My new (old) Defender .. ;)

Disco 300Tdi engine now out and in the trailer ready to go to TC's for a fettle before we transplant it to the 90. Hoping it's OK after a few months sat .. we know it ran a few times until the wiring burnt out so hopefully there's notalot to do to get it running sweetly again!









The only real problem was I didn't take the sump off and it's so deep the engine hoist wouldn't manage the last few inches, so dropped it onto a plank, shortened all the chains on the spreader and hoist, then used a BFO lever to manhandle it over!

Took me a while to get to the last couple of bolts, the very top ones .. FFS ... you'd think there'd be some easier way to get to them!

Oops, dunno why I posted that a bit early.

Looks like the rear crank seal needs doing, or a n other by the colour of the inner clutch housing .. or are they this colour anyway? I know the clutch was sound as before it went in the river, but while it's all out I'm possibly gonna re-do all the engine seals anyway I think .. or whatever's necessary ..

When i took the 200tdi out the disco donor for mine we get the stilh saw out and cut a nice big hole where the gearstick was and all around it, nice easy access but i did wonder how the fek people who arnt destroying a disco to feed their 90 with parts get them damn bolts out!!

We also cut away all the front of the disco so the engine came out easier hehe....

Your gonna love the 300tdi power paul!!

When i did mine i did timing belt, clutch and rear oil seal.. I know yours has been underwater so will you be double checking that it turns over before?

Also will your current wiring loom fit straight onto the donor engine like on a 200tdi?

nice one buddy, sorry i didnt get round ive been running arround all day, best get clearing a corner in the workshop

IamRobbie said:

When i took the 200tdi out the disco donor for mine we get the stilh saw out and cut a nice big hole where the gearstick was and all around it, nice easy access but i did wonder how the fek people who arnt destroying a disco to feed their 90 with parts get them damn bolts out!!

We also cut away all the front of the disco so the engine came out easier hehe....

Your gonna love the 300tdi power paul!!

When i did mine i did timing belt, clutch and rear oil seal.. I know yours has been underwater so will you be double checking that it turns over before?

Also will your current wiring loom fit straight onto the donor engine like on a 200tdi?

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Robbie, I want to keep the bodyshell intact, it's still in damn good shape, as is the chassis, the only thing that stopped me re-building completely was the wiring loom burning up! (Welll, that and depression) This engine has run about 3 times since it was drowned, hence how the loom burnt, so we're hoping it won't take much to get it running properly once we've got it on a bench ..

Cheers TC, no worries mate, the relief caretaker who's looking after school while I've been off lent me a hydraulic engine crane, saw me this morning, as I was assembling the framework, and came back at lunch with it in his boot .. He also has a 20 tonne press, a press-brake for folding metal and a tube bender!! Says we can use them any time .. Says he used to rebuild cars for a living ..

whooooo sounds handy

Latest installment .. 300 Tdi engine into the 90 instead of the poorly 19J.

So the Disco drowned but we recovered it and kept it all, including the engine, but it's been stood for a year without being turned over, and making a slight mistake, means I drained it and didn't re-fill it with oil! So we've been stripping it down in TC's workshop .. Coffee, warm fire, dry .. cosy cosy ..

Incidentally the roofrack on TC's Defender 90, in the pic is for sale .. If anyone wants it make him an offer, drive to his place and we'll fit it, properly bolted to the roof gutters, not clamped, for the price!

So, the 300 engine lifted out of my trailer and hanging behind TC's other Defender, currently being cleaned up and fettled to sell it on ..



So we built an engine stand to allow us to hold steady but also to rotate the engine relatively easy and work on it ...

Bottom end looks OK, main bearings are clean, still have oil on them and undid and redid easily .. The sump oil filter/pickup has a load of gasket goo on it so that'll be cleaned up, but that's the only issue down below really.



The head, however, has issues. Pistons are stuck, probably the valves are and there's mould growing .. but no rust!! The mould and 'crap' has just wiped off, see the tops of the pistons which were identical to the vales/combustion chamber .. and that's just with paper wipes so it's looking like it's a relatively minor clean-up needed after all! Head gaskets ace, no issues, but we'll use a new one anyway .. don't want to skimp!!





So it's looking like all it needs is the crank removing, pistons knocking out, bores honing and pistons cleaning, valves ditto and re-lapping then putting back together!

Plan today is take the timing gear off, crank out, and at least remove the pistons. Hopefully they'll clean up OK .. we'll see but I have very limited money available so hopefully most will be cleaned up rather than replaced, hopefully. Then strip the head so we can make sure the valves work OK and re-build it all.

