DiscoDunc Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Hi folks. My first post on this forum, I hope you can help me. I hoping to win an ebay auction for a Tdi300 that's currently in a Defender. I need to transplant it into my Discovery (I cooked the engine, long story) and I wondered what problems I'm going to encounter. The guy who's selling the engine said that minor mods to the engine mounts are needed. Anyone know what these are, please? (not the mountings, the mods. I'm not quite that stupid!! ). Are there any other traps for the unwary? I don't have the skills to do the work myself, my disabled Disco is currently at my local friendly garage awaiting a heart transplant!, so could you make any explanations as easy to follow as possible, please? if you assume I know nothing you won't be far from the truth! Many thanks. Dunc PS I did a search on tdi300, discovery & defender before I posted this but couldn't find anything relevant. Apologies if this has been asked and answered before and I missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 I think the mountings are different but the alternative mountings just bolt on to the block, somebody else may be able to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure the basic engine block is the same so should be straightforward enough. 100A alternator on the Discovery vs 65A on the Defender, and sometimes an a/c compressor on the Discovery, but not aware of any other differences unless it is an EDC engine in the Discovery, in which case you'd need to bodge it a bit to fit the non EDC engine from the Defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 I think the mountings are different but the alternative mountings just bolt on to the block, somebody else may be able to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure the basic engine block is the same so should be straightforward enough. 100A alternator on the Discovery vs 65A on the Defender, and sometimes an a/c compressor on the Discovery, but not aware of any other differences unless it is an EDC engine in the Discovery, in which case you'd need to bodge it a bit to fit the non EDC engine from the Defender. Thanks, BogMonster. Er, what's an EDC engine? I have an electronic throttle, and aircon. Does that mean I've got one? If so, could you expand on the 'bodge it a bit' statement?! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Hi folks. My first post on this forum, I hope you can help me.I hoping to win an ebay auction for a Tdi300 that's currently in a Defender. I need to transplant it into my Discovery (I cooked the engine, long story) and I wondered what problems I'm going to encounter. The guy who's selling the engine said that minor mods to the engine mounts are needed. Anyone know what these are, please? (not the mountings, the mods. I'm not quite that stupid!! ). Are there any other traps for the unwary? I don't have the skills to do the work myself, my disabled Disco is currently at my local friendly garage awaiting a heart transplant!, so could you make any explanations as easy to follow as possible, please? if you assume I know nothing you won't be far from the truth! Many thanks. Dunc PS I did a search on tdi300, discovery & defender before I posted this but couldn't find anything relevant. Apologies if this has been asked and answered before and I missed it. hi, my mate (james110) has just put a 300 disco engine into his 110, after the old engine (300tdi) had a good downing at 7 sisters . did the whole job in a weekend, he just unbolted the mounts of the old engine and put them on the new one... I think that main problem that you will run into is the wiring. his replacement engine came with the disco loom still on it... so many wires, he just took the whole loom off and pluged the handful of wires in that are need for the defender. try and get an engine of the same(ish) year as its more likely to have the right bits on it .... i will give james a shout to see if he has any thing to add... hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 hi,my mate (james110) has just put a 300 disco engine into his 110, after the old engine (300tdi) had a good downing at 7 sisters . did the whole job in a weekend, he just unbolted the mounts of the old engine and put them on the new one... I think that main problem that you will run into is the wiring. his replacement engine came with the disco loom still on it... so many wires, he just took the whole loom off and pluged the handful of wires in that are need for the defender. try and get an engine of the same(ish) year as its more likely to have the right bits on it .... i will give james a shout to see if he has any thing to add... hope this helps Thanks, James. You have spotted that I'm going in the opposite direction, though, haven't you? The engine I've just bought unseen from a chap I don't know on the dodgiest auction site known to man (not that I've experienced any problems with it, m'lud) is coming out of a Defender and (hopefully) going into my deep-fried Discovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Attryde Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Welcome to the site. From your description you do have an EDC engine. Not done it but i would imagine the easiest way round this would be to use the injection pump from your original engine on the new engine. HTH Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Welcome to the site. From your description you do have an EDC engine. Not done it but i would imagine the easiest way round this would be to use the injection pump from your original engine on the new engine. HTH Pete. That should work, then. All the ancillaries appear to have survived, but the head and block have been treated to a period of extreme heat beyond their manufacturing tolerances so replacement of the whole thing was the only viable option. I basically cooked the old engine by running from Lancaster to