Engine Swap For Land Rover Seris 3

S III upul · June 19, 2008

Hi,

I love to know any possibility to swap my old engine and put a new much smoother Japanese engine to my land rover series 3.

I also want to have power steering and air conditioning too. That means I must have more power engine. I try to restore series 3 by my self. I do have a little knowledge and courage too. I don't trust any so called 4x4 specialist. So your advices are gold for me.thanks.

Best Regards,

Upul

Devinda_Z · June 19, 2008

S III upul said:
Hi,
I love to know any possibility to swap my old engine and put a new much smoother Japanese engine to my land rover series 3.

I also want to have power steering and air conditioning too. That means I must have more power engine. I try to restore series 3 by my self. I do have a little knowledge and courage too. I don't trust any so called 4x4 specialist. So your advices are gold for me.thanks.

Best Regards,

Upul

you don't need a Japanese engine to have A/C & Power Steering - a 12J is more than capable of running both

i take it your running a 2.5L Diesel now?

Gummybr · June 19, 2008

S III upul said:
Hi,
I love to know any possibility to swap my old engine and put a new much smoother Japanese engine to my land rover series 3.

I also want to have power steering and air conditioning too. That means I must have more power engine. I try to restore series 3 by my self. I do have a little knowledge and courage too. I don't trust any so called 4x4 specialist. So your advices are gold for me.thanks.

Best Regards,

Upul

What is your point of putting a jap engine?? See our own Devinda, he has a Defender with a 12J. And it has adequate power to haul him around. You can ad Power Steering and A/C to this engine. Also dont undermine your old engine and go for a jap engine, its not that jap engines are bad but you need to be original.

Try to find a good 12J engine and you can ad on a turbo later on if you think its not enough.

Our company had a Defender with a 12J engine with a local turbo, since the vehicle was exchanged about a year ago its now running a moded 300Tdi (re bored with different pistons and cylinder heads). The old engine went to *nd*ka and he used it with his old series 3 and boy didnt it run.

lakshank · June 19, 2008

firstly a round of applause for your courage to restore the vehicle on your own.

Whats the engine you are running with @ the moment?

I am always biased towards Land rovers and dont like to see them running with jap stuff. Also from my personal experience 12J is a good engine. My first defender was a 12J N/A and it never let me down. However due to the easy maintenance/cost (&perhaps reliability) some prefer Japanese engines over the legendary land rover stuff. Needless to say the difficulty to find genuine goof Landrover stuff compared to japanese stuff.

(I never under-estimate Japanese stuff. )

Coming back to the point you have raised....yes there are certainly a number of different engines which a S3 would accommodate in its bay.

Starting with the very commonly used mitsubishi 4DR5 or the 4D56 which are very easy to get hold of.

nissan SD22/23 s are very durable too. I dont know the model nos come in the new nissan caravans.

But If you very seriously concerned about the power then Isusu trooper engine is the one for you. 4.2L direct injection intercooled engine is a beast. Bear in your mind your S3 braking would definitely not be good enough. I assume that you have drum brakes all around.

However none of these engine would give you the torque that is produced by a 200 or a 300 Tdi land rover engine. (no point of talking about the TD5 power plant for a S3 )

You might have to do some minor mods to accommodate the engines with the intercooler coz S3 is a kind of nose in model

hope this helps.

Devinda_Z · June 19, 2008

lakshank said:
firstly a round of applause for your courage to restore the vehicle on your own.
Whats the engine you are running with @ the moment?

I am always biased towards Land rovers and dont like to see them running with jap stuff.

Also from my personal experience 12J is a good engine. My first defender was a 12J N/A and it never let me down. However due to the easy maintenance/cost (&perhaps reliability) some prefer Japanese engines over the legendary land rover stuff

i've seen a few S III's with Nissan motors , but i'm of the opinion that Land Rovers should be kept original with Land Rover engines and share Lakshans view about not running jap engines

a 12J might not be the most powerful engine around but is more than adequate for normal day to day running - and because of its normaly aspirated nature you don't need to worry about the complexities of a Turbo charged engine

replacing the original engine with some japanese unit , will reduce value in terms of resale if its to a Land Rover enthusiast/purist

The best and quite possibly the most cost effective thing for you to do is ti have someone who knows Land Rovers have a look at your engine and set it up right

little things like the Tappert gaps , fuel pump and injector pressure and so on make a huge difference

What kinda mileage has your engine done? and has it been overhauled recently?

so before you waste any money and inconvenince yourself by trying to thow in a new engine , have someone who knows what they are doing check your engine out for you

-Its admirable that you intend on doing the work yourself , but be warned , Land Rovers are VERY different to any other kinda machine so sometimes what is necessary is good ole fashioned expereince and expertise.

