Landrover 300tdi.... Will it pull the skin off a rice pudding?

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, Richard 1234 said:

3.5l straight 6. old engine but still pulls. That truck is brilliant fun. Sold now but still was fun to drive. In the process of putting an ls14 (when it arrives 🤬) 702 bhp. Cannot wait to try that. It’s going in a 110.

Yea that strait 6 beemer engine has a good reputation .

[GA Groundcare]

We had a "tuned" 200 TDI Defender 90 pick up for moving chippers about, it was fine for local road tow deliveries but the moment you start towing heavier stuff up long hills it was painful. Almost to the point you'd be better off taking the tracked chipper off and start towing the Landy 😆

 

Sold the 200 TDI a couple of years ago and bought a 2.4 TDCI 90. which will accelerate in 6th up long dual carriageway hills with a GreenMech SafeTrak on the back. Areas I know the 200TDI would be down in 2nd! Ok we have tuned our 2.4 TDCI now but even when standard it would have loads more go than the TD5 110 we just sold.

 

300 TDI's are great engines but rather gutless heavy towing even with a bunch of swanky bits fitted.

 

[timberonabike]

130 and 110 Hi-Cap have the heavy duty springs as standard which makes a massive difference to towing stability.

Had a regular 110 with tipper conversion that was like a bouncy castle with a bit of load on.

300tdi is good, but dated now. The new 6-speed TDCi's pull harder and travel faster but aren't so great at creeping along on tickover.

 

If you're going to look at Daily's, look out for the 3.0l - used to have one towing an 18' trailer at a marquee company and we still had to slow down for cameras when loaded to at least GTW going uphill 😅

[scraggs]

4 hours ago, timberonabike said:

130 and 110 Hi-Cap have the heavy duty springs as standard which makes a massive difference to towing stability.

HD suspension was not standard on 110 Hi-Cap's, it was an option when purchased from new, and if ordered put the truck up to 3500kg GVW

Edited November 29, 2021 by scraggs

[Dan Maynard]

I have HD suspension on my TD5 hardtop 110. If you ask me if it's a good tow vehicle I saw yes because it is very stable and feels in control whatever the weight in the trailer, and I put that down to the HD suspension. I run a 12 foot Brian James tipper so it does go up to 3.5t on the drawbar when full of logs.

However I live in East Anglia and mostly potter around the local area, dropping a gear or two to go uphill isn't a big problem. I have taken it up the M1 to Derbyshire, on those long drags where the warning boards are up for slow lorries I was down to 40mph - at those times I think about tuning the TD5, then I get home and think don't really need to.

So short answer to the OP question about the 300tdi, is no, the rice pudding is safe.

[GA Groundcare]

If the 300 TDI you're looking at is cheap enough you could justify dropping a recon 2.8 300 TDI from M&D engineering. Probably do the conversion in a weekend no sweat and a very straight forward swap.

 

International HS 2.8L & 300 Tdi | Motor & Diesel Engineering (Anglia) Limited (mdengineering.co.uk)

 

[LGP Eddie]

24 minutes ago, GA Groundcare said:

If the 300 TDI you're looking at is cheap enough you could justify dropping a recon 2.8 300 TDI from M&D engineering. Probably do the conversion in a weekend no sweat and a very straight forward swap.

 

International HS 2.8L & 300 Tdi | Motor & Diesel Engineering (Anglia) Limited (mdengineering.co.uk)

 

Top advice here if you wish to remain firmly in the do it all yourself when it comes to maintenance.

A sensibly done 2.8 with the right Turbo, Intercooler and setup would be a great piece of kit and at present if done well a good chunk invested would go straight on the value.

Icing on the cake would be a GKN overdrive if you could find one, it transforms them, without interfering with the standard gearing.

 

However you’d have to weigh up if the additional cost would get you into a 2.4, which for me anyway is the best they’ve ever built, my 2.2 doesn’t come near it.

Very simple to tweak a 2.4 without any issues and that 6 speed as standard is a revelation.

 

The TD5 has all the characteristics of a two stroke when towing.

Only a Valtra with the Direct gearbox could give you more of a scare trying to get a heavy trailer going out of a junction!

However once moving, a good TD5 has got some go, and a great soundtrack too.

 

 

[Mrblue5000]

Look up Land Rover + Cummins + 6bt on YouTube some evening. Looks good until the diff goes 😀 might not be great for emissions either but it would pull the skin off a rice pudding!

[GA Groundcare]

3 minutes ago, Mrblue5000 said:

Look up Land Rover + Cummins + 6bt on YouTube some evening. Looks good until the diff goes 😀 might not be great for emissions either but it would pull the skin off a rice pudding!

I see quite a bit of 6BT stuff kicking around the various forums / Facebook at the moment. I'd like to drive one to see what its like but I just don't see how they can be very good in a Defender. They're physically a massive lump weighing in at over twice a normal engine (500kg) and 215hp at a measly 2,500 rpm. Tuneable to bigger HP no doubt and big torque as standard but it's going to handle like a boat.

 

If going down the big modified conversion route then LS3 has to be the answer, 400+hp and 200kg weight still with more torque than you'll ever need.

 

I would be very tempted on the M&D 3.7 V6 Ford engine that utilises the 2.4 TDCI gearbox and clutch. 295hp.

 

Or M57 straight 6 BMW if wishing to stay diesel.  

[swinny]

Allready have a 6bt Cummings in my case mx tractor thanks 😊  hell of a thing. Lovely thing and exhaust  sound 

Edited November 30, 2021 by swinny