What diesel motor should I use ? And gearbox

**dave 62 pb** · 02-05-2014 22:19

BMWs 2.5 and 3.0 are great engines but like a lot of others have loads of wiring and sensors I run them for years and loved them they rev high and don`t sound like diesels,
Now another engine I like but some might disagree is a Kia Sedona 2.9 CDi out of the mk 1 with the rotary pump (not the common rail mk 2 ) the early one up to 2001 as a cable operated pump , they are a compact motor with steel sump , decent HP with plenty of torque, they are based on the merc sprinter engine.
My misses has got one of these for work since we got rid of the BMs, we have done about 35 k trouble free miles and it does about 40 mpg on the M way at 80 - 90 , I recently did a 250 mile round trip with a heavy car trailer to pick up a Mazda MX 7 (TOTAL WEIGHT OF NEARLY 2 TONNES + THE WEIGHT OF THE KIA ) it returned 38 MPG at a steady 65 and hardly felt the trailer.
Who can knock that, it would have to be mated to another G box as they are FWD but that should`nt be too much trouble.
If I had a Yank truck or van I would use one .

Cheers

Dave

**dave 62 pb** · 02-05-2014 22:33

Hi 48 PU I was typing on the laptop with my big fingers and pressed the enter button before finishing LOL, I haven't put a BM into anything myself but the was a chevy on here with one in , best get a complete car as a doner that way you can use the wiring which I believe can be broken down into a basic loom to run the ECUs .
Or consider my other suggestion .

Cheers

Dave

**streetfighter** · 02-05-2014 22:51

or even the early sprinter engine and box, the early ones were better than the new ones, less powerfull but more reliable, all are turbo's. the mercs and bmw's I mentioned are all turbo's as well, and you can get a transit di with a turbo.

**48 pickup** · 02-05-2014 23:29

Hi streetfighter
Any thoughts on the 2.0 bmw motor on ebay ,seems fair

**mygasser** · 02-05-2014 23:36

so back to your original question, 200tdi from a discovery. either the disco 5 speed bellhousing and clutch with an ldv pilot lt77 box (same as disco but 2wd) or if you want auto the zf 4hp22 o/d box. again use disco bellhousing and torque convertor with a 2wd bmw zf box.

**48 pickup** · 03-05-2014 08:23

Bingo that was the answer I was after ,cheers mygasser
Seems simple and very easy to get hold off

**v8.jimmy** · 03-05-2014 08:42

Originally Posted by streetfighter

or even the early sprinter engine and box, the early ones were better than the new ones, less powerfull but more reliable, all are turbo's. the mercs and bmw's I mentioned are all turbo's as well, and you can get a transit di with a turbo.

I'm pretty sure my mate's "P" reg Sprinter doesn't have a turbo as it's a total slug, but the later ones go like **** but have that wiring ****e to deal with. I plan on doing the BMW 325tds conversion at some point. Bought the full car, '97 on a P plate, known to us for years. It's the 150hp version with 5 speed manual so should be okay in a pickup. I was going to put it in a '55 Chevy panel van. but somebody wanted to buy it so i sold it...................................... I'lll get another to put it in and as far as I was told, I only need the engine ecu and probably the ignition switch and key from the BMW. I hope so, because when it goes beyond wiring a plug, I'm ****ed

**Smokey** · 03-05-2014 09:50

Land cruiser engine lots of torque

**streetfighter** · 03-05-2014 19:01

Originally Posted by v8.jimmy

I'm pretty sure my mate's "P" reg Sprinter doesn't have a turbo as it's a total slug, but the later ones go like **** but have that wiring ****e to deal with. I plan on doing the BMW 325tds conversion at some point. Bought the full car, '97 on a P plate, known to us for years. It's the 150hp version with 5 speed manual so should be okay in a pickup. I was going to put it in a '55 Chevy panel van. but somebody wanted to buy it so i sold it...................................... I'lll get another to put it in and as far as I was told, I only need the engine ecu and probably the ignition switch and key from the BMW. I hope so, because when it goes beyond wiring a plug, I'm ****ed

I was referring to the 5 cylinder, there are some four cylinder sprinters without turbo's, and yes, they are bloody slow. The four cylinder bmw diesel is not as reliable as the 525 engines, some have an ecu bolted on top of the turbo ffs, whats that all about? they regularly fail and are about a grand a pop. (the turbo, not the engine). I don't think I would even summon up the enthusiasm to use an ldv pilot gearbox. although if your dead set on the disco engine I suppose its an easy fit. personally, if i was doing it all again, i would go for more modern smoother combination, probably 5 speed auto.

**mygasser** · 03-05-2014 22:34

the pilot box is pretty much the same box fitted to sd1's, land rover's, earlier tvr's, the list goes on. it's just easier to source a pilot one for sensible money than the others and it has a much, much shorter shifter remote setup than most of the others too.