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200/300tdi into series


sixtwoeight

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Following on from my engine trouble thread Ive been thinking about possibly fitting a 200 or 300tdi into my 88" series 3.

Ive been searching and am getting a bit of conflicting information so was wondering if anyone has done the conversion here or knows definitive info.

I am potentially thinking of fitting the tdi minus the turbo, I don't need loads of power so am not too worried about the loss of the turbo although having said that what are the issues with fitting the tdi complete with turbo.  Differences between 200 and 300 positions etc??

Do both 200 and 300 fit to gearbox ok?

What issues will I run into?

Welding new mounts is not an issue for me.

Fuel side, can I use the new petrol tank I have fitted?

Anything I should know before I buy  a rotten disco.  (will be looking for a manual not auto as these have edc as far as my research has found out).

Any help appreciated.

Thankyou.

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I fitted a 200di.

Richard Glencoyne covers it well.

Series mounts are fine, buy Richards versions, they are much better. Tank will work. Gearbox bolts up with minor modifications.

Power is adequate. I fitted the turbo afterward as I was doing a lot of towing.

Sound proofing is key, I lined the bulkhead with layers of flash and, makes the cab reasonably  quiet.

You lose the fan, so might need electric.

But originally counts a lot these days, so consider the value of the vehicle overall.

Maybe mega squirt the petrol?

 

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I've just about finished the 200 Tdi into Series and awaiting the time to do the handbrake.

As the Hybrid is just that - an Hybrid, I don't care about originallity etc.. Stage one front, full power pack, powersteering, parabolics, Koni's, roll cage, everything metal gavanized.

2.5 is also a very nice engine in a SWB - but cold start is less good.

Steve Parker does a good 300 Tdi into Series conversion kit.

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Thankyou all, for your input, I will have a good read of the link.

@Gazzar, you mention value which is a good point, I need to have a careful think about that point, what would you think the loss in value would be percentage wise, assuming the conversion was done well, any ideas?

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Value is something only you can judge.

Fitting a 200 Tdi in a RHD Series is not t oo difficult - basically the only real mod is the RH enginemount on th chassis although people have told me there is a way around that..

Make sure you can insure the thing vefore getting the spanners & grinder out - UK insurers are weird...

Bon Courage !

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I think I trimmed the battery tray support. Other than that the main mods I made were to the front panel to fit a full width intercooler when I stuck the turbo on.

As to value, a tidy, original series will be worth more than a hacked TDI, but a hacked petrol would be worth less than a tidy TDi.

Now.

Who knows about the future? Diesel is out of favour now, but in five years time?

I might be going electric by then! Or V8? Depends.

 

Any more questions? Ask away, I can do photos of my set up at weekend if it helps, I may have old photos from when I did the job, too.

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Standard series in the standard position.

An after market intercooler from a Skoda Facia RS is in front, with an oil cooler tucked under the latch. 

This was just about viable as the intercooler has input and output on the same side.

My phone ate my photos, but I've backups somewhere, and I'll dig then out for you.

I do intend to rework the panel when I do the 40 year service, as it's a bit crude at the moment. My excuse is I was in a hurry as I had a ferry to catch.

 

G.

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If not, I'll take some tonight. 

It does all fit, but if I was doing it again, I'd do it a lot better.

On that topic, does anyone know of a modern car with an electric fan (pull) and shroud that would fit neatly on a series radiator? 

Otherwise I'll have to scrounge around in a scrap yard, for something.

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On 6/27/2018 at 1:20 PM, sixtwoeight said:

Anything I should know before I buy  a rotten disco.  (will be looking for a manual not auto as these have edc as far as my research has found out).

Just to widen your choice a bit - Its mostly the later 300 autos that have EDC - ie post '96ish... Don't know what the proportion of autos to manuals is really but I'd guess at least as many...

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/27/2018 at 5:50 PM, Anderzander said:

This is the link @Gazzar referenced..

http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/200di.htm

200 is an easier and well trodden conversion - if you do it on the original mounts, you can have it so you could put it back to standard when Series 3’s start being worth silly money too.

TDi's are hanging around more and more on the market these days, particularly with the bad press diesels are suffering recently.  My local Land Rover specialist said recently that he's getting more and more people coming back wanting their old petrol engines back.  Apparently, they simply aren't available due to being scrapped post conversion.  Think very carefully, I would suggest.  Is the noise (which is always far worse than a petrol regardless of sound proofing), cost and negligible improvement on mpg and performance really worth it?  The money spent would pay for a professional rebuild a couple of times...

I love my 2.25 petrol.

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On 6/28/2018 at 11:06 AM, Gazzar said:

No mods to the mounts on a LWB, it's the same block as the 2286, so swap the mounts over.

Only with the Discovery 200 engine.  The Defender engine and 300 need new mounts.

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Good advice regarding the original engine - don't scrap it whatever you do!

I wish I had a crystal ball to know the future regarding diesel.  It has pros and cons, but if governments decide to ban private diesel vehicles or tax them into oblivion, then a Tdi would be a really bad choice, and I think that might happen.

I have a 200Tdi in my 109, and it is one of many mods that were transformative.  The noise is the only negative issue for me, but can be dealt with by a bit of sound proofing.  If I was looking to alter from the original petrol engine now, then with the current political climate and a decent budget I'd probably go the ACR tuned engine route, ideally with a 2.5 from a 90/110.  I probably wouldn't go for all the options, and would go for Megasquirt electronic ignition and perhaps EFI with LPG conversion.  Not a cheap initial set up, but nor is a Tdi if you rebuild it properly first; remember that Tdis are old and high mileage now, and many were abused, so the comparative price of the tow options are not so bad, and the tuned petrol on LPG would be close enough in performance and cheaper in long term running, plus a lot quieter and smoother.  Worth looking into as a potential option, even if done in phases.

You can use the fuel tank; you'll just need to add a return line port, either brazed on or using a bolt-on fixing like the feed and rivnuts.

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If it's a LWB with the tank in the rear, you can tee the return into the air balancing pipe between the two chambers either side of cross member six. No drilling, and reversible.

As to the economics, the TDI beats the petrol if doing a lot of miles, or if you are based in countries that penalise petrol. 

Otherwise, I'd leave be, unless you are getting diesel cheap.

I'm going the 2.5 petrol route on my lightweight, acr head, and electronic fuel injection+ ignition. 

Not sure which system, yet; I know a chap locally that has developed a 4 cylinder solution that I will consider, but long term support will be one of the things that may swing it to mega squirt.

But the lightweight is a toy, so 18mpg is fine. The 109 works, sometimes hard, so diesel is a good option.

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