Looking for Backyard Mechanic - Engine Change - Northern Rivers NSW

[bazshack]

Hey everyone,


Sadly yesterday our 98 Discovery TDi Diesel automatic had some serious issues and now the engine is completely cooked and needs replacing.


We love this car and have had it for over 6 years, it's taken us to so many places in Australia and there are many more to do. The body is great, the interior is perfect, the engine WAS amazing with low klms for its age, we are the second owners, we can not let this be the end of this car. So against many suggestions to scrap the car, I thought I'd come and ask you all for help!!


First things first, the good news is we have spare engine ready to go! It's coming up on a truck next week.


Location: We live at Suffolk Park (Northern Rivers NSW) and are looking for a mechanic to help us out. Ideally a great backyard mechanic who has a love for Land Rovers and has some time to do it!


We are 100% happy to pay, but we want to pay a fair price to the right person and not just any mechanic who 1. may not know (and love) Land Rovers and 2. may charge a whole bunch of extra $$ to cover themselves at our expense.


We are happy to do as much leg work as needed, parts, we already have lots - we have a spare car in Sydney so if we hit any hurdles, we can get a part sent up etc.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you in advance.


Barry

[rangieman]

Tdi engine`s are very easy to change [bigwhistle]
I know you say you don`t want any surprise charges but .
I would put new welsh plugs in water pump and hose`s at least if it was a keeper.
Oh an get a low coolant alarm (Engine Saver) as that is what it will do in future[wink11]

[bazshack]

Thanks for the tips Chris, thats great info, I've made a note of that :)

[rick130]

Barry, that wasn't you loading the D1 on a tilt tray near Pottsville on Thursday?
Sad whoever it was.

[jboot51]

What is your time frame for getting it done.?

I could come down and sort it out, have 2 weeks off at xmas/new years.

Accessing the bell housing bolts on a disco is the biggest hassle. In the past it has taken 6hrs to undo them.

Cheers,
Tony

[bazshack]

G'day Rick,

Yeah, that would have been me! If it was a dark green Tdi that you saw, then 100%.

Super sad, it's been a great disco for us, we've taken to so many places. It only had 250000 on the clock with regular servicing, which is pretty low klms for its age - we're just so bummed taht something like this has happened and we didn't catch it in time.


Barry, that wasn't you loading the D1 on a tilt tray near Pottsville on Thursday?
Sad whoever it was.

[bazshack]

Hi Tony,

I'll send you a private message for a bit of a chat.




What is your time frame for getting it done.?

I could come down and sort it out, have 2 weeks off at xmas/new years.

Accessing the bell housing bolts on a disco is the biggest hassle. In the past it has taken 6hrs to undo them.

Cheers,
Tony

[rangieman]

What is your time frame for getting it done.?

I could come down and sort it out, have 2 weeks off at xmas/new years.

Accessing the bell housing bolts on a disco is the biggest hassle. In the past it has taken 6hrs to undo them.

Cheers,
Tony
Now that is a very kind offer [thumbsupbig]

[weeds]

What is your time frame for getting it done.?

I could come down and sort it out, have 2 weeks off at xmas/new years.

Accessing the bell housing bolts on a disco is the biggest hassle. In the past it has taken 6hrs to undo them.

Cheers,
Tony

Is it possible to bring motor and gearbox out together than split ??

[jboot51]

Is it possible to bring motor and gearbox out together than split ??

I think the total weight would be too much for my engine crane.

[Vern]

I think the total weight would be too much for my engine crane.I have a cheapy engine crane, lifts my 4bd1, msa gearbox and tcase no worries.

[bee utey]

Accessing the bell housing bolts on a disco is the biggest hassle. In the past it has taken 6hrs to undo them.

I assume it's not too different to a V8, remove the front engine mounts entirely and lower the engine to get better access. About 3-4ft of extension bars lets you operate a ratchet from behind the hand brake drum.

[jboot51]

I assume it's not too different to a V8, remove the front engine mounts entirely and lower the engine to get better access. About 3-4ft of extension bars lets you operate a ratchet from behind the hand brake drum.

Tried that last time.
The engine does not drop as the itiming chest fouls on the power steering box.

[jboot51]

I have a cheapy engine crane, lifts my 4bd1, msa gearbox and tcase no worries.
I have a hafco crane.
At full extension, which is required for me to lift the donk out of a defender, the capacity is down to 250kg.

I will have a look and put some more thought into it.

[Vern]

I have a hafco crane.
At full extension, which is required for me to lift the donk out of a defender, the capacity is down to 250kg.

I will have a look and put some more thought into it.Mines the same, actually it came from Hare and Forbes so is probably the same unit.

[jboot51]

Righto. Here is where we are at.
I've been down to baz's place and pulled the head off to find a melted piston on #2 cylinder and the head gasket blown through between #2 and #3.
Curious as to what caused the piston to melt.
Obviously high egts would cause this, but this is an unmolested, stock standard disco.
Maybe a faulty injector on #2 let too much fuel in on #2.

Prior to melting, the disco was travelling at highway speeds on the M1. A noise/bang was heard and the driver (mrs baz) backed off the go pedal, but everything seemed ok. A minute or two later smoke,steam and associated noises brought it to a stop.

Along with the head and block, the turbo is shot as aluminium has been sprayed through the manifold and made it to the down pipe.

The engine is all unbolted waiting on the arrival of its replacement.

The dreaded bell housing bolts weren't so bad.
We removed the sound proofing on the firewall, which is retained by 4 plastic threaded discs. Increased access from zero to 50mm.

Attached photo of block for you all to ponder.
And that half moon object at the top is melted aluminium.
146979

[rangieman]

Im guessing just cooked caused by the blown H/G . It is common for Tdi`s to a grab piston when ran with out coolant [bighmmm]
Lack of coolant causes heat [wink11]

[jboot51]

Donor motor has been given new bearings, head, head gasket, rearmain, timing belt, and all seal/gaskets replaced.
Going down on saturday 5th january for the reinstall.
If anyone is local to Byron Bay, I could use a hand to get the engine into the engine bay saturday morning.

[bazshack]

Update from Baz & Mon:


Thanks to everyone who got involved in the convo here on aulro, we appreciate all your help and knowledge.


A HUUUUUGE thanks to Tony. Everything that he has done is way beyond what we were ever expecting, he's an absolute legend and we can't thank him enough. And a big thanks to Rick for helping out on engine morning.


Tony will be able to fill you in with more specifics, but from our side, the receivers of Tony's generosity - things couldn't be better.


Glad to be a part of this community, what a bunch of good people.

[jboot51]

Baz and Mon you are most welcome.
A Big thanks again to Rick130 for lending a hand to get the engine in.
It was a big day, but well worth the effort to keep the disco on the road.

Cheers,
Tony