Rough idea of price to pay for swapping a 2.5TD for a 200TDI in a 1988 90?

Hi I've just introduced my self on the newcomers page and put this question up as well. I brought my 1988 90 2.5TD just over a week ago and found out the next day that the engine had had it!!!! Had the chassis and bulkhead checked out and apparently very good, 83000 on clock and I think she looks great and so really want to get engine sorted and have an all round good 90. After a lot of research I'm convinced the way forward is to put a 200 TDI engine in, got a price on one with all bits needed for £450 and am perfectly happy with that. My question is what is a fair price (if such a thing exists) to pay to have someone to do the swap for me. I have been quoted £650 and would like to know if this is fair? as I have no idea. Also I am very practical and like to think have a bit of common sense (LOL)http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/images/smilies/smile.gif, I've read various accounts of other people doing the swap themselves and do think I stand a fair chance of success, or is it more difficult than I think! Difficult for someone to comment on I know as you obviously can't know me but ANY advise comments greatly appreciated. Thanks Mark

I was quoted around £1000 for discovery 200tdi engine + fitting + discovery clutch. However I don't know what condition the 200tdi was in. I have decided that I will do it myself this summer with the help of a mechanic friend if i need it. I don't know much about engines, but im quite practical which is why im willing to attempt it. My understanding is that its quite a simple swap, the only changes needed is something to do with redirecting the exhaust but i have seen the needed exhaust pipes on ebay for around £60.

you will also need to make sure you get the corresponding temperature sender as there are 3 different types and all look the same.....your orig. defender temp gauge will say you are overheating like buggery when linked up to the disco sender...even using orig. 19j sender didn't seem to help so i fitted an after market capillary unit with an adaptor as most after market stuff is 3/8" unf thread and the thread is a 1/4"bsp thread in the thermostat housing. you'll also need to lengthen your hoses for power steering pipes ( use a couple of 8mm compression joints) and do a bit of frigging of the gearbox /engine dowells on the gear box bell housing. you will have to drill and tap a couple of them aswell on the lower bell housing. use a tapered m10 x 1.5 tap and either use some of the old dowels or just use a couple of m10 bolts. well worth converting the exhaust down pipe to accept m10 allen bolts if poss to allow you to access the starter motor area. this is a bitch to change out otherwise. would also recommend heat shieldng the starter with some ally wrap to keep solenoid from frying uder heat in engine bay. as for cost it would probably work out cheaper to buy a complete disco and sell the rest of the bits on rather that just an engine. complete vehicles can be purchased for under £400 where as an engine you haven't heard run is usually in the region of £300. axles and gear box alone should fetch 200 pound and then there's still at least £50 in scrap value for the shell without stripping mirrors lights etc. £450 seems to be a reasonable price as it can turn into a 2 day affair but it isn't out of the realms of most folk as long as you have an engine hoist and a bent 17mm ring spanner for the top bell housing bolts.....best investment you will ever make trust me.

Thanks for the advise, a massive help. Had a cheaper price to fit of £400 but actually quite fancy the challenge and so now got a real decision to make??? But will keep updated and let you know which route I took and how I/they got on with the fit. Regards Mark

How I did mine last year.
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f7/200tdi-upgrade-begins-59862.html

This is the list of jobs and the order I did them in with parts prices.
Hope this helps anyone who thinks this is a large job. It is but by breaking it down into little sections it makes it easier to cope

Step order - 2 May 2008 with parts required.
Complete driveable Discovery 1 with 200Tdi £315 on ebay.
Solve water leak from rad top hose. Radweld in rad and tank- Water leak stopped
New radiator cap. 99p from Challenger 4x4
Remove Rad/intercooler. Disco/Done
Replace cam belt, gaskets and oil seals. 200 tdiCam belt kit/Done (£60 From Paddocks)
Remove exhaust. Done
Keep power steering bottle and pipes on engine. Yes, done
Remove anything in engines way. Yes, done
Remove all cables and pipes and label them all. Done 2 elec cables with connectors. Fuel filter and fuel return pipe
Remove floorpan and tunnel to get at clutch bellhousing bolts. No need
Remove bellhousing bolts. Done
Remove glow plug system. 1 cable removed.
Remove bonnet.
Remove 200tdi engine. Engine crane, removed (£200 for crane and load leveller brand new. Ebay)

200TDi outside vehicle.
Replace clutch and output oil seal. Done clutch plates and cover and output seal (£80 Paddocks).
Cleaned inside housing no oil leaks.
Mount exhaust downpipe - Used all studs, replaced 1 nut. Exhaust downpipe - £80 on ebay
Undo engine mounts. Use a long breaker bar and 19mm socket. New rubbers £6

110 2.5TD
Remove anything in engines way. Front slam panel and top rad mounts removed.
Remove front bumper
Remove radiator
Remove exhaust from lower joint Done
Undo engine mount lower bolts Done
Undo bellhousing bolts. Lift and remove engine rubber mounts. Drop onto chassis and undo all the bellhousing studs and starter motor wiring.
Remove all cables and pipes, leave loom in the bay Done
Remove fuel filter and pipes strap to engine Done
Remove PAS pump pipes from box leave on engine Done
Remove bonnet.
Remove TD engine. When out remove the engine mounts.

