2dr perkins to 200tdi conversion questions

[karoshi]

Hi,

currently have a 2dr Classic (1980) with a dead perkins 4236/milner conversion, i'm thinking about acquiring a suitably crusty disco and swapping in a 200tdi engine rather than paying to have the perkins rebuilt from the floor up but i've run into some questions.. can anyone tell me:

1) is it possible to do this conversion without changing the gearbox, transfer, axles, etc? currently my car has the 4spd (lt95?) box with an overdrive and 24spline diffs and i really don't want to get into cutting up the tunnel, or putting a short stick box in

2) if it wont go onto the 4spd, would it fit with a long-stick 5spd box instead? if so i guess i'd need the drivetrain from an oldish 4door RR to swap in?

3) if it can be made to work, would the 4spd box stand up to the engine, bearing in mind that i'd be looking to run a bigger intercooler, more boost and a straight-through pipe  but i'm not wanting to run oversize tyres or a lift kit.

the car is my all-rounder, it gets used to commute across birmingham (was always fun with the perkins, the noise and appearance gives you carte-blanche right of way :D), weekend camping / laning, longer trips in the uk, maybe a few pay&plays and there's the possibility of a very long overland trip in the distant future

bearing all that in mind can anybody give me some advice? would you rebuild the perkins because everyone else seems to hate them and it's good to stand out, or is it possible to get a 200tdi in there without ripping out the whole drivetrain and interior?

:)

[ChrisV8]

Not quite done this recently but have changed from a mighty Nissan Patrol six with LT95 and overdrive to a 200 tdi, I have used an LT77 short stick with a 230 transfer just as I had them.

I understand it's not easy to put the 4 speed onto a 200tdi, but anything is possible, especially as I assume your complete floor comes out making a nice big hole to work in.

It is likely any long stick box you will get is from a V8 so you need a little adaptor on the spigot of the gearbox shaft to fit into the tdi flywheel, relaitively easy, if you need a long stick, I have two to get rid of both OK when last used, plus you will needa high ratio LT230 transfer ex Disco is easiest to get. The transfer will just bolt up. You will need to make some mods to the gearbox tunnel for the handbrake. I was fortunate as I removed the 200tdi from daughters old RR so had all the bits for the change, I have cut the top off her gearbox tunnel and grafted it to the old RR one, it works fine and gave me all the fixings etc for the handbrake., Propshafts just swapped over but I also have spares from daughters RR.

The radiator and stdd intercooler from a Disco or a tdi RR just slots in.

The easiest way to attck this is by getting a complete 200 tdi Disco and swapping the bits over, I found it a very easy conversion, only tricky bit was cutting the old engine mounts off and rewelding into my RR.

 Best thing is you will get a much nicer much more economic RR, I have driven a Perkins engined one, sorry but it was horrible, didn't rev and drove like the tractor the engine came from !!

[waveydavey]

You should find it handles a lot better with the Alley TDi as well; the Perkins is brilliant engine for what it's made but damn heavy up in front.

[karoshi]

Best thing is you will get a much nicer much more economic RR, I have driven a Perkins engined one, sorry but it was horrible, didn't rev and drove like the tractor the engine came from !!

thanks for the run through Chris i think you're right that finding a whole disco is a good starting point, i've found a company online that sells a fitting kit with a spigot bush and a 'plate' of some kind for £250 that they say fits a 200tdi into a v8.

to be honest the tractor effect didnt' really bother me that much, no power steering in my either! once you developed the driving style it was workable.. no using 1st gear, stay in 4th as much as possible, slow(er) in to the corner, fast (ok, relatively) out.. :D

You should find it handles a lot better with the Alley TDi as well; the Perkins is brilliant engine for what it's made but damn heavy up in front.

that is one thing that would be good, mines running standard height HD springs on the front and the perkins and a steering guard leave it with about 1inch between the axle and the stops  :shock:


ok so, crusty disco parts list:
- rad, intercooler
- engine, turbo, engine mounts
- power steering? (RR doesnt have this at the moment, can i swap in the PS from the disco with the engine?)
- transfer box (this will go onto the 4spd?)
- piping, wiring.. fusebox?
- propshafts
- maybe change diffs and axles? for some reason disco steel wheels don't fit on the axles it has now, but 8spokes and modulars do?

new parts:
- tdi to gearbox conversion kit


am i using the transfer box from the disco to get a different ratio from the standard RR one?

also, is the hi/lo range switching and centre diff lock part of the gearbox? at the moment mine is the plunger type difflock so i'll need to look into getting that running with the TDI i guess?

thanks for the help and opinions guys, i'm a bit new to the mechanical side of this and newbie enthusiasm doesn't really cover up a lack of knowledge :D

[ChrisV8]

Parts list is about right, but the 4 speed box has an integral transfer box so you cannot swap that, but you may be able to bolt up the 4 speed, make sure the conversion Company (C&P ?) are talking 4 speed to tdi, they may be talking 5 speed LT77 to 200tdi. In which case that's a lot of money they are asking in my opinion.

Powere steering will swap straight over, just change the steering box, the 4 bolt will fit straight on where your three bolt is, you then run the pipework across to the pump on the engine just as on the Disco.

Pipework etc is straight forward, wiring should be no bother either.

I am running Disco steels on mine so can't really see why they won't fit on yours, strange.

Any issues send me a pm and I can send photos to answer any questions

[karoshi]

Parts list is about right, but the 4 speed box has an integral transfer box so you cannot swap that, but you may be able to bolt up the 4 speed, make sure the conversion Company (C&P ?) are talking 4 speed to tdi, they may be talking 5 speed LT77 to 200tdi. In which case that's a lot of money they are asking in my opinion.

Aye it's C&P's site i'm looking at here: http://www.engineconversions.co.uk/rangerover.html

Lists rrv8 - 200tdi as a plate and spigot bush kit for £260.. i'll have to call them and confirm it'll do for the 4spd before i order is all :) .. I could always change to longstick 5spd gearbox if it'd be easier, main aim is to keep the long gearstick and not chop the inside of the cab around.. don't know which is better but i kind of like the overdrive (extra gearknob:D) and the plunger-style difflock

I am running Disco steels on mine so can't really see why they won't fit on yours, strange.

I know, it weirded my brother out also, it's running 15inch 8spokes at the moment and he sourced me a set of disco 16inch steels with road bias tyres for em (save the ATs for offroading) but they wouldn't fit on the car.. the centre hole on the wheel was too small to fit over the hub by a couple of mm.. as far as i know it's all standard kit, the only odd thing i've found is that the dampers on the rear axle are staggered, on bolts to the chassis behind the axle for some reason? and the guy i bought it off said it had 24spline diffs

Any issues send me a pm and I can send photos to answer any questions

thanks :D

[figgy]

re perkin 4236 replacement .i use run a 4236  in my 110 when i was  going change it  i found that you can fit a perkins phazer  using the 4236 milner coversion kit. this is a more modern engine ,quieter ,better starting ,better economy .and less cost on the conversion.
i fitted a 4 litre turbo  106 bhp  and 270 ft pound torque @1500 revs  it will do 30 to 35 mpg  and at 70mph it is only doing 1600 revs  using  high ratio transfer gears an over drive,an pulls like train