Portsmouth with the expansion tank cap off (I topped up the coolant before I set off and forgot to put the cap back on. Doh!) and melted things (the temp guage stayed in the normal position right up until the dying seconds) and put a hole in pistons 3 & 4. I imagine that the mechanics who're doing the work will transplant any necessary stuff as required but any advice I can get off the forum to make their lives (and mine) easier is much appreciated. So far it seems as though the engine mountings, A/C pump and Alternator need to go over, and the injection pump has now been added to the list. The advice I've received so far has been very constructive. You have made a newbie feel very welcome, thanks, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Welcome to the site. From your description you do have an EDC engine. Not done it but i would imagine the easiest way round this would be to use the injection pump from your original engine on the new engine. HTH Pete. That would be the way I would do it then, transfer all the ancilliaries and wiring harnesses over. I am 99.9% sure the basic block and stuff is the same, starter, turbo etc almost certainly will be as well. Your other option would be to fit the Defender engine with the mechanical pump and do away with the EDC. This would probably be a more robust solution in terms of not going wrong in years to come, but the EDC engines have a useful bit of extra power which you would probably miss. Try it the first way to start with, and if they can't get it running with the EDC pump, then fit the mechanical pump and make it into a "proper" Tdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Basically all 300Tdi's have the same major parts, it's only details like the EDC injection pump bits that make any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james110 Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Hi, James 100 here. Yeah, as Paul (moose) said, I did this 2 weeks ago, but the other way around. As already said, engines are virtually identical. Even the engine mounts, so no need to swop them around! There were only a couple of small differences (bear in mind I have a 1996 defender and engine came from a1996 disco): 1) disco engine had cruise control on pump, which my defender did not have, so you may have to swop pupmps for easiest route. 2) disco engine had sensor of some sort on top of head, which again defender did not have, so now unplugged. Not sure what it's for, but looks like a temp sensor of sorts. 3) Wiring looms are totally different - disco has battery under bonnet, defender has it under passenger seat, so basically, use your original disco wiring loom! Possibly some hoses may be different, so use original ones. Are you changing clutch/cambelt as it makes sense, seeing as you need to remove engine or gearbox anyway to do this! (well, clutch anyway) Also I would use the oppurtunity to flush out the radiator and intercooler, seeing as they are coming out also! Hope this helps! James That would be the way I would do it then, transfer all the ancilliaries and wiring harnesses over. I am 99.9% sure the basic block and stuff is the same, starter, turbo etc almost certainly will be as well.Your other option would be to fit the Defender engine with the mechanical pump and do away with the EDC. This would probably be a more robust solution in terms of not going wrong in years to come, but the EDC engines have a useful bit of extra power which you would probably miss. Try it the first way to start with, and if they can't get it running with the EDC pump, then fit the mechanical pump and make it into a "proper" Tdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 Thanks, James. Yeah, I've got cruise on the Disco (though it stopped working a while ago and I never got round to investigating!) and I certainly don't want any less power than I had, so I'll get the guys to swap the injection pumps. Cambelt was done recently on the donor engine, along with new pulleys, so I'll leave that. I've amended my sig, so now people know I've got an auto, so no clutch issues with this swap! If that sensor on the top is anything to do with temp then it didn't do me much good on the engine I cooked! Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Dunc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james110 Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Have you actually bought engine yet? Just a thought - a lot of salvage yards have them as well as decent prices - got mine from Equicar - brilliant guys! Also, if engine bidding fails - I noticed for some reason disco 300's are cheaper than defender 300's, so worth bearing in mind if you have to keep looking! Hi, James 100 here.Yeah, as Paul (moose) said, I did this 2 weeks ago, but the other way around. As already said, engines are virtually identical. Even the engine mounts, so no need to swop them around! There were only a couple of small differences (bear in mind I have a 1996 defender and engine came from a1996 disco): 1) disco engine had cruise control on pump, which my defender did not have, so you may have to swop pupmps for easiest route. 2) disco engine had sensor of some sort on top of head, which again defender did not have, so now unplugged. Not sure what it's for, but looks like a temp sensor of sorts. 3) Wiring looms are totally different - disco has battery under bonnet, defender has it under passenger seat, so basically, use your original disco wiring loom! Possibly some hoses may be different, so use original ones. Are you changing clutch/cambelt as it makes sense, seeing as you need to remove engine or gearbox anyway to do this! (well, clutch anyway) Also I would use the oppurtunity to flush out the radiator and intercooler, seeing as they are coming out also! Hope this helps! