Land Rover Santana - Series Defender diesel

It's a Land Rover.

It leaks.
It goes over mountains.
It has has an overzealous following.

It's a Land Rover.

Good on ya Terry, for finding out more about them!

 

aftet much researching and reading all the Santana bashing. I ended up buying one. A 1991 left hand drive.. It’s been great! Parts have been easier then expected after reading this forums, and feel its better then the used “right hand” drive local market here..
market here..

 

Hi. The Santana isn't as scary as some make out. There are differences, especially the later ones.
I had a hotspot fail and damaged the head and block on my 84 Santana 2.25L diesel 5 mb engine. I found a 78 2.25L diesel 3 mb to swap out. 80% of the parts are the same EXCEPT the Santana runs timing gears (not chain), some oil banjo bolts are different, the crank pulley starter dog is different, the timing cover is different (but appears to work), etc. The drive train looks the same. I'm half way through rebuilding the engine so time will tell but so far I haven't encountered any major issues from swapping parts.
I considered repowering it with a 200Tdi but couldn't be assured that it would be an easy swap (mine's a Santana Ligero so...)

 

Hello
I too just purchased a Santana Ligero 1980. Having owned a number of land rovers from 1951 LR1 to 1976 109 I find the Ligero has many of the same parts.
In the market for a new canvas top and located one in Spain but they wanted $1800. So looking to put the original head bar on and going with a Roversnorth top for $560.
Any insights would be appreciated.

Shannon

 

Hi. Just check the top to insure it'll cover the rear sides. You may find that it's short. The rest is okay.
I added sideboards to address the odd bed dynamic.

 

I am checking back in. I have been active in some other forums but should have been back here. A lot more Santana bashers on the other forums. FWIW, it is not a D90/ Defender, the D90 / Defender crowd is very touchy about that. Be careful to not suggest otherwise when posting. However, there is no denying that it shares a lot of parts with both the Series and D90, I’d say 90 to 95%. I don’t know why that fact bothers some of the Defender / D90 folks so much. The Series folks don’t seem to care at all, mostly.

I have had the Santana for a few years now and it still runs like a top. However, I have sourced a 200TDI to swap in. I finished my 98 Disco 300TDI / 5 speed conversion. It has a lot more giddy up and go than the 2.5NA. For the mountain highways, I need just a little more from the Santana than it can offer. The 200TDI should be just enough.

I have decided to probably not swap out the axles. I am, however, going to go through the axles replacing the seals and gaskets as there are some leaks. Also, anyone know of a source for the front brake parts? The brakes are from what I can tell, very unique to Santana. The only reason, now, I would go back to considering swapping to Discovery axles is if I cant find brake parts for the Santana.

 

Hi. Yes, I note a lot of Santana bashing and Santana confusion on boards. Most from people who don't own one. I rarely hang around any boards anymore for any vehicle I own (Jeep, Silverado, Russian motorcycles, etc). I find the boards are made up of hardcore users and anyone outside that group is pretty much ignored.
I've decided to try a 2.5TD in my Ligero. I'll continue to rebuild the anemic 2.25D just as a spare. I'd love to go to a 200Tdi but sourcing one has been an issue. Most are low mounted turbo Disco models and that presents a whole set of issues. Defender units are rare, it seems. I've thought about trying a 200Di (without the turbo) but.... I have a hard time spending $6000 on a 200Tdi when I have so little in my truck to start with. It'd be nice to run at normal speeds though. 🙂
I contacted Zac at Zombie Motors, Hopkins Imports, and Rob Davis regarding swaps and swap kits and decided that there just wasn't enough certainty of a smooth swap for me to spend that kind of money on a "maybe".
I have the same seal issues. I'll look at that down the road.

 

Speaking of other boards, after I replied here I decided to take a look at a couple other boards. TDI setups are coming down in price, I believe, due to higher diesel costs and LS1 popularity. I still really like my diesels. If I was considering another project, this looks like a great option. If I didn’t already have my 200TDI, I’d be all over this.

https://www.defendersource.com/forum...post1919769252

It almost makes me want to grab it for a “someday” project.

 

Wow, that is a good price from what I've seen. The scary thing about the 200Tdi/300Tdi are the cost and availability of certain parts such as heads, manifolds, etc. I've seen heads listed for $1200-$2000. Ouch! I know someone doing an LS swap. I'd love to grab a beer and sit and watch the show.
I find that every LR project I tackle takes twice as long and costs twice much just based on trying to guess what will fit or having to monkey rig something because the part, new or used, was only 80% of what I needed. It keeps me from tackling larger projects.

 

Btw, just FYI... an LR 19J 2.5TD won't work in a Ligero. I tried "upgrading" to a 19J today and the turbo won't clear the upper steering arm or some linkages located nearby. Also, the 19J passenger side engine mount is okay but the driver's side needs the old mount and the mount bolted to the front block mount holes, not the rear. The engine goes in fine but the turbo simply won't clear the steering arm. I haven't looked at any mods as I ran out of daylight. In addition, the 19J fan won't work without some mods as it won't clear the fan shroud and only has 1/2" of clearance between the fan hub and the stock radiator. Again, I haven't looked at using other fan combos or mounting mods, etc. I ran out of time today.
The adventure continues.
It makes me wonder how and if any other high mount turbo engine will work in a Ligero. I know a low mounted turbo engine won't. The Ligero is a bit of an odd bird... not Defender 90 nor Series. I like my Ligero rig but it's a challenge at times.