rjblank

I have heard they will last a long time... That was part of the motivation of the swap. I didn't see much reliability/economy in the 2.25 NAS diesel. Just alot of nostalgia... Too bad the diesel doesn't run on it....

You are right... if.... But it wasn't. It was fresh from the breakers yard, where it had sat for lord knows how long. The owner didn't even remember he had it back there. I only found it because I was searching for the Diffs... By the looks of the Range Rover that I found the motor in, it was scrapped due to chassis rot. And alot of it. I bet the engine wasn't cared for all that well either. But now it's at home in my landy and seems to be happt there... I know, it's strange to see a 200TDI in a 1988 Range Rover. One of the experts I consulted stated that in the early 90's some Range Rover VM diesels were retrofitted with the 200TDI. I am guessing under warranty by the dealer. This appeared to be such an animal. The wiring looked factory and not messed about, but it also looked way to long. Next goal is to get 8.5 miles to the liter out of it. I know, it's not realistic... Who ever heard of a Landy getting 8.5 miles to the liter???? That's 38.6 miles to the imperial Gallon... 32 to the US gallon... and the Landy has the same arodynamics of a shoebox... but if I can...

Well, I tried some fuel injector cleaner to see if that would help the little TDI, and it has. I picked up another mile to the liter. 34 miles to the imperial gallon, 28.35 miles to the US gallon. B) BIGTIME happy. The engine is also alot smoother at idle... maybe it will be even better after a few more tanks. I was having a lazy day today visiting Richard... He got a call from one of his customers that didn't quite make it to his Landy Shop... Ok, so he only made it halfway before his 90 was pouring out blueish grey smoke... It was a beautiful day for road trip... So we took the little blue beast of mine to see what was up and help the 90 make way to Glencoyne. We found the stranded motorist with his 90's 300TDI firing on only three cylinders , and it didn't look promising to drive it the 30 or so miles to the shop... Time to see if my truck had enough umph to tow a 90... (Ya gotta start with something small the first time, I guess) No sweat... My little series 3 towed the 90 in without even breathing hard... We ran a steady 40 the whole way, hills and all... I am really liking the TDI.

I added fuel injector cleaner to the last tank, and I am now at 7.5 miles to the liter: 34 miles to the imperial gallon; 28.35 miles to the US gallon!!! I love my TDI

Thanks... The wife had the same idea just now... I'm staring them down now...

I have a 200TDI with a Lucas A127 Alternator that is charging a little too well... I can get it up to just over 15 Volts... I would like to just change the voltage regulator on the back.... Does anyone know where I can purchase such a device?

Gazz, check your calculator... mine says that 6.5 miles to the liter comes out to 29.51 miles to the imperial gallon. yes, it is 4.54 liters to the imperial gallon. Still not bad, but not quite 35... Now this milage is around town with alot of time spent at 30 mph in third. The engine was sitting in the breakers yard for an unknown period of time. I hope to be able to take it out and run it for a bit... maybe this weekend... who knows. I'm working out a few bugs... I think the new coolant thermostat is faulty. The engine doesn't seem to get very warm. Water seems to flow through the radiator before the engine is up to temp. I suppose this is better than overheating. I would really like to get up to 35 with it. time will tell. it still beats the 16 I was getting.

Well after driving for another week, I still love the 200TDI. Calculated 6.5 miles to the liter after the fill up. I'm not complaining... It used to do ~ 4.2 to the liter...Let's face it, series Landys are as aerodynamic as a concrete block. Maybe with a little fine tuning, it will break 7 miles to the liter.

Ok, filled the tank today after 157 miles, it took 24 liters of fuel... If my calculator is correct, that is ~6.5 miles to the liter. 6.5 multiplied by 3.78 (for US gallons) is just over 24.6. 6.5 multiplied by 4.54 (for imperial gallons) is ~29.5. I think that is livable at the moment. I'll see how the next couple of tanks average out, and see how a newer air filter helps.

