I was mainly asking the original poster, but I guess anyone who has really looked into the swap..

Thx

 

An LS is understandably desirable but probably not an easy or good fit in a Land Rover. I'm sure it's possible, but probably costly in the long run. It could be worth it for a high-end racing/trials/competition project, but probably not worth it to do all the work to fit a stock 5.3.

But a Vortec V6? The latest Gen 5 which GM considers to be a new engine notwithstanding, those old iron 4.3's are horrible compared to a Rover V8. I had one. It was the only thing about the vehicle (Sonoma "Hi Rider" 4x4) I had that I hated. It was a terrific truck in every other respect, but that engine just sucked. I never had any problems with it at all, but it was freaking gutless and boring (with 5 speed transmission). I replaced the truck after just two years because I didn't like the V6. I traded it in for the largest V8 I could get. I was immediately satisfied. The Rover V8 is a fairly small one, but I like it. I bought my wife a car with a MB E35 V6. It's much nicer than the GM 4.3L, but I still don't think I'd want it in my Land Rover instead of the little V8.

I'm happy with the Rover V8, but with all this talk about V6 and V12 swaps, how about something that would actually be an improvement? Besides the LS, I'd consider an EJ25.

 

The cost would have ended up being at least 4-5k after all the little things that add up in a swap. I would have wanted to make it as factory looking as I could, and I know that would have led to me spending inordinate amounts of time and money on it that I just don't have.

I've talked to guys on the defender forum who did the 4.6 stroker conversion, and all had good power, reliability, and longevity while not messing with the 4.0 ECM. I'm still waiting to hear back from a guy who did his using 4.0 pistons to bump compression up to 10.9:1. I can do that or use 4.6 pistons and have 9.35:1 (I think) compression. His seems to run fine on premium with it, but I want to know a few more details before doing it. I also bought a stock 4.6 cam/lifter kit to add since that seems to be the consensus pick for best engine smoothness and power delivery. With these mods, the 4HP22 apparently holds up well. One defender owner with the same setup (albeit 4.6 pistons) frequently tows a boat or camping trailer with his, and has never had a problem over a 4 year period. Overall, I should be able to do a full rebuild for under $2k including machine shop costs and radiator rod out. The time spent on it will also be a fraction of what any kind of swap would have taken.

 

I'm about to do the 4.6 crank/rods while using the 4.0 pistons and ecm. A few members have said this is the way to go since I have my engine mostly torn down. Might as well take advantage. I'll post results once completed.

 

.... So what kind of HP and torque can you expect after you stroke it and with a hotter cam?

What have others seen? It sounds like you can keep your ECM then, or is there a re-flash you need to do on it?

Thanks,

 

When you starting? I can't get around to it for at least another few weeks.

 

No reflash is required. The GEMS ecu will adjust accordingly. At least enough that it will run well. As for power, no numbers are out there, but with the stock 4.6 cam and a bit higher compression, I'd estimate around 215-230hp and 280-300ft-lbs. I think those numbers would be higher if it was reflashed, but again that's not necessary. No need to spend more money on a reflash when you're just further risking damage to the transmission anyway (at least IMO).

 

I think with those kind of numbers, it will put performance to where it 'should' have been designed from the start. It'll move around nice. Our 03 Jeep GC 4.7 HO has 265hp/325lb ft torque and it has LOADS of neck-snapping power ...and still gets about 19mpg. But for normal driving, ya don't need all that power. But the Disco 4.0 could definitely use about 15% more to move the vehicle around better.

I don't think the increased HP will booger up your tranny for normal driving unless you get on it hard a lot. U joints and drive shafts might be another matter.

If the motor on mine goes, I should do something like this. Heck, it can't even keep up with traffic in the mountains.

 

BTW, will you put in new sleeves? And pin them? Or use what you have (assuming they aren't severely worn)?

And do you pin the sleeves too like I hear a lot of guys saying these days?

Thx

 

you either pin the sleeves you have or replace them, no need to pin the replacement sleeves they are flanged