Hey

I’m thinking about buying one.
Anyone got any experience about the 2.8tgv engine as there’s a good looking one ebay.

Oh feel free to talk me out of/ into buying one too.

Many thanks
Andy

Is that the based-on-a-300tdi-with-hoachin’-great-big-variable-pitch-turbo one?

Believe they’re pretty sexy, never driven one though.

Usual land rover buying advice though – if it’s made of steel, its probably rusty. So go and have a good poke about.

What model are we talking about?

If it’s the IM 2.8 Diesel, it’ll be pretty similar to the engine they put in Iveco and Renault Master Vans, great big lump of an engine IIRC.

Edit, having googled it, it isn’t the same engine that I thought it was.

Sorry!

it will breakdown ( often) it will cost a fortune to repair it uses fuel for fun they cost the earth to insure and road tax.. you could build your own roads cheaper.. but good fun

hah totalshell has summed it up

totalshell …

25 – 0ncb (as second car but not insured as such) 150 quid a year …. i cant insure a 1.1 106 for that money !

2.8TGV – considered the holy grail of black pump using landy engines

i wouldnt buy one as a main car – mines just used for fun and for getting in and out the house in winter – we are 15 miles from a gritted road it would seem and are 4 miles from an actual road – landy was UNSTOPPABLE last year … i used it for a daily driver for a month to wait on my van insurance halving – great fun – perminant smile – 31MPG calculated out of a leaky 2.5 TD from 1987 😀

If you’re a first time buyer take someone with you who knows what to look out for, there are lots of pitfalls that can prove costly.If you’re near Surrey I’ll help.

If you get a decent one and decide you dont like it you wont lose much money (you may even make some if you wait until it snows to sell it).

BUT: beware the low emission zone if you’re anywhere near London!

Take a look at lr4x4.com and landyzone.com for buying guides and more information than you could shake a prop shaft at.

if you need to tow large items they are superb, if you need to go off road, they are pretty good.

For owt else though, they’re shite. very small in the back too really.

noisy, drafty, thirsty, unreliable, uncomfortable, expensive.

I drove them years ago for work and we worked all over the UK We often towed 2 tonne + trailers and went off road too.

Dash board is nice and flat for putting mugs of tea onto.

coolhandluke – you just described to a T why they shouldnt be driven as your only car – they really are not a car(defender that is) – not designed for sitting at 70mph or even 60 … i only do 50 in mine and even then try and avoid it – the engine wasnt designed to redline – and its when folk try and drive them like a car that they become unreliable

Any real need for it over any of the other standard engine options?
Admittedly all of mine have been company wagons, mostly used for work and only did any real distance in V8 90’s with the company paying the fuel. Used them all to their full potential, towing or off-road and all have managed that fine, 300Tdi, TD5’s and now the TDCi.
Whilst the TGV unit sounds promising, I’ve not tried one and not sure it is a mod that offers much more than the standard units, more a because you can niche.

What do you want to use it for?

I have them as work tools, for at home there are far more suitable things out there.

Apart from all the techy bits…… will you drive anywhere for more than 15 minutes in it? Mate of mine has one with absolutely top specs on everything. Hot and cold running leather etc. He lives in the deepest countryside and needs 4×4 but is getting rid cause its so uncomfortable by the time he reachs civilisation.

pah – drove to Marseilles to start my holiday last year in a Defender, and they are not that uncomfortable. I’m thinking of taking it over to Poland for a long weekend in July as well.

The 2.8 is a higher powered version of the 300tdi, which is a bullet-proof engine – it would be a very good choice.

For much road work, think about fitting an over drive ( an easy job ) and fit a NoiseKiller kit – the best £140 I’ve spent on mine.

Not got a landy but have a large van which in comparison is good with Fuel I think!!

1 Tank = £95 = 450 miles

Do you have oil under the garden?

I normally only fill up once a month ( mind you, with a 126 litre tank it takes the rest of the month to get over the experience 8-# )

drove to Marseilles to start my holiday last year in a Defender, and they are not that uncomfortable

compared to a wooden bench sitting on worn out leaf springs with wooden wheels perhaps. They are truly awful when compared to almost anything from the last 20 years.

it will breakdown ( often) it will cost a fortune to repair it uses fuel for fun they cost the earth to insure and road tax.. you could build your own roads cheaper.. but good fun

Er, mine has 130k on it, hasn’t broken down once in the time I’ve had it, and costs £300 to insure. Road tax £260 per annum.

