diesel swap for disco

[96owner]

ok so i know this has bin beaten like a dead horse but what are the best options for a diesel in the us meaning i dont want to import an internatinal harverster or a 200/300tdi. but if i will have to i guess i would. i realy want a diesel for some reson. its the hole mpg/biodiesel options/black smoke when you step on the gas. the swap wouldent be anytime soon i just want to see how much it would all end up costing and what would be required.

ADD: what about a Cummins 4BT swap ay one ever heard/seen of this swap

[gordo]

Id expect to spend between 5-10 grand anyway but Ive personally never researched it much myself. Check out this link on Ebay. Im not sure they make a kit for the Nissan Diesel to fit a Rover tranny, but you could always run Nissan stuff I guess. This guy apparently sells a lot of motors scrapped from other countries so you might want to watch his auctions. Ive got a buddy that put a toyota diesel and running gear in his RRC. Ive never looked closely at the set up but the truck has been on the road for some time. Personally if I was going to do it, it would be a 2.8 international or the 300 TDI to keep it simple. We do have a lot of Izusu diesels over here as well, but Ive heard that the powerband isnt that great at low RPMs. Worth looking into. Remember 5-10 grand is ALOT of gas so if your doing it to save money dont bother. Gordo.

Oh yeah the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissa...92191855QQrdZ1

[300bhp/ton]

Personally I really love diesels espcially for off roading, but in the US it seems like a lot of hard work IMO.

With the prices you guys pay for petrol (gas) I'd probably stick with a V8. And yes I know you guys often complain about gas prices, but consider we in the UK still run V8's and pay 95p litre for regular unleaded.

My choice would be a stock Chevy Ls1 V8. I'd choose this engine for several reasons:

1. It's fairly small & compact
2. Easily fits in the engine bay
3. Is aluminium and fairly lightweight
4. Pretty cheap and very available in the US
5.Very powerful (320-350bhp and 350-370lb ft, over 95% of torque from 1500rpm!!! )
6. Conversion kits exist for Chevy SBC swaps
7. More economical than a Rover V8

In years past big GM diesel V8's have been popular swaps in to Land Rovers here in the UK, but they are generall big, heavy, uneconomical and not all that powerful.

Fitting any other diesel in is possible just make sure you do your R&D first. And as much as I love the Tdi's units, I probably wouldn't advise one for use in the US unless you have special reason to want to.

Do you guys get Ford Transit vans in the US???

The diesel engine (2.4 DOHC 16v) from them will be finding it's way into the new Defender, available in a month or two in the UK. This may be a possible route to go and being an OHC common rail diesel I would think it will be very tunable and offer more HP than any of the other Land Rover diesels (Tdi, TD5).

[96owner]

could the drive like hold up to a ls1 and whats the mpg on them i might look into that not to do it any time soon but if my motor evers gos

[300bhp/ton]

I think while not idea the tranny would hold up for a while if in good condition. But it will be pushing the limits on the R380 manaul and a tranny cooler would certainly be a good idea on an auto.

I guess the next step would be to fit a different tranny, there must be plenty out there and SBC swaps have been done loads of times. Overfinch used to do a 6.3 litre LT1 on the P38 Range Rover.

As for MPG well my camaro weighs in at about 3600lb and with an auto does about 24MPG on short jouneys beating on it with the a/c on.

I would have thought a Ls1 in a Discovery should see 18-22MPG average, better on a long run and worse when wheeling or beating on it.

[96owner]

idk if the ls1 would be worth it i mean would the cost be better then a lpg conversion to the rover v8, dam i need to look up info on lpg i will get onthat

[300bhp/ton]

Originally Posted by 96owner

idk if the ls1 would be worth it i mean would the cost be better then a lpg conversion to the rover v8, dam i need to look up info on lpg i will get onthat

I guess it depends what you want as your end goal.

LPG here in the UK is a lot cheaper than petrol (45p/litre compared to 87p/litre).

However cars generally see slightly less MPG on LPG, if you get 16mpg on petrol expect to lose an MPG or so on LPG. So if the price is pretty similar for the two fuels you may not actually save any money.

Then there's the power thing. While the Rover is a fine engine it's hardly the most powerful, even a 4.6 won't be making massive numbers. Not unless you sacrifice a lot of low end grunt anyhow.

The LS1 will offer up 350bhp/350lb ft+ straight off the bat, and with bolt ons near 400bhp and still retain the low end grunt.

Is it performance or economy you are wanting to better?

[Muddy Oval]

You gotta figure out what you want from the project before any one solution will make sense. Nobody will ever see their money out of a diesel swap, and although the range increases- a 4.6 and an aux fuel tank would be cheaper (and still have more power). The LS1 idea- well, that could probably be done legally since you could still run cats etc. The race truck (DII) we are involved with has an LS1 in it.

[96owner]

i was looking for economy more then anything. i know i woudlent get my money back but i like black smoke, and the sound of a diesel. i just like diesels but i know i will never have one and im not a power freek so economy is where im going. i could do a snorkle, spark plugs and wires and an exhaust and that will give me all the power gain need maybe a rebuild. but i would like economy not like 30mpg but more of bio fuel or something im turning into a hippy

[Muddy Oval]

Economy? You'll never see economy- the diesel will cost a LOT to get in there, more than a new V8. You'd have to have it 30 years to break even on the extra expense. Land Rovers are picky about fuel viscosity/lubricity- which varies depending on the brand of biodiesel you can get. Some bio will kill your expensive injection pump- waste oil for sure will. I've seen SO many people try the waste oil thing and end up failing in hugely expensive ways before giving up. There's hope for the commercial biodiesel as they get the standard out there and work towards being consistent- except it isn't going to save any money, it's about the same cost.

[96owner]

so the end all verdict is deisel swap not going to happen unless i win the lotto and biofuel not worth it unless i agean win the lotto. so i guess i will start playing the lotto. but thank for your help