....if your looking for a short cut in throwing in a Jap engine hoping everything will be fine and life will be hunky-dory , your mistaken - running a non original motor might case other issues as the rest of the components in the vehicle will not match the Jap unit

...then there is also the legal aspect , where you would be required to get the vehicle reweighed by the RMV and the new engine number updated in the vehicles books...

so you really need to ask yourself if its worth all this trouble...

The best thing for you to do before you waste money throwing a Jap motor, is to have someone who knows Land Rovers have look at your vehicle

i can understand your apprehension toward these "experts" as you so put it - but don't throw everyone into the same boat based on what you might have heard - and further more don't underestimate the wealth of knowledge they may have...

S III upul · June 20, 2008

Gummybr said:

What is your point of putting a jap engine?? See our own Devinda, he has a Defender with a 12J. And it has adequate power to haul him around. You can ad Power Steering and A/C to this engine. Also dont undermine your old engine and go for a jap engine, its not that jap engines are bad but you need to be original.

Try to find a good 12J engine and you can ad on a turbo later on if you think its not enough.

Our company had a Defender with a 12J engine with a local turbo, since the vehicle was exchanged about a year ago its now running a moded 300Tdi (re bored with different pistons and cylinder heads). The old engine went to *nd*ka and he used it with his old series 3 and boy didnt it run.

[/quot

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4207/yala2anp4.jpg

My engine is 2.26 n/a 3 bearing diesel, and my Tyre size 31x10.5 x15 So the point is it need more power. I've read many articles like LRO mags they too going for more power engines. one article says that they also going for japs engines like Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan,Perkins, Montego etc. They do have conversion kits for these too. Now the 2007 defender has got a Ford engine and transmission. So why do we..............?

Gummybr · June 20, 2008

S III upul said:
My engine is 2.26 n/a 3 bearing diesel, and my Tyre size 31x10.5 x15 So the point is it need more power. I've read many articles like LRO mags they too going for more power engines. one article says that they also going for japs engines like Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan,Perkins, Montego etc. They do have conversion kits for these too. Now the 2007 defender has got a Ford engine and transmission. So why do we..............?

Its true that so many people convert Land Rovers with Jap engines. Yes they do go for more power but see what they're application is for. Mostly they are into hardcore off roading when they do not use them as daily runners. So what exactly is your requirement?

As I said if you get a 12J and convert it to turbo you get enough and more power for your use. The 200Tdi and 300Tdi will be expensive than the vehicle it self.

S III upul · June 20, 2008

lakshank said:
firstly a round of applause for your courage to restore the vehicle on your own.
Whats the engine you are running with @ the moment?

I am always biased towards Land rovers and dont like to see them running with jap stuff. Also from my personal experience 12J is a good engine. My first defender was a 12J N/A and it never let me down. However due to the easy maintenance/cost (&perhaps reliability) some prefer Japanese engines over the legendary land rover stuff. Needless to say the difficulty to find genuine goof Landrover stuff compared to japanese stuff.

(I never under-estimate Japanese stuff. )

Coming back to the point you have raised....yes there are certainly a number of different engines which a S3 would accommodate in its bay.

Starting with the very commonly used mitsubishi 4DR5 or the 4D56 which are very easy to get hold of.

nissan SD22/23 s are very durable too. I dont know the model nos come in the new nissan caravans.

But If you very seriously concerned about the power then Isusu trooper engine is the one for you. 4.2L direct injection intercooled engine is a beast. Bear in your mind your S3 braking would definitely not be good enough. I assume that you have drum brakes all around.

However none of these engine would give you the torque that is produced by a 200 or a 300 Tdi land rover engine. (no point of talking about the TD5 power plant for a S3 )

You might have to do some minor mods to accommodate the engines with the intercooler coz S3 is a kind of nose in model

hope this helps.

