MechPhil
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2012
- Messages
- 488
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Brandfort, South Africa
- Your Mercedes
- '87 260E
I am extremely proud of myself today! We started up a long-term project vehicle this afternoon.
It's a '98 LandRover Freelander, with the 18K4 motor. These engines give enormous amounts of trouble and are ridiculously expensive to repair, and even if repaired well, it's still a really rubbish engine!
So, some mechanics have started fitting different engines, anything from 1970's Datsun L-series to Lexus V8's. (Yes, really!) But all of these conversions involve replacing the gearbox with a gearbox that bolts onto the replacement engine, and an aftermarket fuel injection control system. All of the extras needed to get the car running again come to around R40 000, depending on the engine used. (That's about £3000)
Over the past few weeks, we have developed a conversion kit consisting of an adaptor plate that fits the LandRover gearbox to a Toyota 3S (2.0 16 valve) engine, and brackets to fit the LandRover ps pump, ac compressor and alernator to the engine. We also adapted the LandRover management system to run the Toyota engine! And it runs beautifully!!
We can now do this conversion for about the price of reconditioning the Landy engine, and best of all, it's in in the morning and out the same afternoon! (Well, maybe the next afternoon until we've had some practise). The cars still sell for about R85 000 so spending R15000 on an engine is good value around here!
I just had to post this story, I'm about to burst woth pride, because so many people said that it couldn't be done!
Phil
It's a '98 LandRover Freelander, with the 18K4 motor. These engines give enormous amounts of trouble and are ridiculously expensive to repair, and even if repaired well, it's still a really rubbish engine!
So, some mechanics have started fitting different engines, anything from 1970's Datsun L-series to Lexus V8's. (Yes, really!) But all of these conversions involve replacing the gearbox with a gearbox that bolts onto the replacement engine, and an aftermarket fuel injection control system. All of the extras needed to get the car running again come to around R40 000, depending on the engine used. (That's about £3000)
Over the past few weeks, we have developed a conversion kit consisting of an adaptor plate that fits the LandRover gearbox to a Toyota 3S (2.0 16 valve) engine, and brackets to fit the LandRover ps pump, ac compressor and alernator to the engine. We also adapted the LandRover management system to run the Toyota engine! And it runs beautifully!!
We can now do this conversion for about the price of reconditioning the Landy engine, and best of all, it's in in the morning and out the same afternoon! (Well, maybe the next afternoon until we've had some practise). The cars still sell for about R85 000 so spending R15000 on an engine is good value around here!
I just had to post this story, I'm about to burst woth pride, because so many people said that it couldn't be done!
Phil