Hello all, I was encouraged to post on here to share my build since I know a few people may or may not be interested. I understand this isn't for everyone but hopefully you'll come to understand why I did this.

Background on me. My name is George, I've been doing various car crap for 20+ years now. Started with Hondas(who didn') which luckily only lasted a year or two and moved onto Nissans. I got heavily into drifting and eventually went pro with Formula D. I had a Mazda RX7 that was my competition car which had a built LS6, Jerico dogbox, rollcage, etc, full race car. At this point I've had 20+ cars with just about everything done to them. Life eventually caught up and me and the wife now have 3 kids.....although I still can't stay away from cars. With that we decided to move away from the drift stuff and get something that was more family friendly(meaning, something I can fit the family in). Anyway enough of that.....What you're here for is the Land Rover.

So we decided to buy a Land Rover. The wife really liked LR3's and so did I. They look cool, aren't a jeep/toyota, and I'm always up for a challenge...haha.

She found a 2006 LR3 with 92k miles that had a blown engine. The guy wanted $2k for it so we decided to pick it up. Here it is in all it's (terrible) glory. The wheels, blacked out lights, and mega tint are.....not my style.



We started looking for replacement engine but then decided why not try to LS swap it. I've done LS swaps before(10+ at this point) and I know those engines are easy and robust. So the search began and a local CL find would come up with a complete 2009 Escalade with the L9H(LS3 basically) and 6L80e(6spd) combo. Picked it up for a song and off we went.



Then began the process of trying to merge the two....

I got the LR3 engine/trans/transfer-case all pulled at once with enough effort. It's possible without taking the cab off but definitely takes some patience since it's a tight fit. Tips are to remove engine mounts and steering column to make it easier.




With that out of the way I ended up selling the transmission for $700 which brought the price of the LR3 down to $1300 at this point.

Next up was pulling the LS out. No pics of my actually pulling it but it was straightforward.


After both engines were out I took some measurements to see how similar they are.




The AJ sits at about 26" wide while the LS sits at just over 19". Good news for me. All of the other dimensions are nearly identical as is the OIL PAN location! Which means the LS truck oil pan is perfect for the swap.

Now that's settled, onto marrying the two. I hoisted the LS engine/trans setup and placed it into the engine bay. MUCH to my surprise......everything fit perfect. I mean......it's kinda crazy how well it clears. I had to do ZERO cutting to the frame at all.





I made some simple flat steel engine brackets and re-used the OEM LR3 rubber mounts. This made it super simple to install as well as kept the custom parts to a minimum.

And if you're wondering about the front diff clearing? It JUST clears.....again blown away since the LS truck oil pan has a casting cutout to almost looks like it was made for this swap. Lucky again.



I didn't get a chance to get a pic of the trans mount but I reused the OEM crossmember and made a custom rubber mount that bolts to the trans. I'll dig thru my pics and try to find one if someone wants to see it.



This is the engine as it sits in the engine bay. TONS of clearance everywhere.



Now the wiring.....honestly, I thought this was going to be a lot harder than it was BUT the LR3 has a very similar power distribution scheme as the LS. What this meant was that once I figured out the OEM schematics and which wires did what it was just a matter of connecting the two together. In the end it was about a dozen wires or so. Everything was connected using Deutsch connectors, raychem wire, and proper heat sleeving.



This is the part where I didn't take a lot of pics since it was a lot of the little stuff. But the pic above is from the first drive to work! Made it!

Sorry for the scattered post and the terrible pics, I tend to just get on with it and forget to take pics.

Spec as it sits today:

Ultimately this is what we built.


-2006 LR3, 92k miles
-2009 L9H/6L80E from Escalade ESV
-1993 NP241C transfer case from Blazer
-Custom driveshaft adapters front and rear. Front driveshaft is LR3 OEM, rear driveshaft is custom.
-Exhaust uses "eBay" shorty headers with custom downpipes that mate to the OEM LR3 exhaust. 2x high flow cats installed as well. Gives it a solid sound but super quiet on the highway. Might muffler delete for a little more sound eventually.
-Cooling system is OEM LR3 radiator, exp tank, and heater lines. I used the Escalade upper hose and a custom lower hose for the radiator.
-Derale 2 speed fan with aluminum shroud bolted to the OEM LR3 radiator. I made brackets where it slips into the stock radiator clips. The 2 speed fan is controlled by the GM ecu.
-A/C is working(we live in AZ!) and is the LS compressor with custom lines to mate to the LR3 system. I added the GM pressure sensor to the LR3 lines so the GM ecu can cycle the AC correctly.
-CANBUS adapter for the LR3 electronics......more on that.

Thank you
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Questions I'm sure everyone is going to have.

How much did it cost in the end?