110 with no engine
Remove exhaust front section so it can modified to fit later.
Check gearbox rubber mounts OK.
Jetwash engine bay, check for welding and waxoil.
Clean bellhousing and check clutch fork for wear. Welded strengthening plate across back. All coeated in grease and grime and rust free.
Change Clutch slave cylinder . Lubed up ball joints with copper slip (£10)
Bleed clutch
Change gearbox oil for Difflock stuff. New Difflock gearbox oil. Looks like ATF- £45 for 3 litres

200TDi and 2.5TD out of vehicles.
Seal exhaust upper mounting and wrap with heat tape.Seal exhaust joint with firepaste and wrapped with heat wrap £12
Check engine studs for ones to be removed. 2 removed as they do not line up with gearbox bellhousing.
Check out for hole for dowel in gearbox bellhousing.No hole so dowel removed.
Flush out cabin heater. Done and clear
Tidy up engine bay wiring and axle breather pipes. Done
Transfer engine mounts to 200tdi using rear block mounts under alternator. Tighten nuts on mounts to block but do not fit rubbers. Done
Replace fan and PAS belts with new. New PAS and fan belt (£10 Paddocks)
Change clutch release bearing. Placed new one in

200TDi fitting.
Lift engine into bay and adjust for fit. Lower until starter motor wires can be connected.
Earth lead to chassis.
Lower engine and adjust until studs line up and push engine in.All studs done up. Need 3 lowest bolts tapping
Do up bellhousing studs.
Glow plug system leave as was, remember to only hold for 5 seconds.
Fuel stop solenoid.
Throttle linkage. Attached and adjusted.
Lift engine and gearbox until you can put in the engine mount rubbers. Lower engine onto rubbers and tighten.Done.
Remove 2 small lugs either side of the radiator frame
Cut down Radiator/intercooler lower mounts by 3cm - Welding
Weld 2 pins to top of rad for mounts. Done and painted with hammerite
Remove Tdi oil cooler pipes and get extended by 30cm Pirtek 30cm longer for £60
Fit oil cooler pipes into filter.Done
Check new rad/intercooler fits.
Flush out radiator and intercooler
Turbo heat shield.
Internal heater pipes- steel pipe feeds rear, pipe nipple feeds front. Used old ones out of Disco.
Swap Temperature sensor on front of engine and wire up.
Change alternator wiring. 2 thick brown cables to large stud.
Oil pressure sensor .
Mount Tdi PAS pump pipes. Fill with PAS fluid.
Replace water expansion tank from disco.
Mount exhaust front section. Will need adjusting to fit 110. 6cm cut out.
Mount disco fuel filter and pipes and heater system. Need 8mm and 10mm id fuel hose. £2 per metre from Camberley Auto Factors.
Connect up intercooler pipes. In at bottom out of top. Darton fabrications £120
Radiator hoses made up from all the bits. TD ones are long enough. Added section to expansion tank pipe
Mount rad/intercooler and upper bracket from disco or BBB
Fill up with water and anti freeze and radweld into rad. Anti freeze £5
Mount air filter and pipes- Mounted on RHS above alternator using Disco filter and holders.
Mount viscous fan.
Check water, oil, PAS levels .
Prime fuel system with hand pump.
Remove fuel solenoid wire and run on starter to prime fuel and oil sysytem.
Start and run
Move steering from lock to lock and top up PAS bottle
Replace bonnet
Replace bumper

hawkplasterer said:

Thanks for the advise, a massive help. Had a cheaper price to fit of £400 but actually quite fancy the challenge and so now got a real decision to make???

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You need to get a good idea of what the £400 covers. Is is just labour or will it include all parts etc needed.

i got a genuine low mileage defender 200 tdi of ebay came with everything cost me £695 no other bits needed and obviously was a piece o **** to fit.

when you consider a good disco enjin will cost £400 and then you may have to remove it from a donor vehicle,then you need the exhaust downpipe conversion,then you gotta extend intercooler pipes then you gotta remount and reposition the air filter somewhere,all of which isnt the end of the world but just adds to the cost and time.i was well happy with parting with £695 for a genuine defender one trouble is they dont come up on ebay that often

a few pointers here
Putting a Disco 200TDi engine in a 90 - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum

wiltshire landyman said:

i got a genuine low mileage defender 200 tdi of ebay came with everything cost me £695 no other bits needed and obviously was a piece o **** to fit.

