Exhaust Down Pipe, Defender 300tdi into a 1985 110 Lt77 Box

I am fitting a defender 300 tdi into my 110 am i correct in thinking that I will need a modified exhaust down pipe or is the fact that its a defender tdi going to make a difference? My vehicle was bought without an engine and exhaust in place so am a little short of reference points. Thanks as ever.

I would have thought a complete 110 300tdi exhaust system would fit perfectly, no mods, keeping things nice and standard.

farriermatt said:

I am fitting a defender 300 tdi into my 110 am i correct in thinking that I will need a modified exhaust down pipe or is the fact that its a defender tdi going to make a difference? My vehicle was bought without an engine and exhaust in place so am a little short of reference points. Thanks as ever.

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you will need to mod the down pipe or center pipe due to engine not fitting in the correct place it will be further back than a std 300tdi,300tdi is supposed to sit against the rad ,200tdi and earlier against the bulkhead

There are three issues with the 300tdi LT77 combination:
1. The engine is 6" further back than a standard 300tdi.
2. The front of the engine is slightly lower than the standard 300, as it doesn't have to avoid the front axle.
3. The space around the engine mount / clutch slave cylinder and starter motor is very restricted.

If you have a spare £125 you can buy a custom front pipe from Steve Parker Land Rovers, now my limited experience of Steve Parker's products (TDi engine mounts) suggests that his stuff is very good quality, but being a tight ar5e I couldn't bring myself to part with £125 for a bit of pipe.

I started with a £20 Britpart front pipe intended for a 300 Defender and took 6" out of the length. 6" seems the obvious length as the engine is 6" further back, but as the front of the engine is lower, it may have benefited with another 1/2" or so removing.
I used a full 300tdi exhaust system, but the over axle bend come very close to the crossmember in front of the fuel tank (110), so on reflection I would have been better fitting the rest of the exhaust system before the front pipe.

As the front of the engine is lower I also had to rotate the rear section of the front pipe to put the joint in the correct position.

I also had to cut a lump out of the large engine crossmember (held on with four bolts) to allow room for the front pipe, this is because the factory 300 Defenders and Discoveys don't have this crossmember, they have a tiny thing near the gearbox.
At first this seems to be a bit of a rough-arse modification, but later Defenders use a much slimmer version of the bolt in crossmember and as I said above, the 300's have a poxy thin thing around the gear box, so there is no significant compromise to the rigidity of the chassis as a result.

I will attach some images which hopefully make my explanation more clear. The third image shows a TD5 crossmember and my modified crossmember, I suspect there is still more strength in mine with a lump taken out that there is in the standard TD5 version.

Rougharse Racing said:

There are three issues with the 300tdi LT77 combination:
1. The engine is 6" further back than a standard 300tdi.
2. The front of the engine is slightly lower than the standard 300, as it doesn't have to avoid the front axle.
3. The space around the engine mount / clutch slave cylinder and starter motor is very restricted.

If you have a spare £125 you can buy a custom front pipe from Steve Parker Land Rovers, now my limited experience of Steve Parker's products (TDi engine mounts) suggests that his stuff is very good quality, but being a tight ar5e I couldn't bring myself to part with £125 for a bit of pipe.

I started with a £20 Britpart front pipe intended for a 300 Defender and took 6" out of the length. 6" seems the obvious length as the engine is 6" further back, but as the front of the engine is lower, it may have benefited with another 1/2" or so removing.
I used a full 300tdi exhaust system, but the over axle bend come very close to the crossmember in front of the fuel tank (110), so on reflection I would have been better fitting the rest of the exhaust system before the front pipe.

As the front of the engine is lower I also had to rotate the rear section of the front pipe to put the joint in the correct position.

I also had to cut a lump out of the large engine crossmember (held on with four bolts) to allow room for the front pipe, this is because the factory 300 Defenders and Discoveys don't have this crossmember, they have a tiny thing near the gearbox.
At first this seems to be a bit of a rough-arse modification, but later Defenders use a much slimmer version of the bolt in crossmember and as I said above, the 300's have a poxy thin thing around the gear box, so there is no significant compromise to the rigidity of the chassis as a result.

I will attach some images which hopefully make my explanation more clear. The third image shows a TD5 crossmember and my modified crossmember, I suspect there is still more strength in mine with a lump taken out that there is in the standard TD5 version.

View attachment 155362 View attachment 155366 View attachment 155367

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Thank you that's brilliant I guessed that with it being further back there would be some alterations, however the gearbox cross member hadn't occured to me so I'll get that out ready as I've left it alone. Love pictures it helps !

Right engine is in that went better than i thought on my own! This shows where the downpipe will be going and also the airbox brackets i have offered he airbox up and its tight there and the pipework looks unlikely to go behind the engine now its 6" closer to the bulkhead, so i am thinking that i will be relocating that to the other side? further forward? Its interesting there is less on putting a defender 300 tdi in a 110 than putting a disco 300tdi on the webnet , i thought i was making my life easier with a defender engine! Again any pics links that show this conversion would be appreciated. (I have looked at Glencoyne and Parkers website 's and they are helpful but the more you know the better prepared you can be!)

farriermatt said:

Right engine is in that went better than i thought on my own! This shows where the downpipe will be going and also the airbox brackets i have offered he airbox up and its tight there and the pipework looks unlikely to go behind the engine now its 6" closer to the bulkhead, so i am thinking that i will be relocating that to the other side? further forward? Its interesting there is less on putting a defender 300 tdi in a 110 than putting a disco 300tdi on the webnet , i thought i was making my life easier with a defender engine! Again any pics links that show this conversion would be appreciated. (I have looked at Glencoyne and Parkers website 's and they are helpful but the more you know the better prepared you can be!)
View attachment 155394 View attachment 155393

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thats because unlike a 200tdi the 300tdi engine is exactly the same whether its from a disco or a defender

jamesmartin said:

thats because unlike a 200tdi the 300tdi engine is exactly the same whether its from a disco or a defender

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Ok, i see so its just the ancillaries that differ ie the airbox?

farriermatt said:

Ok, i see so its just the ancillaries that differ ie the airbox?

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yes just the air box

This is one area where I can't contribute very much as I'm still using a temporary air filter on mine.
There is a distinct lack of space on the passenger side of the engine as the intercooler pipes, washer bottle, PAS resevoir and alternator take up most of the space in this area.
I have seen photos of conversions using a modified Discovery air filter, but when I have tried to mount a Discovery air filter I have found it all the wrong shape and I am reluctant to mount a plastic housing close to a hot turbo.

The air filter to turbo pipes from a Discovery loop round in 180 degrees and send the pipe along the passenger side of the engine rather than around the back as with a Defender. There is just enough room to fit the Discovery pipe, I am using this on mine and it may be your best option.
If you fit a 300-Defender air filter housing in its normal position it may be possible to route the air filter to turbo pipe over the top of the engine.

I have spent ages juggling air filters trying to find a suitable solution, but haven't found anything that doesn't look ****e so far. I am currently using the adapted air filter element from the 2.5n/a engine without a housing, but need to sort something properly.