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Disco engine swap?

100K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  Paul Grant 
#1 ·
I am contemplating swapping the engine in my disco...maybe a tranny as well but using the stock transfer case. The engines I am entertaining...small block chevy/Ford V8 (5.0/4.6) or Jeep 4.2 Straight 6.

I searched for threads but most were for 110's. Anyone done a conversion and what issues arose?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Why are you wanting to switch out engines?
Mike
 
#3 ·
dirkmc3: Have you measured if there is room for the Jeep six? Those sixes have a long and successful history (even raced at Indy once or twice) They are good engines but I suspect they are a bit long to fit easily in a Disco. I know that a number of people are interested in switching to a Mercedes 5 cylinder (turbo) diesel - fabulous engine. There is a thread in the Hybrid forum. I have done no Disco engine swaps myself.
 
#4 ·
dirkmc3 said:
I am contemplating swapping the engine in my disco...maybe a tranny as well but using the stock transfer case. The engines I am entertaining...small block chevy/Ford V8 (5.0/4.6) or Jeep 4.2 Straight 6.

I searched for threads but most were for 110's. Anyone done a conversion and what issues arose?

Thanks!
Another - why?

Chevy small blocks have been used in Range Rovers so they should fit a Discovery with no problems, however you may have to fab and customise quite a bit. Being LHD you will face different problems to RHD vehicles here in the UK.

I know one big issue was the relocation of the power steering pump, it ended up too close to the exhaust manifold and kept buring it out.

Don't see the point of the Jeep 4.2, they are pigs in stock carbed for (130'ish bhp) plus they are long and heavy.

Basically anyswap you do will add more weight over the front of the vehicle. The Rover V8 is great because it is fairly compact and weighs about the same a a cast iron 4 cylinder engine.

With the 3.9/4.0 variants a good exhaust, headers, intake and cam should see you at 250bhp+ while still retaining driveabilty (on/off road) and similar mpg. If you want more then a spuercharger or turbo setup would work and probably wouldn't cost anymore than an engine swap.

If I was going to swap the Rover V8 out for another petrol engine then a Chevy LS1 would probably be the best bet, as it is still fairly compact and lightweight and has ~345bhp straight off in stock form. The Jaguar DOHC V8 (4.0/4.2) would be a good swap also but a little more involved and I guess in the US more expensive.

Another bonus with the LS1 is GM offer a carb conversion kit so it will make wiring it in easy.

Personally I'd stick with the Rover lump though, these are off roaders not dragsters. Still each to their own :)
 
#5 ·
None of those engines listed would be on my list of possibilities. The Ford Transit diesels, Isuzu diesels, Mercedes gas or diesel...
 
#6 ·
Muddy Oval said:
None of those engines listed would be on my list of possibilities. The Ford Transit diesels, Isuzu diesels, Mercedes gas or diesel...
oo horrible choices if you want a diesel why not stick with Land Rovers own?? The Tdi's are good units and the TD5 is good for 190-200bhp
 
#7 ·
Stock Rover engines are an obvious choice- I was just listing some of the alternatives we've seen. The Mercedes diesel is actually far better than the Rover variants and the Isuzu... well, it's known for lasting longer.
 
#9 ·
Muddy Oval said:
Stock Rover engines are an obvious choice- I was just listing some of the alternatives we've seen. The Mercedes diesel is actually far better than the Rover variants and the Isuzu... well, it's known for lasting longer.
ummm I would question the Merc and Isuzu engines. Tdi's are generally good for 200k can't really complain at that.
 
#10 ·
What Mercedes diesel would you use? The e300 is only what, 80HP? Acually, and SB Chevy backed with a 700R4, and dana 300 t-case wold be a cool little set-up. Top it off with a Holley fuel injection kit and it would be a bad little set-up. Cost, on the other hand, is a different story.
 
#11 ·
There's a guy that brought in a 109 here with a diesel taken from an older Mercedes sedan- he 'tinkered' with it and can cruise at comfy highway speed with it and gets nice range from it.
 
#12 ·
LS1 engine swap in Range Rover Classic

The LS1 engine fits in Range Rover Classic just fine. It is close to ideal in that it's an aluminum v8, quite compact and powerful. It is very reliable. The GM PCM (Powertrain Control Module, which is GM speak for Engine computer) can be easily tuned/reprogrammed, at least in the US there are plenty of places that offer this service. I would discourage going the carb route.

The LS1 (5.7) engines from Corvettes and F-body (Camaro, Firebird) cars are readily available, some are take-offs as people go to LS6, LS2, LS3 and LS7. You will need a wiring harness and a GM PCM. The problem is that even the least powerful version of LSx, namely being LS1, still makes more power that the LR drivetrain can handle. So don't bother with better flowing heads and other performance upgrades. Although, if you upgrade your entire drivetrain you could use the more powerful LSx engines.

Transmission - 4L80 is the stronger one, bolts to LS1 without any problems, and a company in Australia makes an adapter for the LR transfer case. It should be possible to fit 700R4 or 4L60E although I am not sure about the adapter for these. The ZF 4HP22, even when upgraded with stronger parts from 4HP24 (bell housing, torque converter, etc.) is still no match for LS1. Somebody somewhere probably makes an adapter for mating LS1 to ZF 4HP transmission, but I would not recommend going this route.

The Disco uses a different transfer case than Classic. Classic uses Borg-Warner and Disco uses LT230. The adapter for 4L80 was for LT230, so the Borg-Warner transfer case was replaced with LT230 at the time of the swap. IMHO the LR transfer case is iffy, it was never designed for this kind of power. It is likely the weakest point of the swap. I would be surprised if it held up in the long run, given almost double the horsepower and torque. Stronger transfer cases are available for 4L80 and 4L60E. You will need to fabricate custom driveshafts, which is no big deal for a competent 4x4 shop. The stock LR driveshafts and u-joints are too weak for LS1 anyway.

