Defender engine swap Info

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Milesm

New Member
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28
Location
Bristol
I'm actually looking for a cheap 110 4 door defender as I’m new to the defender buzz, but my real question is, Is it possible to fit a 3litre 24v straight 6 Mercedes engine from a 1992 SL, and would it be compatible with the gearbox. And what’s a good gearbox, is it the lt75 or 85.

I have read that it has been done but it was just a one liner with no info!
:doh:

That was quick, umm i do want to take it off road i just can't deal with a diesel and the rover v8 drinks too much and i think would be costly to produce more power from the v8 engine, i read that it only produces 130hp. And i just want a real beast well i have not bought anything yet but that sourced out a 3lt merc eng, and i will need to ask more questions on it. but yes the engine loom? i would need to look into that too. I mean i know it sounds mad but could i take everything out and put a whole engne and ecu, loom and merc dash cluster, sorry bad terminology, keys, the lot?

Crazy isn't it


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Last edited:
why would you want to?

i take it you don't fancy going off road

the conversion will give you more problems than it is worth to be honest, as most of the SLs are auto you would have to source a manual one or convert it, you would need a conversion plate to mate the lt75 box to the engine and even then it may not work as you would need to splice the LR wiring harness with the merc one
 
Milesm said:
I'm actually looking for a cheap 110 4 door defender as I’m new to the defender buzz, but my real question is, Is it possible to fit a 3litre 24v straight 6 Mercedes engine from a 1992 SL, and would it be compatible with the gearbox. And what’s a good gearbox, is it the lt75 or 85.

I have read that it has been done but it was just a one liner with no info!
:doh:


[email protected]
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:welcome2: to the Zone
I think the Merc engine is too long, so it would look very odd poking out the front. You'll need a new flywheel and a custom bell housing adaptor, engine mounts and half the Merc wiring loom and electronics etc etc. I have a 1998 300TDI Merc and the engine in it is simply fantastic. Silent running and piles of tourque after 160k miles. Put a TD5 lump in it, you'll only be a cylinder short and it won't poke out the front. :)
 
That was quick, umm i do want to take it off road i just can't deal with a diesel and the rover v8 drinks too much and i think would be costly to produce more power from the v8 engine, i read that it only produces 130hp. And i just want a real beast well i have not bought anything yet but that sourced out a 3lt merc eng, and i will need to ask more questions on it. but yes the engine loom? i would need to look into that too. I mean i know it sounds mad but could i take everything out and put a whole engne and ecu, loom and merc dash cluster, sorry bad terminology, keys, the lot?

Crazy isn't it :D
 
That was quick, umm i do want to take it off road i just can't deal with a diesel and the rover v8 drinks too much and i think would be costly to produce more power from the v8 engine, i read that it only produces 130hp. And i just want a real beast well i have not bought anything yet but that sourced out a 3lt merc eng, and i will need to ask more questions on it. but yes the engine loom? i would need to look into that too. I mean i know it sounds mad but could i take everything out and put a whole engne and ecu, loom and merc dash cluster, sorry bad terminology, keys, the lot?

Crazy isn't it
 
I definitely like your thinking, reminds me of long ago when an adventurous person fitted the mid eighties BMW 2.8 litre 6 cylinder engine into the Range Rover Classic. Result was better performance & much better economy. If you've got the skills, then go for it & you'll be rewarded with a reasonably fast economical machine.
 
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