- LR3, $1300 after selling trans
- LS engine/trans, $750 after I parted out everything else from the escalade. I understand this is a crazy price but it was a crazy amount of work to deal with 200+ people when parting a car out. This would have easily cost 5-8k if I wouldn't have done that.
- NP241C transfer case, $200.
- Dual Derale fans, $250
- Driveshaft, $250
- Driveshaft adapter to rear diff, $200
- Wiring/ECU, ~$300 for everything including the license to crack the ecu
- A/C, $130 for custom lines, about $70 for freon
- Exhaust, $500 for stainless tube, v-band clamps, headers, ARP hardware, gaskets, etc.
- Random bits, oil, lines, etc ~$600.

Does it work!?!?

- Yes?
- Ultimately yes it does. The truck is FAST. The LS gives it another 120hp over the AJ. With the GM T-Case it's 2wd so its less drag on the drivetrain and puts power down.
- I have been daily driving it for ~5 months now.

Ok but does it really work? EAS? Terrain response?

- Not....yet.
- This is the current thing I'm working on. I have a CANBUS adapter an so far I have the temp gauge working, parking brake, speedo, and a few other items.
- The system should work but I error out the ABS system when I turn the wheel so I'm suspecting that my steering angle sensor is to blame. The system starts up happy but as soon as I start moving it faults after a 1/4 mi. I'm actively trying to figure out why. But I'm not convinced its my CANBUS adapter just yet.

4x4 or AWD?

- With the GM transfer case....it's 4x4. I have 4H, 4L, N, and 2wd modes like a standard 4x4 truck.
- I also bought ARB lockers front and rear to use. My plan was to make the truck more "mechanical" with a standard transfer case, and lockers but now that I'm seeing some success with the CAN adapter I might not need the lockers.

Anyway, I'm happy to answer questions and hopefully if someone is thinking of doing the same they can get some inspiration from this.

 

Well done! You made it sound so simple. You're more skilled/experienced than you give yourself credit for.

 

Updates!

Been working on this thing and made some big headway with it.

Since last time:
- Rear ARB locker installed
- OME +2" HD coil springs installed
- 35x12.50r18 Maxxis RAZR MT installed
- All gauges now work
- Only thing left is terrain response but I think this has to do with my coil conversion. My CANbus adapter is not happy with the AB EAS module. I have a suspicion that if I put EAS back in I would have it working.


2005 LR3 with LS3 swap and 35's

 

Wow! This is a very exciting project! I have put myself in the market for an LR3 and have wondered why more of these swaps haven't happened. I know the AJ motor is stout and will go forever as long as you maintain it, but the idea of the reliable power and aftermarket of the LS motors is very appealing, IMO. I have a couple of questions. What are you using for engine management? The Escalade ECM? Also, would it be possible to mate the LS motor to the stock ZF transmission, thereby retaining stock drivetrain and control? I'm not sure where the starter is mounted on the LS vs the AJ, and if you would have to get a custom torque converter, input shaft, etc. A variant of the ZF 6HP transmission (6HP26) was put in the E90 BMWs, which I am very familiar with, and they hold some decent power on the turbo cars (450hp/500tq). Just curious what you think about that as a possibility. Thanks!

 

It's using the Escalade ECM with a custom tune.

The tough part with the stock transmission is that you'd need some sort of controller to control it. And since it's canbus based it will be very tough to figure out those signals. There are aftermarket controllers for that transmission so that could be an option. I honestly think the better option would be to use a GM engine/trans and make an adapter to the LR transfer case. The canbus module I have will control the LR transfer case so that would make it a little easier.

Btw, I'll be selling this project to fund another one.....so if youre in the market for a LS swapped LR3 let me know!

 

Thanks for the quick reply. You're right, a t-case adapter would be easier. I could be in the market, btw, if the price is right. Project vehicles are always tough for buying/selling because it can be difficult to value them. I have a feeling your asking price would be over my budget, but I digress.

What's your next project?

 

You are completely right on pricing something like this. I'm not sure anyone else has swapped one in an LR3 and gotten as much of it working as I have.

I'd probably want somewhere in the $14k range for it as it sits. That's with the swap, ARB lockers front and rear, 35's, coil susp, etc. The truck has 94k miles on it as well. I'd be happy to give anyone the full run down of it.

Next project is to finally get on my Audi Ur Quattro build I've had for nearly a decade now. I also have an RX7 that need work (don't they always).

 

Nice build! To bad you're leaving us so soon. It would be nice to continue getting feedback.

 

I won't be going anywhere. The wife still has her LR4 daily so I'll be around. I also get notifications if someone replies so I'll be checking in regularly. This project is something I'm really proud of since it was pretty tough to get it to this point but I do really need to get my other cars done. The Audi will be a father/son build and right now is about the right time to start on it.

 

Would you sell wiring adapter/diagram/harness from ls to landrover kit? Have you got terrain response to work??