[Tinker]

So the time has come to take the next big step with my Land Rover project, out with the little 4L V8 w/slushbox & in with a 4BT w/NV4500. Been a lurker here for a long time & it's been forever since I posted much of anything on any forum, so between here & the Overland Bound forums (& I'll stick to the swap related details for here) I'll try & document the process.

From a completely stock & barebones trim 2002 Discovery 2:

Did a ton of work as my daily driver:

It's been a non-stop project over the last year or so:

And has taken me on some great trips, here parked up on Drummond Island's strange dolomite rock formations of Michigan's Upper Peninsula after 5 days of off-grid & off-road travel:

Been trying to set it up to do a lot of things, including fitting a camper setup into a wheelbase only few inches longer than most Jeeps:

But the nearly unavoidable engine issues these few years of Rovers have has reared it's ugly head

So far I've done all the work on it myself & I have done engine swaps before... but this will be more in-depth a build than I've done to date. It's been a long daydreamed idea of mine so I can't wait to dig in & go to town on this thing!

 

[Tinker]

I got super lucky & with the help of a good friend I found a damaged mud pump with a solid 4BT powerplant:

It originated from a step-van of some sort. We started it after sitting there a year+ & the thing just fired right up! Pretty much the perfect version of a 4BT that I could've hoped for aside from a new unit:

 

[Tinker]

Lashed down on a trailer & headed home:

Hung on the stand that usually has no problem holding up all my previous engine projects, but at a 1000lb rating this stand was groaning a bit with this beast on there:

This is my first work on a diesel & I'm getting the feeling that bigger tools/equipment might be in my future...

 

[Tinker]

Already have some parts arriving for the swap! Trying to save some cash & grab as many used bits as I can manage.

Now with the industrial engine adapter off I can check fit with the used NV4500 "on-road" adapter:

 

[Tinker]

Found a real cheap 6BT filter plate to get the vertical filter mounting:

 

[Tinker]

Going to try to fit this rebuilt vacuum+power-steering combo on there as well:

 

[Tinker]

Clutch & Flywheel stuff arrived way ahead of the trans, damn these are big!

 

[Dougal]

Great plan. How much lift will you need to fit that in? The Isuzu 4BD1T fits quite well, but the cummins has a very differently shaped oil pan.

Keeping the LT230?

 

[Tinker]

And then the NV4500 arrived, so shiiiiiny. Getting really excited now with all the big components showing up

 

[Tinker]

Great plan. How much lift will you need to fit that in? The Isuzu 4BD1T fits quite well, but the cummins has a very differently shaped oil pan.

Keeping the LT230?

It's up around 4-5" in suspension (~8" total w/35's) so far, few more once I get proper rate springs under there to make up for all the gear I've been adding, not to mention this engines added weight. Here's hoping just flipping the pan to the rear sump style's all I need to do.

Yeah the LT230 transfer case is staying put. Have had a center locking version collecting dust a while. Going to take the ZF auto trans output spud shaft & weld a yoke on. That way I can run divorced & maybe clock it a little. I have a monster 205 tcase sitting around for when I upgrade to some bigger full float axles, sadly can't use it now with both the Rover axles having that offset diff setup for the "awd".

 

[Tinker]

Popped the turbo off, it's the HX30W type. Pretty good shape, not much for any play in the rotating assembly. Still most likely going to pull the trigger on a "Super HX30", we'll see.

Once I popped off the manifold I noticed a difference in 1 of the 4 ports. They were relatively clean, just some soot, but the far rear port was kinda dirty. Nothing crazy, some dense sticky black globs just along the curve out of the head. Maybe any of the knowledgeable folks around here can confirm this is most likely the valve seal & not an injector issue...? Here's the culprit:

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Looking forward to this.

#4 could be a stuck injector or it could be oil from a failing valve stem, failed ring, etc.

 

[J10Mike]

Subscribed.

 

[Ryan P.]

Niiiiice!

