Range Rover 1997 Engine Replacement (2.5)

Hello guys, my first post on this forum, ive tried searching but not found exactly what im looking for.

Im planning on purchasing a p38 with an engine thats sucked in water, the auction can be found here

D Hales - UK Motor Salvage Auctions

Just wondering really obviously its the bmw 2.5tds engine, im planning on exchanging it for another identical unit as i don't think it will be worth ripping the other to bits (unless anyone thinks thats a good idea?), if i do a direct replacement ill be doing it myself. Not changed a large engine such as this before, done a few Renault clio engines and im fairly handy tbh. is it difficult to do a direct swap? Just looking for some info really from experts on here, and if there is anything else dodgy by looking at the pics other than the scrape on the o/s quarter panel on the auction let me know.
regards
Josh

joshydee said:

Hello guys, my first post on this forum, ive tried searching but not found exactly what im looking for.

Im planning on purchasing a p38 with an engine thats sucked in water, the auction can be found here

D Hales - UK Motor Salvage Auctions

Just wondering really obviously its the bmw 2.5tds engine, im planning on exchanging it for another identical unit as i don't think it will be worth ripping the other to bits (unless anyone thinks thats a good idea?), if i do a direct replacement ill be doing it myself. Not changed a large engine such as this before, done a few Renault clio engines and im fairly handy tbh. is it difficult to do a direct swap? Just looking for some info really from experts on here, and if there is anything else dodgy by looking at the pics other than the scrape on the o/s quarter panel on the auction let me know.
regards
Josh

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If it's ingested water it's a pretty safe bet it's either bent a rod or snapped the crank, diesels don't like trying to compress water into virtually zero space!

If you've removed engines in the past, especially transverse front wheel drive stuff the RR will come as a refreshing simple one to do, with the pipes and wires off there is plenty of room to work around the engine and everything comes off well, take out all the radiators and the engine virtually somes up a little to clear the mounts then pulls forward (I did an auto, shouldn't think a manual will be a lot harder) I swapped mine with a Vauxhall Omega one, and there are a few parts that need swapping, if your doing like for like it will be a doddle.

Shame about the dent in the rear quarter, will be a nice buy for a tad over a grand!

Let us know how you get on.

Hello mate, won the car... Ended up a tad over 2k as you can see but i got carried away Still think its a good value car as salvage stuff is a safe bet as they're not been sold for a reason other that the damage involved. Seems a nice car and due to it been standard hopefully will have been well cared for previously. Im now searching for an engine and will be swapping it out soon. Im planning on starting to remove the old engine tomorrow once its home. Does all the front panels etc unbolt so i can wheel the engine out of the front on the engine hoist? should i bring the engine out on its own or with the box? And on the new engine should i swap All ancillaries over from the original engine? Thanks for the advice so far btw.

joshydee said:

Hello mate, won the car... Ended up a tad over 2k as you can see but i got carried away Still think its a good value car as salvage stuff is a safe bet as they're not been sold for a reason other that the damage involved. Seems a nice car and due to it been standard hopefully will have been well cared for previously. Im now searching for an engine and will be swapping it out soon. Im planning on starting to remove the old engine tomorrow once its home. Does all the front panels etc unbolt so i can wheel the engine out of the front on the engine hoist? should i bring the engine out on its own or with the box? And on the new engine should i swap All ancillaries over from the original engine? Thanks for the advice so far btw.

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Take the plate off the front between the headlights, 4 bolts, take the grill out, a handful of Phillips screws, then remove all the radiators. If your hoist won't reach to the middle of the head you can take the bumper off to get the further in, there are only 2 bolts holding the bumper on.

I took just the engine out and left the gearbox in, it came out very easily.
Take the starter off and turn the engine over slowly, look for 3 holes in the flexi-plate, through these there are 3 short bolts 15mm I think, take these out as they hold the torque converter to the flexi-plate.

I think the BMW 325 and 525, also the Vauxhall Omega engines all have minor differences, I used the Omega engine, the sump, oil pickup, front pulleys, no 4 injector, and obviously engine mounts were different and needed swapping over, so if you use one of these, get some gaskets!

Your old engine will come in very handy for parts, the head alone will be worth around £300 on ebay, though I'd keep it, you may need it later as these engines do suffer overheating problems, also while the engine is out it might be worth renewing the water pump as these have a habit of the plastic impeller breaking up at around 100k miles.

The fuel filter and filter head doesn't look right in the pictures of your engine, I'd check this over, have a look at other diesels and compare.

Keep us posted on how you get on, and good luck!

Thanks for the info. The car arrived today. Totally flat battery so currently charging her up. All seems OK. Powered the interior electrics up for a sec on a very low power battery and hevac screen is ok, so thats good. Ill let you know how i get on and ill probably have a million questions.
thanks
josh