Defender 110 High Capacity Pickup

[Tex68w]

Tell me the ins and outs of these High Capacity pickup trucks with the 200 TDI. How do they compare to a 75 Series Land Cruiser truck? What is an acceptable price for an imported and sorted early 90's example? Known issues or things to look out for? Would you even bother or look elsewhere for something comparable but better?

 

[Arjan]

For those who don't know the HiCap :


Two very different beasts.

Drive / sit in one before parting with money !

 

[Highlander]

TDI 200 is a remarkable engine. Can and has run 500K kilometer and also runs some low quality diesel.
I am not sure you can find it in a low mileage tough. You might have to rebuild it.

Known issues are bad gaskets and oil leakage from axles and transferase case.
For this reason you have to pay attentions to those areas. Also you can buy a tons new aftermarket product that prevents that from happening. There are online supply stores in UK and Australia. Possibly here too.
Some old electrical parts can be also a problem.
But generally there are mechanically simple trucks.

Unlike TLC75 they are fulltime AWD and have a manually locking central diff plus 3.3 low range gearing.
Driving position also is weird, Too close to the door.
If it's meant for farming and ranching then it quite good. Not so much for long distance travelling, though people have driven it around the glob.

 

[DRAX]

Curious, did venture4wd's recent video on his purchase of one of these pique your interest?

 

[35xj]

I’ve had a few of the 300 tdi 130 hi caps. Really cool fun trucks!
Issues…. Rust! Be VERY careful when buying one. Most of the UK trucks I’ve seen have significant frame rot, and quite often bulkhead rot. (Steel firewall)
Otherwise they are awesome. Not particularly fast, comfortable, or weather tight. They leak most fluids,
But they really are incredibly fun to own. PRts are pretty available from lucky 8,rovers north, rovah farm, and a few other stateside shops.
Check with Sam at Royal Overland, and Marcus at Sonoran Rovers for inventory
My current 130

 

[Nonimouse]

There is another known issue with the 200tdi - that of the cam moving in the block. It doesn't happen often, but is more likely to happen if the engine has been overheated. It can be a relatively simple fix or it can require line boring of the block

 

[Tex68w]

Thanks for all of the replies, I am learning a lot about this platform. Still not sure if it fits the mold of what I want to do.

Curious, did venture4wd's recent video on his purchase of one of these pique your interest?

LOL, no, but it did turn me on to Sonoran Rovers lol.

 

[Highlander]

A LR Defender 130 is perfect farm / ranch truck, but don't look beyond TD200 or TD300. The TD5 engines were more powerful but terrible relibaility,
If you can find there are 3.5 or 3.9 V8... a magnificent Buick engine.
My brother ran a Dico 1 with that engine for 300K kilometers with absolutely 0 issue apart from replacing a water pomp. He sold it to our distant cousin he still drives it.

 

[XJLI]

If you can find there are 3.5 or 3.9 V8... a magnificent Buick engine.
My brother ran a Dico 1 with that engine for 300K kilometers with absolutely 0 issue apart from replacing a water pomp. He sold it to our distant cousin he still drives it.

how many head gaskets did he have to replace? its a good motor, but far from magnificent.

 

[DiscoDavis]

In my limited experience if you're taller than 6' the hicap cab is going to feel smaller than either the troopie bed or the 5 door. You can't lean back or scoot back the seat far enough if you're a big person. That said I am about 6', and I really like that cab and the bed, makes for a really light base vehicle compared to the other models, good work vehicle.

Again limited experience only driving a couple different 200 motors, if its timed and tuned right and you keep a decent service schedule (good filters, decent oil, fit a good water pump to it), they are great. I don't expect a ton of speed out of mine but it has always worked for me.

The few issues I've had were water pump and fuel lift pump (cam driven one) going out every couple years (this was when the vehicle was heavily used). Both are cheap and easy to replace.

Personally I had the Buick v8 in a D1 for several years and did NOT like it. I'd choose a 4.4 D3 V8 or a 200/300tdi (even a Td5 or Td4) over that motor any day. Again limited experience but the top end of the 3.9 engine's lifespan is 250k and it is pretty tired by that point.

 

[Dogpilot]

I had the V8 in the 97 Defender and the Disco I. It was a great engine. A bit on the thirsty side, but really reliable, lots of torque. The 200 diesel is kind of like flying a WW I airplane with a blip switch, no power-full power. Mine ate swirl chambers, but that may have been due to running it on a JP-5 diesel mix. I had a lot of JP-5 to use up. I ran JP-5 in almost all our generators and they where really happy with it. The spec of JP-5 and Arctic Diesel is very similar. Aside from that the 200 in the pickup is a very sensitive survey instrument, able to detect the slightest hill and slow down for you to inspect it.

 

[Highlander]

how many head gaskets did he have to replace? its a good motor, but far from magnificent.

None. The motor never overheated.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Curious, did venture4wd's recent video on his purchase of one of these pique your interest?

I wonder what he paid for that truck? It seems about right, nice enough to enjoy, but use it and not have to worry about scratches, etc.

 

[johnyt]

Mine is a 1991 Hi Capacity PU
I have the V-8 and replaced a 30 year old engine with a 15 yr old Discovery V-8
The truck suites my needs

 

[SmalltimeExplorers]

Mine ate swirl chambers, but that may have been due to running it on a JP-5 diesel mix. I had a lot of JP-5 to use up. I ran JP-5 in almost all our generators and they where really happy with it. The spec of JP-5 and Arctic Diesel is very similar. Aside from that the 200 in the pickup is a very sensitive survey instrument, able to detect the slightest hill and slow down for you to inspect it.

200 & 300 Tdi are Direct Injection so no swirl Chambers.