Investing in a genuine defender engine

I have a 1989 110 td converted with a disco 200tdi with 70k on engine.

I am tempted by a genuine defender engine I have been offered at £750 complete from a guy I trust.
The engine has 160k

Should I be talking myself out of it more and investing the money in other bits like chassis , doors etc.

Is the def engine that much better?
I don't mind the conversion pipe and Elec fan or it being set back even though new exhausts are a pain

ashleywood.ash said:

I have a 1989 110 td converted with a disco 200tdi with 70k on engine.

I am tempted by a genuine defender engine I have been offered at £750 complete from a guy I trust.
The engine has 160k

Should I be talking myself out of it more and investing the money in other bits like chassis , doors etc.

Is the def engine that much better?
I don't mind the conversion pipe and Elec fan or it being set back even though new exhausts are a pain

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Differences are minimal, and AFAIK make no difference to performance.

lot of money for a 160k engine, why would you swap one that has done 70k for another at 160k?

Why do you want to change it to a defender 200tdi? I assume it is a 200tdi from what you have written. Or are you talking about a 19J to make it original?


Is there anything wrong with your 200tdi fitted?

What makes you think the Defender engine is better than the Disco?

Cheers

ashleywood.ash said:

Is the def engine that much better?

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People do not usually do conversions with the aim of putting in a worse engine. so I would assume the 200tdi is a better engine than the original defender one.

...or you could spend some more again, and get a new chassis made up for a 300 / r380 combo

300s are cheap enough, and a defender r380 could be had for not that much

Seffy said:

People do not usually do conversions with the aim of putting in a worse engine. so I would assume the 200tdi is a better engine than the original defender one.

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Original engine wasnt a Defender engine, as his vehicle is not a Defender.

But if you actually read his post, you will find he already has a 200Tdi out of a Disco.

Def version is 107bhp versus the disco 111bhp, them 4 bhp make all the difference!

I would stick with what you have and spend the money if needed on other repairs.

Turboman said:

Original engine wasnt a Defender engine, as his vehicle is not a Defender.

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My bad for not knowing if 89 was a defender or not! Especially that was roughly when the defender name came into being,

But if you actually read his post, you will find he already has a 200Tdi out of a Disco.

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Yes, I am aware he has a disco 200tdi in, That is why I stated it would be unlikely for someone to put that engine in if it was worse than the original engine.
I am also aware that the defender variant of the 200tdi was actually slightly detuned. So, a defender 200tdi, or an older plain TD, the engine is likely not better than the 200tdi from the disco.

So, putting a defender 200tdi in would seem a step backwards. Detuned, double the usage. I couldn't see reason to myself.

Keep your existing engine, there's nothing to be gained in the swap. Save the money for a new chassis.

+1
I have a 1990 Defender which was a pre production one given to the French army to test. Defender 200 tdi came out in 1990.

Thanks guys,
I just wondered if it made the car significantly more desirable given that defender engines are twice as much ££
But as stated I have a LR 110 so even with def engine it's non original so I guess no gains over the disco engine in it.
Yeah I will keep saving for the shiny chassis instead.

Ps think I prefer 200tdi over 300tdi as hear a few overheating stories on 300 (he says whilst having overheating issues with his 200)

200 great engine getting old and lacking in power, cheap to fix
300 okay engine still lacking in power, cheap to fix
td5 good engine until it sulks, not cheap to fix

lynall said:

200 great engine getting old and lacking in power, cheap to fix
300 okay engine still lacking in power, cheap to fix
td5 good engine until it sulks, not cheap to fix

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Yep! Best plan would be to get a Land Cruiser, then?

Turboman said:

Yep! Best plan would be to get a Land Cruiser, then?

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More than likely but they hold their money well.... I've looked lol..

I'd prefer to buy a truck with a disco 200 that. A defender unit. Atleast if it needs replacing the replacement engine would be cheaper. Just think how many exhaust conversion pipes could be brought with the 750 for the engine.

IamRobbie said:

More than likely but they hold their money well.... I've looked lol..