The LR axles are too weak, even the beefier versions found in later model LWB classics with 4.2 engine. You will need stronger axles, Mosers are the best but they are atrociously expensive. Stronger axle shafts are available for LR axles, but the diffs won't hold up for long with LS1.

The LR power steering pump produces lower pressure than LS1 power steering pump. This minor nuisance can be solved with different diameter pulley and changing the regulator valve.

Basically, if you want the truck to be reliable, by the time you are done modifying the only pieces left from the Land Rover are frame, suspension, body and interior.

Long story short, an LS1 swap is a lot of work, not worth it unless you actually enjoy doing the fabrication and engineering.

P.S. this is all second-hand knowledge, I am not the person who did the swap and I am not guaranteeing this information to be 100% accurate. Take it with a grain of salt.

P.P.S. Please don't misinterpret my words about weakness of LR drivetrain as knocking on the Rover. It was never designed for a 350+ horses, so it is unable to handle it. If you go with a modern V6, like ford Duratec you could probably retain most or the LR drivetrain, but the swap would be pointless as you would spend a lot to gain almost nothing.
 
#14 ·
The LS1 engine fits in Range Rover Classic just fine. It is close to ideal in that it's an aluminum v8, quite compact and powerful. It is very reliable. The GM PCM (Powertrain Control Module, which is GM speak for Engine computer) can be easily tuned/reprogrammed, at least in the US there are plenty of places that offer this service.

The LS1 (5.7) engines from Corvettes and F-body (Camaro, Firebird) cars are readily available, some are take-offs as people go to LS6, LS2, LS3 and LS7. You will need a wiring harness and a GM PCM.

Basically, if you want the truck to be reliable, by the time you are done modifying the only pieces left from the Land Rover are frame, suspension, body and interior.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I love Disco's but have never owned one because of high maintenance rumors.
Given the cheap used car priced tags on Discos, I wonder if I could get my dream car, with decent hp (250+hp) and reliability too?

If any of you have an educated guess. How much would it cost to do the LS1 conversion with drivetrain, u-joint, axle swaps, if I had it done at an experienced shop? Do you have any idea?

Is it the engines in Discos that have the most issues or is it the electrical?

Thank you , Julie
 
#13 ·
boy you dug up a old thread lol
 
#17 ·
Yes, you can put a 4.0 in place of a 4.6, pretty much plug and play
 
#22 ·
I had a 2000 4.0 D2 with Bosch engine and had front end collision. We loved the vehicle. The engine was in pretty good condition. I have purchased a 2003 D2 4.6 Bosch from craigslist. After swapping the 4.0 to 4.6 I couldn't get it started. Almost everything in both engines matched except the Secondary Air Injection. It gave a code for CAN timeout open circuit. Perhaps the 4.6 ECU didn't start because it was looking for a complete circuit including SAI?
I decided to change the ignition, SRS and ECU from 4.0 to 4.6 as well in order to match the engine with the ECU. After the key, SRS and ECU swap, it still didn't start and gave P1668 and P1672 codes.
I changed these three parts key, SRS and ECU in this order. After changing the KEY, I had to turn the ignition to II position to put the gear to neutral so the middle console can be removed to give access to SRS unit. Did turning the transplant key with original SRS in place trigger the immobilizer?
Can it be reset or matched in anyway?
 
#19 ·
i am looking at a nice 2003 discovery w/ a knocking crank; so the motor needs either an over haul or swap... I found info on the transmission in it & it seems several motors can "bolt" in to the 03 ZF box maybe have to take the bell housing from the donor engine but any thoughts on these motors working as swaps..?

most notably the 80-82 lincoln that came with a 4.9/5.0/302 FI sounds like this bell housing is the ticket to a 302 swap in these...


http://www.zf.com/media/media/document/int_print_catalogs_documents/usa_4/4HP24_22.pdf
 
#20 ·
It is difficult to overcome ECU issues with engine swaps in later LR's. unless you want all the dash lights on and the transmission not to shift properly it's not really worth the bother. These issues can be worked around but you either need to re-wire the truck or pay someone good at auto electrics to do so.

Better to replace with another Rover V8.
My 2c.
 
#23 ·
SAI is really the only issue when it comes to swapping out Rover V8's.

Now, in your cause where you replaced a NON SAI engine what you should have done was plug the ports in the heads of the SAI engine you were dropping into your '00 (Don't bring along anything else from the SAI system). With that accomplished you would have pretty much taken care of neutralizing the SAI system. There is a SAI solenoid that you wouldn't have even had a plug for if you were still using the engine wiring harness from your '00 NON SAI engine. All you would have had to do was plug everything in on the 4.0L NON SAI engine harness (fuel injectors, MAF, stepper, cam sensor, crank sensor ect) They would have all been in the same place. With all the wiring in place, using the original '00 computers you should have been able to start the truck up and have it work just fine.

Now, with swapping various ECU's into the truck like you did, I have a feeling you're going to need either Testbook or similar diagnostic tool to sort out the confusion.

The only ECU's you should ever have swapped were the EFI ECU and the BCU. As far as the ignition is concerned, the key is not chipped. The fob holds the transmitter. There is nothing the the switch assembly that would have caused any problems. Finally, when swapping any EFI ECU/BCU combos it's suggested you also get the instrument cluster (to avoid flashing the odometer) and any remote fob as it will be synced with the BCU.
 
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