Mating a TD5 engine to an LT85 gearbox: yes or no?

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yfo866

yfo866

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My mate has an early 90s Defender converted to a V8 and as much as he loves it, he's seen people on Youtube with tuned TD5s showing off AND having some fuel economy at the same time!
Feeling a little jealous he now fancies a tuned TD5 instead of his V8.
Is it possible to mate the TD5 to his existing box or will he need to source Defender R380?

Off the top of my head i think we'll need:
Exhaust system
Defender TD5 throttle pedal
Engine ECU plus engine harness.
(I've read to use a Defender one as it's standalone but the Disco one isn't?)
TD5 fuel tank?
(Or just pump and sender?)
TD5 instrument pod?
(Or will existing clocks work?)
If using an R380, a gearbox crossmember?
TD5 radiator?
(Would make the cooling system standard i know)

Has anyone else decided to do this 'fuel swap and three pot loss' conversion?
 
P38-DFX said:
I wouldn’t consider a TD5 an upgrade. Maybe an M57 or an OM606.
Click to expand...
There's a chap on Youtube that advertises what his company does with OM engines.
Quite frankly the amount of smoke he leaves behind is bordering on obscene!
But that was in his old Merc, not a Landy.
If it was down to me, i'd go for a 1.9TDi PD130 engine. Torquey as fcuk and 250BHP is easy!
I know because one poweres my Ibiza
 
yfo866 said:
There's a chap on Youtube that advertises what his company does with OM engines.
Quite frankly the amount of smoke he leaves behind is bordering on obscene!
But that was in his old Merc, not a Landy.
If it was down to me, i'd go for a 1.9TDi PD130 engine. Torquey as fcuk and 250BHP is easy!
I know because one poweres my Ibiza
Click to expand...

I think it’s DTUK you’re talking about. If tuned correctly a diesel will produce very little smoke if any. I’d stick with the V8 personally, you just can’t beat the soundtrack.

PD Engines have a nice tuning base to work with which is nice. But think it would struggle with a Defender sized car.
 
P38-DFX said:
I wouldn’t consider a TD5 an upgrade. Maybe an M57 or an OM606.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

M57s are on a par with TD5s, TD5s often coming out on top.

As for the OM606 good engine, lot of work and how many do you see racing compared to TD5s?

Big IC, good turbo and some proper mapping your set with a TD5, solid reliable engine, easy to work on, easy to maintain, easy to repair with parts support world wide.

Fairly easy, without huge cost to hit 200bhp+ 480nm+. Bit more thought and cash 230bhp+ 530nm+ easily do able.

A tuned TD5 will walk over any LR rover V8 with ease.

You need -
Td5 engine
Stand alone harness - plenty available, pace4x4, ian dixon etc...
044 fuel pump
Can use your own gauges but have to adjust when you read coolant from. Top hose.

Best to fit with an R380, much better box and all bolts up nice without adapter plates. If youre doing an engine swap it not much more effort and a good low level of smoke.

Going heavy tuned then id suggest LOFs SMF VNT Extreme clutch kit. If youre going for a VNT, hybrid youll be fine with the Powerspec SMF kit.

My own Empire Tuned with VNT turbo, is 230bhp/530nm running that clutch kit for the past 15k miles without issue.

Any questions feel free to ask, built a few Td5s and done a couple conversions as well
 
P38-DFX said:
I think it’s DTUK you’re talking about. If tuned correctly a diesel will produce very little smoke if any. I’d stick with the V8 personally, you just can’t beat the soundtrack.

PD Engines have a nice tuning base to work with which is nice. But think it would struggle with a Defender sized car.
Click to expand...

You were one letter out.
I was referring to DieselPumpUK.
As for a PD130 struggling with a Defender, 300ft/lb is 300ft/lb whether it's in a hatchback or a 'fender, and that's with just a remap.
What amazes me is how low down the rev range it pulls from!
Oh, the smoke i was talking about was coming from his tyres, not the exhaust :D
 
Last edited:
bankz5152 said:
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

M57s are on a par with TD5s, TD5s often coming out on top.

As for the OM606 good engine, lot of work and how many do you see racing compared to TD5s?

Big IC, good turbo and some proper mapping your set with a TD5, solid reliable engine, easy to work on, easy to maintain, easy to repair with parts support world wide.