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4207/yala2anp4.jpg

Thank you for the tips. I'm running on 2.26 3 bearing diesel original engine. Normally its bit noisy and with 4 speed gear box is another issue. recently I've imported over drive from UK for my landy. Its reduce some noise and improve gearing on road too.With the over drive now I really feel I need more power. Nissan caravan engine is TD27 and new one is QD32. I saw an article of LRO magazine, TD27 is a good option For defender, and they do have conversion kit for it too. If I go for TDi 200 or 300, I can buy 2 nos. of TD27s. I'm trying to keep my original gear box as much as possible. And I don't like to change the front grill too. I've improved my front drum brakes to disk brakes, and I'm planing to do it rear brakes too.

lakshank · June 20, 2008

another issue of having a high powered japanese engine in a S3 is that its very likely to break your axels. Aftr seeing the pic of ur S3 I strongly recommend you to have a original Lanf rover engine. Your land rover is in very good shape..why spoil it?

If you cant live with the existing engine..then go for a defender 12J or a 19J with LT77 gear box. i PERSONALLY think thats the best combination you can go for. afterall its all landrover stuff and wouldnt de-value.

Edited June 20, 2008 by lakshank

Velocity · June 20, 2008

lakshank said:
another issue of having a high powered japanese engine in a S3 is that its very likely to break your axels. Aftr seeing the pic of ur S3 I strongly recommend you to have a original Lanf rover engine. Your land rover is in very good shape..why spoil it?
If you cant live with the existing engine..then go for a defender 12J or a 19J with LT77 gear box. i PERSONALLY think thats the best combination you can go for. afterall its all landrover stuff and wouldnt de-value.

lakshan bro

whats your email addy,

just want to get some information on the landrover pickup type which you have.

will try to contact you,

The Don · June 20, 2008

S III upul said:

Gummybr said:

What is your point of putting a jap engine?? See our own Devinda, he has a Defender with a 12J. And it has adequate power to haul him around. You can ad Power Steering and A/C to this engine. Also dont undermine your old engine and go for a jap engine, its not that jap engines are bad but you need to be original.

Try to find a good 12J engine and you can ad on a turbo later on if you think its not enough.

Our company had a Defender with a 12J engine with a local turbo, since the vehicle was exchanged about a year ago its now running a moded 300Tdi (re bored with different pistons and cylinder heads). The old engine went to *nd*ka and he used it with his old series 3 and boy didnt it run.

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4207/yala2anp4.jpg

My engine is 2.26 n/a 3 bearing diesel, and my Tyre size 31x10.5 x15 So the point is it need more power. I've read many articles like LRO mags they too going for more power engines. one article says that they also going for japs engines like Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan,Perkins, Montego etc. They do have conversion kits for these too. Now the 2007 defender has got a Ford engine and transmission. So why do we..............?

Hi Upul,

I think up to about 1998 all Land Rovers came with Rover engines as Land Rover was owned by Rover at the time, (the 200TDI and 300TDI engines are sourced from Rover)

Then for some time it was owned by BMW and they were equipped with what I believe is a BMW TD5 engine.

Afterwards it was brought over by Ford who put their own Duratec engines in the Land Rover

But all of the above can be considered original land rover engines as they were all original equipment.

I do not think the Perkins and Motego are Japanese engines.

I can understand why you would like to swap your engine to a Japanese one. I do think until the arrival of the TD5 Land Rovers never had the type of engine and gear box it deserves to complement those wonderful chassies. I mean the 300TDI is a nice torchy engine but sadly British Leyland and then Rover could never get the quality aspect of their vehicles right, and thus the demise of that company. But I think you can restore an old land rover engine to much better quality than the factory original (cos aftermarket parts and spares are of better quality than land rover originals and solves a lot of issues present on the originals).

Some people like to preserve the originality of their Land Rover, which while admitting is not the cheapest option, is the one preferred by Land Rover enthusiasts, cos these vehicles are slowly becoming classics. (and I've heard about 80% of the Land Rovers ever made are still running and thats the kind of following this vehicle had). I guess it goes without saying a land rover in 100% original condition will always be worth more than a converted one.

Others aim to customize their land rover for a particular purpose. For example you might have heard of the Bowler spec land rovers customised for racing and these often have other engines put in though some are still Rover units (though never bundled with land rovers originally).

I think the LR enthusiasts in this forum should be able to put you in touch with a good LR techy if you want to work with your originals and improve performance. or if you choose to go down the conversion route, with people whoever done it before so you can learn from their experience.

Good luck !

