[User Name]

I've always thought it is goofy Defenders don't have a battery jump point under the bonnet. I've thought about adding one, but I wasn't sure how until I noticed the 5 & 7 Series BMWs with the M52 engine have a battery jump point in the middle of the intake manifold. I guess BMW engineers didn't think to add that to the Defender 2.8i because they borrowed the engine from the 3 Series. All that's required is a special cable that goes in-between the starter and alternator, a special bolt, and the covering cap.

Chip,

Is that black two-prong fork-looking thing on the left what makes this cable special? Is that the jump connection? Seems awfully short of a cable to reach between the starter and alternator?


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[volleymdut]

so, does that jumper cable just route power to the alt and starter, get the engine started, and then that recharges the battery?

 

[Falkon]

I've always thought it is goofy Defenders don't have a battery jump point under the bonnet. I've thought about adding one, but I wasn't sure how until I noticed the 5 & 7 Series BMWs with the M52 engine have a battery jump point in the middle of the intake manifold. I guess BMW engineers didn't think to add that to the Defender 2.8i because they borrowed the engine from the 3 Series. All that's required is a special cable that goes in-between the starter and alternator, a special bolt, and the covering cap.

Hey Chip,

The way this Jumper cable is connected on the BMW engines is pretty simple, one end of it is bolted to the main Battery Positive on the Kick Starter, same spot as the Cable coming from the Alternator. The other end is anchored on the vehicle body where it is easily reachable but it's Electrically Isolated from the vehicle body with some thick plastic.

One could easily make this Cable a suitable gauge wire to what whatever length is most convenient for you and you could have your JumpStart Points in the engine bay and at any location of your choosing.

 

[Falkon]

so, does that jumper cable just route power to the alt and starter, get the engine started, and then that recharges the battery?

Yes, it routes power to the Kick Stater and Battery, hence you could jumpstart your car or jumpstart a connected car using the same points. Just see it as an extension of the Battery Positive located in the engine bay for convenience.

Most BMWs have their Batteries located in the Trunk so they made it possible for one to use these points in the engine bay for jumpstarting the car or someone else's.

 

[Chip]

One end connects to the starter and one end connects to the alternator. The black rectangle piece inserts into a hole in the middle of the intake manifold where it snaps in place and the special bolt, which acts as the terminal, screws in and locks the clips in place. It replaces the regular cable which is shorter than this one because it doesn't reach up into the intake. On vehicles that didn't come with this cable, like the Defender 2.8i, there is a round blanking plug in the intake so you just need to remove that to stick this in.

Here's a photo of what it looks like with the cap in place and a YouTube video of it in action. You can connect the negative cable to the lifting point on front of the engine.

 

[Chip]

I got an engine rebuild space set up and I've begun the teardown. I bought a tool kit for holding the camshafts and removing the VANOS. There may be other special tools I'll need. I have BMW's instructions on an old laptop. The camshafts look good to me, but I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for. First step is taking off the head and sending it to the machine shop.

This build is being based on the 2000 model Defender 2.8i so I got the BMW radiator. The correct one is suppose to be from an Euro E39 528i, but that radiator isn't available in the USA so I got the one for an E34 525i which appears to be identical except the sensor for the BMW auxiliary fan is located on the side instead of on the face. That sensor won't be used on the Defender so it doesn't matter. Behr Premium Line. It's made in South Africa. I'm still not sure what to do about the mountings. I don't know how the bottom is mounted on the 2.8i and 2.8i owners I've asked don't seem to know either or aren't interested in sharing the details. It looks like I'll need to make some custom mountings for it. It's possible Land Rover or BMW used some parts off the shelf, but it's hard to know.

Here are the muffler mountings I put together. The muffler strap is Walker 36163 and it's the closest I could find that resembles the original 2.8i strap. It's for a slightly different shaped muffler than the one I have so I'll need to trim it a little to make it fit snug. The double hanger and rubbers are the correct 2.8i parts.

 

[jorg]

Hi Andrew,

The radiator just slides into 2 rubber grommets one on each side of the radiator at the bottom. Sorry cant send you any photo's as Im in Dubai and my vehicle in SA.

