Supply/fit a reconditioned 300tdi, R380 gearbox into a 90?

My defender 90 300tdi has a major engine problem (I think the LR specialist who looked at it said it was either HG, or possibly piston rings or piston seals or something? I cant remember now. Plus it's overheating which looks to be due to the radiator needing some welding?) and is basicially going to cost upward of £1k to fix. Being a 145k engine and the gearbox being crunchy in 2nd/3rd I was planning to cut my losses, sell as is and start a new tubular body buggy project based on either a suzuki sj or a discovery chassis. I've had an offer of £1750 for the defender as is but having just fitted new wheel arch extensions, heavy duty winch bumper, roll cages, shiny stainless parts etc and spent over £500 having it resprayed it seems a bit of a shame, not to mention a waste of money!

Now my bmw daily driver appears to have developed a water leak somewhere (i.e. HG is probably going or gone) so I am now considering fixing up the defender and running it until I'm ready to start the project and using the defender chassis and running gear as the base. Am I right in thinking a 90 chassis would be lighter than a disco being about 7" shorter? And are there any differences between the engines and gearboxes other than mountings etc?

To use the defender though I would ideally want a reconditioned engine and r380 box, or the current engine/box reconditioning, as I dont fancy fixing up a 145k engine and box for over £1k only to have something else go wrong. So what I'm asking is, where is the best place to buy a recon'd engine and/or gearbox, and what sort of prices should I expect for fitting? I've had a quote of around £500 to fit a recon engine but I would have to supply it myself. Or am I better getting my current engine removed, rebuilt and refitted?

I've seen recon'd engines on ebay from Landy Ltd for £995 with a 1yr unlimited mileage warranty and the ad says he will fit for £250 plus parts (I presume the parts will just be the engine at £995 = £1245 fitted). Has anyone used them before? Seems quite cheap which makes me slightly wary. Also says he can replace the ancilleries for £50 + parts, would this be worth doing? I've enquired as to how much the acilleries would cost but not heard back yet.

There is also an r380 reconditioned box on ebay for £395, does this seem reasonable? Again with 12 month guarantee, this is on an exchange basis so they take my old box.

Any idea on prices/experiences/recommendations from people who have had something similar done would be much appreciated or if anyone on here has done this type of work before and would like to provide a quote for all or part of the work (within a couple of hours of shrewsbury, west midlands) that would be great.

I would also be looking at tuning the 300tdi (fuel pump tweak, egr blank, bigger IC, air filter at least, possibly further depending on cost and whether it affects reliability) when I start turning it into a project car so would it be worth doing these at the same time too?

Sorry for so many questions, i've been having a rough time with car troubles recently and am totally confused as to what to do, just trying to weigh up all my options!

dave5526 said:

I've seen recon'd engines on ebay from Landy Ltd for £995 with a 1yr unlimited mileage warranty and the ad says he will fit for £250 plus parts (I presume the parts will just be the engine at £995 = £1245 fitted).

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Nuts, bolts, fluids, lubricants, hose clips, seals, belts, clutch, mounting bushes, injectors, other ancillaries need fitting too which can add on to the bill with new nuts & bolts. There can be a lot of parts involved with replacing an engine if the job is done well and properly, it partially depends on how complete a complete engine is, and the remainder on how well the job is done. I generally try to avoid reusing fastenings such as nuts, bolts, washers, hose clips etc.

Those quotes seem reasonable......But if it were mine I would get a second opinion ....145k not high for a properly maintained 300tdi.....I would get head off [probably just H/G?] & go from there [approx.£200-£300] flush /check rad. might be ok if not leaking....if not a recon not expensive.....Then if all OK? go for an Ashcroft box[pay a bit more but only do the job once..good luck

Engine - Turner Engineering.
Gearbox - Ashcrofts.
Pay a bit more and have a proper job done,enjoy it,keep the recepits and it will be worth more when you get bored with it.Both companies do the job properly and stand by it.