Thread: 300 tdi engine swap

It's all the same, just remember that you will have to undo 2 of the short headbolts on the drivers side of the engine to mount the aircleaner bracket in the defender.
Leave the alternator from the disco attached, it is a 100amp unit and much more efficient than the defender 65Amp one.
JC

Cheers justinc. havent had anything to do with discos but just bought a 97 one that runs but blown head gasket for $500 so thought i might rebuild it and replace my tired defender motor. at least that way i can keep the deefer on the road for a while. any other thoughts most welcome

Originally Posted by DODGE

Cheers justinc. havent had anything to do with discos but just bought a 97 one that runs but blown head gasket for $500 so thought i might rebuild it and replace my tired defender motor. at least that way i can keep the deefer on the road for a while. any other thoughts most welcome

Get the head VERY carefully checked. If it is warped more than about .015" then I would suggest a new head. Reason being that if the warpage is excessive, then machining of the gasket surface doesn't rectify the stresses left behind in the rest of the head casting due to the initial warpage. These stresses can cause the head to crack internally at a later stage causing another overheat etc... It is quite difficult to stress relieve these heads I believe, but I've not looked into it further. When I'm getting paid to repair a 300Tdi, I don't want to be doing it a second time..so If in doubt I fit new heads to them. Full warranty applies then.

$500 is excellent!

You could get that for the transfer case alone...

JC

Originally Posted by justinc

Get the head VERY carefully checked. If it is warped more than about .015" then I would suggest a new head. Reason being that if the warpage is excessive, then machining of the gasket surface doesn't rectify the stresses left behind in the rest of the head casting due to the initial warpage. These stresses can cause the head to crack internally at a later stage causing another overheat etc... It is quite difficult to stress relieve these heads I believe, but I've not looked into it further. When I'm getting paid to repair a 300Tdi, I don't want to be doing it a second time..so If in doubt I fit new heads to them. Full warranty applies then.

$500 is excellent!

You could get that for the transfer case alone...

JC

Overheating can lead to softening of the head. Then the bolts in the softened area can't maintain the clamping force on the head gasket.

A heat treatment place near me has heat treated many 300Tdi heads to restore the hardness.

Measuring hardness requires specialised equipment.