I read a lengthy thread on another forum that explained in detail the reason that the 200TDI was harder on gearboxes than say the V8. The views I paraphrase below were borrowed from someone with more Landy experience than I have (known as Teflon on another site). To paraphrase a few good points: 1. The V8 and the 200TDI have similar power and torque ratings, but deliver that energy in a different fashion. The V8 is much smoother and consistent building it's power. The 200TDI starts off weak until the turbo kicks in and then shockloads the drivetrain with a bunch all at one time. The 1950's era gearbox doesn't take kindly to it... The main shaft and layshaft have a tendency to flex away from each other focusing the power on the tips of the gears... This is not good for gears. 2. If you start with an already weak gearbox, the 200TDI will make pieces parts of it in short order... If you are going to uprate the vehicle's power, make shure you are uprating the rest of the parts. The Landy is only as good as it's weakest part... And increasing power will show you which ones they are. My recommendation, start with a rebuild of the gearbox and check all gears for wear, especially where the engagements are for the shift collars. If there is even a little wear, I would replace the gear. (I bought 2 new ones for mine) Better to renew a couple of gears and bearings, than have to find a new box because your 200TDI or 200DI spit the rest of your box on the ground! 3. If you add more go, add more whoa... Many people say that if adding the 200TDI you should install disc brakes... I see their point, but I also offer something else to consider in this... Just because you installed a more powerful engine, doesn't mean you will go FASTER, just that you will get to that sam maximum speed that your truck can do QUICKER... If your 2.25 petrol engine is revving 4000 rpm at 50 mph, your 200TDI will be revving at 4000 rpm at 50 MPH... you just get up to 50 quicker. That being said, many people accompany the increase in power with an ovderdrive, RR diffs or a high range gearbox (my personal choice). Now you have approximately 30% more tops speed at the same RPM, and yes, you definitely need to have better brakes if you are going to run faster. Let's face it, Series Landy brakes leave a bit to be desired... There is never anything wrong with upgrading your brakes, evein if you never add any more power to your vehicle. Stopping when you really want to is a nice thing! Bottom Line, use common sense... if you have more speed, have more stop. Ok, now that all of that is said... (I insert a big disclaimer here... I am not saying do this to yours, but this is what I have done to mine and found it works for me) I have not upgraded to discs (yet) but fully intend to because I have always disliked 4 wheel drums. I Almost lost a car to drums once... but that's a different story... My 200TDI install thread has more detailed info on my conversion. If you are interested, check it out, I'll save server space by not repeating everything. Important parts are 88" Series 3, 200TDI, series gearbox, Ashcroft High Range box. I drive my series at the same speeds I used to drive it before the 200TDI, I just enjoy the fact that the engine isn't screaming at me while doing 55mph. I also like using all 4 gears. First doesn't feel left out anymore. I did adjust the pump on my truck a bit to level out the powerband a bit. It helped alot and the trans doesn't feel like it is geting shockloaded anymore. I'm not out for big power, but after economy. My 2.25 Diesel got worse milage than the wife's petrol burning BMW 740iL! I think I can now travel farther than her on a liter of fuel... Graham, tomorrow, I will find out how many liters I used for how many miles... I'll drop my post here to let you check it out. My guess is it will be good news... I don't have the fire brigade chasing me down the road anymore thinking the smoke I was spewing was due to a fire... My Landy looked like a fogging machine... It was embarrasing, but no more... Hope I helped a bit... I know it's a bit looooong....

thanks for the intro Tuko... I actually have an issue keeping me from calculating my milage, called a busted fuel guage. I installed the TDI with a series gearbox and the Ashcroft High Range transfer box. I used the vehicle for daily driving to and from work. With the old 2.25 diesel, I could safely log 220 miles from the tank. I figure I can get at least that much from this tank. I have logged about 150 miles thus far since I filled it up (the day after I burnt out the insturment voltage regulator. Tomorrow I will hit the petrol station and see how many liters it will take and calculate the milage. I can say that the first trip with the truck to Glencoyne's, It appeared to use approx half the fuel it used to for the same trip. I'll drop a note here to let everyone know... I'm curious too.

I have the plug done up with grease (I learned from the small bullet connectors that BL likes to use on the Land Rovers) But the problem was due to the plastic relay housing being slighlty upside down allowing water to pool in it. I relocated it so that the wired point down now... that should allow the relay to drain... HOPEFULLY... It gets better everyday... A few more things to do still... At least I won't have a boring summer...

