hutchey Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Hi, i'm thinking of a swap to the 300tdi as i'm told it will mate to my 5 speed box and the diff splines etc will marry up. Is this correct and are there any hidden problem areas that i should be aware of? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Range Rover Blues Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 300 TDi boxs are shorter IIRC, have a different clutch spline and a longer 1st gear (lower). Engine mounts are different, fuel system, spring rates (front), PAS all that sort of stuff. The transfer box is the same and I think the props are, diffs and axles etc. The TDi didn't always have vented disks but that's no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Diesel in a RRC is just wrong. Go wash your mouth out and apologise to your V8!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Is this correct and are there any hidden problem areas that i should be aware of? Yes, it's a ****** slow pig and rattles. A lot. Keep the V8, add LPG and Megasquirt/jolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Range Rover Blues Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 We've got a factory 300 TDi soft dash. Yeap, it's noisey all right. My sister has a 300 TDi SE Auto soft dash, now that's a nice truck, but still noisey. Hers is better on fuel than ours too, I suspect it's been looked after better. At the end of the day it's a heavy car too, TDi uses less fuel but has less power, tweak it to go faster and it costs as much to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Mine is factory too. It does what it has to do, but no more. You're pretty much constantly torturing the engine just to follow in day-to-day traffic. It should feel the same as in a Disco, yet it doesn't. The 300TDi in the Classic is also a pain to work on. You can't remove the last 3 bolts when removing the cylinder head, the coolant system can't properly be bled as the expansion tank isn't the highest point in the system, ... If (when) this engine fails, and I haven't fallen through the floor, I'll put in either a V8 or TD5. The TD5 would be nice, but wouldn't fix most of the problems, but at least it would hint at having the power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchey Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Cheers for the info. I've now washed my mouth out, apologised to the v8 and have ordered a service kit and will get her carbs tuned properly. Megasquirt/jolt - now i do need to hear more................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 You need to go to the dark side and fit the engine Land Rover should have made... the mighty mighty Isuzu 2.8 Fits like a glove in a Rangie engine bay, more powerful than a TDi in the right guise (as fitted to Fronteras/Mu's) More powerful than an old 3.5V8 with a slight tweak (shed loads of torque) Well built, mega reliable, 30mpg all day long (just done a 300 mile round trip on motorway averaging ,ahem, just over 70mph and worked out to exactly 30mpg) and cheap to buy - I picked up a low mileage one for £350 with all ancilleries and turbo. They certainly run quieter in a Rangie than the TDi as well. the conversion kits pop up on ebay fairly often - is R380 same stud pattern as LT95? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Megasquirt/jolt - now i do need to hear more................... Check the forum for it on this board, under Tools & Fab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Range Rover Blues Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I wouldn't say the 300 TDi is gutless, ous has just dragged 2 tonnes of people hutch to blackpool and back with no dramas, other than it's just not heay enough when a lurry passes you (I thought they were all limited to 56). I can see why people bought them, it's better than the VM lump and returned 24mpg towing. For a car "out of the box" to do that is quite good. Plus one of the reasons my sister bought hers (after the 3.9 got nicked) was that at 2.5 litres it would avoid any potential hike in road tax that was muted at the time. Which is also the reason LR designed the engine as a 2.5, same as Merc, Ford, etc etc etc. Every white van on the road at the time and many many big cars were 2.5 or less due to the tax in some markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 If (when) this engine fails, and I haven't fallen through the floor, I'll put in either a V8 or TD5. The TD5 would be nice, but wouldn't fix most of the problems, but at least it would hint at having the power. Intrigued... what problems wouldn't it fix? I have the Td5 in mine. Just back from 3 months touring Europe. It's the second time I've done a trip like it. After at least 30k miles since my conversion I'll defend the Td5 to the last. It's got nigh on the same bhp as the original V8's and a butt load of torque. Out of the gate with a Defender R380, my standard early RRC axles and 205/80 16 wheels it was giving me 28 to 30mpg. For this trip I put 235/85 16's on it. At 50mph it was giving me 35mpg solidly. On the last leg of my trip I travelled from Vieux Boucau in S.France to Cherbourg and about 30 miles the other side of the ferry into Ireland on one tank. That's about 560 miles. I'm throwing an overdrive into it as soon as I can raise some cash and by the info given by the manufacturers I'll get that 35mpg at 70mph. To be fair all classic Range Rovers are noisy. Just a thought... and from experience rather than hard calculation. If you travel 30 miles at 75mph and someone else travels to the same destination at 60mph, you'll only gain about 5 minutes on them but loose hair and money. Maybe I'm a little more relaxed than most but it's a Range Rover not a sports car, I like to chill the f&*k out, get there with all my gear and maybe do some ass kicking offroad. If you want quietude, economy and to smell your own farts, get a Hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off Road Toad Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 A tweaked 300tdi will leave an old carbed v8 for dead! they have loads more torque. I've had 3.9 v8's and to be honest i would now always choose tdi instead. I've just got rid of my megasquirted 4.6 in favour of a td5, it's the future (until something more modern comes along) less fuel and more torque, nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zim Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Steve - do you honestly find the td5 a lot better than your v8 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Intrigued... what problems wouldn't it fix? It being a rattly diesel, the weight of the engine, things like that. I may have to try turning up the pump on my TDi, but with all the problems I've had with it, I just can't be bothered creating more opportunity for problems. An extra overdrive gear would be very nice to have, but for the price of an LT230 overdrive I could put a better engine (V8) in. A 1:1 TC with underdrive could possibly work, but would be extra noisy and also very expensive. A torqueier engine with a 1:1 TC would be nice too, but then you're going into TDV6/TDV8/6BT land, which is either very expensive and/or very heavy. The fuel on the V8 would cost me less than the TDi after doing an LPG conversion, biggest problem would be taxes and insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 It being a rattly diesel, the weight of the engine, things like that. ...but then you're going into TDV6/TDV8/6BT land, which is either very expensive and/or very heavy. I'm using police red and white springs up front, it handles way better than it has any right to, much better than later cars with anti roll bars etc. I've lost a little of that RR sofa ride but I'll trade that. My original plan was TDV6... it's 3 years since my conversion but I scrapped the TDV6 idea cause it was basically impossible at the time. The only guaranteed way of doing it at the time was to try and cut a DIII body off it's non existent chassis and put the RRC body on instead. A. Finding one for a reasonable price back then and B. transferring it with all the sensors needed to allow it to run right, even with just a manual box... just crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Surely it can't be that hard to make an engine run. What would the ECU need from the vehicle? Road speed, throttle position, stuff like that. Probably all transmitted via CAN, so easy enough to emulate. If you keep the engine/gearbox/TC combo, there can't be that much to it. Find the right 12V supply lines, and off you go. The biggest hurdle would probably be the immobilisation handshake, but I'm sure that can be disabled by a Testbook or whatever when it's still in the donor vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 IRB do TDV6 and TDV8 conversion IIRC.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 If you must have a diesel I'd vote for the Isuzu. If not, going EFI with Megasquirt & EDIS will make a fair dent on power & economy compared to carbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off Road Toad Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Steve - do you honestly find the td5 a lot better than your v8 ? The td5 (with vnt and a decent map) is on a par with the 4.6 in terms of performance (it's actually got alot more torque now) but the best bit is i haven't had to visit the petrol station yet whereas i would have been there days ago with the v8. and my insurance has gone down! I am loving it in all honesty Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuck Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I am loving it in all honesty Steve Glad to hear you like it Steve. I wish you would stop licking your windows though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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