S III upul · June 20, 2008

lakshank said:
another issue of having a high powered japanese engine in a S3 is that its very likely to break your axels. Aftr seeing the pic of ur S3 I strongly recommend you to have a original Lanf rover engine. Your land rover is in very good shape..why spoil it?
If you cant live with the existing engine..then go for a defender 12J or a 19J with LT77 gear box. i PERSONALLY think thats the best combination you can go for. afterall its all landrover stuff and wouldnt de-value.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9215/yala320

I've heard that, To my knowledge this fault comes with an early series 1 and 2s. pls check that.Thanks for your golden tips.

lakshank · June 20, 2008

mACHAN my email is lakshank@gmail.com

lakshank · June 20, 2008

follow the link for some good landy action..

http://de-olifant.net/uw_ck/index.htm

cheers

Edited June 20, 2008 by lakshank

S III upul · June 20, 2008

The Don said:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4207/yala2anp4.jpg
My engine is 2.26 n/a 3 bearing diesel, and my Tyre size 31x10.5 x15 So the point is it need more power. I've read many articles like LRO mags they too going for more power engines. one article says that they also going for japs engines like Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan,Perkins, Montego etc. They do have conversion kits for these too. Now the 2007 defender has got a Ford engine and transmission. So why do we..............?

Hi Upul,

I think up to about 1998 all Land Rovers came with Rover engines as Land Rover was owned by Rover at the time, (the 200TDI and 300TDI engines are sourced from Rover)

Then for some time it was owned by BMW and they were equipped with what I believe is a BMW TD5 engine.

Afterwards it was brought over by Ford who put their own Duratec engines in the Land Rover

But all of the above can be considered original land rover engines as they were all original equipment.

I do not think the Perkins and Motego are Japanese engines.

I can understand why you would like to swap your engine to a Japanese one. I do think until the arrival of the TD5 Land Rovers never had the type of engine and gear box it deserves to complement those wonderful chassies. I mean the 300TDI is a nice torchy engine but sadly British Leyland and then Rover could never get the quality aspect of their vehicles right, and thus the demise of that company. But I think you can restore an old land rover engine to much better quality than the factory original (cos aftermarket parts and spares are of better quality than land rover originals and solves a lot of issues present on the originals).

Some people like to preserve the originality of their Land Rover, which while admitting is not the cheapest option, is the one preferred by Land Rover enthusiasts, cos these vehicles are slowly becoming classics. (and I've heard about 80% of the Land Rovers ever made are still running and thats the kind of following this vehicle had). I guess it goes without saying a land rover in 100% original condition will always be worth more than a converted one.

Others aim to customize their land rover for a particular purpose. For example you might have heard of the Bowler spec land rovers customised for racing and these often have other engines put in though some are still Rover units (though never bundled with land rovers originally).

I think the LR enthusiasts in this forum should be able to put you in touch with a good LR techy if you want to work with your originals and improve performance. or if you choose to go down the conversion route, with people whoever done it before so you can learn from their experience.

Good luck !

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/145/my1stsii

This my 1st series 3 land rover. I've tried my level best to maintain its originality. I'm not a classic car owner, and I don't want to be. I want good looking land rover series 3 with challenging performance. Thank you for your gold tips.

best regards,

upul

The Don · June 20, 2008

S III upul said:
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/145/my1stsii
This my 1st series 3 land rover. I've tried my level best to maintain its originality. I'm not a classic car owner, and I don't want to be. I want good looking land rover series 3 with challenging performance. Thank you for your gold tips.

best regards,

upul

Upul, have you considered simply investing in something like and old land cruiser or Mitsubishi Jeep.

They are very capable off roaders and offer all the advantages of being Japanese and provide you more convenient upgrade options.

For example the Mitsubishi Jeep accepts the 4DR6 Turbo engine to replace the 4DR5 engine without much modification at all.

Perhaps it might be cheaper to sell your LR Series III (since you say you are not a classic car owner and do not want to be) and invest the extra cash you have for the engine conversion upgrades etc and invest in a Japanese 4WD

What do other forum members think ? I'm not 100% sure how much a Series III goes for but LR's have generally held their value quite well.

Devinda_Z · June 20, 2008

Gummybr said:
As I said if you get a 12J and convert it to turbo you get enough and more power for your use. The 200Tdi and 300Tdi will be expensive than the vehicle it self.

fully agree - 200 or 300 Tdi would be over kill imo & the conversion will cost in excess of 5 lakhs!