Thanks, Graham. I have thought about where to locate it, and before moving it inside the cab, I think if I re-orient it so that the wires point down, water will drain quicker. The way I have it now, water can gather in the housing and short the unit. If re-orienting doesn't work, I do have plenty of wiring to move it inside. I even have a nifty bulkplug to use...

HI all, Finally had a chance to get back to the Landy this weekend. I've notice that there was kind of a "flat spot" or "bog" when driving, and then the turbo would spool up and the engine came to life... This condition can't be good for the gearbox, as it sends a "shock" of power to the driveline all of a sudden. I did anticipate this, but I didn't think it would be as noticable. The large free-flowing exhaust is part of the cause, the other is the lower weight of the vehicle. My thoughts to resolve the problem were to bring the power on a little earlier and feed a little more fuel earlier... The theory works... I adjusted the injection pump to increase the fueling a bit. About 45 degrees clockwise on both the diaphram and the star wheel cured the problem and now power comes on a little earlier (eliminating the bog) and more gradually (reducing the shock forces). I have attached the photos of my throttle cable set-up. I made a bracket to bolt to the back of the injection pump to mount the outer cable sleeve and mounted the end of the cable on the pump. I didn't have a small split pin at the time, so safety wire is retaining it at the moment. I'll replace it with a proper pin this week. I have full throttle travel at the pump and at the pedal as well.

I cleaned the engine up... I really should have done it before I put it in... I guess I'll just never learn... I did learn that the glow plug relay/timer doesn't like being soaked with water... It has a tendency to stay engaged... ( I unplugged it and let it dry overnight) much better now. I'll have to relocate it, or at least reorient it... If you look you can just make it out on the bulkhead behind the wirelooms below the body tag. it's funny that I only had to connect 5 wires between the engine and the vehicle to make it run adn the guages work... but now I have to combine the wires into one loom <sigh> Ok, report after a week... The good: I have to say I love the new engine and transfer box combo... First gear is now of use, but below 30, fourth is not much good. The 200TDI has much better power, ALOT less smoke, easier starting, quieter running, ALOT less smoke (yes, I know I said it twice, it's that much of a difference)... I would like to say it is more fuel efficient, but some big handed bonehead grounded out the guages letting the magic smoke out of the voltage regulator... Now they don't work... It took my Landy teacher to point out my mistake... (Big thanks, Richard) So, I filled the tank and am driving based upon the efficiency of the old engine. I figure it has at the least the same efficiency, and I should be good to drive for a couple of weeks... When the new voltage regulator arrives, I'll get a surprise when I put power to it and see how much better it is... The bad: I don't think there is much to be gained by converting to the Disco mounts. I saw another Landy with a 200TDI on 2.5TD engine mounts today. The owner had just rebuilt the motor, so it ran alot smoother... As felt at the body, it seemed to run about as smooth as mine. I say this just in case anyone was interested. NOW you know what work may not be worth the trouble, you are welcome.

I look forward to seeing how you get along.

I finally had a chance to get back to the Series... I worked out my air cleaner issue... No more tie straps holding it to the intake... the bonnet wouldn't close fully either, so it couldn't stay there... just a few more things to sort out in the engine bay... A place for the radiator expansion tank and the windshield washer bottle. I just realized how I really need to get in and clean everything... but... Right now, form follows function. I need it to be my primary transportation... my little red beater has sprung a leak in the hydro suspension and I really don't want to fix it. The scrap yard is more than happy to take care of it...

