Home > Maintenance & Modifications > M57 110 |
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jst Member Since: 14 Jan 2008 Location: Taunton Posts: 8018 |
i have a 184 m57 90 and a 231 m57 130. the 130 bring auto. they are hard to describe. quieter, more refined and a joy to drive. economy is good, power is good. Also upgraded the brakes! Cheers
James 110 2012 XS Utility 130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper 90 2010 Hardtop 90 M57 1988 Hardtop |
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14th Oct 2024 12:46pm |
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Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4206 |
Given I do a lot of touring about, the thing that lurks in the back of my mind is about the long term durability/live-abiltiy of these conversions, maybe you can comment JST...
Manufacturers spend countless hours and money ironing out all the little niggles of their OE engine installations, the tiny problems that only manifest after many miles/years, making sure the engine works seamlessly with the rest of the car, which even the most thorough engine conversion specialist couldn't hope to match in terms of resources. There's a lot of scope to laugh at LR reliability and build quality here, but I think that just serves to illustrate how hard it can be to get right. So, I always wonder do these conversions (the quality ones) just work? Or are they always fraught with niggles and a nagging uncertainty you might be left stranded on a long trek? 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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14th Oct 2024 1:56pm |
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jst Member Since: 14 Jan 2008 Location: Taunton Posts: 8018 |
i get where you are coming from.
i fitted the 184 to my 90 as a learning experience really to see what it was like and what took time to fettle. it went pretty well right from the off, had some cooling things to work through which are now sorted. i then did my 130 in mar 24. also went Auto. lots of reservations at the time. the 2.4 worked and was reliable (less VCV now and then) it just wasnt up to what i wanted (130 at GVW) and the 2.4 drank fuel. took the plunge and went with ticking the upgrade box on all the options when i bought the parts for it. i had already done the brakes, diffs, shafts and CVs. its done a few thousand miles not massive amounts but they have all been heavily loaded and some of them towing. Had some gbox cooler niggles in that i just didnt have it tight enough on initial fitting, had a charging issue which turned out to be the original vehicle earth strap and not conversion related. also had some cooling work to sort through predominantly linked to the 1800rpm at 60mph that the engine sits at. so 4mths or so of fettling. 130 now runs better, is quieter and better on fuel plus much more comfortable to drive with the torque. (2.4 was mapped) Edited to add that having fitted the engine Mar/Apr 24, we then did some rigorous towing trips soon after, 250mile ish, and took the truck to Ireland on 1600mile excursion. a conversion is always best guess engineering based on experience, yours or the conversion experts, it will never match a vehicle manufacturers so i think you have to accept some fettling will be needed.i found the best way to reduce the amount of post fitting fettling required is to join a recovery service as then it will perform faultlessly. do i have any regrets, nope. Cheers James 110 2012 XS Utility 130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper 90 2010 Hardtop 90 M57 1988 Hardtop Last edited by jst on 15th Oct 2024 5:49am. Edited 2 times in total |
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14th Oct 2024 2:51pm |
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tommobot Member Since: 15 May 2018 Location: Stratford Upon Avon Posts: 20 |
I put together a M57 and 8HP over last winter myself, and took it for a 2,500 mile eurotrip this year...
Niggles, yes.. but fundemental issues .. No. My main issue was heat, and fixings on the intercooler hoses not being upto the job... Was fine spanking it in this country, but up the big big autoroute hills in 35c+ plus not so good. Ultimatly thats where the OEM backing and testing comes in, and would have bobbed all these bits down. Oh, and the alternator started to fail but thats not a 'conversion' issue. As per JST, do I regret - No - Would I do it again to another Defender - YES. FYI, this is with a 200TDI era Defender, so much of (if not all ) the drivetrain electrics are separate to the "main car".. Doing the same to a Puma or TD5 would be a bit more worrying imo.. Mine has supposidly around 290hp and 600nm and feels more than enough!!! |
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14th Oct 2024 3:29pm |
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Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4206 |
Its good the hear this stuff. As someone who likes the idea of a more a characterful engine instead of the tdci, I often wonder what I would do if the opportunity arose. I'm reasonably good with the spanners. If I had a "spare" Defender to practise on I'd probably feel braver and give it a go, but would I do it to my pride and joy?.... I'd probably be too concerned about ending up with a non-running mess. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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14th Oct 2024 4:11pm |
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Mo Murphy Member Since: 01 Jun 2008 Location: Letchworth Garden City, Herts Posts: 2223 |
They're OK I suppose.
Mo The Land Rover 90 - Many are called, few are chosen. 50 Shades of Pennine Grey |
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14th Oct 2024 4:45pm |
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jst Member Since: 14 Jan 2008 Location: Taunton Posts: 8018 |
My 90 was a 200tdi, the 130 a 2.4 puma.
Ref getting hot, look at thermostats and coolant flow. Cheers James 110 2012 XS Utility 130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper 90 2010 Hardtop 90 M57 1988 Hardtop |
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14th Oct 2024 8:09pm |
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