Mike, aside from cracking up with your fabulous comments, I felt for this engine. This is a truly sad story 😔

Quick word about Ghana... Was working at the Tema oil terminal in Ghana a few years ago. We had some pretty big 3-phase electric pumps on the beach and an ancient "100kva" generator to run them. Rigged everything up, tried to test run the pumps and found that the generator wasn't anywhere near powerful enough. Oh well, sort it out in the morning. Off to bed. Get up the following morning and find that the local labourers had - during the night - dug a trench about 3km long, scraped together a heap of suitable electric cables, ran the cables back to the nearest village, tied into a local 3-phase power supply, buried the cables in the trench and connected them up to a junction box on the site, ready for us to hook our pumps up to. Conversely, there was also a farmer nearby who had a knackered irrigation pump sitting by the side of the road. We had a heap of spares for Lister engines so we offered to get the pump running. Spent a couple of days servicing the engine and pulling the pump apart and cleaning it up. Returned it to the farmer, hooked it up and it worked perfectly. Couple of days later we noticed the irrigation pump was missing. We asked one of our local labourers to find out what happened to the pump. Later that day, he came back and said "The farmer's sold it". Like everywhere, there are heroes and dickheads. Had some great times drinking Akpet around the campfire with the locals, though... and the headaches in the morning as well.

This really has been a Pandora's box of left field gremlins! 10 out of 10 for persistence. The sign of a real mechanic, you don't need to hang your workshop coat up at the end of the day it is so encrusted it stands up on it own in the corner overnight muttering to it's self! lol

08:10 "What other treasures may we find" 🤣🤣🤣

If you needed an illustration of a money pit then this is the one. You're right about that drip tray, it's pretty good I recommend every Defender owner gets one !

12:07 "It's a stone! We'll put that in the sump later" 🤣🤣🤣

There's everything to learn in every episode, can't wait for the next one 😊😊

I'm used to working on old motorcycles so I've seen a fair share of problems. I always wanted a 300tdi or td5, but looking at al those video's and the issues you find I lost my courage to ever buy one :)

I ALWAYS enjoy your “African Adventures”, there is always so much to learn from them. Biggest lesson from this one - “change your oil regularly!” Haha! I lived in Tanzania for several years and there was a street full of Land Rover mechanic shops (10 or more). There were always heaps of Landies in various stages of diss-repair. Who knows what the poor things had done to them. You can be sure they were not tossing up wether to put Genuine or Britpart gear in.

Here in blighty I got a cement mixing tray, similar to yours but it’s a heavy duty black plastic thing. Good thing about the tray is it doesn’t break when you forget it’s there and you drive over it 😳. I feel for your customer there Mike but on the bright side once it’s been rebuilt it’ll be a good engine.

In warm climates people often don't use any "antifreeze" not considering they need the anticorrosion components. Then they wonder why they have issues with rads plugging, etc. My B-in-law had a Chevy Vega (if anyone remembers them) that used to shear off a motor mount about once every six months. He finally gave up on the GM part and fixed it by drilling a hole in a hockey puck and using that instead. That's Canadian ingenuity!

45 years of screwing around with cars, and I never thought to push the clutch pedal to separate an engine from a stuck bell housing. Brilliant. Now go double your hourly rate.

Reminds me of plumbing: start out to repair a dripping faucet and end up at the water main.....

Loving these videos. Really informative and entertaining. Thank you. 😊👍🏻

great video - going to love the discussion with the owner - "here is my recommendation - find a donner engine - find a donner chassis and finally find a donner body - then you are good to go" or you might consider finding a deep pond and having a little emergency brake failure

You pulling the core plugs out reminded me of my old man who used to say core plugs acted as an anode within the cooling jacket and would attract the corrosion instead of the block, and your video confirmed his theory, inside the block looked reasonably clean. Also whenever he rebuilt an engine he would remove and replace all the core plugs whilst giving the block a good rinse. For the sake of a few pennies the job was worth doing ( also with a smear of Stag jointing compound for good measure.) Obviously the boys in Ghana don’t see that coolant additive is more about reducing internal corrosion than preventing the water from freezing. Great video .

...always look on the bright side of ???? Anyway Mike your at the point of no return? Enjoyable vlog👍

Wow the core plugs looked totally fine from the front. Just shows u. Great video 👍

And the plot thickens. Bit like the oil. This all depends on the cost of parts and the machine shop plus the hours. I think the clue must be, how much is a rebuilt 200/300tdi to buy in Canada. Are they valued for there simplicity in Canada like they are in some parts of the world? Thanks for the video Mike very entertaining and informative.

