So, I know this is a french car forum, but bear with me, it gets gallic!
'Grover' is a 1999 P38 Range Rover HSE. He has a 4.6 litre V8 engine, ZF 4HP24 automatic transmission, adjustable computer-controlled air suspension, 4 wheel traction control, and many other goodies.
He drives like a car, not a truck like a Land Cruiser or Patrol. Very comfortable in the outback or the urban jungle.
I love Grover. As a tow car or off-roader, he suits me perfectly. However.......
Grover is thirsty. Very thirsty. The 100 litre petrol tank (and he needs 95, runs terribly on 91) is good for about 500km. He has a sequential vapour-phase injection LPG system fitted, with an 80 litre usable gas tank that is good for about 350km. This equates to about 20L/100km on petrol, 23L/100km on LPG.
My dream is to eventually take Grover around the block, and explore the deep depths of the Australian outback. However a maximum range of 850km assuming both fuels are available, is not an effective or economical proposition.
So, a plan is evolving! It's time for another diesel conversion!
Diesels into P38s is not an unusual conversion. There are a number getting around in Australia with Land Rover 200/300TDi or TD5 engines. Isuzu 4BD1-T engines are a straightforward fit. There's at least one with a Cummins 4BT. Indeed, the P38 was available in international markets with a 2.5 litre BMW inline 6 diesel.
But being a Peugeot fan, none of them was going to do.
I have always been a fan of the PSA DW series engines. Bulletproof, torquey, economical, compact. I've driven them in 306, 406, 307, 308, C5, 3008, 508 etc, and they're all good.
When a cheap 406 HDi came up, things started falling into place.
The plan is to fit the DW10ATED (RHZ) engine from a late model 406 HDi 110 into Grover. I will adapt a bellhousing to fit the original transmission, and make brackets to use the original Range Rover rubber mounts.
Mentioning this amongst the Land Rover fraternity has really divided opinion! Most of them suggest using the tried and tested engine combinations, but none of them are cheap and to my mind they are all inferior to the PSA product. So I thought I'd pop over here and see what the Peugeot peeps think.
Some specs:
Rover V8 | Peugeot RHZ
Cylinders 8 | 4
Displacement 4552cc | 1997cc
Power 222hp (less on LPG) | 110hp, 150 after remap
Torque 407Nm (less on LPG) | 250Nm, 360 after remap
Max torque RPM 2600 | 1750
Progress sofar:
- Lots of measuring.
- Engine removed from 406.
- Started construction of bellhousing adapter.
- Intense study of electrical systems on both donor and recipient vehicles.
I think it will work well. The torque characteristics of the diesel should mean in typical driving conditions, it should be more or less as 'perky' as the V8, and the power difference would only be apparent if you really open the taps!
I'm sure it won't be straightforward. But that's half the fun
'Grover' is a 1999 P38 Range Rover HSE. He has a 4.6 litre V8 engine, ZF 4HP24 automatic transmission, adjustable computer-controlled air suspension, 4 wheel traction control, and many other goodies.
He drives like a car, not a truck like a Land Cruiser or Patrol. Very comfortable in the outback or the urban jungle.
I love Grover. As a tow car or off-roader, he suits me perfectly. However.......
Grover is thirsty. Very thirsty. The 100 litre petrol tank (and he needs 95, runs terribly on 91) is good for about 500km. He has a sequential vapour-phase injection LPG system fitted, with an 80 litre usable gas tank that is good for about 350km. This equates to about 20L/100km on petrol, 23L/100km on LPG.
My dream is to eventually take Grover around the block, and explore the deep depths of the Australian outback. However a maximum range of 850km assuming both fuels are available, is not an effective or economical proposition.
So, a plan is evolving! It's time for another diesel conversion!
Diesels into P38s is not an unusual conversion. There are a number getting around in Australia with Land Rover 200/300TDi or TD5 engines. Isuzu 4BD1-T engines are a straightforward fit. There's at least one with a Cummins 4BT. Indeed, the P38 was available in international markets with a 2.5 litre BMW inline 6 diesel.
But being a Peugeot fan, none of them was going to do.
I have always been a fan of the PSA DW series engines. Bulletproof, torquey, economical, compact. I've driven them in 306, 406, 307, 308, C5, 3008, 508 etc, and they're all good.
When a cheap 406 HDi came up, things started falling into place.
The plan is to fit the DW10ATED (RHZ) engine from a late model 406 HDi 110 into Grover. I will adapt a bellhousing to fit the original transmission, and make brackets to use the original Range Rover rubber mounts.
Mentioning this amongst the Land Rover fraternity has really divided opinion! Most of them suggest using the tried and tested engine combinations, but none of them are cheap and to my mind they are all inferior to the PSA product. So I thought I'd pop over here and see what the Peugeot peeps think.
Some specs:
Rover V8 | Peugeot RHZ
Cylinders 8 | 4
Displacement 4552cc | 1997cc
Power 222hp (less on LPG) | 110hp, 150 after remap
Torque 407Nm (less on LPG) | 250Nm, 360 after remap
Max torque RPM 2600 | 1750
Progress sofar:
- Lots of measuring.
- Engine removed from 406.
- Started construction of bellhousing adapter.
- Intense study of electrical systems on both donor and recipient vehicles.
I think it will work well. The torque characteristics of the diesel should mean in typical driving conditions, it should be more or less as 'perky' as the V8, and the power difference would only be apparent if you really open the taps!
I'm sure it won't be straightforward. But that's half the fun