AdamSanta85
Well-known member
The excel file I have from Ash is $5195 + Engine and tranny. You can get an LC9 Silverado engine and 6L80E transmission for $3500. And those are all straight off the website pricing for parts.
The LS Engine Swap Section
- Thread starter javelinadave
- Start date
The excel file I have from Ash is $5195 + Engine and tranny. You can get an LC9 Silverado engine and 6L80E transmission for $3500. And those are all straight off the website pricing for parts.
I think that would be pretty fucking cool if someone did it, but it isn't something I would do. A TDV6 would be much better IMO. I get the appeal of the LS swap for some people, I just don't want one. I fully understand that some people need more power, I just don't buy the argument that X Rover engine is so unreliable and totally undrivable.
A Defender is noisy as shit... Unless a 200 Tdi is that much different than a 300 Tdi, you should have no problem passing tractor trailers up hills. I used to drive my 300 Tdi 110 in the mountains of Va every weekend for a year and had no problem maintaining 70-75 when the tractor trailers were doing 50.
The only Rover I've ever owned that could hold 55 without having to shift to 3rd to force it to slowly get to 60 on the hills, was the 4.6 in the Disco. I don't expect my 300tdi to be able to go over the mountains at a normal speed, but at least it won't be creating a traffic hazard.
mgreenspan
Founding Member
You are at $8700 with $3500 for engine and Trans. I say you should pay $2k more from what I've seen but CA may be different or in looking at lower mile take outs.
mgreenspan
Founding Member
It's not any different than a 300tdi. I think a lot of it is knowing how and when to shift. I put an early 90s professional Mazda diesel conversion that I took from an old RRC into my 110. I do 70 mph on the speedo which is actually 65 GPS mphs up 6% grades in 4th gear daily and I have a 1.003 ratio tcase. It will keep on accelerating past that speed if I continue pressing the pedal. My 200tdi 90 performed similarly in the Scottish highlands when I was stationed in the US.
As far as noise goes, my setup is very pleasant in 5th gear downhill or on flatter terrain... With the windows up. Summer is a different story.
Defender noise is closely related to which cabin you have. A 130 hi-cap truck is one of the quietest configurations you can own because the cabin is so small. Same thing for 110 pickup. The soft top three-door ex-MOD is probably the noisiest configuration because the cabin is a massive echo chamber and has no seats or headline to absorb noise.
SMac
Well-known member
I absolutely get the originality and/or Rover factor as a reason for not entertaining an LS swap. But to tell anyone you have enough power or leak free reliability in any Rover engine is a disservice. Sure I can get a a Rover V8 or tuned tdi to 75mph...it only took me 15 seconds to get there. Doesn't work so well with all the extra weight from armor/racks/bling, big/heavy tires, and one lane roads where passing and merging happen in tiny straightaways.
And not many of us are Rover certified mechanics.
As a piss poor mechanic and soon to be in a high maintenance garage, dudes like me need the low maintenance LS.
And not many of us are Rover certified mechanics.
As a piss poor mechanic and soon to be in a high maintenance garage, dudes like me need the low maintenance LS.
Landy_Andy
Well-known member
Here's my take on it, I've put a 5.3 LM7 in my D100 truggy, backed up by a NV4500 & crawler box. The LM7 gives me about 290bhp and an engine that I can get parts for in any Napa or Lordco. Worst case you can guarantee some one will have a spare part on a Sunday morning in small town BC. It's not for everyone but they do look smart in the engine bay
you are dreaming if you think you're gonna get that much better mileage...I get a average of 20 with my pos 200tdi, can do 75 all day long and if shifting to a lower gear is an issue...buy something else
your looking at ay least 10k, doing the work yourself, and this comes from doing a ls swap into a series with a nv4500 and a series tcase.
your looking at ay least 10k, doing the work yourself, and this comes from doing a ls swap into a series with a nv4500 and a series tcase.