I'd prefer to buy a truck with a disco 200 that. A defender unit. Atleast if it needs replacing the replacement engine would be cheaper. Just think how many exhaust conversion pipes could be brought with the 750 for the engine.

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They do, because they are a good vehicle. Main fly in the ointment is the parts prices!

For me, if an engine is running ok, and passing emissions, leave well alone. But some like a project, I just want to drive the thing!

ashleywood.ash said:

I have a 1989 110 td converted with a disco 200tdi with 70k on engine.

I am tempted by a genuine defender engine I have been offered at £750 complete from a guy I trust.
The engine has 160k

Should I be talking myself out of it more and investing the money in other bits like chassis , doors etc.

Is the def engine that much better?
I don't mind the conversion pipe and Elec fan or it being set back even though new exhausts are a pain

Click to expand...

The core engines themselves are the same with some differences, the timing chest, manifold/turbo etc. You could take the Disco engine and put it into a Defender will all the Defender pipes and parts and you would never know it was originally from a Disco unless you actually checked the engine code.

So for £750 you are getting a higher mileage engine that is essentially the same engine, just has the Defender timing chest and turbo setup on it - if you want your Disco engine to look stock in your Defender, spend about £250 on the Defender specific bits and fit them in situation to your Disco engine then end up with a better core engine but looking like a Defender original.

I think I would look for the bits and convert in situ. You could do the timing chest then do the turbo and manifold as two separate jobs. These days I would not want to take a higher mileage engine as 200tdi's are getting harder to come by.

I just did a google to see if I could find an image of a Disco and a Defender 200tdi and I couldn't - I found this though:

200TDi engines come in three flavours, identified by the engine number which starts 11L, 12L or 13L.

11L - this is the version used in Defenders from 1990. High-mounted turbo, low-mounted injection pump. If you are offered one of these at a sensible price, complete with all ancillaries, snap it up. The conversion becomes a straight bolt-in swap that you can probably do in a day. Be aware however that the manifolds are no longer available new and almost impossible to find second-hand. To be worth having a Defender 200TDi has to have the manifolds, power steering bracket and pump, radiator/intercooler assembly and pipework, air cleaner with bracket and hoses, oil cooler pipes and fuel filter housing. Some of these parts are still available new but not all, and they will be very hard to find second-hand.

Defender 200TDi '11L' engine - note high-mounted turbo. Do not confuse this with the old '19J' turbodiesel which also has a high-mounted turbo. TDi has a nearly flat, ribbed rocker cover, 19J is rounded and smooth. I know someone who paid a lot of money for what he was assured was a Defender TDi engine. What turned up on a pallet was a knackered 19J. He was not happy and I don't think he managed to get his money back.

12L - Discovery with manual gearbox. This is the most common variant and the one with which these notes are mainly concerned. Only one significant design change around the end of 1992 where the design of the unions on the oil cooler pipes was altered. (See 'Oil cooler pipes' later in the article).

13L - Discovery with automatic gearbox. This is the same as the 12L except for the backplate and flywheel. If you are replacing a very late 2.5NA or 2.5TD you can use the flywheel housing and flywheel from your old engine, otherwise you will have to try and track down a dead 12L to provide the parts.

In 1993 Land Rover replaced the 200TDi with the 300TDi in both Defender and Discovery. This is a different engine in many respects and not what you want (I will publish a guide on installing the 300TDi when I get round to it). Main identifiers are the engine number (300TDi start 16L or 23L) and the belts at the front. 200 has two Vee belts, 300 has a single flat ribbed belt and spring loaded tensioner. On a 300 the air intake on the turbo faces towards the rear of the engine, on the 200 it faces to the front. That should be enough to stop you buying the wrong engine by mistake.

Thinking about it, buy the engine for £750 - make a good engine from your Disco engine using the Defender parts, rebuild the Disco parts onto the Defender engine core and sell it for £500 as a good known running engine.

Thing is for all the trouble of throwing another engine in you may as well go a little further and throw in a 300.... says the bloke whos just put another 200 in his....

Though rarer now I was still under the impression that people preferred the 200tdi over the 300tdi