Thread: 300tdi into a Series 3............

if you look through the link that JoJo posted the vehicle that's been modded to accept the 300 engine is on a coil sprung chassis, looks to be quite a heavily modified vehicle..

he's also cut off one if not both of the original motor mounts from the chassis to fit the disco (or defender) mounts from the way it reads, this needn't be done as a lad from the Series2 forum has documented his 300tdi conversion, he's made his own engine mount and remote mounted the oil filter, i'm guesing that this removes any problem of the front prop clashing with the offside mount, he's also had to modify the flywheel housing to clear the prop as per the above link ...

all in all i don't see either engine to be a particularly difficult conversion/transplant and different ways to sort through mounting problems are always worth reading as various folks ideas can be combined to make things simpler/more user friendly, i've even seen pictures of the 2litre turbo Rover Tomcat engine fitted into an 88", this motor apparently went like stink

Originally Posted by Jojo

Here is what a mate of mine did, 300Tdi of a Defender into a SIII, minus the turbo. Read the story here: 300Di Conversion. Works a treat!

Any idea what sort of L/100Ks or MPG figures this conversion would use? I'm quite keen on getting an old Series, but not if 20L/100K's is the best it'll do. EFI diesel is the only way

my Series with a 200tdi and 3.54 diffs will do 30 miles per gallon driven sensibly on a run, put my overdrive in and i've exceeded 35 miles per gallon (430ish miles on less than 13 gallons including laning around Wales earlier this year) ...

this is in an 88" truckcab with 3/4 tilt and 7.50 x 16 Deestones, i'd guess i'd get another 2-3 mpg if i ran sensible road pattern tyres but i don't do sensible

i've yet to do a decent run in my 200tdi'd 109 but the mpg round town and locally feels acceptable with just the 3.54 diffs

i'd expect similar mpg out of the 300tdi engine if i fitted one

Good to know - i'll be chasing a SWB Series, so I guess that'll put MPG on the friendlier end of the spectrum too. I'd probably go for a 300tdi due to a better availability in Aus from what I gather (maybe de-rating it to a 300di if suggestion advises). Either way - would you use a Series gearbox behind this or is there something more apt at handling the extra power?

Sorry, gotta ask all the basic questions - not overly familiar with the Land Rover parts list as my 4x4 background is with old Landcruisers and Suzuki Sierras/SJ410s... but I always knew the day would come where i'd be a Land Rover man

drop the turbo off of a tdi300 and its basically a glorified 2.25 series diesel.

fozzy pulls about 11-12l/100 atm and hes in a bad way, (hes also running vege stock)

i run series boxes in both of mine, my 88" took two and a half years to kill a series 3 box that was already tired and hopped out of second on the overrun, it still works but howls like a banshee so i guess it's just about decimated so i've swapped it for one that still hops out of second but is quiet (cost me £2.35p off ebay so i didn't expect much ), i use this motor primarily as a toy now for my laning and pay and play pit days rather than the every day driver it was (daily is my 109 due to being more comfortable and better looking) so when it does get driven it gets a fair bit of abuse

my '65 109 still has it's original Series 2a box in it which is the sweetest i've used so far and feels perfect, loses no oil and has a lovely positive gearchange up and down

the thing to remember with these boxes is they are all thirty plus years old so already have done a fair bit of work and probably been abused by several owners so you will most likely kill it eventually as the tdi is quite a harsh engine (300 has a smoother delivery though) ...

if you don't know what your gearbox is like it might be worth you stripping and rebuilding it which will also give you a chance to replace the seals and ensuring the oil stays inside it mostly or you can take the chance and see how it goes and grab a spare to cover the eventual failure

or you could go for a swap to a later box from a defender (not discovery as the bellhousing is too long), LT77 or R380 matched to a Series transfer box but this throws up other problems due to it being longer and requires you relocate engine and/or gearbox mounts along with altering propshafts, i've not gone that route myself as of yet due to the high cost of these boxes here but it is something i'd like to do just because i can

The plan is coming together but I've a lot of reading to do first. My biggest concern at the moment is the driver's side engine mount/ oil filter issue but I'm sure I'll work it out.

Originally Posted by jerryd

The plan is coming together but I've a lot of reading to do first. My biggest concern at the moment is the driver's side engine mount/ oil filter issue but I'm sure I'll work it out.

i suggest you take a look at this thread

300 TDI drivers side mounting - ideas

this removes the need to cut the chassis, read it carefully as he initially developed an oil leak and had to modify his mount/remote oil filter plate but it's now been in a couple of months without any problem

this in my opinion is the tidiest way to drop the 300tdi in a Series chassis

and if you haven't already checked out my 109 build for ideas

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/other-powe...rs-200tdi.html

and here is a collection of pictures of my 4 day 200tdi 88" conversion, quite a few extra pictures included as teething problems were encountered

Zebedee pictures by NiteMare_08 - Photobucket