con rod came through engine :-( advice needed

Hi There,
I'm looking for a bit of advice, as it would seem my discovery has died .
I have a 97 3 door discovery in pretty good condition but the engine went on the motorway on Tuesday. I was driving along when there was a bang followed by a lot of smoke and there is now a hole in the engine block and the con rod also smashed the starter motor.
Could anyone tell me how long it would take or what it would cost to replace the engine? Is it worth doing or am I better just cutting my losses
If I decide to cut my losses, what sort of price should I be looking for for the salvage or am I better stripping for parts, it has 2 brand new tyres and was only MOT'd a couple of weeks ago.
I am in Hastings East Sussex.
Any help and advise greatly appreciated
Rob

that engines dead for sure....the good news is youve a few bits and bobs on there that you can salvage....and the world is full of used TDi engines........and a reconditiooned engine is only around £3k so if the rest of the vehicle is up to scratch.....the worlds your oyster...a used unit from the guy down the road for a few hundred quid........to a nice shiny painted new/warrented unit(and youve all the spare bits and bobs that the explosion missed to sell on/keep for future use).....though if feeling really flush then go for the 2.8tdi rebuilt unit..

get a nice 3.9 v8 that will get you on the road again

Thanks, but don't really want petrol. I can prob run to about £3k to get a replacement car and would want another tdi. I am trying to get some idea of the cost involved in possibly replacing the enginge but am concerned about throwing good money after bad.

then thats a choice only you can make........buy another'disco'for £3k.......or spend £3k on the one youve already got if the rest of the car is worth it and your planning on keeping it a while.
When my crank went last year then for me it was a 'no brainer'...i bought a brand new crank(not a reground one)from landrover and fitted that as theres no way id ever sell my 90 so whatever i spend on it i know il get the rewards for doing so,and thats the decision only you can make

swampdonkey said:

then thats a choice only you can make........buy another'disco'for £3k.......or spend £3k on the one youve already got if the rest of the car is worth it and your planning on keeping it a while.
When my crank went last year then for me it was a 'no brainer'...i bought a brand new crank(not a reground one)from landrover and fitted that as theres no way id ever sell my 90 so whatever i spend on it i know il get the rewards for doing so,and thats the decision only you can make

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My sentiments entirely:5bcheers2:

I wasn't planning to get a new car, but then wasn't expecting the engine to die. The problem is I only paid £1800 for my car and had it 18 months. It's in pretty good condition but don't think it would be worth more than I paid for it with another engine (maybe I'm wrong) so don't want to spend that much on it. How much long does it take a garage to replace one of these engines, I've seen some for about £500 on ebay but again don't know whether it's worth the gamble. You can probably tell but this is all new to me

again.....its hard for anyone to say how long a £500 engine that theyve never seen/heard run is going to last.....as for how long to change....id say a garage would bill a days labour(doesnt have to be a LR specialist)though youd be silly not to have a clutch fitted whilst the engine is out.

robd75 said:

I wasn't planning to get a new car, but then wasn't expecting the engine to die. The problem is I only paid £1800 for my car and had it 18 months. It's in pretty good condition but don't think it would be worth more than I paid for it with another engine (maybe I'm wrong) so don't want to spend that much on it. How much long does it take a garage to replace one of these engines, I've seen some for about £500 on ebay but again don't know whether it's worth the gamble. You can probably tell but this is all new to me

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I wouldn't go near ebay for a used engine, certainly not one that's already removed from the car. If you bought a duff motor you would be paying labour not only for the installation but also for removal again if it proved to be duff. In saying that, it's unlikely you would get a warranty with the motor (ebay is an auction after all) and so there'd be no point removing it again.
Play safer and forget a used motor unless it can be driven before purchase and you can get it dirt cheap or better still put your cash into a replacement vehicle and break yours. Harsh I know but we live in a disposable world and you will never get close to your money back when it comes to sell after shelling out for a used engine and labour costs.

If you do your homework well you can get a minter for much less than £3K and even an early TD5 for circa £2.5K.

Good luck!

Well by what you are saying that you dont think it would be worth more than you paid for it if you spend on it to me says you put a value on your disco. If thats the case scrap it and get another. Most people would just replace with a secondhand lump but that seems to concern you .