 

[char1355]

Looking good. On your vacuum pump/ps combo, you may need to change the can on the back of the ps pump. The stock Dodge units will hit the P7100 injection pump. Also, don't forget there's a small angle brace for that combo that must be used. Otherwise you'll end up with a broken vacuum pump. You'll also need the oil line T that was used on the P pump 6bt to feed both it and the injection pump. The stock HX30W is a good turbo. Whether you go to a Super depends on where you plan to go with the power. Must remember if you change, the oil feed line to the turbo is different, the compressor outlet is the larger HX35W size, and the air intake is 4" vs 3". An intermediate step would be go with the HX30W with the 44mm inducer. A good bit better than your current 40mm, but not quite the 46mm Super. You have a P7100 injection pump which has all kinds of potential for more power. An investment of a few hundred $$$ and it becomes a power monster. Basic mods would be a 3000 RPM governor, better torque plate (possibly a #10), and maybe a new overflow valve. Then might think on head studs and HD valve springs just for safety. The possibilities are just about limitless.

 

[Tinker]

Looking forward to this.

#4 could be a stuck injector or it could be oil from a failing valve stem, failed ring, etc.

Yeah, bit hard to tell when your fuel isn't all that different from your lubricant I'm still a bit of a noob with diesel engine work, but it feels like the typical oil globs you get from a seeping valve seal. I think for now I'm not going to upgrade/replace the injectors, at least I know to keep an eye on that cylinder just in case something gets squirrely.

 

[Tinker]

Looking good. On your vacuum pump/ps combo, you may need to change the can on the back of the ps pump. The stock Dodge units will hit the P7100 injection pump. Also, don't forget there's a small angle brace for that combo that must be used. Otherwise you'll end up with a broken vacuum pump. You'll also need the oil line T that was used on the P pump 6bt to feed both it and the injection pump. The stock HX30W is a good turbo. Whether you go to a Super depends on where you plan to go with the power. Must remember if you change, the oil feed line to the turbo is different, the compressor outlet is the larger HX35W size, and the air intake is 4" vs 3". An intermediate step would be go with the HX30W with the 44mm inducer. A good bit better than your current 40mm, but not quite the 46mm Super. You have a P7100 injection pump which has all kinds of potential for more power. An investment of a few hundred $$$ and it becomes a power monster. Basic mods would be a 3000 RPM governor, better torque plate (possibly a #10), and maybe a new overflow valve. Then might think on head studs and HD valve springs just for safety. The possibilities are just about limitless.

Woah! Now that is a bunch of good info... thanks!

I had a feeling that reservoir on there was awful close to it. And oddly enough I think it may have had one of these (or something like it) when it was chugging away in a step van. My P7100 oil feed has a tee with a cap over the 2nd port & there was an odd bracket in that area I wasn't sure about.

So happy I scored a p-pump engine! Got a governor spring kit for it, but to be honest the plate thing still has me perplexed. I'll have to look into the overflow valve as well. Trying to keep the cylinder head on there for now, been looking at the possibility of swapping a single bolt to a stud one at a time.

Plan is to chase the low end grunt & reliability with this thing, no real desire to chase big power.

 

[char1355]

