Tetsu0san Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Hi all. I have just been offered a 300Tdi engine which (I think) came out of a Discovery. I have yet to see it but I have been told that it is available as the crank pulley came loose. Before this happened it was a good runner, but as I am not sure of the implications of having a potentially damaged crank I have a couple of questions: 1. Can I get the old crank repaired and if so, what sort of money am I possibly looking at? What sort of damage would a loose pulley cause? 2. Can I buy a new (or second hand) crank and just fit it? 3. Is this a good starting point for a rebuild? I was thinking of getting a short engine for doing a full rebuild anyway as I have just bought and fitted a new head to my old Disco 300Tdi which would go onto a rebuilt block, but this could be a better starting point as it is a full engine including a head and turbo (and maybe other bits as well). Any comments of advice will be gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 It will have knackered the keyway in the crank. Probably recoverable by somebody who knows what they are doing but not a DIY prospect. Or just fit a replacement crank. Whether it is good or not depends on the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 It will have knackered the keyway in the crank. Probably recoverable by somebody who knows what they are doing but not a DIY prospect. Or just fit a replacement crank. Whether it is good or not depends on the price I am looking at about £100 for it. I will do all the work I can myself, but I just wondered what I may have to pay to get the crank fixed, if it can be fixed at all. A second hand crank might be cheaper than getting this one repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Bear in mind that there are a few 300s kicking around in the for sale section for under £500 at the moment, so this must surely be a starting point. Most have some service history and some are low mileage. Unless you fance a project and don't mind ploughing a fair amount of money into what could potentially be a right pup......even at £100!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bristol Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Your main saving if you rebuild an engine yourself will be the cost of labour, as the replacement parts cost is a fixed cost - albeit a mechanic type will probably get a discount on most parts purchased. Unless you have some fairly good engineering facilities, or are adept at using the wrong tool to get the job done, you may end up paying specialists to do the majority of the work anyway which negates any labour saving. IMHO putting in second hand parts is adding a risk of failure of that part for the small benefit of a cost saving and reduced run in period which would seem a false economy considering the effort required to strip and rebuild an engine. I have considered rebuilding my engine completely but it seems a lot of effort for whsat I may get in return especially when I look at the second hand engines available for the price of the parts to slightly improve mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Hi I've a 300 being rebuilt me doing work all seal+bearings+rings and head testing around 400 quid. seen new crankshft for around 425 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bristol Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 so 400 + 425 + (cost of engine) 200 = £1025 Can't you get recon engines with a warranty for this sort of price range? Or 3 to 4 second hand engines which should see you through the next 100,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 If you were getting someone to rebuild it for you I could understand this sort of expense, but if I do it I will be doing all the work myself and will only do what is needed. Shells, bearings and seals are a given, maybe piston rings and other stuff and I will see how much getting the crank fixed will cost. I don't want to go down the route of buying a new crank as this puts the cost up far too much and the price of a second hand engine becomes much more attractive. The cost of a new crank is about the cost of a good second hand engine it seems. Getting the head skimmed and pressure tested is the only other major expense that I can see, unless you want to get the block checked but I can't see any reason to do that yet. But my view is that as the engine comes with everything else (PAS pump, alternator, turbo, injectors, fuel pump, lift pump etc) apart from the starter, it's got to be worth a punt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Looks like you have convinced yourself to do it! At least when you have finished you will know the quality if the engine. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 Even in the worse case I should be able to sell the various bits and not loose anything apart from time, or put them onto my exising 300Tdi in my Disco. I am still paranoid about the quality of the head I put onto my Disco (Britpart ) so I will have a spare genuine head if I need it. It should be a good project I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Its something that can be rewarding even if it doesnt actually save you money. I've (re)built a few engines over the years, and while yes it would probably have been cheaper buying another motor, its good stuff to learn, and once its built you can be sure its good with all new parts, and you can be proud that you've built it yourself. You could buy a used motor and it could die in a few thousand miles. Similarly though you could rebuild it and do something wrong and it could implode on start up... I once baught a cheap astra for £100 with a siezed engine. I had some parts laying around and managed to pick up a block and head for free from different sources so decided to build a new motor for it. Probably cost me the same in parts as a replacement engine would have cost, but it was good fun. Some things need an engineering shop, like skimming the cyldiner head and honing the bores for the new rings, but it wasnt expensive. Got it all running and noticed a strange whine from the timing belt end of the motor. Called a few people and came to the conclusion i'd over tensioned the belt (i'd used an early cover with no automatic tensioner) so i took the covers off and slackened it off a little and thaught i best fire it up before putting it all back together to check it was loose enough. Started it and it ran sweet. Got out for a listen and the whine was gone. Gave it a rev to check and it sounded perfect, then i heard a clatter and it stopped. On that particular engine, the alternator pulley on the crank shaft attaches with the same bolt as the crank pulley. i didnt want to refit the alternator pulley as that would have meant refitting the timing covers etc. Unfortunately i hadnt thaught that the only thing holding the pulley on was a woodruff key... Somehow i got lucky. Keyway and key were undamaged, put the belt back on and fired it up and it ran. No bent valves etc. I learned never to start a motor without its crank pulley bolt again thats for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 This is my thoughts exactly. It's not just about how much I spend (although I don't want to spend too much), it's more about what I will learn on the journey. I am hoping that in rebuilding this engine (which may or may not need a lot of work) that I will pick up some usefull tips, have a good engine that I can use and have something that I can be pleased with. I have seen pictures of Les's rebuilt 300Tdi and it looks sweet. I know it's not all about looks, but I can see a lot of time and effort have gone into rebuilding his block and even if he never uses it, it will make a very sparkly paper weight! I might do a thread on the rebuild project too, if anyone would be interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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