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What pokey Diesel engine to tow with?


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The 6BT is heavy but has a lot going for it. It's one of the most reliable engines ever produced and can be tweaked cheaply, including upping the revs. It's fitted to the Dodge Ram so lots of high performance bits from the States if you ever had the urge.

For me though it's the noise at tick over that swings it, not quite at Gardner status but not much sounds better than a Dodge Ram at tick over.

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Toyota 1HDT (4.2 6cylinder). If you don't like the standard 160ish horespower theres a guy in Aus that does custom turbo's for them and has done a few with 200hp at the wheels (35") ! All totally reliable. http://forum.ih8mud....m-35-tyres.html

He's got his own 1HD-FTE (the electronic one) at 200kw at the wheels and more than 750nm... http://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/655068-gturbo-ct26-bad-boy-stage-1-1hd-fte-hdj79-over-200kw-wheels.html

Buy an 80series and use that drivetrain...

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What about a Mercedes-Benz OM647 (as used in some Sprinter vans) ??

2.7 litre straight-5 dual-overhead-cam turbodiesel ; pleasantly free-revving; outputs up to 170BHP and 400Nm of torque. Not too heavy either (some of the other suggested engines would make your vehicle so nose-heavy it'd be plagued with bowel-loosening levels of understeer).

--Tanuki.

thats pretty much the same engine they use in grand cherokee and merc ML series trucks. Pretty good engine, I was certainly very pleased with its performance in the cherokee. Easily upgraded with a plug in box to give it 200bhp and 460Nm torque and now I am full of cheesy grinning and 'boy racer lead right foot-itis'. Does alright on fuel too, steady 70mph returns 9.5l/100km

The engine also runs with a completely standalone engine ecu in the grand cherokee, and the auto box (also merc) also has its own stand alone ecu, so wiring should be fairly simple with no BCM and other hellectrikery to worry about.

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I saw a thread with a chap putting a Cummins 6BT into a Defender 90 on LandyZone. Link here.

Failing that, a big Jap diesel lump wouldn't be a bad shout. I've got a Mazda SL35Ti waiting in the wings for a long term project of mine, but I don't think that meets your power requirements. Toyota do a 6-cylinder diesel I think?

For simplicity the Mazda sounds a good option. It mat not be mega BHP, but Jon Holmes will vouch for its excellent towing grunt.

Just remember you still have a stock Landy transmission, so too many torques will cost you elsewhere <grin>

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Lots of food for thought here!

Fetched the thing today, it came from Ben at York Land Rover Services on the A19. I'm very pleased with it, it has no rot whatsoever and is fitted with a new big yoke front prop and a set of brand new genuine springs and shocks from a puma.

What I think ill do is fit my 200tdi from under the bench to get it mobile, then set about looking for a big lump

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  • 4 weeks later...

GMC V8Ds are paper weights...


Cummins is a great engine... glad i did the swap into my 90 now!
mine started life as a 130hp DAF 45 one. Now got a 160hp pump (with 3200rpm spring), +40hp fuel pin, +40hp Injectors and a HX35 Holset running 40-45psi if i get a bit frisky with the throttle.
should be in the 200-300hp range and approx 500lb/ft of torque.
Will pull a 5ton trailer in 1st high no mither but needs an overdrive to get the best economy at top end.
a 1800rpm at 55mph i get 35mpg but if i push her above 2000rpm (65-75mph) it only does 20mpg (what i used to get out of the 200tdi) so a roamerdrive should drop the 70mph revs down to the magic 1800rpm ;)


theyre a heavy old lump and its some heascratching to get her in but as they say Prior Prep and Planning Prevents tiddle Poor Performance.

Heres some vidyas for you to wet you appitite:

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the LT230 is 5" further back as it is... the props 100mm shorter than standard and needs to be a wide joint version with a small tweak to the rear axle to improve the diff joint angle. Divorced LT230 simply wouldnt work!

Transit Mounts are the next task to give it abit more rubber support
and theres have been a few tweaks ive done as ive gone along to make it better as you will have seen on my FB

Rakeway short rear output with x-eng brake for the lt230 to gain 70mm more room will be the next mod (if rakeway ever pick up the phone or answer emails)
and Roamerdrive t drop my revs to 1800rpm at 70mph for 35mpg cruising in quiet will be essential i think.

HX35 turbo and the injectors were a good mod and well recommended :D


i know how i will do it next time (101 needs a big diesel i think ;) ) but trying to recolect on all the little tweaks ive done over the year is hard lol

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close coupling is a pain but it solves a lot more issues...
having them close coupled and the engine righ back would give nice weight distrubution and long props in a 110... so personally thats how id do it lol

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I had an Isuzu 2.8 sourced from a Frontera (more powerful than troopy version), and with a big intercooler and a couple of light tweeks it was awesome.

I've had to change back to a 300Tdi now as I mullered the 4 speed box the Isuzu was mated to (nothing to do with the engine), and the difference in torque is huge. It's a comparable step down to changing from a TDi to n/a engine.

The Isuzu is a very compact engine as well and fits nicely in a LR engine bay, more room to work around than with a TDi.

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What do Rakeway charge for the remote input shaft?

not sure but their LT230 Short Rear Output is £390 inc Vat

and Ashcroft FTC5090 is £44

if that helps you sort of gauge where its at. Best bet is to ring Rakeway they dont reply to emails.

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Have you made a shaft to suit with the FTC5090? I've got a gearbox out of a scrap DAF and i think i can probably do a deal on a 6BT with a mate i think i could be very tempted to put one in my 130 Flat bed :wub:

got my mates engineering company to turn down the prop yoke and press the FTC 5090 into it with 10t force and then weld them together and then turn it down to provide a smooth seal ready finish... though a custom shaft would be preferable tbh

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I am also doing the 6BT conversion after nick took me for a blast in his purple 90, I am using a different gearbox though and fitting it in a 110 will make it a little easier than squeezing into a 90. Can't wait for all the low down torque for off roading, and 250+ BHP on the road :D

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if i keep it below 2000rpm when im cruising about 35mpg... still pretty spirited driving though
if i get above 2000rpm when cruising and im driving spiritedly about 20-22mpg... the same as my 200tdi disco engine used to manage.

full throttle is scary so rarely used, half throttle is enough to move you along at a fair lick. full throttle makes an Audis decision to overtake quite futile lol

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