The torque plate sort of depends on where you plan to go with the power. If you plan on somewhere in the 200-250 HP range you would want to change it. There are all different numbers of those plates. The #10 I mentioned is a good balance between normal and high performance. I wouldn't go lower than a #6 unless you plan on some really serious power. The overflow valve doesn't have to be changed but is one item that often rears its ugly head from time to time. It has a spring in it that gets weak over time and diverts more fuel back to the fuel tank instead of to the injectors. The aftermarket units are mostly superior to the stock one. Another change that can really perk up that engine is advance the timing to no more than 16 deg. That requires a couple special tools to do that. As far as the injectors go, your engine will have Bosch 5 x .010 tips. Those are good to at least 250 HP. Best advice is pull them and have a shop check them for pop pressure and spray pattern. That test is normally very cheap. If you have some that are weak, they can rebuilt. Don't go overboard with giant injectors. About the biggest most can used is the 5 x .012 which could go into the 300+ HP range. With those, you'd need to verify the spray pattern since they were normally a marine P pump injector. In stock form they were 155 deg but your engine needs 145 deg pattern. Will be a lot of other mods going on if you go there. How much you tear into the engine is up to you. Generally good advice is check the bottom end bearings. They are cheap. You will have to replace the rod bolts if you go there. New gaskets and seals are normally a given on any engine. Whether you pull the head or not is your call. That would cost you a new head gasket (preferably Cummins) and maybe new bolt or studs. By the way, does engine still have its ID plate on the driver's side of the front gear housing. Hard to see in you photo. If it is there, that will give you the engine serial number (ESN) and other valuable info. If that is a road P pump it should be a CPL 1839. If you have the ESN you can go online to Cummins Quick Serve. Enter your ESN and it will show you every part of the engine as it was originally built. If Cummins ever rebuilt it that might be there too. That basic service is free. I noticed your oil pan had the sump to the front. The pans are reversible but you will need a different oil pickup and move the dipstick to the rear position. If you look there would be a plug in that hole.

 

[Tinker]

The torque plate sort of depends on where you plan to go with the power. If you plan on somewhere in the 200-250 HP range you would want to change it. There are all different numbers of those plates. The #10 I mentioned is a good balance between normal and high performance. I wouldn't go lower than a #6 unless you plan on some really serious power. The overflow valve doesn't have to be changed but is one item that often rears its ugly head from time to time. It has a spring in it that gets weak over time and diverts more fuel back to the fuel tank instead of to the injectors. The aftermarket units are mostly superior to the stock one. Another change that can really perk up that engine is advance the timing to no more than 16 deg. That requires a couple special tools to do that. As far as the injectors go, your engine will have Bosch 5 x .010 tips. Those are good to at least 250 HP. Best advice is pull them and have a shop check them for pop pressure and spray pattern. That test is normally very cheap. If you have some that are weak, they can rebuilt. Don't go overboard with giant injectors. About the biggest most can used is the 5 x .012 which could go into the 300+ HP range. With those, you'd need to verify the spray pattern since they were normally a marine P pump injector. In stock form they were 155 deg but your engine needs 145 deg pattern. Will be a lot of other mods going on if you go there. How much you tear into the engine is up to you. Generally good advice is check the bottom end bearings. They are cheap. You will have to replace the rod bolts if you go there. New gaskets and seals are normally a given on any engine. Whether you pull the head or not is your call. That would cost you a new head gasket (preferably Cummins) and maybe new bolt or studs. By the way, does engine still have its ID plate on the driver's side of the front gear housing. Hard to see in you photo. If it is there, that will give you the engine serial number (ESN) and other valuable info. If that is a road P pump it should be a CPL 1839. If you have the ESN you can go online to Cummins Quick Serve. Enter your ESN and it will show you every part of the engine as it was originally built. If Cummins ever rebuilt it that might be there too. That basic service is free. I noticed your oil pan had the sump to the front. The pans are reversible but you will need a different oil pickup and move the dipstick to the rear position. If you look there would be a plug in that hole.

I think a solid 200HP would make me plenty happy given the stock 4.0L V8's paltry 185hp/250tq. I'd be shocked if it was producing even 2/3 of that rating with the quality of this particular generation of Rover engine.

Oh! Okay I understand your meaning with the valve now. I was thinking that was a pressure regulator or check valve in that banjo fitting on the back, but now I know the proper name.

Sadly the ID-plate's missing, but thankfully I do know a fair amount of it's past from the shop I got it from.

 

[Tinker]

I've got it stripped down & ready to clean up for paint:

Scored a LT230 xfer case with the internal locking bits:

RPM's!

Man this rear main seal was a PITA. Dunno why my cummins seal kit didn't have the seal guide tool, oh well:

UHHH... Good thing I dug into the front cover!