engine-swapping...

a mate has been getting silly-sounding quotes for swapping a disco TDi+LT77
gearbox into a range rover with a VM+LT77...

any ideas how many pitfalls there may be? ISTR the RR is a conversion from
a V8, originally.

Given that he's got what amounts to a scrap disco, so all the mounting
brackets and so on and indeed the exhaust, rad, intercooler and so forth are
available. The engine's still in the disco, of course, but hauling the
engine/box combo out of a disco shouldn't be as much as a day's work, I
reckon. Given the right equipment, I'd reckon to get both engines out in
not much over a day, and, allowing for the possibility that the refit to the
RR might be slower, I don't see more'n 3 days for the whole job, really -
say 25 hours, and some of the prices he's been quoted make for a lot more
per hour than I make...

Apparently the VM has a dead turbo and a (or more) blown head gasket - the
dead turbo would explain the lack of go which said mate reported from the
thing.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Where they make a desert they call it peace" Tacitus (c.55 - c.117)
Agricola, 30

"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Apparently the VM has a dead turbo and a (or more) blown head gasket - the
> dead turbo would explain the lack of go which said mate reported from the
> thing.

Why not just fix the Turbo and sort the head gaskets?

I did this a while ago and also replaced the Pistons and Big end bearings.

Got change out of £700 using www.vmspecialist.com for the parts and turbo
techniques refurbished my turbo for me.

......says me who's just binned a Jaguar Engine through lack of interest
<walk away whistling>.... and please don't ask if I've been eying up the
spare V8 here as well .

Lee D
--

www.lrproject.com

Workshop photos from Landrover repairs
& other such tinkerings.
Home of Percy the Jag powered Landrover

On or around Thu, 27 Jan 2005 11:07:28 GMT, "Lee_D" <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>
>> Apparently the VM has a dead turbo and a (or more) blown head gasket - the
>> dead turbo would explain the lack of go which said mate reported from the
>> thing.
>
>Why not just fix the Turbo and sort the head gaskets?

I think this has been decided on as the cheapest option. mind, I reckon
most of the potential engine-swappers are taking the ****. one quoted
8-900, wish I could get knocking on for 300 quid a day.

I'm almost tempted to quote meself, except that I haven't really got the
time.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Appearances: You don't really need make-up. Celebrate your authentic
face by frightening people in the street.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Austin Shackles) wrote:

> wish I could get knocking on for 300 quid a day.

£37.50 per hour; very reasonable for a professional business with
overheads, try main dealers £70ph+ for a YTS trainee to work on your
vehicle in some places.

--
Niamh
4x4 Cymru
http://www.4x4cymru.co.uk

On or around Fri, 28 Jan 2005 18:02 +0000 (GMT Standard Time),
[email protected] (Niamh Holding) enlightened us thusly:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] (Austin Shackles) wrote:
>
>> wish I could get knocking on for 300 quid a day.
>
>£37.50 per hour; very reasonable for a professional business with
>overheads, try main dealers £70ph+ for a YTS trainee to work on your
>vehicle in some places.

maybe so. Unless they've gone up quite a bit, the local garages don't
charge that much.

which may means they're over-estimating so as not to get caught out, or may
mean they don't want the job, or may of course mean they know something I
don't about the operation .
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat" Euripedes, quoted in
Boswell's "Johnson".

> >£37.50 per hour; very reasonable for a professional business with
> >overheads, try main dealers £70ph+ for a YTS trainee to work on your
> >vehicle in some places.
>
> maybe so. Unless they've gone up quite a bit, the local garages don't
> charge that much.
>
> which may means they're over-estimating so as not to get caught out, or
may
> mean they don't want the job, or may of course mean they know something I
> don't about the operation .

At the garage where I work part time we charge £15 per hour while others in
the area are around £25+VAT. That said, its not a job we'd take on as the
work involved is considrible and there are too many unknows. Finding a
'normal' garage which will do the cutting and welding, fitting, wiring and
warenty the work too may be a bit tricky. But a landrover 'specialist'
probably wouldn't hesitate... but probably also charge a lot more per hour!

Toby

On or around Fri, 28 Jan 2005 20:15:28 -0000, "TVS"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>> >£37.50 per hour; very reasonable for a professional business with
>> >overheads, try main dealers £70ph+ for a YTS trainee to work on your
>> >vehicle in some places.
>>
>> maybe so. Unless they've gone up quite a bit, the local garages don't
>> charge that much.
>>
>> which may means they're over-estimating so as not to get caught out, or
>may
>> mean they don't want the job, or may of course mean they know something I
>> don't about the operation .
>
>At the garage where I work part time we charge £15 per hour while others in
>the area are around £25+VAT. That said, its not a job we'd take on as the
>work involved is considrible and there are too many unknows. Finding a
>'normal' garage which will do the cutting and welding, fitting, wiring and
>warenty the work too may be a bit tricky. But a landrover 'specialist'
>probably wouldn't hesitate... but probably also charge a lot more per hour!


yebbut, unless I'm way off-base here, it's not gonna involve major work.
The complete disco is available to cannibalise (serious tinworm in it) and
as such all the bits you want are there.

when I did V8 RR into 110 4-cyl swap, the only surgery required was to move
the engine mounting positions on the chassis. All the rest bolted on no
problem, and the disco chassis is near-as-dammit identical to the RR one.

Like I say, poorly equipped (compared to the garage) as I am, if I had the
time I'd do it and charge a lot less, (but that's partly due to overhead) -
I don't see it'd take me more'n 3-4 days and that's with no lift/pit to get
underneath with and so forth, working in the open with just jacks and an
engine crane.

'course, there might be a sneaky difference or 2 to catch me out,
admittedly.


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"The boys are dreaming wicked or of the bucking ranches of the night and
the jollyrodgered sea." Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953) Under milk wood