The end of the road... thoughts on another beginning?
#11
01-20-2019, 05:36 AM
Camel Trophy
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: St. Clair County, Michigan
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Better the Devil you know, than the Devil you don't...
Me, if l was seriously considering doing the trips you mentioned...and wanted to do it in a Discovery ll...l'd spend the monies on a swap. Not a big dollar swap, where everything works as expected...but one where enough of the original components work and it now has the reliability of a decent engine. Granted, there are those that want everything working as expected..but for me...this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Plus, you could spend a lifetime...or maybe more...trying to get one of these things reliable enough to do what you are hoping for...and never end up leaving the garage.
Brian.
Me, if l was seriously considering doing the trips you mentioned...and wanted to do it in a Discovery ll...l'd spend the monies on a swap. Not a big dollar swap, where everything works as expected...but one where enough of the original components work and it now has the reliability of a decent engine. Granted, there are those that want everything working as expected..but for me...this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Plus, you could spend a lifetime...or maybe more...trying to get one of these things reliable enough to do what you are hoping for...and never end up leaving the garage.
Brian.
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acg (01-20-2019)
#12
01-20-2019, 07:36 AM
Pro Wrench
Right now there are 3 rover in PA at the upullit where they only charge $200ish for a motor.
even if the junk yard engine needs head gaskets, etc, youd be miles ahead.
Not many of these cars in the yard are bad. They buy them off of copart where they are wrecks, cars that sat, or brought there by someone for scrap. Many times they are driven to the yard.
01-02 engines dont have the sleeve problem, at least I've never seen it and people are too quick to jump to "it's the sleeve" YOU need to do what you can to verify.
I have done my head gaskets twice in three years. There are design defects on the heads that fail. Depending on how your first set of gaskets were done it is possible they failed again.
you could even buy a running truck of craigslist and do the swap for half or more.
even if the junk yard engine needs head gaskets, etc, youd be miles ahead.
Not many of these cars in the yard are bad. They buy them off of copart where they are wrecks, cars that sat, or brought there by someone for scrap. Many times they are driven to the yard.
01-02 engines dont have the sleeve problem, at least I've never seen it and people are too quick to jump to "it's the sleeve" YOU need to do what you can to verify.
I have done my head gaskets twice in three years. There are design defects on the heads that fail. Depending on how your first set of gaskets were done it is possible they failed again.
you could even buy a running truck of craigslist and do the swap for half or more.
#13
01-20-2019, 08:02 AM
TReK
A turner long block with sleeves, H180 Cam and gas flowed heads would be a huge upgrade.
You should confirm that the block is cracked though. It could be OK.
If it is HG use a Fel Pro or other high quality gasket set. I have used Britpart gasket, and they are ill fitting and poor quality. The tendency is to use these cheap gasket sets, and I really wonder how much that has to do with the HG’s failing.
The LS swap is coming. You would save a ton of money on the engine for a better engine. My block went years ago and that was not an option, but it’s an option to really think about.
Otherwise, a used 4.0 or 4.6 out of a P38 is a really good option.
You should confirm that the block is cracked though. It could be OK.
If it is HG use a Fel Pro or other high quality gasket set. I have used Britpart gasket, and they are ill fitting and poor quality. The tendency is to use these cheap gasket sets, and I really wonder how much that has to do with the HG’s failing.
The LS swap is coming. You would save a ton of money on the engine for a better engine. My block went years ago and that was not an option, but it’s an option to really think about.
Otherwise, a used 4.0 or 4.6 out of a P38 is a really good option.
Last edited by CollieRover; 01-20-2019 at 08:06 AM.
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acg (01-20-2019)
#14
01-20-2019, 08:04 AM
Recovery Vehicle
longtallsally - except we are in Canada so so even for AB the base block is 7200 CDN then there is a 1200 + core charge in there but a good chunk that will eaten up by shipping. And used engines are very very few, there is literally 1 wrecker who might have a used engine and it will not be cheap.
With luck it just a head gasket.
With luck it just a head gasket.
So I’ve done quite a few very long distance (to include a good bit of off road, if not mostly) motorcycle and a number of 4x4 trips in the same manner as what you’ve described. I’ve been fortunate enough to only have a couple bender trips, but generally, my equipment has urvived some pretty harsh conditions and treatment. A lot of that is just like Brian was saying in that you know the machine as a whole quite well. If you are hooked on the D2 experience, and are planning some long/remote trips, a used motor ain’t gonna cut it. In the same vein, this is why I suggested doing the swap yourself: there is a learning and bonding experience that occurs when you do something like that. Something fails in the engine, and you are given codes or the like, you probably will know where to start as you are the one who did it.
But if the cost is too high for an older machine, for trips as has been described, a newer platform might be a better choice.
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acg (01-20-2019)
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