SLROC Forum

I have been offered the above with radiator, starter, alternator, exhaust and 13 row oil cooler for not a lot of money, it has 89k miles and I know and trust the owner who has removed it from his 110 to fit a 300 tdi.

The block looks identical to the 2.5 petrol so fitting it should be easy enough, my question is will it give me much improved mpg also, given that it is nearly the same in power output will it be any better to drive day to day or is petrol the best to go with?

I do fancy diesel but dont want to spend too much on the 88 so have ruled out the 200 and 300 tdi's that said i have read some bad reviews on the 19j engine.

any and all info is greatly recieved.

thanks folks.

Drew.

Hi,  I have a 19J in my 90. I am getting about 19mpg, which is pretty poor by modern diesel standards but it's carting around a lot of weight.  The engine itself isn't a classic engine but it chugs along, mines a bit smokey for it's 100,000 miles but still pulls itself and a large trailer around.

I'm just waiting for it to break so i can put a 200/300tdi in it, but it keeps going.

Hope this helps,

Robin

Thanks for that, so its the same power as the 2.5 petrol and about the same mpg and you like yours so much you hope it blows up......... i am now thinking of fitting the good 2.5 petrol.

I think a wee dram or 12 might help me decide.

cheers          hic.

Hi
Thought this might help...
I got a 2.5 petrol 90 and a 2.5(19j) 90. so can compare both.
Both engines in good order milage wise 57500 for petrol and 73000 for the 19j.Ok i get about 25-30mpg in the 19j and 15-20mpg in the petrol.
The petrol seems much nicer and fairly gusty evryday driving but does not have the low end torque allowing you potter around in the wrong gear like you can in the deisel. Toeing wise their similar and hills kill both. Whilst toeing ill get about 10-15mpg in the petrol and 20-25mpg in the deisel. The petrol is really quiet the deisel sounds like a train. Reliability the deisel wins hands down, only ever do regular oil and filter changes and she goes on. The petrol a nice engine and runs sweet but does suffer from the usuall carb and electrics to do with ignition. All silly little issues but they are random and my only real gripe with the engine. My choice id go deisel their almost bombproof and a doddle to fix. The petrol is a lovly engine when it runs sweet way better than the deisel but as their renowned for being unreliable for evryday hassle free motoring id stay clear. If you need any 19j spares let me know i have a spare engine lying about. Cheers and goodluck with your convertion.
Scott

Hi Drew,

I think that I wasn't very clear, I had heard from a lot of people that the 19j is a pretty unreliable engine and I should prepare myself to put a 200tdi in it.  Therefore I was expecting to be constantly fixing the engine, and had that overwhelming feeling that it's going to break down everytime I went out, but this was RUBBISH!! It's been 100% reliable, like I said earlier it's a bit smokey but some new injectors will sort that out.  It is a good reliable engine in my experience!

Hope this helps,

Robin

I've had 3 19j engines, all were fine. The only one that had problems was entirely my own fault - failed to check the oil before an event, kicked the backside out of it then lent it to a mate who gave it even more welly....result was inevitable but totally avoidable.

My concern over putting a later engine into a series 3 would be the brakes ? Poor to start with then add more power & speed.... Hmmmm.

G.

ok thanks guys, on the brakes side I have gone for a 109 setup ie 11 inch front drums, twin leading shoes and a split stsyem with servo also from a later 109, i know from testing that a well setup and adjusted drum system is every bit as efficient as disks untill the heat starts to rise beyond what most people would call normal use, should the drums prove adequate then i will leave them alone but if im not happy then i will look at a disk conversion, i wont mess about on this as brakes are vital but i think the 109 brakes will be fine on the lighter 88.

Im going to fit the petrol for now as I have been advised by the mechanic that will be doing the mot to keep it as per v5 log book as it has not been on the road for the last 8 years, then after the mot to convert to the 19J and update dvla before the next mot.

as a note, Has anybody noticed how closely the two engine blocks are in looks, i would even go on to say they look exactly the same with the various openings being used to drive different units ie on the petrol its the distributor where as on the diesel its the vacuum pump etc etc. the diesel is much heavier tho. can anyone shed any light on this, do they share the same crank, cam, clutch, starter etc.

again very many thanks for your advice / input.

Drew.

Hi Drew,
            I've had some dealings with this engine in a series 3, bought as a project and then sold on. The engine was the 19j out of a sherpa van, the difference was the timing casing is not sealed like the land rover version it's just a tin cover on the sherpa engine. The benefit is the fuel pump is higher up the side of the engine than land rover version. If I remember rightly you need to remove the battery tray in the engine bay and the land rover engine needs the o/s engine mount removed from the chassis and repositioned because of the fuel pump position on the timing casing. The sherpa version used the original series mounts as the fuel pump is higher up and clears the engine mount but still had to remove the battery tray.It was a good conversion and the old shed went well with a good turn of speed and could sit at 70 on the motorway with the overdrive in, the brakes were fine( this was a 109 with later split circuit with servo).
 Hope this helps a bit.
   cheers,
             Stevie.   

Thanks stevie, I did notice the o/s engine mount would be close, I have already removed the battery / air box holder to give better access, the battery (a 12 v truck) will be put in the pax seat box and the inlet will be modified to either a cone filter or a snorkel but not yet decided.
cheers.
Drew.