Getting Back To Land Rover (aka Quixotic TD5 Swap)

[syke]

For whatever it is worth... I'm running a 300tdi in a D1 that I built many years ago. You're welcome to swing by and take a look. I'm over in the Thornton area.

I hear what you are saying and I went through the same thought process. Finally pulled the trigger and it's been a blast ever since. Last year I finally broke down and spent a mint on some Allisport bolt-ons. Picked up their billet radiator, intercooler and variable geometry turbo. The turbo was the best upgrade ever. This baby rips basically from idle. Well not exactly rip... I'm still the slowest truck on the road but you get the picture. The almost 500 mile range sure is nice but to be honest it is way overkill for what I do and where I go.

It's cool. It's unique for this side of the pond. It sounds cool. It's fun. It's a hobby. It's a work in progress. It's a love hate relationship. It's worthless to anybody but myself.
I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Go for it!

 

[TownDiver]

For whatever it is worth... I'm running a 300tdi in a D1 that I built many years ago. You're welcome to swing by and take a look. I'm over in the Thornton area.

I hear what you are saying and I went through the same thought process. Finally pulled the trigger and it's been a blast ever since. Last year I finally broke down and spent a mint on some Allisport bolt-ons. Picked up their billet radiator, intercooler and variable geometry turbo. The turbo was the best upgrade ever. This baby rips basically from idle. Well not exactly rip... I'm still the slowest truck on the road but you get the picture. The almost 500 mile range sure is nice but to be honest it is way overkill for what I do and where I go.

It's cool. It's unique for this side of the pond. It sounds cool. It's fun. It's a hobby. It's a work in progress. It's a love hate relationship. It's worthless to anybody but myself.
I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Go for it!

How much did that turbo help out? Looking at moving back west next winter and will be at 5000+ mostly?

 

[syke]

It's hard to say really.... I think seat of the pants it has moved the torque curve down 4-500 rpm and has also widened it a bit. I'm still running close to factory settings on the IP so there is definitely room to grow.
It was an expensive upgrade but the "around town" driveability definitely improved. I'd recommend it for any 300tdi owner that really enjoys driving the rig. It puts a smile on my face every time I mash the go pedal.

 

[David Harris]

Well, from all the replies here with actual real life experience with swaps, there is only one true choice. Keep the original stock engine and don't ******* around. In the end you will be far ahead. . . Trust me or pay the heavy cost. . . Much heavier than maintaining the factory equipment.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Early Rover V8s are, like their Buick antecedents, incredibly simple. Late Rover V8s in late Series 2 Discos are like octogenarians on life support, with a brittle old heart propped up with lots of electronics. And, like a once proud athlete, they're not really competitive with other engines available, offering up inferior power and efficiency.

I'm not saying the Rover V8 is great, but the Disco 2 V8 is much easier to diagnose than say a 14CUX 3.9L which could be running on 5 cylinders and not set any fault codes. The TD5 is drive by wire, so it is much more complicated than a Bosch RV8. BTW, I think the TD5 is awesome. It has great power and is way quieter than a 300 Tdi. It just isn't a simple motor.

 

[David Harris]

Use an aluminum gm ls6 and 6 speed auto gearbox. Mpg will likely be low 20's and it will actually go. Compared to the 4.6, the td5 has a tiny bit more initial torque then it's a turd.

Second, it's getting creative how to ship those parts over,

Lastly read the rave and ensure you know EVERY detail of what's different. There is tons of wiring and hose routing that's not the same. I would get a clean lhd truck and break it down overseas and ship 1/4 eto 4 people you know and reassemble it using your 2004 as a base.

I think the mpg increase is a myth in reality. The mpg will probably be only a couple of points better if that. I used to daily drive a 1989 Range Rover Classic with a cammed and chipped 4.6 and my cruising mpg while empty was 17-18 mpg, and overall city/highway about 14. Now my daily driver is a 2015 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4. Over the same route I cruise at about 19 mpg, with a city/highway average of about 16-17. That's in 2H. When in 4H I get the same mileage as the RRC 4.6.

 

[mallthus]

I'm not saying the Rover V8 is great, but the Disco 2 V8 is much easier to diagnose than say a 14CUX 3.9L which could be running on 5 cylinders and not set any fault codes. The TD5 is drive by wire, so it is much more complicated than a Bosch RV8. BTW, I think the TD5 is awesome. It has great power and is way quieter than a 300 Tdi. It just isn't a simple motor.

Fair points. Honestly, there is no perfect engine, though I suppose the Toyota 22RE and the GM LS come close.

As I get deeper into figuring out what’s involved, we may opt to go with a non-LR project, simply because the goal is to teach the kids stuff and this swap is getting more and more technical (especially the donor vehicle stripping) the deeper I get.

It’d be a lot easier if I could bring the donor vehicle stateside, but the feds won’t let it in if it so much as resembles an actual vehicle.


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