exchange p38 engine

[defender dinky]

hi, what other engine could i put into a p38, without messing with ecu's/becm's, reason being wife only uses it to shop half the time she's in third, it's very sluggish, p38 dt, 1998 any ideas cheers dd

[elbekko]

A V8.

[pete3000]

not sure what the question is, but if your wife wants a quicker 4x4 shopping car get her a freelander.

Easier to park in tight spaces and easier on fuel/tax on the pocket. The thought of trying to do a p38 engine transplant and all the associated becm messing would give me a nose bleed, not really a winnable situation.

Pete

[defender dinky]

that's what i thought, i'll give it a miss, just annoying how sluggish it is, dd

[geoffbeaumont]

Even a V8 wouldn't avoid messing with the ECU - you'd need to swop in the V8 ECU (completely different system) and then get it talking to the BECM (no idea how difficult that would be). Much, much easier just to sell it and buy one that's already got a V8...

It doesn't really sound like the sort of driving the P38 diesel does well - they go okay once the turbo is spun up, but in stop-start town driving the turbo lag is really intrusive (as you've obviously noticed). I always thought a VVT (variable vane turbo) conversion could have potential, but even that would involve remapping the ECU (as well as probably some fabrication, unless you found a VVT that was a drop in replacement for the old turbo).

A V8 would be a nicer drive and probably not much worse on fuel for what your wife is doing - but really a big 4x4 is completely the wrong sort of car for this!