Apart from all that, spot on.

mines 210 a year for tax ,

ive done about 7k in mine its now on 110k – have paperwork (of which there is alot seeing as it has FSH and all old MOTS ) to suggest it was towed once when an injector pipe burst – why he didnt just crimp the end and drive it to the garage

mines is quite comfy actually and im 6 foot 2 – you just cant slouch in it like a car (as its not a car as i keep sayng)- drove it all over during winter skiing and riding. My main vehicle is a van though – very similar position – shame it was stuck in the drive 😀

“Not got a landy but have a large van which in comparison is good with Fuel I think!!

1 Tank = £95 = 450 miles

Do you have oil under the garden? “

it shows you dont have one 😉 – 300 miles to my 60 quid tank which by my calcs is about the same as your van which is good with fuel ….

Im not saying its an ideal vehicle BTW – there is just alot of BS around about them !

mine only got about 18mpg till i gave it a full service – fuel filter was A – red and B full of shite – drained the tank and took the sender unit off and scooped out the silt and guff , then replaced the boost diaphragm , and oil and filters + diff and transmission oils – now 31 mpg

I have had several landies. Fave though was a Disco 300TDi Auto, basic motor but very reliable. Any jobs i needed to do were done without having to jack it up, service kit cost around £8 from an online specialist, easy to self service. I ran it on 70veg/30diesel in summer which was great and just diesel in winter. Sold on though eventually as driving became just really short journies in town and didn’t feel the need for it.

Wish i kept it now as i live 15 miles from work and got stuck in the snow half way up a hill responding to an out of hours callout at work that i had to respond to, the landie would have had no probs. I have still considered getting another as a play thing but OH keeps poo pooing it.

They are a utility vehicle , especially the 90’s and series vehicles so just keep that in mind and you won’t be disappointed. They do take a while to get used to though after driving modern vehicles.

Mine is older than the stuff you’re looking at and has the elderly 2.5td engine. Slow and rattly, expensive to fuel. I pay less than £300 fully comp as my only vehicle to insure it, but get 200 miles from a tank that costs £55 to fill. It only gets used for short pootly driving though, wife has a modern ‘proper’ car for the long distance stuff. I absolutely love it, and at 6’2″ have never had issues with comfort or legroom. I am selling mine though, not because I want to but I have to fund the work on my latest aquisition somehow; 4.2l V8 RangeRover Classic!

I had an S2 SWB with a 2.5ltr Perkins lump in it. I used it to cart ned boxes around and it was perfect. It’d not go over 60 mind as it didn’t have an OD and the stearing box failed and cost £11.00 for a new one.
It was perfect for chucking bikes in, towing stuff, short journeys (though we used to go from Ironbridge to Liverpool once a fortnight) and general villiage/town stuff.
I loved it.
I want another.
I’ve a mate whose “almost” given me a 90 and I can’t wait to get it.

mattbee does your give off the james bond smoke screen when starting in the cold ? (worn rings of death on the 2.5TD – mine does n i dont care – MOT man just takes it for a drive before emmisions testing !

Surprisingly its not too bad, does smoke on startup and a bit on overrun but its better than my VW Type 2 used to be!
The new one is more James Bond TBH, one of 9 ex SAS Range Rovers, uprated engine and suspension, chipped, full roll cage but std looking from the outside. Thank got it has LPGthough or I wouldn’t be able to pay to get it off my drive!

yeah mines only does it on start up – once started will run the rest of the day without smoking at all !

Definitely a utility vehicle and no good for 70mph plus on the motorway, but I wouldnt swap mine for anything. My driving style has completely changed now, and Im now happy to “pootle” around at 60mph on motorway, with the window down and the music on. Much more sedate pace of life!

I’m a relative new owner – 9 months now with a 02 TD5 110 and am loving it, although I must say the better half is still not too convinced.

We did our first long trip at Easter down to Cornwall from the north and we were all pleasantly surprised. OK it was noisy, we cruised at 60mph, you had to engage semaphore before starting a conversation.

But I repeat I am really enjoying it and I went in with the view as someone else has said that as long as I look after it I reckon I can always sell it on for much the same price.

Off to Spain in it later this year.