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 Bought the engine yesterday - just need to get it from where it is to where I want it! I stuck a post in the International section this morning, and I've had a useful response already. I like this site. I don't want to denigrate other LR forums but I had a better response from here in a few hours than I did on another site in 2 days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 AFAIK the extra sensor in the head is a temp sensor. This was fitted to try and detect the head getting hot before the coolant temp rose too much (due to the old leaking p gasket problem). Obviously it's not that good. Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 AFAIK the extra sensor in the head is a temp sensor. This was fitted to try and detect the head getting hot before the coolant temp rose too much (due to the old leaking p gasket problem). Obviously it's not that good.Ivan Ahh! I believe I qualify as living proof of how ineffectual it is! Tell you what, though. I haven't left the lid off anything since I extended my culinary expertise to include boiled Tdi300 with steamed head, accompanied by a side order of melted plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 hope you had brown sauce with that, ketchup is for kids & girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 hope you had brown sauce with that, ketchup is for kids & girls I had something brown as I realised the amount of damage I'd done, and did a rapid comparative analysis with the state of my bank balance and my impending lack of employment (I'm a self-employed communications engineer and the people I'm working for at the moment have run out of funds and can't afford to extend my contract which expires on Friday November 3!) and the not-far-enough-off festive season with all its associated expenses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 the not-far-enough-off festive season with all its associated expenses! i dont take part in that, it ruins a nice winter in my opinion. much cheaper not doing it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoatBuoy Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Just skimmed through this thread, but IMHO your best bet is to sell the 300tdi defender engine to a defender owner who wants to do a td -> tdi conversion type thing, and buy an MOT failed disco 300tdi. I'm sure a disco engine (if not whole disco) would have been cheaper than that engine would sell for. I suppose it depends if you know the condition of the engine though. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 Just skimmed through this thread, but IMHO your best bet is to sell the 300tdi defender engine to a defender owner who wants to do a td -> tdi conversion type thing, and buy an MOT failed disco 300tdi. I'm sure a disco engine (if not whole disco) would have been cheaper than that engine would sell for. I suppose it depends if you know the condition of the engine though. Just a thought. I'm constrained by time and cost. I've already bought the engine, and the cost of any MOT failed Disco that I've seen is about double what I paid for it. I almost bought a Disco engine, but ran into a problem of not having available cash and the chap selling it not being able to accept credit card payment, so that fell apart! The condition of the one I've bought is known, and any problems highlighted so far don't seem insurmountable, so I'll stick with transplanting it into my Disco. Thanks for taking the time to read the post and reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 just wanted to add, that i'd go along the same route as others have suggested, use your original injector pump on the defender block and head. i'm not sure if disco 300's have a different thickness head gasket giving a slightly higher compression ratio.... might be worth investigating.... it'll all work, and you'll have a good collection of duplicate bits to either sell or keep as spares. the defender injection pump has got to be worth £100 for a start. if you have any other questions please post them as this might be of interest to other people... if you do a quick write up at the end saying what needed changing it might go in the tech archieve (Mods??) m@tt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 i'm not sure if disco 300's have a different thickness head gasket giving a slightly higher compression ratio.... might be worth investigating.... if you have any other questions please post them as this might be of interest to other people... if you do a quick write up at the end saying what needed changing it might go in the tech archieve (Mods??) All 300Tdi's have the same choice of four different head gaskets, one two or three holes, and no holes, which from memory is the thickest one. You should fit whatever gasket is already fitted, unless there has been other work done e.g. skimming the head in which case you might need a different one. I think the WSM gives a process for measuring things to determine which one is needed. It may well wend its merry way to the tech archive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 just wanted to add, that i'd go along the same route as others have suggested, use your original injector pump on the defender block and head.i'm not sure if disco 300's have a different thickness head gasket giving a slightly higher compression ratio.... might be worth investigating.... it'll all work, and you'll have a good collection of duplicate bits to either sell or keep as spares. the defender injection pump has got to be worth £100 for a start. if you have any other questions please post them as this might be of interest to other people... if you do a quick write up at the end saying what needed changing it might go in the tech archieve (Mods??) m@tt Cheers for that. I'll probably be sticking a post in the for sale section once it's all up and running! The write-up's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. I'll give my literary talent an airing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.