Defender engine swaps

[turnerc7]

Hey All,

Pretty new to the site, long time reader however. I currently have a 1997 D90, white, hard top the whole deal. Im sure you all know how gutless the stock 3.9 is, not to mention the fuel economy.

Im sure there is a thread somewhere regarding engine swaps in Defenders, hopefully containing some info about doing so in Southern California.

So what are your thoughts?
Diesel?
American V8?

Thanks in advance

Cheers

 

[DividingCreek]

97 D90's have a 4.0 w/gems engine. Not the 3.9 w/14cux setup. Your truck would be a willing recipient of a 4.6 gems engine.

 

[REDROVER]

Hey All,

Pretty new to the site, long time reader however. I currently have a 1997 D90, white, hard top the whole deal. Im sure you all know how gutless the stock 3.9 is, not to mention the fuel economy.

Im sure there is a thread somewhere regarding engine swaps in Defenders, hopefully containing some info about doing so in Southern California.



So what are your thoughts?
Diesel?
American V8?

Thanks in advance

Cheers

if you need power for the street driving diesel is not an option, but if u want kick a, fuel economy and offroad performance then yes get a diesel .

 

[LtFuzz]

300tdi

 

[blue bomber]

No replacement for displacement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ipgregory]

97 D90 is OBDII. You're in SoCal which I presume is similar to AZ Metro areas and that means emissions tests and stuff. You really don't have a lot of options if you want to keep it legal. Not sure what the rules are over there but if Cali is going to or has rolling age based emissions like AZ is considering then you might have a bit more leeway in a couple of years if you drop off the emissions age period.

4.6 like Doug mentioned is probably about all you can get away with at the moment.

I would look into this carefully before you do anything.

 

[I Leak Oil]

You better check with your California overlords as to what you can and can't do first. If it were me, I'd look into a GM Vortec V8.

 

[RiverCityDave]

I would LOVE to put a Vortec is my Disco, (same electronics as Defender) but I just haven't seen anyone have any success with it. Land Rover saw fit to run a lot of the basic vehicle function bits through the engine ECU instead of individual ECUs, which means the ABS won't work if it can't talk to the engine control circuit etc. Same with the Air Conditioning (though probably not a huge issue on a Defender).

I am still considering the Vortec, but most likely I will just find a nice 4.6 and do it up.

 

[JeremyT101]

Correct me if i'm wrong but don't the 4.6 notoriously have more problems then the good ole, slightly updated 4.0 when compared to the 3.9. I have never driven a disco with a 4.6 (mine is the 4.0) but it feels like plenty power for my truck.

 

[I Leak Oil]

I would LOVE to put a Vortec is my Disco, (same electronics as Defender) but I just haven't seen anyone have any success with it. Land Rover saw fit to run a lot of the basic vehicle function bits through the engine ECU instead of individual ECUs, which means the ABS won't work if it can't talk to the engine control circuit etc. Same with the Air Conditioning (though probably not a huge issue on a Defender).

Don't think the '97 defender will have issues with it as there is no abs, power windows, sunroof, airbag or ecm dependent AC. A defender is certainly a much easier vehicle to convert.

 

[owhiting]

If you are in Cali and want to be road legal your only legal option is rebuild the stock engine and put some performance parts in it or purchase a 4.6 or larger long block. You could have your engine bored and stroked or do a 5.3 vortec gm conversion. The fine print in Cali seems to state if it is a gas engine it can only be replaced with a gas engine. There are ways around the system like registering your vehicle in another state that has no emissions but thats a gamble. D90 is classed as a light truck so it must meet light truck emissions and the gm v8's 5.3 and 6.0 fit the bill and will get better mpg than the rover v8.

300tdi will give better fuel milage but the power will never match that of the v8.

I believe Land Rover batch fires the injectors on that engine so even when the pistons are not under compression they get fuel.

 

[tacr2man]

If you go rebuild or 4.6 build , I would strongly reccomend that you get the block top hat linered with seals at bottom as well , as this totally solves the water ingress problems that arise with these blocks . I have had five V8s the 3.5 both no probs and 1 3.9 ok two other 4L had the block go, thought was h gasket at first . JMHO

 

[Sleeping Dog]

A couple of years ago Land Rover World or Land Rover Enthusiast, had a fairly comprehensive overview of potential engine swaps for various LRs. Included were the manufacturers of kits, bell housings, engine mounts etc to ease the swap. A place to start might be their archives. While the article was UK centric, it did mention SBC and GM diesels as options.

Jim

 

[Rovertrader]

Don't kid yourself. LR skipped doing a '96 NAS 90 as they couldn't get OB2 to work as they were utilizing the Disco ECU. By '97, they had added the CV tone rings simulating road speed via sensors for a reading for the ECU, but obviously never did ABS, etc. It was needed for engine management though. If doing a repower other than completely mechanical, ie:Tdi, I strongly advise a built Gems 4.6. While not the best of choices overall, it tends to be the best option for Cali registered trucks. Chat with Eddie @ WCR as he has done several.

 

[turnerc7]

Thats probably the best option. He already does all of our work anyway.

Don't kid yourself. LR skipped doing a '96 NAS 90 as they couldn't get OB2 to work as they were utilizing the Disco ECU. By '97, they had added the CV tone rings simulating road speed via sensors for a reading for the ECU, but obviously never did ABS, etc. It was needed for engine management though. If doing a repower other than completely mechanical, ie:Tdi, I strongly advise a built Gems 4.6. While not the best of choices overall, it tends to be the best option for Cali registered trucks. Chat with Eddie @ WCR as he has done several.