Here we go Flame on.

Got my new to me '96 Disco and have some basic questions... I think.

1. The previous owner (P.O.) repointed the rear pinion as if it had a CV drive shaft. I am sure he did this because of the rotoflex thing in the back. I want to put in a proper drive shaft and was wondering if there were any out of other model years I could use. I would like to go with a CV shaft front and rear. I know I have to get the new flange for the pinion side. Tom woods wants $400 a shaft. When I did my Jeep I simply got a front shaft out of another Cherokee and installed a SYE. Any options like this out there? DIY preferred.

2. Are there any other options out there for regearing that might be less expensive then great basin Rovers? There price blew me away.

3. The Disco seems a little under powered. It has a K&N filter and Borla exhaust but I think that is it. What are the best bolt on mods for cost effective power upgrades? I have done a basic tune up. Would new injectors be an option. It has a slight stumble off idle but only if you ease on the gas. If you floor it, it lights right off.

4. Since I plan on keeping this thing for a long time. Has anybody done a powertrain swap on one of these? Like maybe a 4.3 GM V6 turbo 400 new process setup? Looks like it would fit OK and not be too difficult. That is only if the Disco motor grenades on me. No reason to make work.



Any help would be great. Thanks again.

What do you plan on using the Disco for?

Great question and sorry for not including it. Primary use is trail rig that can get me long distances to the trail hauling a pop up tent trailer, wheeling about then if all is good driving home/ severe winter storm and back up vehicle.

Find a junkyard 4.6 out of a range rover or 03-04 Disco II. It will bolt up to your autobox and t-case, and give you a better power boost than any you'll find for your motor.
GBR are pricey, but they're the best out there for gears. Otherwise, do an axle swap to Toyota FJ80 or D60 axles.

Call Todd over at Toddcosuspensions.com or Justin at Lucky8llc.com. They have the same shit as GBR and are cheaper...or if you want to turn 37's call Keith at Rovertracs.com...lot's of options other than GBR...

How did the PO rotate the axle housing ?
Did they address the spring perch angle or retain the spring at the top (or cones) ?
My springs don't go back in the upper seat when it droops out in stock form with long travel shocks.
You could regear the t-case as well.

Dan

The PO cut off the old spring perches front and rear then rewelded along with new shock mounts in back.

Thanks for the extra web sites.

XTREME Any articles on the motor swap?

Search all the LR related websites, and search for 4.6 swap. It's all bolt in. Hell; with mine the dealer kept my ecu and just reflashed it. All the other computers are the same as my 02' MY 4.0. I've seen 4.6's swapped into all 3.9 and 4.0 trucks with little or no problems. The one issue is putting them in the 14CUX 3.5's if I remember correctly.

Search all the LR related websites, and search for 4.6 swap. It's all bolt in. Hell; with mine the dealer kept my ecu and just reflashed it. All the other computers are the same as my 02' MY 4.0. I've seen 4.6's swapped into all 3.9 and 4.0 trucks with little or no problems. The one issue is putting them in the 14CUX 3.5's if I remember correctly.

it's not even a re-flash on the ECU, there's a check-box for 4.0/4.6, just change it and save the update.

so you want u-joint driveshafts or what???

You can rebuild a D2 front driveshaft and use it along with a new t-case outout flange on the front and use a RRC or d1 ujoint DS on the rear with a 4bolt flange on the diff.

do a tune up, plugs wires ect... rovers arent fast.

You can use a range rover classic driveshaft in the rear instead of the Rotoflex. Just gotta get the yoke from a used diff or buy the kit. For gearing there arent any cheap options. A few have used Series gears (4.7) but they arent strong enough. By the time you do axles/gears/lockers, Keiths yota conversion seems like a better option or if you have the skills an axle swap. Check your code box under the pass seat for any faults.

Will a 4.6 crank fit in a 3.9?
from what I remember, the 4.0 and 4.6 had the same bore.
If you could get that extra stroke and a good torquer cam, seems like that would be the cheapest way to gain a few ponies and you'd only be 1/10 of a liter short of a fo six

Call Todd over at Toddcosuspensions.com or Justin at Lucky8llc.com. They have the same shit as GBR and are cheaper...or if you want to turn 37's call Keith at Rovertracs.com...lot's of options other than GBR...

Frank
Your information is incorrect. Here is the factual data. Most of my products are proprietary and are not sold by other distributors/dealers so other people don't sell these same things for less. Toddco to the best of my knowledge has no alternative ratio ring and pinion sets. I also have the largest selection and most competitive pricing on R&P gears in the USA market. I have Ashcroft 4.11 gear sets starting at $299.95. My own 4.11's are $399.95 but they include all of the set up components, both pinion height and pinion bearing preload shims, 22 mm pinion nut, washer and new pinion seal i.e. a complete minor install kit. All of my fronts are reverse rotation designs. My 4.14's & 4.71's are $449.95 each and both also include the minor install kit . The 4.14 gears are approximately 25% stronger than a 4.11 due to the coarser tooth count. Lucky 8 has 4.10 gears for $328 but this does not include a minor install kit and a 4.11 (9X37 tooth count) is about 20% stronger than Lucky's 4.10 (10X41 tooth count). A 4.14 is close to 50% stronger than a 4.10. An extra $72 gets you a significantly stronger gear with everything needed to install them. If you think that isn't a better deal, you are entitled to your opinion. If you don't know the facts, maybe you should get them first or at least preface your statements as an opinion.