Mate, you blokes should be sourcing your Landrovers from Australia, surely shipping and conversion to LHD would be cheaper than what I've seen from Ghana! Not quite sure what the fascination with these 4wds is other than the self flagellation and sore spines, but we all have our quirks. However, I do enjoy watching your videos, you're a fair dinkum mechanic who still doesn't wear gloves!

G'Day Mike Well it has to be said...you gave it a good go and you've called most of the issues before they were revealed and since its already a totaly buggered engine it may as well have an alternative engine to finish it all off. As you're fully aware, spare land rover anything in Canada is the issue, its not like there's spare 200/300Tdi's just laying around under every 2nd tree. So what does this leave you with, go for a non Defender engine? Remember when you did your V6 ecotech conversion we had a discussion about trying to find a good reliable and attainable alternative diesel engine's for Defender's - well here is the classic reason why we need to find something! You are all out of 200/300Tdi's that are easy to obtain but you do have one of the biggest motoring obsession countries right at your doorstep, there HAS to be something that can replace our Diesel engines with from all of those yanks car manufacturers surely!

That looks like a lot of time in the machine shop. When I was rebuilding mini engines back in the 70's, the cost of re-bore and crank grinds was just horrific. I hate to think what it is now. Happy days though, well some of them were!

Your videos are so educational, even if I will never do something like that by myself but to know about it is a great help if and when you talk to a mechanic! All the talk about expenses - would be interesting to get some numbers on that - not down to the penny just a rough figure!

Least you'll have the bodywork to keep you busy while the oily stuff is being taken care of. Quick tip regarding that drip-tray:- Weld a couple of lengths of angle-iron to the sides of your engine stand to stop the drip-tray sliding off it. Otherwise, sooner or later, you'll knock the drip-tray, it'll fall off the engine stand and there'll be oil all over the floor.

Looking forward to watch the next episode! Very interesting! 👌🏻

I recognised that piece of thermostat plug when you pulled it out, I also have a similar sized piece floating about inside my engine after it dropped in when trying to remove the broken part

Hi Mike thanks for the tip very great help many thanks Eliot ps keep up the good work

It's a good job you enjoy doing what you do.

Hi mike. It’s going from bad to worse with that Landrover I bet you wish it didn’t come into your workshop. It’s going to cost the customer a lot of money to put things right with the Land Rover. Looks like you’re going to be on that for a long time Best of luck

I see you've a few suggestions for drip trays, but I'll stick my tuppence worth in anyway! Ikea do a tray called Baggmuck (for putting you dirty shoes on at the back door) - 603.297.11. It's 71x35cm, so not as big as that white one, but they're only £2.50 -not sure what that will be in Canadian Spondoolies.

I rebuilt a series 2a engine(my first ever engine rebuild) and I love/laugh when he shows me stuff thats worn or effed as I see straight away what it means and why mechanics 'hum and ahh' in the first place...

Wow Mike. That's a boat anchor isn't it? In the UK you could source another lump but I guess they aren't so plentiful over there.

Wow! I was right about the engine mounts or should that be what engine mounts.😮😮 Well you have gone this far....so either the customer trys to find a decent replacement engine or bites the bullet and gets you to sort this one out. If it was me I'll get you to rebuild it. 👍👍

Expected you to pull out a boiled ham from behind that center core plug!! That engine has seen some service and it's on it's second life ....at least ...... that's not going to be a rebuild .... it's going to be a resurrection 😂😂

Well done for pointing out this is a Ghana Defender, not a generic African Defender. I will try to explain why it matters if you are African. Most of us watching are of European decent. Now, is a Romanian the same as a German? Is a Norwegian the same as a Spaniard? Clearly not. We are all European but very, very different people. It's the same in Africa, 54 countries with very different people in each country.

Told you to pull it out Mike! What a wreck. I look forward to you sorting it!

Wonder if reman 300tdi unit would be more cost effective? Td5 or puma engine (wiring and computer complexities with these). Or perhaps Cummings 5.9, uses similar Bosch ve pump.? I’ve always been a 200tdi fan (super simple, reliable). I’ve also have a mate who put OM617, and has been quite pleased. Cheers Mike and good luck.

