Fuel economy will vary. Diesel, i get about 27 on high way and this is dependant on boost, fuel delivery and speed. Veg, mixed with 10-15% gasoline, I get about 23. WMO is about 25 highway. Far superior to 12-18 with the 4.0 and I love it.

In town I bottom out at about 18+mpg.

2 major reasons for this motor. First, the availability of this motor. 2nd it is rumored that this motor origionally was not designed to run diesel. It was designed and ran on alternative fuels. So versatility and availability. So far I have seen little to none in way of mal effects of using WVO, WMO or ATF. So long as there is no water content, and your viscosity is right for your climate the only diference between previously mentioned is flash point and power produced between the fuel sources.

 

First of all great thread. Lots of info and pics available. Very cool of you to take the time to do that. I have a couple questions.
I know the obvious increase in fuel economy is a big motivator in this swap. But is the way the truck drives with the conversion worth the work and cost to make the swap? I mean I've found some donor MB cars priced at about 1500. Then tack on all the small parts needed. Plus the costs of bringing the motor up to par. I'm sure total cost would be 3000+ when it's all said and done. I can buy a lot of unleaded with 3000 bucks. Not to mention the time involved. Time that truck would be useless. So did the truck dramatically improve with the swap? If you only got say...17mpg would you have done this?

 

If that shop goes by ULC Urban Land Cruiser you may want to do a bit of reading on Land Rover Defender Forum - Defender & Series Owners Community they have been screwing over some folks on parts not as described (ready to go TDI that was blown) a 110 imported that was much worse than described then they continued to screw the gentleman over that bought it on a few quick resto jobs, parts never delivered over charging on shipping, misplacing VIN tags etc etc etc. Owners name is Dave, and I would avoid them like the plague.

 

The place and person I focused on is Zach at Zombie Motors. There are some posts in the forum about him from some time ago questioning his ethics but I have spoken to him and his business has endured and thrived. He has the entire setup: R380 with good internals, bellhousing, clutch pedals, clutch, etc. for about 2000 delivered. I think his website is zombiemotors.com and he sells on ebay as well.

Not to diminish the OP's success or hijack the thread, I have also investigated the NV4500 (GM) because it is easier to find parts for and get rebuilt and there are easy kits/adapters for both the front (to OM617) and rear (to LT230... on ebay now for 599--OUCH!). I am REALLY concerned about my ability to make the adapter as the OP did. There is currently (or was until earlier this week) a 1997 Range Rover with a GM 6.2 diesel and NV4500 (Bio diesel setup for the Discovery Channel, apparently) on eBay--last I checked it was art 12,500. It had an NV4500. HAHAHA unless you blew up the photos you would have no idea that the shift lever exits the DASH rather than the console, but I guess the buyer will figure that out when he picks it up. Obviously, the R380 is easiest for me but where I live I would probably have to rebuild it myself when the time comes.

As for the WHY, the OP can answer for himself, but I have also been investigating this for more years than i care to admit (which is why I am so glad that his posts are so informative and detailed.... I have talked to Rob Davis and read and seen everything Jarek has ever posted, etc., then been ignored by Jarek when I emailed him) the OM617 is a simple engine, easy to adjust and fix with common tools and knowledge, easy to tweak, cheap, and is very durable. I have had my 300CD for several years and tinkered with it extensively; it has no "blow by" and only about 150K on the clock. For a person at my low skill level, the OM617 is like a sewing machine or an old typewriter... you can almost just look at it and know what needs to be done. I have had the Disco in my signature line since new and do not live close to a dealership, I have replaced the engine and fixed it (with the help of people here, notably DUSTY, ARMYROVER, DISCOMIKE, JARED, COORS, JAFIR) for years. My Disco has never been in any serious accident and looks nice inside and out, and it has become sort of a mission to keep it going as a daily driver. I am a professional and my peers drive brand new cars all the time; as a mark of my success pulling this off (meaning, no car payment for over a decade and learning to maintain and upgrade a vehicle), many of them are now looking for similar vehicles to tinker with. Fortunately I can have my Disco down because I have a couple of other unused, well-running vehicles aside from the 300CD that I can drive while working on the Disco. Fuel economy is not the end-all-be-all, though the OM617 promises better economy and will, in fact, run on just about anything (even a mixture with transmission fluid or cooking oil).

Need to adjust the idle? No tool needed, just turn nut with hand. Running poorly? Pull a few nuts off valve cover and adjust valves with gap tool and bent wrenches. Oil? Pour it in the top directly over the rockers. Always starts, never quits, has no electronics, sips while idling, really NO plastic to break and very uncomplicated wiring (just wires to starter and glow plugs). The OM617 is dead simple. Oh, want more power? Adjust an ALDA screw. Want ALOT more power? It will handle it, but can your wallet (bigger turbo and swap for larger elements). An OM617 is only stock tunable to a certain point because, basically, it has a short stroke. Torque comes from the bottom of a long stroke. The OM617 was designed to rev like a gasoline engine and be smooth (hence the five cylinders). It does rev like a gas engine but I wouldn't call it smooth. And on the 300CD: want a sport versus economy shifting pattern or quicker shifts versus flared shifts? Adjust a nut right on top of the valve cover (bowden cable). When you look at an OM617 in stock form with the brass linkages you think you are staring at some WW2 locomotive engine.