Devinda_Z · June 20, 2008

Quote
follow the link for some good landy action..
http://de-olifant.net/uw_ck/index.htm

cheers

nice pics Lakshan looks like someones got a happy trigger finger snapping away!

Devinda_Z · June 20, 2008

The Don said:
Perhaps it might be cheaper to sell your LR Series III (since you say you are not a classic car owner and do not want to be) and invest the extra cash you have for the engine conversion upgrades etc and invest in a Japanese 4WD

Don i agree with you - it might be far simpler for Upul to go in for a Japanese jeep instead of going through the long & slightly complicated process of swapping an engine

Given that he seems to be fairly adamant that a Jap engine is the way to go , even though the rest of us feel a 12J Original Land Rover motor would be the better option, i too feel as though your suggestion is better suited for him

He is likely to get somehwere between 775,000 to just under a Million for his S III providing everything is in good running order

Edited June 20, 2008 by Devinda_Z

S III upul · June 24, 2008

Devinda_Z said:
Don i agree with you - it might be far simpler for Upul to go in for a Japanese jeep instead of going through the long & slightly complicated process of swapping an engine
Given that he seems to be fairly adamant that a Jap engine is the way to go , even though the rest of us feel a 12J Original Land Rover motor would be the better option, i too feel as though your suggestion is better suited for him

He is likely to get somehwere between 775,000 to just under a Million for his S III providing everything is in good running order

I've tried my level best to maintain the originality of my series 3, but it failed to full fill my requirement. with A/C & P/S, not enough power. On road with 4 speed G/B its really struggling. over heating is another problem too.So I finally decided to swap my engine to a nissan TD27 turbo with land rover LT77s gear box & LT230 T/C.

Devinda_Z · June 24, 2008

S III upul said:
I've tried my level best to maintain the originality of my series 3, but it failed to full fill my requirement. with A/C & P/S, not enough power. On road with 4 speed G/B its really struggling. over heating is another problem too.So I finally decided to swap my engine to a nissan TD27 turbo with land rover LT77s gear box & LT230 T/C.

if your going to use an LT77 G/B , why not use a 12J or if you insist on having a turbo a 19J ?

S III upul · June 24, 2008

Devinda_Z said:

if your going to use an LT77 G/B , why not use a 12J or if you insist on having a turbo a 19J ?

[/quote

compare the price nissan much cheaper than the land rovers. TD27 only Rs. 55000.00.

Gummybr · June 24, 2008

Devinda_Z said:
if your going to use an LT77 G/B , why not use a 12J or if you insist on having a turbo a 19J ?

No point telling them machang. As per Don he should have gone for a Japanese vehicle if he is looking to keep his project cheap.

But must say something about the TD27 unit, it will haul so big loads like a lorry but I doubt whether it'll have the road performance. This is after driving my cousins double cab (2WD) with the Td27 engine, found it to be very lethargic when I tried to put it through its paces when returning from Minneriya had so much trouble overtaking vehicles on the straights all though changing I did change the gears to get more torque and power. So I believe he should have been well off with a turbo engine if he needs that sorta power to go fast on the road.

Machang Upul small advise, the Land Rovers will take the power of the engine that you put in and even more, but always do remember that Land Rovers were not vehicles built for speed these are workhorses and they are more at home in farms, in the wilderness and off the beaten track and not pretty much on the road. Also do keep in mind that my manager had a Defender 90 running with a Toyota Turbo engine coupled to a Land Rover Gearbox and the vehicle was very sluggish although the power was apparent and the old 12J engined Land Rovers used to make him eat their dust when he went on long journeys.

lakshank · June 24, 2008

""12J engined Land Rovers used to make him eat their dust when he went on long journeys.""

BOY OH BOY....Gummy I like that comment !!!

I have driven a old 19J with a intercooler fixed. That was a beast. you can do wonders with the landrover old engines.

Indika had a small 88 inch series landrover which he used few times for off road events. It had a 12J if I am not mistaken...(those days) and that was a real head turner. It was modified with a td5 intercooler unit.

""Land Rovers were not vehicles built for speed these are workhorses and they are more at home in farms, in the wilderness and off the beaten track and not pretty much on the road.""

Spot on Gummy !

Gummybr · June 24, 2008

lakshank said:
Indika had a small 88 inch series landrover which he used few times for off road events. It had a 12J if I am not mistaken...(those days) and that was a real head turner. It was modified with a td5 intercooler unit.

This engine was from our office Defender it ran a local turbo....