Ooo! Even before you wiped the oil off that big end, I physically winced... 😀😀 I'm betting that the mains aren't any better either... 🥴

Great video Mick how are supplies of spares in Canada for LR. This is a video that should be used for all budding vehicle mechanics.

That one bearing tells the story of the whole engine, neglect, this is going to be expensive to set it right or get another engine.....either way an oil change is always cheaper than an engine rebuild.....love your vids mate 👍👍

LOVE the Kenny Craig ''Little Britain'' Hypnotist saying at 18:38: _''Don't look into my eyes....look around the eyes...''_ . Hmmm - I wonder if you've tried that line when out on a Friday night down at _Bar Chez Rita_ ...... ???

Always impressive the way you handle the googlies that get thrown your way by these African imports. One must expect the unexpected...!

Lucky that you did not find sawdust in the pan!

You've got here, Mike. How are the bores? It really is a rebuild from here, don't you think?

As we say here in new York; jack up the license plates and replace everything underneath them. Lol, quite a project I would say.

Having fun 😂, enjoy !

hello mike.the customer will need a bedford truck full of money to pay for this re build. how much is a recon engine, who ever in the past has not done regular oil changes, this stands out a mile .anyway keeps u in business.

Your face said it all Mike 🤬🤬🤬🤬

With every video you put out - GM V6 is looking a lot more enticing! 👍 I mean how much are the parts on that thing let alone your labor and machine shop time going to cost?

Maybe a recon engine for what it’s going to cost to rebuild that one

You're going to start hiding in the toilet every time a white Land Rover shows up.

I just want to get your opinion about something. It looks like the engine you are currently working on won't need it, but what do you prefer resleeving or boring to oversize.

Boat anchor or spend $20,000 for complete engine rebuild?

16:36 Where is the white metal? Mike, it's a total rebuild wouldn't you say? You can't put any of it back, surely? Here in Oz we'd say it's fucked. New everything, if you have to give a warranty.

Hi mate I gather you live in the USA OR CANADA somewhere as you were talking in dollars. I guess your from the UK? You sound very northern I’m northern myself. Where in the uk are you from buddy

Nice one mike, loving these Ghana landys. Might be worth chucking a GM vortec in that one haha

What was changed from the 200 to the 300tdi? Are the seals the Same and is it the Same Belt kit? Cheers

Could be an ideal opportunity for another Vortec conversion.

What is the trick to getting number 5 main cap off?

Turned into a real bag of cacky that one - don't they always ???

Wouldn't a sub assembly be cheaper and quicker?

Where do you draw the line with that. Like peeling an onion... It's the old 'had the same brush for 40 years - 5 new heads and 3 new handles' Good luck. Hope the owner has a few squid.

Mike, I was told when I bought my '98 TDI that the later engines were more prone to big end bearing failure than the earlier 300Tdi's, your thoughts/experience?

only just watching this, so a bit behind the curve, why not put a reconditioned engine in? by the time you change most the parts you might as well start again.

Ghana? explains a lot :) Maybe you should start your own scheme/scam and import 109 series trucks from the Western Sahara!

Mike, I see you use a Dewalt impact wrench what do you think of it? How powerful is it?

Sorry, I'm commenting as I watch. Those gudgeons are fucked ( Oz vernacular again ). What a mess.

How many miles are on that engine mine looked better then that at 200k miles what do u think the wear is down too? Running on dirty oil maybe ?

I would recommend it swapped to Isuzu engine..

The biggest question : is it worth the effort?

Mike, what mileage did this one have?

Nothing that can’t be sorted through consumption of copious amounts of Tea and chocolate Digestives. We have faith in you. ....

Fram filter says it all. Garbage

That's looking like it'll need rebored 💰💰💰💰💰

"Hello? Mr. Customer? How would you like to have a state-of-the-art V6 conversion? I'll take your old parts in partial trade, and you'll end up with twice the horsepower for roughly the same amount of money."

🇮🇪🥰🥰👍👋

FRAM oil filters. Every time I watch a engine rebuild as the engine has worn out, there's a FRAM oil filter on the engine. FRAM oil filters are the worst filters you can buy. How they are still in business is beyond me. How many engines have been destroyed because of the worst oil filters you can buy? My dad had a car which died with a hundred thousand miles. He used FRAM oil filters. If you value your engine, don't kill it with a shit FRAM FILTER!