I'd take a couple of propshaft UJs, a wheel bearing kit and the crank sensor.
As others have said, Morocco isn't the end of the world, and most decent sized towns have a Landrover friendly garage + most of the big UK based suppliers will DHL spares out to you at any hotel address.

I'd also take a couple of spare fuel and air filters, as the Td5 does like clean fuel...

You could take tones of bits, and not need anything... the only thing that failed when I took my 300Tdi disco to morocco was the Alternator, and in hindsight i should have binned it before I went...

Good piece of kit I used when my water pump went in Tunisia

Matt Savage's phone number.

Very helpful people.

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www.4x4-travel.co.uk

Tell me is it possible, worthwhile, and advisable to disable the immobiliser on a TD5 (for long term overlanding) or is it not a big problem anyway?

thanks

Ch

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

It shouldn't be a problem either way... the Td5 immobilisers are all in-built into the ECU anyway, and even of the alarm is de-activated, there is still a 10AS alarm ECU fitted (it's just turned "off" in the software), so there is neither more or less to go wrong if it is disactivated (unlike the 300Tdi's which had a separate "spider" immobiliser that could and did go wrong...mainly dry joints on the PCB... easy enough to rectify, just a PITA when it does)


you can get your Td5 ECU modified so that it doesn't need the 10AS alarm unit (Ian, aka "porny" on some of the other forums, or Pete @ Bell auto's, or Andy at Allisport can do this for a small fee), there is some wiring done to the ECU, and an earth wire to be connected to the loom, and then the Td5 is totally immobiliser/alarm free.

Good answer DJ, thanks

Ch

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

Something I'll always carry now after an experience with a VERY heavily overloaded Defender in Gilf Kebir, is a spare axle hub flange... I'd been told by all the 'experts' that Landy half-shafts don't break any more (the 24 spline type) but they didn't say that's because the hub flange strips instead...

If I'd had a spare it would have been a 5 minute job to swap, as it was we had to 12volt weld the stripped flange to the still good half-shaft to have drive to the rear wheels. It got us back through the sand-sea and up almost to Tripoli before it broke again - and another weld-up by a roadside metal shop sorted it until I could get the replacement parts in Britain, but if I'd only known then it would have saved a lot of grief...

That said, if we hadn't been trying to keep up with lighter loaded Toyota LCs which insisted on driving at 100km/h in soft sand we might have never needed the repair... (they were light because they'd ignored the advice about how much fuel to take, so ran out early & needed our spare, so it balances out after all...)

Otherwise, nothing broke, but we had a couple of fuel line blockages, easily blown out - but have a good look at the fuel line layout in daylight so you know which line goes where!

Tony

Hello Tony,

Great to hear you're OK and showing your trademark cocky spirit :-)

We did not quite do 100km/h in soft sand but we did it on gravel and tarmac. It was exalting to see your LR keeping up with us at this mind boggling speed. You did very well indeed! And after you decided to dump your computer printer, cordless jigsaw, professional butchers chopping block, half a dozen video casettes & books, blow up settee and a few more "less essentail" items, your 110 began to fly like the hand paraglider you decided to carry across the Gilf Kebir regardless.

Tony, my apologies if we had ignored your good advice how much fuel and water to take. If it was not for your 20 litres of diesel, I would be still stuck in Siwa. And you would be still on your way there, I am afraid, if you had not dumped all this stuff above plus a few jerrycans of surplus water and had no access to the portable welder I carried - as it turned out - for your personal use only. So it balances out after all...


Yes, your pride and joy was running like a dream, not counting a few more niggles, such as constantly leaking fuel sedimenter, water temp gauge working in tandem with the headlamp switch and a fire under the passenger seat.

In all, despite our efforts to spoil your adventure, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

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Roman (UK)

Hear Hear Roman!!!

Something I'll always carry now after an experience with a VERY heavily overloaded Defender in Gilf Kebir,

Definately correct, but mabe poorly prepared should be added into the statement!!


if we hadn't been trying to keep up with lighter loaded Toyota LCs which insisted on driving at 100km/h in soft sand we might have never needed the repair... (they were light because they'd ignored the advice about how much fuel to take, so ran out early & needed our spare, so it balances out after all...)

If I recall correctly the splines stripped when you were almost stationary & trying to claw your way out of being stuck in the soft sand in your VERY heavily overloaded Defender

Mmm..... lighter loaded Toyota LC's??? I think that says a lot in itself about your problem.

Just checked my tracklog, & as Roman stated, not quite 100kph in the soft sand!! and as for insisted, I dont remember any of us twisting your arm up behind your back or weighing your throttle pedal down with silica glass, although I admit it was a trifle tedious @100kph on the tarmac through Libya!!!

As it happened, I still had nearly 40 litres of fuel in my tanks when we arrived in Siwa after setting out from Dakhla with 500litres


Getting back to the thread though, I think the moral of the story is Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, Research (especially the availability of spares for Landrovers in places like Egypt), and........... very importantly, keep the weight as light as practically possible and dont carry unnecesarry clutter
Also take into account the type of vehicles that the locals drive, Tony, how many Landrovers did you see in the oasis towns of Egypt, or on the whole trip for that matter?

Andy

I see on Ashcroft:
Ashcroft Transmissions

they say... 'This type is to replace the later thinner flange as fitted to the 300 TDi and the TD5 Defenders'.

Did these later Defs really have thinner flanges? Matt tells me it might be a quick fix so they can take alloys.

I've seen one strip in the circumstances describes above (in fact in the same location) but that was on a ratty 109 with a Tojo engine.

Ch

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

I recommend the Ashcroft flanges, a very nice piece of kit and better sealed against ingress than the originals.

Although you could argue there is a benefit to the weak point of the axle being a £15 part that can be swapped in 5 minutes. Better that than 4 inches of quarter shaft wedged in the diff...

Of course you could always buy some shiny Ashcroft half shafts as well.

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

My Defender with a No-spin rear ate pattern driving members - so much so that I always had one in the back somewhere! I could only get "Allmakes" IIRC and they seemed to be made from yoghurt. The (original) half shaft splines wore too, but not so badly. Mostly unsurfaced roads too which I found a bit surprising (265/75 MT tyres mostly).

OT the Gilf trip sounds like it needs more feedback someone?