R380 into Disco 1 ? (so auto can go into a Deefer)

[VladTepes]

Let's assume the following:

Say I had a 1995 300Tdi Defender with R380 box.
Say I had a 1996 300Tdi Disco / automatic box.

Say the engione in the Disco was better than that in the Defender.
Say I wanted an auto in the Defender.

Are there any differences between the 300Tdi as fitted in a Defender as opposed to the Disco 1 ?

Can an R380 be fitted into a D1 with a minimum of hassle?

I am trying to ascertain whether I could just swap out the whole engine, auto gearbox, tcase from the disco into the Defender AND swap the existing Defender engone.R380 box and tcase into the Disco?

The idea would be to end up with an auto Defender AND a saleable discovery.

[GuyG]

That sounds like a lot of expensive work, unless you can do it mostly yourself - you might need mod plates etc to cover the different engine numbers. Maybe do the swap to the Defender and part out the disco. The transfer case from the defender will have a different ratio to the disco.

[loanrangie]

Do it Vlad, if i had a good TDI defender i would convert it to auto in a heart beat. I believe the D1 TDI is slightly more powerful than the deefer unit.
If you were going to pay some one to do it then it would be un economical but you want what you want.

[Psimpson7]

Other things to consider as well. for example the wrong pedal boxes

[VladTepes]

I did price up a 2nd hand auto box alone and that is (from British off road) $1600 - box only - not reconditioned. They don't sell reconditioned gear apparently.

[Tank]

Not sure, but it may be wise to check Turbo position differences between Disco and Defender, think that the Disco turbo hits the Defender chassis, Regards Frank.

[strangy]

You will need to change the shifter housing as Defer R380 shifter is in a more fwd position than the disco. As others have said pedal box needed and clutch MC are different. My 300tdi Defer and D1 had the same turbo and exh manifold, so no issue there. TC ratio will be different and speedo drive will need to remain with the Defer and Disco respectively. (Disco will be electric and Defer mechanical) Probably a few "nuances" to sort with trans cooler hoses etc. But nothing too serious if you are capable of the main swap by yourself. I have the bits you need to for the D1, Pedals, Clutch MC, lines (minus the shifter housing) they are only heading for the tip in a few months so yours for postage if you decide to do it. But I suspect would be easier, cheaper and nearer to you.

[VladTepes]

Sounds best to leave Discco as is and sell it once I have a Defender and source an auto to pop into it.

[redrovertdi]

disco and defender 300tdi is all the same except thermostat housing elbow with extra senders for air con. i fitted a disco engine that i fully rebuilt last year to my auto defender. My 2nd hand auto died 2 weeks ago today in the driveway when i was doing a stall test[torque convertor wasnt locking up at 80ks], in the drive way it went click and lost all forward drive with no stall but would stall out in reverse, i got another auto box from a friend for a good price and fitted that[i had to remove it with engine from a smashed disco] and all is good again. everything from the disco 300tdi is the same and will fit, it was the 200tdi that was different from defender to disco. When you fit the auto i would strongly reccomend you fit the disco transfer case as well and as peviously offered your welcome to take my 432000k 110 for a spin

[DasLandRoverMan]

It'd be easy enough done, all the manual bits for the Disco are bolt in pieces, and all the mounting positions will be the same, just a question of swooping over the few ancillieries that are unique to either vehicle.