Man I was really excited about the R2.8 swap. However it sounds like its even more complicated than the LS swap and isn't even available as a DIY option to my knowledge, at least in the sense that no one has a kit available for it.

I think that's a great idea. Along with the many other options people have suggested regarding selling just the adapters, or at least passing the baton. I'd really hate to see all this work go to waste. Especially today with the amount of options available for getting parts made.

 

I think the challenges would still remain -- mid-model-year changes that wouldn't be known until "discovered," the seemingly endless variations of the GM LS engine universe, lack of time to develop solutions for same (which causes enthusiasm to peter out before the job is done), etc.

I've known Scott at Renegade Hybrids for a few years and know that even on the air-cooled 911 -- a car that (under the skin) barely changed over the years and was built with an amazing level of consistency from year to year, it was several years before he had all of the bugs/options/variations worked out -- and that was in a shop with techs working on it 40 hours a week. Now he's at a point where he can immediately tell you which LS engines will work, which ones won't and the pros and cons of each. But that took a lot of time.

For this to work there would have to be many models in the "club" that cover the entire production run of the D2; people who are committed to seeing the process the whole way through and also committed to documenting it step-by-step -- which means THOUSANDS of pictures and notes over time ("Hey, Joe.....I accidentally deleted the file with your build pics. We need to pull the LS out, put the Bosch back in and start all over.").

It can be done, but it will take a small group of VERY committed folks to get it over the finish line. m

 

I've been watching this thread since day one very closely and I have been in contact with ACE by email.
I hate that this did not work out for them and I hope someone will pick up where they stopped.
I have a 96 D1 that I am going to swap and I needed the bell housing.
Now that ACE pulled the plug I'm going to have to fab these parts in house which will take a lot of time.

 

I would be very interested in seeing this project move forward. I missed out on the first round of kits, but was hoping to get in on the 2nd round.
I'm not a super tech guru by any stretch, but in my day job I do a ton of technical documentation for complicated processes. I can put those skills to good use on something like this.

 

I also haven't heard great things about the Cummins R2.8..it will be interesting to see what happens once the TD5 D2s are eligible for import, that is a few years away and every motor has it's weaknesses obviously but a few more options for us will be great. Considering the amount of time my Disco spends off pavement the above mentioned suspension articulation concerns has caused me to take a step back on the LS route vs just a revolving door of 4.0s as they die and just live with the lack of power (which is especially painful at high elevations). But for the cost of this swap and then losing articulation that seems like a more prudent decision for some. I am very curious as to what Greg comes up with to mitigate this issue and wish I was closer to try and help come up with a solution.

If anyone in the Denver area has a kit or this picks back up and more get made I'd be more than willing to help with the swap or help that person document the process.

 

Just popped in from being gone for over a month to find ACE isn't operational anymore? Bummer. I definitely saw it going places but it is a hard swap. I have a beta kit and I was making good headway until we moved and lost all steam. Now with a new house the disco gets no time at all.

If there is anybody still wanting a kit, with ACE's consent, I would be willing to sell it. I would include my sourced LM7 engine harness as well. PM me if interested. I will have to get consent from ACE first.

 

The goal of this kit was to give the DIY-er all the building blocks needed to get a LS into the Disco. It’s up to the end user to make decisions about how to do the build-out. There are challenges of sticking any engine in a vehicle that it is not originally designed for. Basically, I see our role as taking out all the difficult parts of the swap – like a majority of the welding, fabrication, spacing, etc -- that way people doing the swap don’t have to go to the trouble of working all that out.

The LS is larger in dimension and features an electrical system significantly different than what is in the Land Rover. There is a ton of variation in different LS engines. The model year variation in Discovery’s is also common. There are significant differences between the 99-02 trucks and the 03-04 trucks (enough to need the sliding motor mount setup to get the placement right). Referring to the electrics, the engine ECUs for 99-01, 02, and 03-04 are different. The transmission TCUs are different between 99, 00-02, 03-04. The 02 ECU has a unique wiring setup on certain trucks. Some of this stuff is notated in documentation, other things aren’t. In fact, after experimenting with the benefits of different parts, currently it appears that the 99, and 00-02 TCUs may have a different shift map than the 03-04 that better fits the LS torque curve and can provide more performance.