The engines done 135,000 ish miles but looks sweet! (Other than above, obviously) See the head gasket, no issues at all, the actual piston bores are fine, no scratches or pitting or lips and same with piston and valve tops. So long as the injector pump is Ok there's no reason it won't run once it's turning over!

We'll run it on a simplified wiring loom, indeed it has no wiring loom now, we'll make one up to bastardise it between the 300 and 19j necessities .. might need a 200 fuel solenoid, but TC's an electrical wizard, so that's in his hands!!

Happy ..

ive got a 300tdi complete engine here thats been sat a while outside. if you need any bits. i'm in huddersfield.

YOREVOL said:

ive got a 300tdi complete engine here thats been sat a while outside. if you need any bits. i'm in huddersfield.

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Cheers mate .. other than the FIP which we don't know about all the parts are fine .. so far!!

So, todays work ..

Engine bits removed, turned over to get at the crank etc ..



So, crank out, pistons ****ted out with wood blocks and a mallet .. They left a lot of residue in the bores, as can be seen, but we bought a honing tool ..



So it's now a basic block with all the separate parts needing cleaning, checking, replacing or fettling .. certainly the piston rings will be replaced and we've decided to replace all crank and main bearing shells whilst we're at it!



Not be long now, want it done for Wednesday so I can at least run about in it for a day or so before I take it to Wales ..

holy **** you are brave men!!

I wouldnt dare split a block, hope it all goes well and as cheaply as possible mate!

It's only nuts and bolts ..

I always end up with spares

I would love to strip and rebuild my 200tdi engine but i dont have the balls

Cracking thread you have certainly done some work on her

greyhair said:

I would love to strip and rebuild my 200tdi engine but i dont have the balls

Cracking thread you have certainly done some work on her

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Youll find spanners and a socket set are so much more useful than balls

greyhair said:

I would love to strip and rebuild my 200tdi engine but i dont have the balls

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Well, as I said it's only nuts and bolts, the fact that it was probably nackered so I couldn't do more harm to it and the 19j just won't stop overheating so something needs doing to replace it!!

greyhair said:

Cracking thread you have certainly done some work on her

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Thanks. Yeah, lots to do mind, I want less harsh springs, they're HD at the mo' and too harsh, to make the suspension more compliant. Diff lockers, just because .. A new winch rope, mine was second hand when I bought it .. and probably a new winch .. but we don't have money for those so ..

There's loads of stuff I can make in the pipeline too, like making up a steering and track rod guard, gearbox and fuel tank guards, re-making the battery box 'cos that's almost rusted out, bits and bobs like that.

I'd like eventually to have series style doors with sliding windows and removable door tops, replace the chassis with galv, upgrade the driveline with Ashcroft shafts and cv's etc .. mostly stuff to make it more reliable when off-road, or green laning ... As it doesn't get used on-road, other than very local tip runs or to the shops, I don't care about compromising for road use now ..

'course, there's also the chassis of my old Discovery sat there too, hardly a trace of rust on it .. so that'll eventually become a 100" KOTV/racer type off-roader, but that has to be a longer term project ..

i kept my old 19j for a split down and rebuild practice before i start on the 200tdi when it needs love.

mick the builder said:

Youll find spanners and a socket set are so much more useful than balls

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:clap2:

Just done a couple of hours fiddling, as you do .. collected the bearing, con rod shells and gaskets and stuff, so we now have an engine block with a crank in and four pistons re-ringed and rotating. Thank goodness for the piston ring compressor I spent a few quid on, made a helluva difference ..

Summat right satisfying about putting well-fitting components together, bolting them down with good rolled threads and feeling them snick together .. as though they were designed that way!

More to be done tonight and maybe a pic if I remember!

Well, remembered the pics .. but the phone won't transfer them!!

No sweat, cleaned all gasket/mating surfaces, de-greased and whatnot, removed the rockers and pushrods, cleaned and checked 'em all and all look good! So onto the head, new gasket, just putting the head on and CRASH!! The engine stand bolt holding it steady went west, dropping block and head on the floor. No worries, no-one hurt and only a rocker stud bent slightly .. we're now 're-engineering' it .. gonna use an M12 socket cap screw ..

Head went on again, forgot about the angular tightening sequence so I've taken the studs down to snug then 40 Nm, and will finish it off tomorrow .. we ought to have a functioning engine by tomorrow night.