My Disco has soot in the tailpipe now; why? Because the front exhaust flange gasket leaks (because my Y pipe was a cheapo and not well formed), so the oxygen sensor thinks there is too much oxygen not being burned and throws extra gas in the engine. There isn't too much oxygen, but the computer thinks so and that's that. Want to test an OM617? Start one in the dirt with a battery and a can of diesel. OM617 died? Go to the junk yard and get another for 200 bucks--after years of sitting they will fire right up. My Disco started running like CRAP and throwing confusing codes left and right; why? MAF. The same air was pouring into the engine, but because the MAF thought differently, the engine just couldn't find its way to normalcy. Just recently I got the "three amigos". I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a little computer to tell me which little part is causing the three amigos. I don't like that kind of crap. OM617 parts are easy to find online. OM617 filters and consumables are easy to find even at auto parts stores. My Disco II will take some extra tinkering to get out of the computer age and back to the Bronze age like a Disco I (windows, door locks, gauges), but I can figure that out.

So when my Disco went from "newish" to "project," I did my best to keep it looking and running "newish," but the fact is that I am not a mechanic and while I can figure alot out, I can't figure out "computer". As a further example, when I replaced the engine, my wiring harness must have taken a hit--it took weeks (maybe months) to figure it out and then swap the harness because i was getting crazy codes that seemed to be random and required so much interpretation. When I had a head gasket leak, replacing it on the truck was a PITA (though it would be much easier this time) down to the act of swapping, testing, and connecting the darned coils which are in a ridiculous spot that normal hands can't reach--I had to wear surgical gloves GREASED and just take the bruising and punishment while perched over the engine, hurting my back. An OM716's head gasket can be replaced on the truck very easily and there are no coils. Hear a clicking (although an OM617 is ALL ABOUT THE CLICKING) and you want to figure out whether it is the valves? Pull the valve cover and turn it on--point at the clocking valve, determine how to fix, put cover back on. No O2 sensors to mess with. Very little wiring. No "slipped sleeves." No "vacuum leaks."

That's why, to respond to someone else (not you ARMY), I have wanted to put an OM617 in and why I have two of them in my garage. I have left the 300CD intact just so I can see everything together and as a hedge that no one like the OP would ever explain how to do this in terms that my brain can understand. And I do not use the skinny pedal that much anyway--an OM617 will get me where I need to go as quickly as I get there now.

If you bought your Disco for less than 5,000 and it runs fine then I am sure the swap makes no sense. For fuel economy alone, considering the premium cost of diesel, it probably wouldn't make sense for some time. I bought mine for 38,000 plus TTL and all of the interest I paid, have replaced the engine and transmission, put a lift and tires and an ARB bumper on it (along with other mechanical and cosmetic parts over the years), and don't think of its resale value because I have already demonstrated that I am willing to drive it until it is absolutely worthless. Given my low skill level; and what i have in it, the OM617 makes sense to me.

 

Appreciated on the comments. You can get a tattered 300d for less. The engine is awesome if you know how it works. In my case I built mine so I can fix it as I put it all together. If you don't know how it works, you cant fix it. PERIOD. You will be paying someone else to do it.

As for your ultimate question if I still got 17mpg.... I would say yes becuse I make my own fuel. But I get mxied in town mileage op to 23mpg. I get into the throttle a bit and that will obviously effect the mpg. I get WVO filtered at less than .60 per gall. Looking on CL, I find folks that give away tons of free usable oil, tranny fluid and wvo all the time.

 

Get it!!!!!!!!

 

I was in Chicago when I saw it.......I couldn't find it when I got back either.

 

that is just **** luck. how bout this.. lol 1996 Land Rover Discovery MANUAL transmission

 

I've been working closely with raeuspius on his build and we have come to the point we have everything figured out for this. Here are a couple of photo's I'll contribute to the "Trans Mate" section of his build. I've been working on mine slowly, and will hopefully go into a classic rangie.

CharlieV .. If your interested, I have a couple things you might be interested in to make your swap go a little easier. I've been collecting parts for myself as time went on and many are spares. I've got most of myself stocked up for what I need..

I'll start a thread for my build soon too, just haven't had the time. I've got a lot of pictures through the engine build up, anyone interested would benefit from. Between both of our efforts, hope to motivate the OM617 movement!

 

What clutch did you end up using? Was it the Aerostar ? Are you still driving the Land Rover?