Also a Toyota 8 inch electric lock differential is stronger than a stock 2 pinion Rover differential but at best, it is only as strong as a properly built Rover differential using upgraded components.

Bill
GBR

Here we go Flame on.


2. Are there any other options out there for regearing that might be less expensive then great basin Rovers? There price blew me away.

3. The Disco seems a little under powered.

Any help would be great. Thanks again.

Luster
You may have been blown away by my prices but if you read my previous post, you now know my prices are the most competitive in the industry. What you are dealing with is what can probably be called Rover sticker shock. This is a common occurrence for folks that come over from other marques especially ones such as Jeeps in which there are millions and millions of them in existence. The reality is that every year there are probably 500 alternative ratio Land Rover ring and pinion sets sold in the entire world. Yes I meant - the entire world/year. There might be that many Jeeps gears sets sold every day or at a minimum, easily every week. As a result, there are no economies of scale in either manufacturing or marketing. If you didn't understand this when you decided to buy a Land Rover, this certainly doesn't make you unique.

Another misconception is that the quality of the average Jeep and Land Rover ring and pinion set is the same. On average LR aftermarket gear sets are of a far higher quality than the average Jeep gear set. So you are not comparing apples to apples.

Another misconception about LR's are that they are underpowered. This isn't true, their issue is that they are geared a little on the tall side and most off road modifications, such as taller tires make it even worse. It is really easy to end up completely over geared. You would most likely solve your power problem by lowering your differential gearing. Would be a lot cheaper than re-powering the rig.

Also a less expensive solution for the rear driveshaft would be to clock the differential back down and use a single cardon shaft. You don't need a DC shaft until you get to 4 plus inches of lift. SIngle cardon shafts are also stronger than double cardon ones assuming the u-joints are the same size.

Bill
GBR

Hi

I think that a Toyota 30 spline differential is the way to go. I do not know of any rover differential that can be built to be as strong as the Toyota conversion when you consider that you can use 30 spline axles and that it can go in a stock housing

ed

Ok Bill...no disrespect meant, just offering up some other options, thanks for let us know

Bill, be careful pimping your stuff without a Yellow Star for Vendors. the band hammer can come down pretty hard... Hate to see good people banded. and yeah, the rover aftermarket is mucho better quality than most (not all) of the jeep and a fiar bit of toyota stuff.

Frank, PMed you back yo... Im getting under the truck today (when the rain stops...) to measure :)

As far as the engine upgrades go.....you need a 4.6 crank,cam,and rods to turn your motor into a different monster and you can use bosch or gems. The ECU will deal with it just fine without any so called "Flashing"! When it comes to the gears.....Bill's stuff is the best as far as straight drop in's go! The other guys don't seem to have any idea of what they are selling in terms of the metal it was made from or even the treatments. Keith seems to have the market on the Yoda stuff and it seems to work well for those alittle less faint of heart with the wrench. A t-box regear seems to be the strongest but not the cheapest and still leaves you with the option of regearing the axles at a later date if you still need more ummph. I've had mogs,60's,and 9's under my Rovers and it's not the way to go if you don't have the fab skills(yet) to undertake the job yourself. Good luck and don't forget to have fun when your out there...it sometimes feels like we are all building these things for competition and not trail riding anymore. I know some of us compete but most of it seems to be only with the "Jones"! Go with what's gonna get you there and back and and enjoy the new labor of love. Just thoughts and not meant to crush anyone's feelings or product choices.

Thanks everyone for the opinions and Bill thanks for the information. I am certainly suffering from Rover sticker shock. I like the idea of the 4.6 swap and the gearing swap. Jut going to take time and money. For now it can sit as is and I will just run it the way the P.O. did.

As far as the engine swap goes. What year vehicles are potential donors for this. Do I need anything more than block and heads.

gems 4.6 and drop it in. 95-98 range rover.

Like I said before....as far as the engine is concerned the 4.0/4.6 blocks are the same. All you need to do is swap the cam,rods,and crank from Bosch or GEMS and you can get them from D&D fab. If you keep the 4.0 pistons it will knock the compression up abit which is not a bad thing. If you're feel'n skinny you can even do this swap in situ. I'd slap some new rings and bearings on it while you got it apart.

Sounds easy enough. Think I may do it or at least buy the motor and get it ready so if my current engine craps out I have one on deck. Just to be on the same page. There is no difference in injector size for the 4.6? Just a computer flash and thats it huh?

Thanks for the info all. Time to start part hunting my local JY's Really want to find a t-case with a different high range. The price for the new gears from ashcroft and Toddco once again have sticker shocked me.