@@maximusironthumper Yes a professionally qualified engineer but an amateur mechanic! I'll do my best.

Maybe team up and steal that 6BT from the truck for an over-the-top engineering challenge on your now finished and functioning land rover? :)

@@NathanNostaw I don't need any extra work. My plate is already full.

@@defendermodsandtravels No doubt. Thats the problem with having so many interests in an interesting world. I'm keen to see that truck progress though. Such a cool old machine.

@@NathanNostaw We are making solid progress but oh so much work ☹️

@@gigiopincio5006 I am not quite sure whether that's a compliment or not 😏

Yes the bloody "to do" list is daunting. I am looking to see if I can prune anything out but most of the items are essential if I want a trouble-free trip next time. On a more positive note, it's an absolute joy to be able to work on the engine and the engine compartment now that the engine is out. I can make a proper job of the various tasks which is impossible when access is restricted.

The X brake has suffered horribly from driving through the Makgadigadi salt pan and is now just a ball of rust. It will be a mini restoration project in its own right.

@@Jottingsfrom It's too slow and I"m pushed to make time for a new video but I will try 👍

I have a 3kW Renogy solar controller at my property in Portugal and bought their folding solar panels for the Defender (see episode 2).

I smile to myself when people scoff at Defenders and their '"poor reliability". There's a crowd in SA who own spanking new Land Cruisers which are used for gentle weekend trips and I don't take their opinions too seriously. You need to take a vehicle on an extended trip with no support and see if it gets you home, then judge it. BTW I would advise against putting a foreign engine in any vehicle, It takes years to get it right. I am so far down the line that I can't turn back now.

@@defendermodsandtravels I absolutely despise the constant brand-based shit slinging. If Cruisers and Patrols are so awesome then why does every owner modify the hell out of them? I thought they were perfect already. :) Though the series versions were well underpowered by the 1970s compared to the Japanese options, though they would still get the job done, eventually. :) I have a few series land rovers in various stages of disrepair and not a single LR engine in any of them. I think I'm already well down the can't turn back-now-stage as well.

@@NathanNostaw I am actually brand neutral. I don't criticise others' choice of vehicle and I don't expect them to criticise mine. What matters is how well prepared and maintained the vehicle is and how it is driven.

This is a subject of great interest to me. There is no doubt that a smart split charge system is the best way to ensure that each battery is charged correctly - neither over nor under charged (I did a video on this a while back). However this requires electronics and can fail as my Sterling unit did in South Africa. The contingency plan is to use a jumper cable or manual switch to join the batteries. On balance I think I'll install a new Sterling unit since the wiring is there already and I have so many other tasks to do, but this is last chance saloon. I already ditched the low voltage cut out which failed twice (and the inverter and fridge have their own cut outs).

The portal frame would take a few tons of load so I didn't bother to analyse it for the engine lift.

@@defendermodsandtravels Last time I extracted a Land Rover engine I seem to recall it was a mixture of scaffold trestles and a railway sleeper. The impercunity of youth also meant one of those dreadful wire cable ratchet pulley contraptions as Machine Mart hadn't been invented for a chain block. Presently on a Malaysia project and eyeing up secondhand LandCruisers.....

@@eamoncarroll6051 Nope was down in Africa this last winter.

I hope I didn"t give you a bum steer. My split charge system worked very well until it suddenly stopped working. I need to look into it to see what happened. I am generally biased against all electronics which are often unreliable and can't be repaired. In this case it wasn't critical because I could control the charging of the 2nd battery using a jumper cable. Would a B2B charging system be more reliable? I really don't know.

Post comments any time and if you wish we can email too.

Look I love the 300 Tdi in my Disco but I know it's a bit less robust than the Daihatsu 2.8 Tdi which has legendary reliability. I had an overheating incident in a very isolated part of Botswana which would have damaged a 300 Tdi. That alone makes it worthwhile sticking with the Daihatsu.

@@defendermodsandtravels I totally get that, stick with what you know and trust

One upgrade I made was to fit a R380 box. It's a stronger box than the LT77 and you can fit an oil cooler. This is practically impossible with a LT77. It's a worthwhile mod for hot climates.

