Hello I am new to this web sight ( but have been a Land Rover user for about 10 years ) My first was a used 97 Disco witch I hesitated to buy but my wife liked them . I finally gave in when we moved to the top of a mountain in NH and I needed a rig (for her as I was a big ford guy) so she could navigate our road to our property . The 97 proved its worth and value ( especially when towing the F-350 over up hill ice ) We put many years on it with good service with little problems . Back then on top of Pike hill I had no Internet connection or Rave manual( when I got both it opened my world to LRs )
Until then being baffled by the BCU playing games (trying to repair the direction AL's and was wondering what the hell is this green box {pre Rave} )
Fast forward , My wife found a second Disco and brought it Home ( I am all for spares and donor cars )It was a really nice D2 witch I thought was the same ( still in the Dark ) started freak in out because they were different .
At first I hated it ,Traction control was weird no Diff lock it had 32" BFs w/ old man Emu springs ( some one dumped some $ into it and my wife stole it for 2000$ . It started to grow on me I got a Rave disk given to me ,I fixed the Problems (crank sensor some other stuff ) and we are still driving it . I will confess I have now 7 D2s and just got my first Bosch P-38 she always wanted one and I now gave in ,to my delight they share a lot with the D2.
Now my Question :I have a 95 Disco really clean but crappy engine
I would like to take the 4.0 Gems from my afore mentioned 97 and make the swap into the 95 . I just got a nice little blizzard plow and would like to make a little plow truck for the place (off High way use )
The 97 engine is really nice and I would like to keep that Ignition so what has to swap over with that ?
I understand the Bosch inside and out But have not spent any time with the different Lucas systems.
also what about the fuel Injection?
thank you HCF

 

Big question with a small answer - EVERYTHING electrical controlling the engine including the alarm. Mechanical - engine, transmission and transfer case. That is the simplest answer you'll get. You'd be better off sourcing a RRC or short blocking the 3.9. Even a 4.2 would work from a LWB RRC easier than swapping a CUX14 over to GEMS.

 

what would I need to run this on the short it is just going to be a plow truck (down the road up the road ) I have bench run the bosch systems with out much difficulty .
are you saying there is that much involved .
I do not like the 95 Ignition it is one of those inbred stop gap deals .
I am beginning to think I will not be well received on the D1 forum
LUCAS prince of darkness

 

Is it just with the dizzy your having problems with? If that's the case then there is a world you do not know yet......HEI.....or a Pertronix dizzy is the fix for that common cold.

Yeah, to change from one "type" of timing/FI control to the other is a HUGE undertaking. You'd do a whole bunch of work and nobody would even know it since both are sitting in the same exact looking aluminum can. Now if it was an MG, Triumph or Healy I'd be right there with you on the GEMS install into those beautiful frames.

 

Your right I do not know the D1s what would be my best course of action , the engine in the 97 is very tight and the body/Frame in the 95 is nice .
Can I just take part of the wire harness and ECU to run this .
Is it really that involved am I wasting my time ?
HCF

 

The harness for the GEMS (which your 97 is) is all inclusive, there is no part that isn't needed. Understand that the GEMS box under your hood is capable of on the fly adaption to which the CUX14 is just a simple FI control box. 97 is Sequential Fuel Injected using wasted spark (each plug fires twice, once just after compression stroke the other on exhaust stroke) and each cylinder is monitored and tuned individually for timing and injector pulse length. Try stripping something away and it's not gonna work. You'd be wasting time since it would take so long to convert over you'd be into next winter when all the bugs are worked out. You'd loose interest because it would take allot of time, too much time for so little advantage over the 3.9.

Best course is to find another 3.9 motor (donor) or fix what's wrong with yours. I'd be fixing before yanking......nothing scares me.

 

Scout Dahling.. (if I may call you Scout?) - a friendly reminder from the grammar/spelling fairy. You're killing me softly with loose/lose and allot.

'She was a very loose girl; she spoke seven different languages and couldn't say 'no' in any of them'

'You're making me 'lose' my mind'
'I like you a lot.'

Nighty night...

Ms. Slightly Crazy

 

Slightly crazy.....hmmm. Loose?

 

I know I should heed your advice , Hears the deal my 97 is red and my other 8 discos are black ( I need my head examined it is the same with tools actually worse ) there for when they are all parked together the red one stands out . I had a person who stop buy one time tell me that I looked like the polish mafia ( no a fence to anyone polish)so that is the first consideration.
Secondly I know you are right and should figure out what is up with the 95 .
I have embarked on too many projects never to see completion .
How ever the engine in the 97 was a "Factory replacement " don by the dealer when it was previously owned and it runs so well. I will go out after a couple of years of siting and throw in battery and it starts right up and runs really nice .
So let me ask you this if I was to change the harness what can I do away with or by pass ie. Alarms slabs ?
I wish I could find a diesel with a 5 speed .
I Have not started studying the schematics yet because I wanted to see if it was worth it . If I was to find a doner chassis for the 97 what year range would work?
thanks HCF

 

I had a '96 DI awhile back. It had a recent factory motor installed and a rebuilt ZF transmission. Mileage on the truck was well over 200K. The crank sensor ring sheared off the flex plate leaving the truck non running. The only way to fix the issue was to either remove the engine or the transmission.

At that time I had an amazing '85 RRC with a 5 speeds in desperate need of a new motor. I pulled the 4.0L. Used the front cover off the '85, installed a new, hotter cam on the 4.0L, plugged the hole in the back where the crank sensor goes and was able to dump the engine in the '85 with little else to take care of (besides fuel pump pressure issues as the '85 wa carburetted).

It is ALWAYS easier taking a newer engine and going backwards as opposed to trying to go the opposite direction.

To install a GEMS motor in a 14CUX you need to keep the front cover from the older engine. You'll also need to install a new cam as there is nothing on the 4.0L to drive the distributor. You'll also want to keep the intake manifold, plenum and valve covers from the 14CUX but otherwise, it's really not that big a deal. You won't need to do a thing with the wiring harness. The 14CUX harness remains in the '95 and everything will be the same from the top up on the engine.