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But gotta be careful - i was on the bring of buying one off some bloke on Ebay (in redruth or camborne i think) about a year ago for £695 - the deal was nearly done, sold as seen, he assured me it was REALLY strong and a good engine,... was chatting to a mate (a local Landy independant) about it and he said he knew the engine, really badly looked after, needed complete rebuild, wouldn't rev above about 3000 rpm and even when it got there it was fooked - just goes to show the importance of hearing the engine running IN THE CAR before you buy it! If you get it professionally fitted you'll have the advantage of a warranty too. All in should be a bit over a grand, with a new heavy duty clutch, for a disco one (which are slightly more powerful)

odenne said:

But gotta be careful - i was on the bring of buying one off some bloke on Ebay (in redruth or camborne i think) about a year ago for £695 - the deal was nearly done, sold as seen, he assured me it was REALLY strong and a good engine,... was chatting to a mate (a local Landy independant) about it and he said he knew the engine, really badly looked after, needed complete rebuild, wouldn't rev above about 3000 rpm and even when it got there it was fooked - just goes to show the importance of hearing the engine running IN THE CAR before you buy it! If you get it professionally fitted you'll have the advantage of a warranty too. All in should be a bit over a grand, with a new heavy duty clutch, for a disco one (which are slightly more powerful)

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i was well fortunate..i had a genuine helpfull seller and he showed me all previous reciepts and service records for the 90 it was in..and 4 weeks later when i needed a part and needed chassis number i rang him up and he got the reg num and chassis number for me..i love the enjin to bits it starts 1st turn of the key hot or cold no glow plugs req pulls well and runs superb

maybe i was lucky that day

Hi there, thanks again guys for all the input. That's one comprehensive list Patman 1200, I'll follow it closely and with a few bits of other literature to guide me along may just stand a chance! Will update when done . Thanks again.

wiltshire landyman said:

maybe i was lucky that day

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no **** sherlock,.....christ i paid over that for my truck and it wanted a shed load of work doing to it,.............was the devil nice to you when you sold your soul ?????? the defender 200tdi engine alone goes for a minimum of £900,.........wow what a bargain......i am jealous as hell well done bud.....if you find any more like that drop me a line

i am also in the process of doing this conversion.. bought a k plate disco off flee-bay for £310.. just spent the day chopping the body off.. bare chasis should make life easier to undo bolts etc.. plus i had the bonus of a 40mile test drive to make sure engine/boxes/ axles were ok will let you know how i get on..

i'm currently looking for a donor disco... is there a preferable year to go for? and also do ya reckon i should go check it out before bidding, or just buy it on the understanding it doesn't smoke etc... and if it does.. then refuse to pay and say it was wrongly advertised?

not really any better years out there,...there's just good un's and bad un's.always worth going for a look / test drive but remember that if it ain't got an mot you can't legally drive it on the road,....unless you get it booked in for an mot somewhere ( hint hint). worth taking it for a run so you can see if it starts coughing and farting under heavy load/ revs and gives you an idea if it overheats ( no one likes doing a head gasket do they?) also worth taking front turbo hose off and checking if the turbo fan bearing has too much play in it and also allows you to check condition of fan blades with your fingers. big expensive bolt on part if it's shot. big tip,...don't fall for the old "it's a recon engine ,.....you can tell by the gold colour of the block " often sellers try to give this spiel making out it's a gold seal engine,........they left the factory this way in a nice gold colour.

i did a 300 convserion into mine. Took me jus over a week, done outside in the rain on someones yard. I bought a complete disco, and as of the other day (sale of my old rad and the disco's sidesteps) i actually made a profit on doing the conversion!

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f7/300-tdi-upgrade-61619.html

I get the impression that the 200tdi conversion is the easier conversion to do, but i keep coming across a lot of complete 300tdi disco's for similar price as the 200tdi's. Because they are newer they seem in better condition and the vehicles better looked after. I just looked at your thread boydy, the swap doesn't seem as difficult as i had thought. Is there any disadvantages in swapping a 300tdi in rather then a 200tdi. (i have a 1987 2.5td)

Could i still take the axles, transfer box and clutch etc from a donor 300tdi disco..?

Cheers, Oli

It Cost me £2800 including disco engine and new clutch. More than i thought it would be.

Rawly86 said:

It Cost me £2800 including disco engine and new clutch. More than i thought it would be.

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1st Yu was fooking robbed They really had your pants down didn't they.

2nd This thread is 3 years old :doh:

Did not look at that!!!! sorry, Im happy with it they did, it was 4 years ago when it was fitted, just hoping it passes the MOT tomorrow