Ash
Active member
I've actually been meaning to track the mileage on these conversions. Maybe I'll start tomorrow and see what kind of economy a 6.2 gets around town.
To Andy's point, parts availability and common knowledge is really the selling point for this conversion to most guys out there. If you're going with something like the 5.3 LC9, which has been the popular choice for the guys I've been dealing with, you're talking about a negligible bump over a 4.6 so it's not really horsepower that drives the decision. That's not to say that I haven't done high horsepower swaps, but most aren't viewing their Defenders as race cars like some of you may suggest.
-Ash
To Andy's point, parts availability and common knowledge is really the selling point for this conversion to most guys out there. If you're going with something like the 5.3 LC9, which has been the popular choice for the guys I've been dealing with, you're talking about a negligible bump over a 4.6 so it's not really horsepower that drives the decision. That's not to say that I haven't done high horsepower swaps, but most aren't viewing their Defenders as race cars like some of you may suggest.
-Ash
Here's my take on it, I've put a 5.3 LM7 in my D100 truggy, backed up by a NV4500 & crawler box. The LM7 gives me about 290bhp and an engine that I can get parts for in any Napa or Lordco. Worst case you can guarantee some one will have a spare part on a Sunday morning in small town BC. It's not for everyone but they do look smart in the engine bay
I think this brings up something valid RE: parts availability. To me I guess I think of a couple things.
If I have a critical engine failure:
1) Will I be able to find the part at Napa and do I want to make the trek out of BFE Southern Utah so I can keep going on my journey?
2) Will someone I'm with have the part I need? If we run similar engines and identical drivetrains, I can fix my truck and continue on.
I think it's safe to say that with the market being flooded with ROW trucks; most have 2/ 300, or 2.5na diesel. The likelihood that you'll be with someone else that has an LS conversion and the part you need is slim to none vs being with someone with another LR engine.
Ben, I understand your perception of an LS conversion coming from your exposure to hot rodding.
At the end of the day, in my opinion, parts availability and horsepower are byproducts of having a modern, more efficient, more livable/drivable powertrain.
If I had a Defender with a 4.6 and auto trans I probably wouldnt have any urgency to move to a 5.3 and 6 speed auto. But if I have one of those ROW trucks with a 2.5NA and a worn out LT77 and want to take long trips and/or drive it every day, I'm going to be converting to something else anyways.
And the LS is just another option on the table - there's a lot of upside it has going for it, strictly mechanically speaking. Leave perception aside for a moment and consider it.
At the end of the day, in my opinion, parts availability and horsepower are byproducts of having a modern, more efficient, more livable/drivable powertrain.
If I had a Defender with a 4.6 and auto trans I probably wouldnt have any urgency to move to a 5.3 and 6 speed auto. But if I have one of those ROW trucks with a 2.5NA and a worn out LT77 and want to take long trips and/or drive it every day, I'm going to be converting to something else anyways.
And the LS is just another option on the table - there's a lot of upside it has going for it, strictly mechanically speaking. Leave perception aside for a moment and consider it.
Jeff B
Well-known member
Ben,
to answer your questions:
(1) - absolutely
(2) - most likely not, but... you are much less likely to need it.
Market may be flooded with the ROW trucks, but - legally one cannot have a ROW diesel 110 in California (no matter how many people claim having a clean CA title). That, combined with the ROW 110 insurance, practically puts a lid on my desire/decision to get one (if I ever bought one, it would have to use my current D1's drivetrain at best).
*Edit - an OM-617 conversion should be legal in California. But that makes a double-wide can of worms.
AdamSanta85
Well-known member
mgreenspan
Founding Member
Nick's kit was designed to be CA legal. There are a few more expensive parts like the exhaust, but it's legal here. That's the real allure for me. I could sell my truck to a CA resident.
I'm conflicted; as a wanna-be Rover purist I am appalled. As a kid that grew up with four Suburbans, a K5 Blazer, and a pair of K10 pickups floating around the family over the course of my youth, I have a bit of a chubby from that pic.
Exactly!