Fairly easy, without huge cost to hit 200bhp+ 480nm+. Bit more thought and cash 230bhp+ 530nm+ easily do able.

A tuned TD5 will walk over any LR rover V8 with ease.

You need -
Td5 engine
Stand alone harness - plenty available, pace4x4, ian dixon etc...
044 fuel pump
Can use your own gauges but have to adjust when you read coolant from. Top hose.

Best to fit with an R380, much better box and all bolts up nice without adapter plates. If youre doing an engine swap it not much more effort and a good low level of smoke.

Going heavy tuned then id suggest LOFs SMF VNT Extreme clutch kit. If youre going for a VNT, hybrid youll be fine with the Powerspec SMF kit.

My own Empire Tuned with VNT turbo, is 230bhp/530nm running that clutch kit for the past 15k miles without issue.

Any questions feel free to ask, built a few Td5s and done a couple conversions as well
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, i expect we'll be in touch at some point.
I agree it makes sense to use the R380 as it will bolt straight on, but we were just looking to see if we could use the gearbox that's already in the car.
Does the R380 handle that much torque?
 
yfo866 said:
You were one letter out.
I was referring to DieselPumpUK.
As for a PD130 struggling with a Defender, 300ft/lb is 300ft/lb whether it's in a hatchback or a 'fender, and that's with just a remap.
What amazes me is how low down the rev range it pulls from!
Oh, the smoke i was talking about was coming from his tyres, not the exhaust :D
Click to expand...

close enough. Wasn’t taking too much notice at the time . Have you seen the engine with the pro charger attached? That thing is evil!
 
bankz5152 said:
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

M57s are on a par with TD5s, TD5s often coming out on top.

As for the OM606 good engine, lot of work and how many do you see racing compared to TD5s?
Click to expand...

I honestly don’t know why there isn’t more OM conversions. It’s a far superior engine, can be made to run from just a few wires, had massive tuning potential without even opening the engine, can also run on veg oil or anything else you want to throw at it.

It’s very rare that a TD5 comes out on top though. Only reason it’s so popular is because there really isn’t much choice out there.
 
Thought you where describing a Td5 then :p

Off the top of my head last 2 Welsh Xtremes Td5s where top 4.

Its all well and good fitting a huge powered engine but the drive train simply cant keep up. Which increases the cost hugely.

The R380 is a good strong box, as I said above currently launching 530nm through it on and off road. That said it is an Ashcroft HD box, however the previous box was 140k old and still holding the power well without issue.

I also drive fairly hard on and off road, always holds up, its also my daily and does 350+m a week without any problems

LT230 is brilliant and can take huge power without much issue.
 
bankz5152 said:
Thought you where describing a Td5 then :p

Off the top of my head last 2 Welsh Xtremes Td5s where top 4.

Its all well and good fitting a huge powered engine but the drive train simply cant keep up. Which increases the cost hugely.

The R380 is a good strong box, as I said above currently launching 530nm through it on and off road. That said it is an Ashcroft HD box, however the previous box was 140k old and still holding the power well without issue.

I also drive fairly hard on and off road, always holds up, its also my daily and does 350+m a week without any problems

LT230 is brilliant and can take huge power without much issue.
Click to expand...

Haha, have a go in a 606 powered car and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

And that’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to go mad on power, you can run conservative numbers but still have the potential there for more. I just think if you’re going to the hassle of fitting a different engine for the purposes of going quick, at least make it so you’ll never get bored. While the TD5 will be undoubtedly quicker, it just wouldn’t have that buzz, not for me anyway lol.

What clutch are you running in yours?
I’m just in the process of fitting a recon box to my P38 but went down the clutchfix hd kit. What a horribly and heavy kit that is. I think when I go M57 I’ll be sticking with an auto instead.
 
bankz5152 said:
Ive been in one, prefer my TD5!

LOF VNT Extreme Spec SMF Kit, + powerslave and pedal spring mod. Clutch is barely heavier than a modern hatchback!
Click to expand...

LOF seems to be popular but the guy doesn’t seem all that interested. Clutchfix was the only option for me but I’ve taken it out and fitted an OEM spec clutch as it was far too heavy for daily use. I’ve ran HD clutches in the past on far more powerful cars and they were nowhere near this heavy. No uprated hydraulics available for these either, not to mention the release mechanism is made of chocolate
 
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