Replacing the engine?

[TeriAnn]

I mostly drive 2.0L land rovers - they do better than 50 - something is up.

In the mountains at 7000 feet with a hard top 88?

But yes a tune up and checking jetting might help a lot.

[stomper]

Put a rover drive on it! Then when you upgrade the engine, you can sell it to me for a discounted price!

Get the engine jetted and tuned for the altitude, and if the engine is screaming and you want a 5th gear, go for the OD. If you are always downshifting, go with a bigger engine.

[leafsprung]

In the mountains at 7000 feet with a hard top 88

No in the mountains at 5,000 ft with a loaded 107 pickup ;-)

[TeriAnn]

No in the mountains at 5,000 ft with a loaded 107 pickup ;-)

Low lander!

[REDrum]

As others have noted 50MPH max, if on flat tarmac with air in tires, is on the low side of top end.

I top out at 100KPH (~63MPH) in a '76 SIII 88 with a 2.25 diesel, overdrive, on flat tarmac, with air in tires, and at sea level... But hills at >5,000ft is very different physics. Sure regearing can help, but its not a silver bullet to just needing more HP. With a petrol engine you can build another 25hp into it with without too much trouble. Cams, heads, compression, exhaust, jets....typical gear-head add on stuff. Short of that a V8 or 200TDI swap. Anyone know if Santana straight 6 can be found in or near the US?

[TeriAnn]

Anyone know if Santana straight 6 can be found in or near the US?

I looked in the 1990's and couldn't find a trace of anyone who have even heard of a US source of Santana parts of any kind.

Back in those days I thought the Santana 6 was an interesting engine as well. But the newer turbo diesels just make a lot more sense.

[REDrum]

I looked in the 1990's and couldn't find a trace of anyone who have even heard of a US source of Santana parts of any kind. Back in those days I thought the Santana 6 was an interesting engine as well. But the newer turbo diesels just make a lot more sense.

I have heard of them in central america, but never seen one while down there. Lots of Santana's in Costa Rica. Agreed, a TDI is probably a better path to go down for a swap.

[novanick]

I'm going through the same thing right now. I've got my truck parked in the shop as of today ready to do a bit of a cleanup. The relatively good 2.25 petrol in my 88" is actually a loaner from a buddy of mine after my last motor took a dirt nap on me. I'm pulling it out this week and returning it to it's rightful owner. However instead of finding another 2.25 I may go a different route.

Pete Knowles from Riverport Rovers did a nice 4.3 GM conversion on his 109 series II. He's got an entire 'walk through' of the swap here.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RiverportRovers?feature=watch

[PeterK]

Dirt nap, I like that!

Pete

[giftshopduane]

Does everyone really think that the roof rack is creating that much drag? I would be suspect of the bull bar and jack adding extra weight. The rack unloaded seems to be relatively "airy". I could be wrong but I'm not sold. I would go over the whole engine and make sure its in good nick, if its running well around town and you want to cruise at higher speeds then invest in an OD, if you sense its lacking sack then look at the health of your motor. Also makes sure your brakes and parking drum are adjusted "correctly" I picked up a customers 88" and drove it 1/2 hour back to the shop with a dragging P-brake, man did it bum me out. If your willing to spend the money on a new motor, the added expense of swapping in a different powerplant, couldn't you sell that sweet series and pick up a D90? It will serve you quite well in the highway cruise department. My .02$

[greenmeanie]

Does everyone really think that the roof rack is creating that much drag?

Yes. Probably not the sole factor but even 'airy racks' create a huge dissturbance in the airflow generating a LOT of drag to an already brick like vehicle. The drag effect is far more complex than merely the cross section of the bars. If the engine is already stuggling the extra drag will show far more than with a good engine at sea level.

I had a pretty stock 88 in AZ that would still wind up to 65mph around Flagstaff wearing more weight than that bar and jack so, while not helping, they are not the root cause.

[SafeAirOne]

Not to turn this into a roof rack drag penalty thread, but I calculated an ~8% drop in fuel economy simply by driving around with an empty, full-length 109 roof rack.

[gwmaxhunter]

Hi, i dont know how old your post is. I live in canada bc and we have some serious hills here i have a 1964 109 and my 2.25 didnt cut it. I have installed a chevy 2.5 iron duke...not the 2.5 stovebolt.... I have taken lots of pics i have fabricated my own adapters i am ready to help out anyone who wants to do the same to there rover. this gets you a stronger engine and 105 to 115ish HP....

[bobzinak]

You never said how many miles on you engine. two items you might want to check on, besides compression, is the condition of your distributor points cam, the can get very worn and wobbly, messing up timing. then there is the problem of timing chain stretch. Having owned my 2A for many years I can attest to the fact that rovers timing chains stretch ALOT. It is a pain to get at but simple to fix, the more it gets stretched the worse the valve timing is. one chain I had stretched so much that it started hitting on the front cover. the timing chain tensioner did not click into the next slot and the rover ran very poorly. as in no power. some of the cam drive gears have several slots so you can reindex the cam gear to reset the cam timingl, without replkacing the chain, just my idea before going to a big expensive project. ROVE ON bobzinak...