Stag Land Rover

Stag Land Rover Engine rebuilds for Defender & Discovery. Also servicing, MOT work & L.O.F clutches & brakes.

This D2 came in after stalling at a junction and rolling back down the hill with 3.5T on the back! Not a nice experience...
23/11/2025

This D2 came in after stalling at a junction and rolling back down the hill with 3.5T on the back! Not a nice experience, I'm sure.

With the valve cover off, we could see damage straight away with a cam follower in pieces.
Removing the head showed no. 2 was out of sync with the rest of the pistons.

The sump came off next to show a whole load of large pieces, some of which had cracked the oil pump as the crank forced conrods and schrapnel into it.

With the oil pump off, we found that the piston had let go around the gudgeon pin. The top half of the piston stayed up the barrel after making contact with the valves, which transferred the energy straight up into the cam followers.
These seemed to be the weak link fortunately with no damage to the cam.

Unfortunately, without realising the damage done, the owner attempted to restart the engine and the now flailing gudgeon pin made grooves in the cylinder, which required a new sleeve to be machined and pressed in. New oversized pistons were installed since the other cylinders had wear and needed a rebore anyway.

It was quite a mess, but nothing is unfixable (bar a whole in the block).

The owner took the opportunity to get the valve cover and inlet manifold Cerakoted in a fantastic bronze, which looks magnificent.

The cause of this failure seems to have been due to the immense strain put on the pistons from trying to pull 5.75T (the trailer and the Disco) uphill without using low range.

There may have been a natural weakness at the area around the gudgeon pin, but it's been perfectly fine for 20 years.
My guess is that there was no defect in the piston but, given enough strain, everything will fail at some point and this piston surpassed its ability to keep going under such load.

This ought to keep the MOT man happy for another year. My D2 failed for cloudy headlights, so I thought I should polish ...
10/10/2025

This ought to keep the MOT man happy for another year.

My D2 failed for cloudy headlights, so I thought I should polish them up. Actually, I did this last year, with not very good results.
This year, I used a better machine and higher grit discs - 180, 400, 600, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000. Finishing off with Meguires Scratch X.

I did consider buying new ones but at £900, polishing seemed worth a go.

Thanks to YRM for supplying two nicely galvanised front hockey sticks for a chassis swap that we are currently doing.The...
13/04/2025

Thanks to YRM for supplying two nicely galvanised front hockey sticks for a chassis swap that we are currently doing.
The car was a 200TDi which is having a massive upgrade of a new chassis with later axles for discs all round.
More pics of this project in time with details of the other work it will have done.

For now, the sticks have had an etching coat over the galvanising and a 2k matt black and clear, which looks very neat.

This stunning TD5 is off on a long journey to St. Helena in the South Atlantic.It's had a 20 thou rebore to straighten t...
03/04/2025

This stunning TD5 is off on a long journey to St. Helena in the South Atlantic.

It's had a 20 thou rebore to straighten the bores and new Nüral pistons with a 2 thou gap between the piston and bore.

The customer already has a new turbo and manifold so will fit that himself, but he's opted for an LOF Power clutch with SMF.

The valve cover has been Cerakoted in Blue Flame, with the rest of the aluminium done in a Cerakote clear coat, which should keep this engine in great condition for a long time.

Also in the build is a new AMC head and Pioneer hoses.

Stag Land Rover can rebuild your TD5 to a very high standard, with nothing overlooked. We can also supply the core engine to start with and ship out to anywhere in the world.

Each engine is stripped down completely, cleaned, blasted, painted and measured up to determine the extent of machining needed.

Many new parts then go back into the build with new seals, gaskets and bolts throughout. We use genuine or OEM parts where possible and do not tolerate cheap rubbish.

Be careful what you buy online!A recent customer wanted to get his 130 back on the road quickly and opted for a 'low mil...
07/03/2025

Be careful what you buy online!

A recent customer wanted to get his 130 back on the road quickly and opted for a 'low mileage engine', rather than have me rebuild his original. That was shipped to me for installation.
These photos are what turned up.

The seller listed it as a 90,000 mile engine, only being removed due to an engine upgrade.

It was leaking from every seal and it took two weeks to arrive. We suspect that the seller was a breaker and had to wait until a TD5 came in.

It was in such a poor state. I set about cleaning it so I could swap over all of the external parts. I found that the exhaust manifold had been blowing and when I removed it, I found two of the worst thread repairs ever attempted.

Needless to say, these 'repairs' have scrapped the head. Someone may have been able to weld the holes and re-drill, but it's not an economic repair.

I had to put all of those parts back on and send it back whence it came. Fortunately, my customer got a refund, but I dare say, someone else has ended up with this lump.

It's a similar story for injectors. Sellers list them as 'good running injectors' but I recently sent a set of five for testing and three failed.
The engine was running well enough, but we can't see without a test that some injectors are running outside of a set of parameters (injecting too much or too little) that, when they eventually move too far from that ideal zone, your engine can suffer some serious damage, if you're unlucky. We caught these ones just in time.

Sellers of injectors may not know any different and they may have come from a running engine but I wouldn't pay top money for injectors without tests to prove their worth.

Be careful what you buy!

This oily mess of a TD5 came in because it was loosing water and overheating.It had previously had a new head fitted by ...
12/12/2024

This oily mess of a TD5 came in because it was loosing water and overheating.
It had previously had a new head fitted by a garage local to the owner, but this didn't fix its problems.

After much cleaning it was stripped down completely and inspected everything.
It was obvious that the HG had failed but it should not have done so since it had only recently been changed when the new head went on.