Other little things matter more than people think. For example, the transmission defaults to a different shift map if the coolant temp sensor is unplugged. The transmission uses that sensor to help the engine temp warm up faster when cold.

During this process, I have found a number of relevant differences. Some of these have been as small as the different pinning of a ground wire causing sensor variation. The kit has gone through a number of redesigns and simplifications. Versus the original beta, these last kits were significantly refined. Furthermore, the electrical has been completely altered from the original design. While I have found that this system works for a general-purpose, but each truck is going to have individual challenges for the user to figure out. However, dealing with this process, each user will get to know the ins-and-outs of their truck.

While videos would help probably, they won’t work miracles. For example, part of the reason that I haven’t offered a base tune for the LS is that each one is going to be different. This is for the person that wants to build and create and that is reflected in the price. The kit here cost less than many adapters alone. Other complete kits for different vehicles are 2 to 5 times the cost.

As for the articulation, after looking at this further, I have come up with a plan that should mitigate this issue for no cost and a little time. Again, this is going to depend on the truck, the engine, tires, lift, etc. If you look at the bellhousing, the section at issue sticks out further from the diameter used most of the way around. Potentially you could grind all the way back to the main diameter, which is probably not necessary but would give plenty of room. Like I said before, the bellhousing has room for a much larger torque converter than what is used currently. There is good bit of space available and it ought be able to give as much room as from the factory. I plan on testing this, but it appears that this method will completely fix any concerns. I will attach photos later from what I cut as a guide.

In addition, the factory driveshaft has a diameter of 2 in. Tom Woods makes custom driveshafts that are 1.25 in, which I would assume could be adapted to the Disco 2. Only the bottom 7 inches or so of the shaft would need to be the smaller diameter. That alone would gain 0.375 in in clearance versus the factory shaft. Tom Woods / other driveshaft shops may have other more creative solutions too. While it’s not free, if you are replacing a driveshaft anyway, it’s a solid option.

I have been discussing with ArmyRover about open sourcing the support and information on the swap on a new subforum. If that can get up and running, it could potentially make a difference. Much of this information applies to other swaps as well. I would love to try an R2.8 conversion, and I feel that electrically it will work without much fiddling, but that is easily a $20k swap. I have been considering selling the LS kit to shops only for the time being. Several people have offered to take this project on, or help, and it may be possible to come to a collective solution that will make it feasible for the people that want to complete it.

As always, if anyone has specific questions or ideas, please send me an email at alternativeconversion@gmail.com. I will continue providing support to purchasers as needed. Again, I am thankful for support from this forum and others.

 

ACE, have you considered a smaller GM bellhousing for your kit? Are you using the smallest available bellhousing?

 

Not my call really, I can just offer to assist with the forum end.

 

It’s sad to hear that you are shutting down ACE. It appears the main reason is because people bought the kit expecting everything to “bolt on and go” and have very little experience with engine swaps and engine electrical in general. You are not to bear the burden of people biting off more than they can chew IMO. Only main issue I had was a faulty ECB and I made my harness from scratch. Once I bypassed it, everything worked beautifully. Took about 10 days to complete the entire swap. One must adapt to small variances, as not every chassis is the same. With a lift kit and some grinding of the bellhousing, no more rubbing and plenty of articulation for me. Instructions were clear enough for anyone decently skilled in my opinion. You covered the difficult part by designing a flex plate/bellhousing to work with the rover trans. I would recommend continuing to produce the main components of the kit without the tech support, as I believe there are still plenty of skilled mechanics that would like an opportunity to get their trucks back on the road.