Aloha all from the sunny south pacific!! [8D]
Er, has anyone on 'ere (or who have friends that) have had issues with the 4.0l V8 in the DII?
I am looking at swapping to my DII V8 and selling my '98 Tdi is all. It has had to have a head gasket but that's hardly a major compared with slipped liners on the V8. The question is..how often do the V8 ACTUALLY go bad? [&:]
Thank you all in anticipation...

 

At what mileage does the V8 die?
Nobody knows, the owner dies before the truck does.
With proper maintence the V8 will last for 300,000+ miles.
If you abuse it 200,000 miles.
Obviously just like any manhice it will need repairs, but it shouldnt need anything major.

 

Wait wait wait. You actually want to get rid of the tdi for the V8?

 

Hmm, I know

But, my Tdi will dump in value once the magic 100000km rolls round! Bl00dy mad I know but it's true. So, my DII V8 owes me what the I could get for the Tdi so...you see my dilema......

 

If you plan on keeping any vehicle then value doesn't matter. And diesels don't take near as big a hit in value as gas engines for higher mileage. 100000KM or 100000 miles is just getting a diesel broken in. So you already have both the TDI and the D2 V8? I would keep them both if possible but i would get rid of the gas Disco long before the diesel.

I had the head gaskets on my 97 D1 replaced at 111,000 miles along with the water pump. I think Spike is about right saying the engine will last 300,000 miles. And when it's time for a rebuild the liners can be replaced saving the cost of a new block. Your diesel can be relined also.

 

Howdy!
I have had to do the head gasket on my Tdi at 90000km. Not common but not unheard of.

Here's my other dilema...
The last DII V8 I had gave me 16-18mpg.[:@] But that said, I only get 22-24mpg from my Tdi. All of them have been the same mpg wise. We think it is something to do with the fuel we have.
Our diesel is still priced without road tax but that costs me about 4c /km. Diesel costs $1.12 a litre here. My PDA software tells me that is @.17c/km on average including road tax. High octane (95) petrol is $1.42/l. At 18mpg (19l/100km) petrol costs .25c/km.
Looking at that it is a no brainer!! But diesels cost more to service and repair - well they do here. 5000km service vs 10000km for the petrol. That brings the difference down to about 4-5c/km more for the petrol.
Tough decision!! The DII is very nice...

 

I'm glad I don't have to make the decision. Right or wrong I'm pretty sure I would choose the diesel. I'm a truck driver and love diesels. Plus a maintained diesel will last forever, even longer than the petrol V8. I have heard that Rover had a lot of head gasket problems with both petrol and diesel engines but once replaced you should be good to go for a very long time. I had the head gaskets on my petrol V8 replaced at 111,000 miles because they were starting to leak coolant externally. It really is a tough decision. I understand the numbers and how little difference in operating costs there are between the 2 but it really should be a matter of what you want more than money.

I personally believe that the low end torque of the diesel and the ability to do deep water crossings without worrying about electronics is a major pro for the diesel. Don't know if those are concerns for you.

Diesels here in the states are more expensive to maintain than a petrol motor. The components are stronger and last longer so in the long run maintenance costs equal out. Of course oil changes are going to be more expensive because of the amount of oil our diesels hold. My Dodge Cummins held 11 quarts of oil, Ford's Powerstroke diesel hold 15 quarts. Up front costs of basic maintenance on a diesel is higher but when you consider replacing a petrol motor while the diesel keeps going it balances out.

Not really sure if this helps in your decision making but figured I'd give my 2 cents, which is worth about a cent and a half.