Preparing the last bits

I should be able to collect the new head gaskets tomorrow, which will allow proper fitting of the head. In the mean time, I have laid the old gasket and head in position so that I could check the fit of the manifolds and dipstick tube. As the old tube was routed around the Discovery manifolds and secured to the top intake manifold, but the manifolds are now Defender items, the dipstick tube no longer fits. I have used the 19J’s dipstick and tube, which is the same as the Defender 200’s, with its old 19J level marks removed and new levels transcribed from comparison to the Discovery stick.

I also modified the Discovery alternator to suit the Defender/19J bracketry by removing the three long exterior bolts and rotating the front end of the casing by 120 degrees, then refitting the bolts. This allows me to fit the alternator in the same area as on earlier engines and Defender Tdis, now vacated by the PAS pump and bracket, allowing much more space in the engine bay for air ducting. The only problem with the alternator now is the need to bring the pulley 40mm forward to align it with the fan and crank shaft pulleys. I plan to do this by fitting longer HT bolts to secure the bracket to the block with 40mm stainless tubes to act as spacers. This should be stable enough as the bracket is secured by three bolts in a triangular layout. Another option I have seen is to use 25mm spacing and a VW alternator pulley, which protrudes further than the standard LR pulley from the alternator.

I have left the assembled and painted new exhaust manifold loosely in place. I should also be collecting the turbo mounting studs tomorrow, so I should be able to attach the Defender turbo I made up from a scrap Defender turbo and good Discovery unit (using the Discovery core and Defender casings) to the manifold.

I’ll also be getting some 80M10 socket head screws. These will take the place of the four bottom bolts that secure an LT77 bellhousing to the flywheel housing These do not align with the bolt holes in the Series bellhousing. Some people drill new holes in the bell housing, others leave them out all together. These four bolts, though, not only go from the bellhousing to flywheel housing, but also secure the bottom of the flywheel housing to the ladder frame under the block. Without these, the housing can move slightly, leading to premature gasket failure and oil leaks. I’ll be using the socket head screws into the four clear bolt holes in the photo, but these holes will be counter sunk so that the screw heads are below the surface, allowing the bellhousing to mate to the flywheel housing, while the flywheel housing is securely attached to the ladder frame. The Series bellhousing bolt holes happen to align with the blind holes in the flywheel housing – these just need tapping out to have the studs fitted.

The inlet manifold will be taken to an aluminium fabricator tomorrow. Hopefully, they’ll be able to quickly remove a repair section, including the turbo oil feed pipe mounting pedestal, from the good 19J manifold and weld it into the damaged area on the Defender 200Tdi manifold.