land Rover Ninety with my telephone, and its not great quality either. I'm hoping to get a digital video camera sometime soon.

Bets regards Issar52

[DingleZilla]

Thanks young man, I was not offended at all. I have had a few comments about my filming recently. I dont mind explaining the reasons behind the camera work, any comments are welcome & I will try to make a better job in future! Kind regards, DZ.

[issar52]

Someone must give this man a course in how to use a video camera, his filming all over the place, and too close.

[DingleZilla]

Hi issar52, Thanks for your comment. I will explain my filming "technique"! I only use a mobile phone camera, hence why poor focus, no tripod mount and no control over editing. I also stay close to my subject for two reasons, these are, 1. To avoid getting run over by a passing vehicle and 2. Prevent any means where possible of identifying where I was. All the best.

[willrobbo93]

took a while to get a look at that engine.

a cup holder on the engine cover? hmm....some ford mondeos have a radio speaker on the engine cover.

[DingleZilla]

I know it sounds daft but I thought it may aswell be called something! You have to admit that it looks odd to have an empty hole next to the rocker cover. And since I am rather partial to a few brew's it looked like a good place to put a pot of tea! I have since seen under another Tranny engined beast and that had a top on the orifice in question!