@@defendermodsandtravels my son has done the R380 conversion on his 1988 LR90 and fitted the 300tdi (his 19J self destructed as did mine) the only thing with the R380 conversion is it pushed the engine much further forward over/ahead of the front axle and the floors needed modification . My LT77 TDi combo keeps the engine well back. I also don't run a viscous fan so loads of space,all the belts including cam belt and the water pump and power steering can be changed without removal of the front panel or radiator. Done 55'000 trouble free miles since, no issues but then I am not in the African dessert. Hope you get yours sorted soon, back in the day we used to fit Perkins diesel engines because the original LR diesel engines were soo weak. Amazing reliability but very heavy and being non turbo very sluggish(albeit a reliable slug)

@@gavinralph2910 I installed an Ashcroft stubby R 380 and bellhousing so everything else stayed in the same place.

I really suffered with trying to bleed the clutch in Namibia - the bleed nipple was damaged and it had an Imperial hex head which needed a stubby ring spanner which I didn't have. This time I am going to install a single person bleed nipple with a spring loaded non-return valve. Oh yes, it will have a metric hex head too (I carry a reasonable selection of metric spanners but very few Imperial spanners).

I know the history of this unit. It was developed by a guy, whose name I forget, who marketed it through his company which was later sold to Merlin. He published several useful articles on the internet. There's a big switching relay isn't there? I f so the charging cycle for the 2nd battery will be a bit primitive however if it works reliably that's a big advantage.

@@defendermodsandtravels There is a relay. The charging of the second battery has been fine for my limited needs. I only run a fridge constantly, a few 12V sockets and compressor occasionally. The 100 W solar panel provides the charge and then tops up the starter battery. It's been in there for years and is a huge improvement over the previous Genysis system which was rubbish. The bigger problem is squeezing two batteries into the space under the seat, as you know. I have two Odyssey batteries which are tight and they are only 68 AH. My friend uses a Merlin on his boat and he hasn't had a problem.

@@deriusnorris4463 Yes the new trip starts when you arrive back from the last one. What never ceases to amaze me is that you start with a well prepared vehicle and arrive back with a long list of necessary improvements.

@@defendermodsandtravels yup it is so... we just got back from the kgalagadi oil from somewhere in the steering rack (old issue which has got bad) and rear diff housing has a small crack in the top don't know how that happened... (been keeping an eye on it check levels managing the issue) and time to fit a stainless steel exhaust system. Getting ready for the next adventure... At least I don't have an engine to do. Good luck hope the swap goes smoothly (though I don't want to jinx it 😂)

@@deriusnorris4463 I have an SS exhaust fitted more than a decade ago. It has been trouble free. Here we have wonderful specialist workshops. Steering boxes, diffs, starter motors, turbos, whatever. I just take the item out and send it to the right workshop, job done. Very efficient and not expensive either. My big problem this time is the heavy corrosion caused by driving in the salt pan in Botswana. The Def has been rust free until now.

Look I have another engine which is ready to go so why not just use it?

It's there in the early videos about the vehicle. A 2.8 Td (type DL 52) from a Fourtrak.

It got me home but a bit battered. I am doing some repairs, some preventive maintenance and some upgrades to make it into a better overland vehicle. Some bits are plain worn out.

@@stephenasbridge878 There's nothing like enough complexity in proper Land Rovers for constant breakdown enthusiasts. They perfected things however with later Discovery 3 and 4 models, including a fracturing crankshaft mileage lottery feature and requiring the body to be routinely removed for engine work.

I addressed that option in the video. Go to the back of the class!

To be more precise, this was covered by the LR Workshop and Expedition channel. The water pump in a 300 Tdi is mounted high and if the water level drops a bit the engine will overheat. The cylinder head is made of Al and it will warp. There's a history of these engines blowing head gaskets. I have overheated the Daihatsu engine in the Defender a couple of times, most recently in Botswana when the relay for the cooling fan failed. This was in a very remote place and was scary. The engine survived and got me home.

@@defendermodsandtravels Ah! I have to admit I raised an eyebrow in surprise when you dismissed the the venerable 300tdi and wondered why. Now I know. Is the 200tdi any better? Yes, the the 200tdi parts are getting rarer and it does sound like a bag of hammers but they do have zillions of expedition miles behind them. I personally have no problem with engine conversions and run a BMW lump in my Defender that has been utterly reliable in the Sahara. Good luck on the rebuild and do keep us updated!

@@ailo4x4 I have a 300 Tdi in my Disco 1 and think it's great but probably wouldn't take it on an expedition.

The water pump is too high so if there's even a small loss of coolant it will overheat. The cylinder head is made from Al so if the engine overheats it will warp the cylinder head and blow the head gasket. The Daihatsu engine is an old thumper and has a legendary reputation for keeping going. The whole engine is made from cast iron. I have had several incidents of overheating (my fault) and the engine didn't get damaged.