Thread: Engine Shot...

Originally Posted by Vern

What engine is it?
Definitely give jc a call, I'm sure he could set you straight

X2, JC is your man Mike. You won't get better.

Originally Posted by Bearman

X2, JC is your man Mike. You won't get better.

X3 - gave him a call this morning, and he gave me some solid advice, as usual.

Decision time today, time to figure out a course of action.

1) Cut my time in AU short, and while the motor is still running (somewhat), truck it as far as the nearest port, ship it home to Ireland, and worry about the motor there where it'll be far cheaper to swop out. Downside is my time here is done, and I have to radically rethink plans for the future.

2) Pick up a secondhand defender with a decent engine, get both to Adelaide where I can get on the tools, swop them out and part out the rest of the Defender to recoup some of my money. JC has already pointed me in the right direction regarding that option.

3) Bite the bullet and drop in the Isuzu engine that I've always wanted to drop in it, now, rather than later. Of course this requires a greater financial investment, sourcing a decent Isuzu motor and gearbox, getting hold of one of the_grubb's conversion kits, and the fabrication that will go with the conversion. Not sure of the odds of being able to get a hold of all of the constituent parts, and I'd need to do the job in a matter of weeks, rather than months.

Still have to lift the head off mine and see what the damage is, but I'm suspecting that it's not good. I'm in the unfortunate situation of being far from home, but having a truck that somewhat works right now, i.e. if I choose option 1) then the motor will be able to roll the defender onto the cargo ship, and off again. Once I lift the head, it's not going to go anywhere again, not without doing the head gasket again. And investing time and money in doing a head gasket on an engine that's going to be junked, just so I can roll it onto a boat and off again....

Give me a call if I can help.

It would be a shame to cut your trip short, a new/used set of pistons, bearing and rods should see you out of trouble, as long as the block is ok, I guess you won't know until you pull the head
It would be easy enough to in a campground somewhere, and shouldn't be too costly in terms of parts/tools
I guess it comes down to if you want to do a quick throw together so you can complete your trip or cut it short
Good luck with it all, whatever you decide

Double post..stupid iphone

PM sent just got back into phone range

The isuzu swap is a good idea and I would do it regardless.

However, sounds like at worst you need a head gasket set and possibly also a piston or a new head.
All of the above can be shipped to you ex-uk in a week quite cheaply.

If it was me and I had the time, I would limp into somewhere I could work on the car (and buy small items if needed), then pull the head, order parts...

When you do the isuzu swap, a running engine will sell for more than a dead one.

You know you don't want to go home yet Mike so that counts out Option 1

Option 2 and 3 both involve a fair bit of time as I see it and while the Isuzu conversion isn't difficult, parts sourcing is likely to be the biggest time killer unless you get lucky.

No idea how liquid your finances are, but how about this for an option 4:
- Buy a reasonable second hand 300tdi, fit it, and get back on the road.
- Set Aulro resources to work sourcing bits for an Isuzu conversion and get them all together in one place where someone has workshop space etc
- Have a unusual Isuzu gathering (involving more working that talking ) to rip out the 300tdi and put in the Isuzu.
- Sell the 300tdi for not much less than you paid for it having only done a few thousand Km's more.

Gives you the Isuzu conversion you've always wanted, completes your holiday, and will leave an indelible memory of Aus and Aulro.

Sounds like a good option to me !!

Steve