200 or 300tdi conversion

no this isnt another thread about which engine is better. I'm currently looking at donor discoverys to do an engine transplant. So far have been mainly looking at 200tdi's as they bolt onto the existing mounts, get a new special downpipe, and extended the rad hoses etc.

What I want to know is the 300tdi conversion as easy to do. Yes i gather ou have to move the engine mounts but do ou have to butcher an exhaust?
Can I use my existing LT77 box?
Would the Disco R380 fit in without too muh modding?
Where would the engine sit in the bay?

Oh and how much electrickery is there? only because there may be a chance of getting a p-reg 300
Cheers
James

Dont worry about the exhaust, a disco-defender down pipe is under £90 delivered from ebay, and you can move the rediator back, so the discos pipework all fits. I think that would be easier than moving mounts about.

I fitted a 300 - worked really easily.

Move engine mounts, lower rad mounts, use a combination of old and new hoses to make it reach (used a piece of new exhaust pipe to extend the intercooler)
FOr the exhaust i bought a new centre and rear TDi section, and then cut and shut the disco downpipe to make it reach, sorted!

Search for 300tdi upgrade, it shows it all on there.

cool. how about any electrics? can i just use the NA loom and forget about them. Didnt the later 300's have a "fly-by-wire" throttle? any1 know when that came into effect?

Yes they did, i dnt know what year though. Mine was a 1995 disco.

And yes, i did actually use my NA loom. I had to fit ring terminals to the alternator, and a bullet connector for the temp sender, that was it.

As I have been told by eightinavee on another post re. 300tdi's its was auto 300tdi discos only from 1996 on. I say go for 300tdi, as thats whats going into my 90!

I don't know if this is true or not (I have not seen the engine I have bought yet) but apparently ALL the pumps are the same - its just that the fly by wire ones have a stepper motor and little control box on them. I am going to say this at risk of being very wrong, that you could probably remove the stepper motor and change the throttle so it could be pulled open by an acceletator cable. You would also need to find the wire which opened the shutoff solenoid. I will report back at the weekend.

300 tdi superb

agreed with all above - i love my 300! Goes in so nicely too, cut the engine mounts outta your disco and put them in your chassis, sorted.

i have a 1988 TD and have just bought a dicovery 300tdi. im thinking of dumping the old TD and replacing it with the 300tdi and box from the disco. any one know exactly what i gotta do to get it in ? i dont wanna be cutting up bits of old exhaust to make things fit so what will i need like mannifolds, exhaust down pipe, turbo and rad pipes etc etc ? i have been told the disco R380 box will fit but the gear lever housing will need to be changed ? any help will be appreciated. im not into bodging bits to get things to fit so im looking at getting everything i need to do this conversion properly before i start. im to much of a perfectionist for my own good ! thanks...vivnap...

have a look at boydy's to get you started
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f7/300-tdi-upgrade-61619.html

i disco box into a defender is not an easy fix because of the gear levers - and the R380 is the most difficult because, i believe, it is longer and will need modified props. Use your original LT77 box, but change the Tbox to the disco one.

The Mad Hat Man said:

i disco box into a defender is not an easy fix because of the gear levers - and the R380 is the most difficult because, i believe, it is longer and will need modified props. Use your original LT77 box, but change the Tbox to the disco one.

Click to expand...

I think that an r380 will fit in. Well i just got a 200tdi on a k-reg for my 90...but the weird thing is that it has an r380 box on it?! the engine and everything appears to be in the same place as it would be for an LT77

Dont use the disco gear box if yours works, youll never get round to pluging the hole.

i am just about to 380 gearbox and 300 tdi lump into mine i will photo step by step all of it

good luck.
I'm personally going to put a 200tdi lump in my landy this weekend

Whats wrong with fabricating parts vivnap? Makes it LOTS cheaper - someone has made it somewhere, only if you do it you get to take as long as you want, make it do EXACTLY what you want it to, and also perhaps learn a new skill for when you need to make something else! Or offer your help to someone you know.

Thats how i see it anyway, i showed a good friend how to use an angle grinder today, now, in the future, he knows that making stuff aint all that hard, and it works too!

boydy1989 said:

.....and it works too!

Click to expand...

Yea....always.

well if it dnt then u didn spend long enough doing it

Well i still havent finished doing that oil seal. So thats gona be brilliant.

And one of my tyres has gone flat ffs.

Ahh great just what you want... Never mind. You got any further with that seal?