Here are a few more exhaust pictures for those that are interested... pardon the welding,

Thanks to all for the kind words. It felt like it was taking forever to get complete. I spent 2 1/2 weeks working on the truck... After driving it home, it was time and money well spent. Along the way, though, I learned how to rebuild the gearbox and the transfer box, break those blasted bolts holding the timing cover in place, have the footwells fixed, replace the slipping clutch and the mosquito smoker 2.25 diesel... I also have the desperately needed new exhaust (mine was quite rusty, and little) I'll have more pics up this weekend with better views of the full exhaust and the engine mounts. I'll also be working on the relocation of the disco air cleaner to the right side wing in the engine bay. I have family in town this week, and can't play with my toys until they leave... The Disco mounts do require removing the series mounts from the chassis. I've looked at it a number of ways, and it always comes back the same. Leaving the existing mounting points on the frame will interfere with the engine side of the disco mounts. Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to work with Glencoyne to design a "bolt-in" frame mount using Disco mounting rubbers. They could also be welded in place as well... Maybe someone will want to try a set out and save me cutting my newly welded mounts off of my frame. I'll post pics when I have them ready and the dimentions for those lucky to have a welder. I'm a simple person and believe in simple designs... The intent of the bolt-in concept was to have a mount that can bolt into a galvanized chassis because most people who have one do not want to start cutting pieces off leaving exposed metal for rust to make itself at home. It makes perfect sense to me. I just need to play with it a bit to see if I can work it out. The first sets will not be galvanized, but if demand for them starts, maybe we'll have some galvanized... To be honest, I haven't looked close at the 300TDI mounts. I just "assumed" that since the 300 TDI is a smoother running engine that the mounts may not dampen enough of the vibration of the 200TDI. I know, it's wrong to assume... I may buy a set of 300 mounts and see how well they work on another 200 motor in a series chassis. Has anyone already done this and can speak to it? I haven't noticed much float on my mounts, but can understand what Meccano is suggesting. I'll have to look for some worn rubber and bolt them up for a test. Time for bed... tomorrow is another tour and a trip to market day... oh the joy...

Todd, That's an interesting thought, but I would think that the outside air that is being sucked in by the engine would be the same temp as the air flowing through the intercooler, so I don't think there would be much change in the temp of the air. The big reason for an intercooler on a turbo engine, is the turbo compresses the air, and the air gets hot from the compression. You may be better off installing a snorkle to duct in cleaner air from higher up... Just a thought.

Yes, I know they do bolt up, but they are not "beefy" enough to dampen the engine vibrations, and they have a tendancy to relocate everthing that isn't bolted down, and some things that are .

I just rebuilt my trans (and replaced two gears that were iffy). If the have the manual, it's not too bad to do. There is a snap ring that is a real pain in the A$$ to remove and replace. Follow the disassembly and reassembly guide to the letter, there is only one wat to do it right... but lots of ways to get it wrong (and it won't go together) It also helps to have someone around that can talk you through it if you get to a sticky spot. Here's a pic of mine disassembled. the pain in the rump snap ring is on the left of the gears shown in the foreground...

Engine mounts... The engine side of the mounts are original Disco units. The mounting rubbers are original and unmodified. The frame side would have worked better with 3 inch square tubing, but I used flat steel with reinforcing because I didn't have the tubing. Attached are the pics to date, I'll have to take more this week. Driveshaft clearance, I have looked at the 200DI conversions that Glencoyne has done, and the closest driveshaft I saw had the gaiter clamp that could foul on the oil pipe. Moving the gaiter clamp further down the shaft resolved the issue. I haven't installed my front prop shaft yet... I was in a hurry to get the truck home. I have family in town this week and will not have much time to work on it, and the space I was taking up was needed at the shop... Alternator... I used the Disco alternator... turns out it is faulty, and needs to be replaced. I pulled it apart to see what was wrong, and it turns out the brushes that contact the rotor are bad. I have the new alternator, and should have it in next weekend (after my loving family member leaves)

I finally had a chance to drive it home. WOW what a difference. I have to downshift to third at 30 mph. It's a little too slow for 4th. Just a few more things to sort out... I still have some cleanup in the engine bay to do; new oil cooler lines to be fabricated, and a final mounting location for the air cleaner on the right side in front of the engine...(excuse the zip ties, it was just to get her home). It's alot quieter than the old engine and has just a TAD more power. I finally reached 60 mph for the first time today! WOO HOO! The floor on the passenger side stays nice and cool, even with the exhaust being so close. It may change in the "British Summer"

I was going to mod a 200TDI intercooler to fit, but the 300 is nearly a straight in fit.