Looking closer at the block, I found that it was not flat and it was allowing gasses and coolant to mix.
This hot flow under the HG is likely what caused it to fail so quickly and it's because of this common problem with the TD5 block where it warps or erodes slightly, that I skim every block in a rebuild.

The block also got a rebore with oversized Nüral pistons fitted.
Lots of new, good quality parts went back on after blasting, painting and cleaning, including a skimmed exhaust manifold, an LOF Power clutch and the EGR removed. Also, a Stag logo stencilled on the side, so its next owner knows who built it.

It was then mounted back on a pallet and secured, ready for its trip back to its owner to install.

Stag LR rebuilds TD5s to a high standard.
Based in Suffolk, U.K., We prefer to have your car here with us but we can send out on a pallet for delivery worldwide.

As I get more and more TD5 engines in with oil pressure problems, I sometimes need to replace the oil pump.The question ...
21/11/2024

As I get more and more TD5 engines in with oil pressure problems, I sometimes need to replace the oil pump.
The question is, do I fish around for a good used one or get a new aftermarket pump?

Today I received a new AllMakes pump. The first thing I did was the take the pressure relief valve apart and measure the spring.
I wasn't too surprised to find that it measures below the LR stated minimum of 42mm. And no thread lock on the b**g.
I measured the spring at 41.73mm. The last aftermarket pump I had in was a Eurospare with its spring measuring 41.75mm.
I suspect that it's from the same Chinese factory and it's likely that a Britpart one will be the same.

If a customer wants/needs a new pump, there's not much choice if they all come from the same source.

I swap out each of these out of spec springs for some that I have made for me, specifically for my rebuilds.

The next thing to do is take the pump rotors out and inspect them. What did I find today?
No lubrication and still covered in the polishing grit from the factory.

The grit seems very fine but still, it would have been nice to clean it up and lubricate, to give the pump a head start for when it starts working.

All 5 injectors broken apart in this 15P engine.I was initially perplexed as to how all of these injectors had fallen ap...
17/10/2024

All 5 injectors broken apart in this 15P engine.
I was initially perplexed as to how all of these injectors had fallen apart, and how it was still a running engine.

For all those people selling used engines as good, just because they are running, here's why I wouldn't pay so much for them. They are rarely in good condition, since the TD5 will continue to run with all kinds of hidden problems.

Back to the injectors.
I thought that the last monkey/mechanic had screwed down all of the adjustment screws on the rocker causing the injectors to be bottomed out, and therefore excess pressure had cause the breakage.
I didn't check the shaft because I had already removed it and I didn't think I'd be able to tell if they were backed off by one turn or not.

But, when I came to fit a replacement shaft and set it up correctly, I got curious and looked at them side by side.
To my surprise, all adjustment screws were screwed out! Out! And then locked in place. It's not even that the adjustment was neglected all together, they were intentionally adjusted the wrong way.

This would have caused a massive amount of free play and bouncing off the top of the injector as the cam pushed it up.
This must have been a noisy engine with so much chattering going on.

So, the vibration from loose rockers transmitted forces through the injectors to break the clip that holds the spring and plunger to the main body, breaking all 5, but remaining in place miraculously to continue working. The vibration on the other end has caused severe damage to the camshaft lobes and some pitting on the rocker rollers. All scrap now.

This car would have been noisy and down on power.

Adding to that calamity, the engine was puffing heavily from the oil filler. This was caused by a broken ring on no. 3 piston.
For all of those people who give advice on how puffing of gasses is normal for a TD5, it is not! You have a problem, either broken or worn rings/bores.

This has been a costly error that has fallen on the current owner. Thankfully, it will soon be up and running again and quieter and more powerful than ever.

Stag Land Rover rebuilds sick TD5s.

I recently opened a parcel containing a couple of clutch kits from LOF to find this banner inside!Thank you Luke, but is...
08/09/2024

I recently opened a parcel containing a couple of clutch kits from LOF to find this banner inside!

Thank you Luke, but is it a thank you for doing so many clutches or a hint that I'm not doing enough brakes?

So then, anyone in East Anglia looking for some new LOF brakes, give Stag a call! Let's do it!

Here's another TD5 ready to install.This engine came in with low oil pressure but despite the owner stopping the car mom...
31/07/2024

Here's another TD5 ready to install.

This engine came in with low oil pressure but despite the owner stopping the car moments after the oil light came on, the damage had been done.

Oil starvation to the crank bearings had caused some crank damage, which was rectified with a 10 thou" grind, but the oil pump rotor was toast.
This goes to show that the oil pressure light should not be trusted as a guarantee that oil pressure is ok.
The spring in the pressure relief valve should not measure less than 42mm but even this is no guarantee, as a weak spring allows oil to recirculate the pump rather than circulate the engine.

Worn bearings add to the low pressure which accelerates the wear, which causes even more pressure loss and the situation quickly gets out of hand.

I would recommend that having a decent oil pressure gauge to show exactly what pressure you have is a must on these old engines.
Also, use a thicker oil, especially in warmer climates and change it regularly.

A shout out to LOF clutches and Pioneer 4x4 for their parts. Also to Ashcroft Transmissions for a recon R380.

Well this block came out nicely. Blasted and painted with 5 coats - zinc primer, 2k matt black and matt clear.
28/06/2024

Well this block came out nicely. Blasted and painted with 5 coats - zinc primer, 2k matt black and matt clear.

Address

High Road
Trimley
IP110RG

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Telephone

+447796852946

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