Welcome, everyone!

This might turn into a long thread, so buckle up.

The story begins about five years ago when I bought my first Range Rover. Not long after, I picked up a second one — a low-mileage example with just 50k on the clock. I planned to keep it as a long-term family car.

With great enthusiasm, I started working on it myself. But as I dug deeper, I uncovered a series of unpleasant surprises — each one a testament to the gross incompetence of whoever had worked on the car before me.

Despite my determination to set things right, it reached a point where it felt like a never-ending battle. Fix one issue, and three more appear. Too many gremlins.

Recently, I came across another L322 Autobiography. Clean title, solid service history — but a shot engine.

So, with a heavy heart, I made the decision: the engine from my white SE will be donated to the grey Autobiography.

One more twist — the entire swap will be done without a ramp, as I’ve unfortunately lost access to my friend’s garage.

Let the journey begin.

You may not be, but I am looking forward to following this thread.


Steve.

Phase One: The Donor Strip-Down

The first step was prepping the donor vehicle for the swap.

At first, I considered removing just the engine. But since the donor will eventually be broken for parts anyway, it made more sense to drop the engine and gearbox together.

I started by stripping down the entire front end — bumper, grille, headlights, the lot — to gain access to the radiator pack, wiring looms, and the maze of hoses at the front of the engine. Let me tell you, it's a full-on spider web in there.

Working on a vehicle of this age means one thing: broken clips and fir-trees. No matter how careful you are, they’re brittle and most don’t survive. These will need to be replaced during reassembly in the recipient car.

Despite the complexity, it’s clear the engineers had some foresight. Once you expose it all, the engine and gearbox actually seem designed to come out as a complete unit.

This first stage took a few days — just a couple of hours each evening after work. Thankfully, the weather was on my side.

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Phase Two: Drop It Out

Once you’ve wrestled through the mountain of wiring and hoses, and pulled both main looms for the engine and gearbox from the ECUs, it’s time to get underneath the car.

Down there, you’ll find a handful of connectors at the rear of the gearbox and on both front sides — mainly lambda sensors, DPF sensor wiring, and some transfer case controls tucked at the back. Don’t forget the neutral cable pull on the left side of the gearbox — easy to miss, but essential.

Since the engine and gearbox are coming out as one unit, the only driveline connection that needs to be undone is the rear prop shaft at the transfer case.

To access the main bolts holding the engine and gearbox, you’ll need to remove the heat shields first. Only then can you reach everything properly.

Next up: propping the whole assembly. I used a pallet truck, which worked well enough for the job. Once everything was safely supported and secure, I removed the subframe bolts.

Quick confession — I missed a small heat shield above the left anti-roll bar mount and tore it off when lowering. A minor mistake, but a good reminder to double-check those hidden bits.

To fully drop the assembly, the four bolts holding the uprights to the shocks have to come out. Once that’s done, the whole front subframe with the engine and gearbox is free to roll out.

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You are quite mad. Well done, watching with interest! 2012 Vogue TDV8 in Aintree green over sand

Mad... yeah, can't argue Toby1. Wifey keeps saying that each time she passes looking at it...

Phase Three: Strip Down

With the entire lump finally out of the donor, the real teardown could begin.

This stage focused on splitting the engine and gearbox apart. Some components went straight onto the shelf and will be listed for sale, while others are being saved for reuse in the transplant. Organization is everything at this point — especially when you'll be cross-referencing or reinstalling parts later.

It’s a messy, meticulous job. Years of grime have to come off, every connection inspected, and signs of wear noted. But it's also where you really get to understand what you're working with.

Thankfully, despite the donor’s rough history, the engine itself turned out to be in surprisingly good condition — a small but very welcome win in a project full of uncertainties. Knowing this unit since it had only 50k miles on it gives me some peace of mind.

That said, I’m taking no chances. The rear crankshaft seal is being replaced, along with anything else that looked suspect or would be difficult to reach once the engine is back in.

I do wish I had more time to give everything a full cosmetic refresh — new bolts, fresh paint, the works — but for now, practicality wins over perfection.

One small upgrade, though: the subframes are being reconditioned. They’ve been sandblasted, acid cleaned, cold galvanised, and will be finished in Tough-Ox coating. That part’s still in progress — photos to come.

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Crankshaft seal turned out to be a good call — a small leak was already starting to appear.

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Top job, looking forward to reading the progress

Don't forget the three most important things

Rust proofing
Rust proofing
and
Rust proofing

 Pete
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

That looks a lovely job. Definitely a job worth doing properly. Once done properly you'll get many years of rust free service from that.  2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

Haylands wrote:

Top job, looking forward to reading the progress

Don't forget the three most important things

Rust proofing
Rust proofing
and
Rust proofing

The subframes seem to corrode from the inside out, I'd flood the inside with rust proofer and keep moving it's orientation so every last bit gets some, probably need to tape off a lot of holes etc...

IMHO I don't think you will ever stop the rot but you certainly can delay the process by a large amount...  Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Does anyone near Bishop's Stortford have a crankshaft magnetic ring installation tool which I could borrow for couple of hours?

Tool: 303-1237