I am after a 90 to use as an off-roader. There are a few nice cheap ones around but they have the older 2.5TD fitted. I have heard that this engine is one to avoid as it's very unreliable.
Anyone got any thoughts on this please? How easy would it be to transplant a
I must be biased as I've got one on ebay #280208594138 :-), but, coming back to your question, the 2.5 TD is nowhere near as good as a 200 or 300Tdi but it's a big improvement on an N/A.
Yup this one has just gone past the 123456 mileage last week :-)
Not all the quick with the caravan on and fully loaded. But plodding along at 55mph on the motorway is fine seeing as bank hols will mean so is everyone else!
200 tdi is much better on paper and I understand less relaibility issues. There are web sites dedicated to the conversion. Steve parker does a kit for a Disco engine as the turbo/manifold is diffewent than the defender version.
I will be going to 200 tdi if only to explore veggie oil which is more complicated on a TD.
Later releases have an "ecu" but IIRC all it does is manage the exhaust gasses. My 300TDi is gadget-free. From the wiring diagram I have for a Defender, the ECU apparently hides under the driver's seat. I don't recall which versions of 300TDi defender have them but I know mine isn't one.
Military Machines International April 2008 edition has an article on modern technology in military vehicles. They don't mind electronics too much but can only go as far as euro 3 spec on the engine, that seems to be where they're digging their heels in as the others have all sorts of weird shit to keep pandas in the mood.
They've also standardised on independent suspension on small to medium sized vehicles because they reckon it's got a 2-3 fold speed advantage over rough ground than beam axles, but on heavy load carriers they prefer beams and leaf springs as it's the most reliable and the load carriers don't need speed (so no independent suspension) or much off-road capability (so leafs are OK). There's currently one load carrier with independent suspension in production, from oshkosh I think, the rest are beams. I might write in though because that last bit is according to the article, but tatra trucks have independent suspension, I don't know if the writer regards them as beams or independent.. I don't know if Tatra are in the military market much these days though.
Also some work has been done on using hybrids but so far, and not for a very long time into the future, they're regarded as totally unsuitable due to reliability issues. You see companies like Oshkosh displaying hybrid models on their web pages but they're not apparently being bought, or possibly even being sold. It looks "good" for those who think such things are more important than not getting killed.
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