Engine changes

[pilgrim]

What's the likely cost for changing (by a specialist, not me) a n/a to a tdi or td4 (including the price of the engine itself)?

I might have found a good n/a, but think i could well get tired of it being so slow. everything else about it is great (they're asking £4,500 so it ought to be), but might be better just getting the right engine in the first place.

Cheers

[Porny]

£4500 is a lot of money for a n/a!!!

For that sort of money you can get a 200Tdi or a 300Tdi (and not just a dog).  I know of a very tidy one (if still for sale) N reg 300Tdi... for less than that..  (is on V-Car though - CAT D very minor damage, but now repaired)

To convert to a 200Tdi...
You be looking at between £800 and £1500 for the engine and rad etc - i.e. all the bits you need.  (for PROPER Defender spec 200Tdi - I'm not a fan of fitting Disco 200Tdi engines).   And then the Labour....
It isn't a difficult job to do though.

To convert to a 300Tdi... (and do an 'as factory’ install)
You'd be looking at around £1500 for the engine (+ ancillaries) and gearbox (as you really need an R380 gearbox, rather than a LT77)... then you'll also need the Propshafts and transmission tunnel from a 300Tdi - and you'll need to weld on new engine and gearbox mounts.    Though you could mount the engine and gearbox in a not factory position.
Then the labour....

To convert to a TD5 (though you could fit a Td4 if you really wanted - but would be ££££££'s)...
Price wise, about £1600 - £2000 for everything you need.... but a much more complicated conversion compared to a 200 or 300Tdi - so labour charge would be very high!!!

You can cut corners and fit the Disco version of the 200Tdi, or mount an 300Tdi to an LT77 gearbox (as fitted to an n/a)... but then you've got the problems of a non standard vehicle.... which can increase your insurance and lead to problems getting spares.

(I've done a couple of 200Tdi conversions, and am currently working on a TD5 Conversion + rebuild on my own 90)


Ian

[pilgrim]

thanks for that.

the vehicle itself is in great condition, and the engine runs sweetly (for a n/a) - it's just that i think i'd get too frustrated with the lack of power and speed in every day driving.

i'm just waiting for everyone to tell me to put a v8 in it!

[extreme90]

PUT A V8 INIT !!     then get frustrated with filling it up with petrol every 2 mins  :lol:   your looking at 2000 tops for a tdi conversion....thats a proper 200tdi def conversion

[ritchiea2005]

Id put the 300tdi in it simple conversion looking around on ebay i rekon you could do it for less than 1500 quid.  Ive had both disco 200tdi and now 300tdi in mine the bigest problem i found with the disco 200tdi was making a down pipe to fit you aint got much space with the disco manifold depends how much messing about you want and like porny says your going away from standard just depends on what your after.  Either way its a simple enough conversion with with a bit of help you should easily diy fit in a weekend.  Go on have a go yourself theres enough people on here to give advice if you get stuck :)

[Porny]

Id put the 300tdi in it simple conversion looking around on ebay i rekon you could do it for less than 1500 quid.  

That's if your lucky, and whether you do 'an as factory' install.

It's all the smaller bits and pieces that can put the cost up.

To do a factory install you need:

The Engine (complete)
The Gearbox
The Exhaust
Front and Rear Propshafts
Correct Radiator and Intercooler (and all the pipe work)
The Air Filter Assembley and pipework
The Fuel Filter housing and pipework
The Oil Cooler Pipes
The Bonnet Stay (an non Tdi one is different)
The correct PAS bottle and pipework
Engine Loom (and the heater plug wiring)
The Fan Cowel and Fan
Both driver and passenger Flooring
The Transmission Cover
And the seatbox or the correct adaptor (as the transmission cover is a different shape) - so you'll also need the correct floor mats
Ideally the correct header tank
The correct chassis/gearbox crossmember
And a few other bits and pieces.

You could cut this list down by mounting the engine and gearbox slightly further back than a standard 300Tdi Defender - this means the gearbox would mount on the same mounts as the LT77 - but then this also causes problems - namely the exhaust and the oil cooler pipes won't fit.


Ian

[ritchiea2005]

Must agree with porny if you want factory standard it will cost you a lot more than £1500 just depends what your after.  My own opinion (for what its worth) is to have a go yourself and make any modifcations you need to on the way.  At the end of the day the factory standard sometimes just aint good enough.