Thank you for documenting this install for the community

there was a lot of lead up and hype regarding it and you would think ACE would be in this thread answering any and all questions and assisting

I have been planning on installing an LS motor, but the noticeable silence and disappearance of the manufacturer is concerning.

Keep trudging forward, we're all rooting for tou

 

I ran into my share of issues due to being on of the early beta testers plus i tried using different things instead of what is required for the swap. I haven't spoken with ACE for some months now since my swap has done for a while now and i am satisfied. He did however request that i help the swap community since my disco is done last time we spoke. Granted having his presence in the thread would build confidence in potential people looking to do the swap.

Ill try try to help anyone having troubles with the swap to the best of my abilities.

 

ACE is fairly decent at responding via email to questions for the kit owners. I assume after receiving the feedback from all of us, he will make announcements/adjustments to he kits. That is the reason , I assume, the kits are still “out of stock”.

Greg, agreed the lift kit is not the “cure all” to this issue regarding the driveshaft, but it will at least make the vehicle driveable on standard road conditions. I emailed ACE a few days ago regarding this issue and am waiting to hear back. Raising the mountsdoes not seem like a viable option, I agree, as hood to intake clearance is tight. Hoping we can all find a solution to this issue, as only 3” of travel before the shaft hits the bellhousing is still unacceptable/useless

 

Daedrix,
how was your clearance from bellhousing to driveshaft? Are you running a lift/what size? Have you taken yours off roadig at all?

 

Also, to everyone following. Thought I might add another alternative to the trans cooler.

attached are pics of the parts I used. I found the m18 fittings that fit appropriately without any leaks and ran high pressure rubber hose to the trans cooler mounted between the rad and condenser. Thought it might be helpful/cheaper alternative to those of use without easy access to a hydraulic shop.

 

Perhaps, like many people, they're just taking a few well-earned days off? The first post about the motor mounts and clearance issues was put up one week ago.

 

I don't remember having any problems with the driveshaft hitting the bellhousing. I have a 2" lift.

 

To be fair, when I have emailed ACE, I've gotten replies each time. I suspect they've more than just this forum of customers they may be working with and there's perhaps some future stuff that could be in development I don't know. I think a few days off in this season is pretty acceptable as mentioned above. I too would have expected little more presence here but so long as the community works as a team I think we'll get through it.

With 2 inches of lift I don't suspect the driveshaft issue would go noticed until taken off-road that is and flexed on the passenger side. Or perhaps your bellhousing is different if you had an early beta kit? I wouldn't know. For me, it's imperative that I can still hit full flex in this vehicle or I'd never have bothered with a swap because it basically would have become a mini-van.

 

yeah, with 2” there wouldn’t be any issues unless taking it off road/flexing the suspension. Then I would anticipate problems. I plan to do a 2” lift when it comes back from the exhaust shop just to get it driveable. Will then look into possibly clearancing the bellhousing to create even more space because like Greg said, it’s practically worthless if the suspension can’t flex more than just everyday bumps in the pavement without hitting the bellhousing

 

First, I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. I sent Greg (05TurboS2K) an email a few days ago offering to exchange the mounts. I’m not quite sure what was up, but it sounds like the way he slotted the holes has put the engine in close to the correct place.

As for the driveshaft articulation, there is not a whole lot of space with the stock suspension with the LS bellhousing. There are multiple causes for this: first, the LS is heavier, especially if it is an iron block, the old, worn-out factory springs will likely sag under the weight. Second, there was not a whole lot of room with the Rover bellhousing to begin with.

A 2-inch or larger lift adds space in the right direction relative to the factory position when the vehicle was stock. Over the course of beta testing, there were no complaints of articulation problems once the lift was installed, which led us to believe that in a majority of usage scenarios, the 2-inch lift was sufficient.

That being said, if you want more driveshaft clearance there are several options:

1. Clearance the bellhousing/spacer in the conflicting area. That area of the spacer is a bit thicker than the rest and the bellhousing itself could be ground down there as well. There is a lot of room in the bellhousing to accommodate a larger torque converter than what was used in factory Disco 2s.

2. Change out the driveshaft. The factory unit is thick, especially in the area that is near the bellhousing. There are manufacturers that make improved shafts for the Disco 2 that come in smaller diameters (down to 1.25 inch, maybe less) or about any other setup you could want, which, if you are off-roading, you are probably going to need anyway.

3. Raise the engine. You could easy put rubber isolators (0.25 or 0.5 inch thick, maybe more) between the motor mounts and the frame. The highest part of the engine is the A/C compressor. The A/C will likely hit the hood with this modification. The hood has an inner and outer piece. The inner part can be easily clearanced with no modification to the look.

4. Move the engine forward. If you do not want to use a viscous fan and want to go to electric instead, you can move the engine and transmission assembly closer to the radiator by about an inch. This will also cause hood interference. This may marginally help, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

A little of each could help as well. The point is there are a number of options.

It’s important to note that not one “kit” is going to work for everyone’s individual needs or desires. While the kit is designed to get the LS in the Discovery, much of the build is left to the user to sort out how they want to do it, so not all trucks will be the same. Additionally, variations between model years compounds this, especially between the 1999-2002 versus 2003-2004 trucks.

As usual, email is the fastest way for me to answer questions. As people have gotten into their installs, I have had an increase in the quantity of questions, which has severely limited my time to watch the forums. A lot of questions are specific to each build, meaning that it wouldn’t be relevant to post all answers. If there are common themes, I will make sure to post them.