So from what I gather so far,
Don't but an already removed enginge from ebay (my original plan)
If I'm going to get an engine get a recon
I could replace it for about £2.5 with a good condition car (prob better than mine!)
What's the best way to get some money back on the car? Do you think that I would get a better price stripping it and selling what I can or selling it as a whole for someone else with more know how to replace the engine? The car is a 3 door with 12 months MOT and 6 months tax, done the brakes 3 weeks ago and has 2 new tyres. It has side steps and bull bars but was going to take these off.
Any advice is appreciated

I think the advice was dont buy a second hand engine unless you can see it and hear it running.

My cylinder head gasket went last week .
I was offered an engine exchange by Town & Country Landrovers,Leamington Spa,Warwickshire for circa £1000-00 with a known good secondhand engine.

robd75 said:

So from what I gather so far,
Don't but an already removed enginge from ebay (my original plan)
If I'm going to get an engine get a recon
I could replace it for about £2.5 with a good condition car (prob better than mine!)
What's the best way to get some money back on the car? Do you think that I would get a better price stripping it and selling what I can or selling it as a whole for someone else with more know how to replace the engine? The car is a 3 door with 12 months MOT and 6 months tax, done the brakes 3 weeks ago and has 2 new tyres. It has side steps and bull bars but was going to take these off.
Any advice is appreciated

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You will alwys get a better price by breaking it into individual parts,but this is only really practical if you have storage space at your disposal. It all depends on the room you have, how patient you are and how involved you're prepared to get in the dismantling.
Ask any vehicle dismantler why they don't sell their vehicles complete. It's not because they are doing you or me a favour, it's all about money!

Only you can decide on what the car is worth to you ie sentimental value for whatever reason etc etc. Bear in mind also that 5 door version outsold the 3 door considerably and so this could work against you come resale time after ploughing funds into it. On the plus side, in 40 years time when all the other 3 door models are in the scrapyard yours may be worth a few bob dependant on it's condition in 2050!!!

You could go for the 'used' motor but it really is a catch 22. It could be a duff one (puts you back to square one with even less funds) or it could turn out to be excellent! If you want to drive the VIN into the ground then you can chuck money at it left right and centre until the chassis is dust on the driveway and VIN can be put in a wall plaque above the fireplace!

The only way to know 100% the true mileage of a vehicle is to have bought one from new, outside of that it's approach with caution.

its a tough choice you have here.if everything else on the car worked has it should i think i,d do my homework on repairing what you already have but don,t let anyone other than professionals get their spanners near it.you may be able to get another tdi for £3k but whos to say youre not gonna but another bag of s--t.i think we,ll all agree theres good and bad disco,s out there i,ve had a bad one and trust me it can be very costly.its your call cheers craig

If the car owes you £1800.00 and it has just passed an MOT right? Find a secondhand engine in a car that you can see running and perhaps a short warranty (3 months) this should be around £750 - £1000, this will give you a chance to fit and run the engine and check it out. Obviously change the cambelt/oils/filters ect.

Or spend £3000.00 on another car that has just passed it's MOT which could go bang without warning!

Personal experience shows you do not really know your car with it's little leak here and there, or the odd ratle ect and a full knowledge (bar engine explosion) of future spending untill you have owned and driven it for a few months.

JMHO

Incidently, sudden blow ups are pretty rare for most engines, did you have any warning noises/oil lights/indications there was a problem? Was you working the engine hard (nice way of saying were you thrashing it?) when it went bang?

regards

Dave

The Mad Hat Man said:

I think the advice was dont buy a second hand engine unless you can see it and hear it running.

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With that in mind...... I know of a 300Tdi Disco that can be heard running and driven. Owner is asking £600.

PM me for contact details.

Thanks for the advice, but have decided to scrap/break the car and start again from scratch (wanted a 5 door anyway)!
As for what happened, was on the motorway doing about 75ish certainly no more than 80 (had the wife in the car and she would have told me), tempreture normal and no warnings at all prior to the bang, guess it was just sh*t luck!
At least I get to go buy a new toy

and if any one wants a 3 door discovery on a P plate with a knackered engine PM me, will be open to offers

sashtony said:

My cylinder head gasket went last week .
I was offered an engine exchange by Town & Country Landrovers,Leamington Spa,Warwickshire for circa £1000-00 with a known good secondhand engine.

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FFS your head gasket went so you looked at replacing th whole engine:doh: