300tdi into 3.9 V8 (nothing new there then)

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Bluetoe

Active Member
Posts
62
Location
Manchester
As the Freelander has started to become more of a hindrance than a help I think it's time to make some effort with a project that has been put aside for 5 years or more. I have a 1994 RRC 3.9V8 and a 1998 Discovery 1 300tdi both automatics. The Discovery was bought as a donor vehicle but I ended up running it around for a while (nearly 3 years as it turned out).The engine and main gearbox of the Disco are still good but the transfer box isn't so great, the gearbox and transfer box on the RR are good. Are the gear/transfer boxes interchangeable between the two with any ratio issues? Also can anyone reccommend a good guide to what the swap entails? Finally (for now anyway) after standing for years the air suspension on the RR is completely down and probably knackered, would the members on here suggest a change to coils or fix the air set up? Thanks in advance
 
marjon said:
You don’t actually say what’s wrong with the RRC engine
Leave it on air it’s worth the effort :)

J
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The 3.9 had a blown head gasket and dribbly core plug(s) I took the engine out replaced both head gaskets and fitted a full set of new core plugs, The engine was put back but before the ijob was completed I was tempted by a RR with a 2.8 TD Daihatsu engine. After standing for so long now I don't even know if the V8 is in any fit state to run again. And yes, I know I'm an idiot for allowing the situation to become like this, my only defence is that without knowledgeable help I was a sucker for taking the easy way out, ie: buy another one.
With regard to the suspension I tend to agree, although a lot of people say convert to springs as they're less trouble, I'd really prefer it to be on air as the other 2 softdash models I've owned have been poverty spec ex Police vehicles on coils.
 
Personally i would spend a bit of time and finish the V8 before condemning it, as it sounds like minimal investment left to get running.
The air suspension is not that complicated, but yes can take a bit of work if it has been left unmaintained. Once its in good condition its worth the effort.

Plenty of help and advise and knowledge on both topics on here:)

J
 
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love V8's and deep down feel that a Classic with a diesel engine is an abomination;) The reason I had decided to go over to the dark side was simply the far lower running costs, I have had 3 other v8's in the past which were LPG converted (the current one isn't) but at 10-12mpg It was still an expensive proposition to take on long distance journeys.
Apart from being on steel wheels (the alloys were stolen while off the car for refurbishment:() the RR is very unmolested even down to the original radio and speakers so I always intended to keep the V8 and any other parts which had been changed and refurbish/store them so the car could be returned to standard if desired.
 
+ 1 on the 'abomination' statement ;)
I am puzzled by the 10-12 mpg on long distance journeys though.
My last 3.9 RRC auto returned 21 mpg on a trip to the north of England a few years ago. My current 3.5efi auto will return 23mpg on a similar trip.
Both journeys involved a high percentage of motorway driving & both cars are totally standard.
 
norseman said:
+ 1 on the 'abomination' statement ;)
I am puzzled by the 10-12 mpg on long distance journeys though.
My last 3.9 RRC auto returned 21 mpg on a trip to the north of England a few years ago. My current 3.5efi auto will return 23mpg on a similar trip.
Both journeys involved a high percentage of motorway driving & both cars are totally standard.
Click to expand...

To be clear my figures were an average based on all round use, not just long journeys, but 21/23? The only time I achieved average mpg figures like yours was when half of the return journey was done on the back of an AA truck:) I will admit though that the barely hidden child inside does like to play with the loud pedal, I find it very difficult not to be a hooligan when there is a V8 under the bonnet:(
 
What with the new promises of much lower air pollution figures made by our government at the last climate change summit, you'll soon need to be a millionaire to drive a gas guzzler and the extinction rebellion lot will be throwing rocks at you as you drive past. The future for any car unable to do at least 40mpg on average is very limited.

Col
 
Colthebrummie said:
What with the new promises of much lower air pollution figures made by our government at the last climate change summit, you'll soon need to be a millionaire to drive a gas guzzler and the extinction rebellion lot will be throwing rocks at you as you drive past. The future for any car unable to do at least 40mpg on average is very limited.

Col
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Yes, although I suspect the P38 is old enough that they'll hope the parts will run out and as petrol/diesel prices skyrocket people will give up running them. By 2030 we'll all be eyeing battery conversion or wondering if we can convert to hydrogen. I suspect by that stage I might just give up driving.
 
I genuinely believe that battery power is not the answer. IMHO battery technology, although improved massively, will eventually peak at a point which will still not have the convenience of the internal combustion engine.
Behind every shiny new 'clean' electric car is a very dirty business indeed. Questions about pollution, destruction of land needed for food production and even human rights issues are being asked of consumers of huge numbers of batteries such as Tesla. The large amount of difficult, if not impossible, to recycle plastic and composite materials used in these cars to keep the weight low is also a cause for concern.
This Clean,Green, Plug in your car and save the World nonsense is just smoke and mirrors to placate people who seem not to understand where the electricity used to power their car or the chemicals to make the batteries comes from.:rolleyes:
If a way to burn fuel cleanly can't be found then the Hydrogen fuel cell is the only logical way forward, the technology is there, it is a proven concept and is clean yet there has been no attempt made to build the infrastructure needed to supply demand. What few hydrogen pumps there are tend to be sited at existing fuel stations owned and run by the oil companies so they're not likely to be in a hurry to install them nationwide are they?

As for me? No Surrender! I'll run on batteries only when they are the ones installed in my mobility scooter, :D
 
Much of what you say is true, If they opened up a lithium mine in Surrey, there would be hell to pay. There are some drawbacks with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles though which are not well published.

Col
 
Definitely sort the EAS. The system is basically the same as the P38, but different component layout in the Valve Block housing & location. The ECU has some differences, but the same System Info document covers both versions. Download from Technical Archive.
 
Bluetoe said:
I genuinely believe that battery power is not the answer. IMHO battery technology, although improved massively, will eventually peak at a point which will still not have the convenience of the internal combustion engine.
Behind every shiny new 'clean' electric car is a very dirty business indeed. Questions about pollution, destruction of land needed for food production and even human rights issues are being asked of consumers of huge numbers of batteries such as Tesla. The large amount of difficult, if not impossible, to recycle plastic and composite materials used in these cars to keep the weight low is also a cause for concern.
This Clean,Green, Plug in your car and save the World nonsense is just smoke and mirrors to placate people who seem not to understand where the electricity used to power their car or the chemicals to make the batteries comes from.:rolleyes:
If a way to burn fuel cleanly can't be found then the Hydrogen fuel cell is the only logical way forward, the technology is there, it is a proven concept and is clean yet there has been no attempt made to build the infrastructure needed to supply demand. What few hydrogen pumps there are tend to be sited at existing fuel stations owned and run by the oil companies so they're not likely to be in a hurry to install them nationwide are they?

As for me? No Surrender! I'll run on batteries only when they are the ones installed in my mobility scooter, :D
Click to expand...

The Danes are going for hydrogen. The rest will follow. Yes, there are losses on each conversion but as long as you make it cleanly the losses don't matter and as you say, the convenience / weight will win out.
 
Well, I think just about everything has been covered o_O - even the world has been set right ;) .... One omission would be the large corporate a**holes marketing the new sh*tboxes as green, and saving the planet ( etc. ) ... and somehow pandering to the entitled millenial morons.....

Back on topic:- Yep, deffo keep the air - superb.... and if possible keep the V8 too - the 300 Tdi, unless tuned and looked after, will be a poor substitute for the missing cubes...

You can ask me how I know this if you like ....... :) ;) :D
 
By the time all these predictions come true I'll be past caring.
Please don't let my last journey be on a milk float :(
Bluetoe said:
To be clear my figures were an average based on all round use, not just long journeys, but 21/23? The only time I achieved average mpg figures like yours was when half of the return journey was done on the back of an AA truck:) I will admit though that the barely hidden child inside does like to play with the loud pedal, I find it very difficult not to be a hooligan when there is a V8 under the bonnet:(
Click to expand...

There's your answer ... hooligan ;)
I stand by my figures, calculated full tank to full tank in both cases.
Smooth driving (not necessarily slow) was a requirement back in the days when I was a coach driver or chauffeur.
 
I tend towards the hope that classic car owners/clubs will make sure there is provision made for the continued use of their lovingly restored vehicles. As has been seen once or twice in the past any threat to their hobby is met with severe resistance. As many of the people who enjoy driving classics are middle class, professional people, and indeed a not inconsiderable number of the upper classes, even Royalty, I feel loopholes will be created which we as drivers of old nails, sorry, I meant to say classic Land Rovers;), will be able to take advantage of. It may even work in our favour as Joe Public decides he no longer wants to pay through the nose for fuel, road tax etc we could be in a position to relieve him, at a very fair price of course, of the 'gas guzzling SUV' (God, I hate the term SUV ) that he just can't sell. In a few years we may all be putting mud tyres on very affordable 8-10 year old Range Rovers and thrashing them around the Pay and Play sites (obviously we'll have to ignore all the missing pixels and the Blackpool illuminations effect of the flashing lights on the dash, due to sensors which are warning of, for example, a serious gearbox fault, which turns out, more often than not, to be nothing more than a dirty or faulty sensor, except of course in the case of early L332 models in which case it usually WAS a bu66ered gearbox:rolleyes:)
We can but hope:)
 
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