 

[Chip]

Hi Andrew,

The radiator just slides into 2 rubber grommets one on each side of the radiator at the bottom. Sorry cant send you any photo's as Im in Dubai and my vehicle in SA.

Hi Jorg,

Thank you. On the brass radiator there are 2 pegs on the bottom that fit into rubber grommets on the chassis, but on the BMW aluminum radiator the tabs for the rubber grommets are higher up on the sides.

 

[Chip]

Here are the brackets on the chassis that the pegs on the brass radiator would fit into. I suppose I can make some brackets with pegs to rivet onto the bottom of the aluminum radiator. Are those missing on the 2000 2.8i? Perhaps it's like the Td5? I know the rear of the chassis is like the Td5, so maybe the front is too. Maybe there are brackets that attach to the wings?

 

[jorg]

Hi Jorg,

Thank you. On the brass radiator there are 2 pegs on the bottom that fit into rubber grommets on the chassis, but on the BMW aluminum radiator the tabs for the rubber grommets are higher up on the sides.

Hi Andrew,

That is correct and on the Land Rover 2.8i there is an additional water pipe that goes into to bottom of the expansion tank on the radiator that is not present on BMW's, you should see a large plastic nut on your's that can be replaced with a male fitting, think its a 8mm or 10mm pipe.

Will see if I can arrange some photos for your in the next few weeks, just need to get my brother to go to the vehicle.

 

[jorg]

Hi Andrew,

That is correct and on the Land Rover 2.8i there is an additional water pipe that goes into to bottom of the expansion tank on the radiator that is not present on BMW's, you should see a large plastic nut on your's that can be replaced with a male fitting, think its a 8mm or 10mm pipe.

Will see if I can arrange some photos for your in the next few weeks, just need to get my brother to go to the vehicle.

Also let me know if there is anything else you need so I can try and get it all done in one go for you.

 

[Chip]

Hi Andrew,

That is correct and on the Land Rover 2.8i there is an additional water pipe that goes into to bottom of the expansion tank on the radiator that is not present on BMW's, you should see a large plastic nut on your's that can be replaced with a male fitting, think its a 8mm or 10mm pipe.

Will see if I can arrange some photos for your in the next few weeks, just need to get my brother to go to the vehicle.

Okay, thank you. Do you know where the other end of the extra water hose connects?

The only other thing I am unsure about right now is the bracket for the exhaust that's located forward of the catalytic converters. It appears that it bolts to the underside of the transfer case or gearbox. If you're able to get a clear photo of how it attaches to the truck that would be awesome.

 

[Chip]

Here's how the exhaust system looks so far. New cats the BMW dealer ordered from Germany, the muffler, and the rear pipe. Mostly the only custom work a shop will need to do is make the pipes between the cats and the exhaust manifolds.

 

[jorg]

Hi Chip,

As requested please see attached:

It virtually impossible to see the lower radiator brackets without removing the radiator.

 

[Chip]

Hi Chip,

As requested please see attached:

It virtually impossible to see the lower radiator brackets without removing the radiator.

Thank you very much for the photos! I would love to see how the lower brackets attach to the chassis. I’m unsure if I need to cut the existing brackets off my chassis.

 

[Chip]

Perhaps it has the same brackets on the chassis as the Td5 and those lower brackets for the BMW radiator fit onto them. It looks like I probably do need to remove the brass radiator brackets from the chassis because the BMW radiator is about the same height as the Td5 radiator.

 

[jorg]

Hi Chip,

The mounts are not the same as a TD5, I would just make contact with British 4x4 or LR Service centre in South Africa and see if you could buy a set off them as they break many vehicles for spares. The BMW radiators were fitted from 1999-2001 you would just need to be specific. I would also get the exhaust hanger that bolts to the gearbox off them.

The radiator mount bolt onto existing mounting points on the chassis.

 

[Chip]

Hi Chip,

The mounts are not the same as a TD5, I would just make contact with British 4x4 or LR Service centre in South Africa and see if you could buy a set off them as they break many vehicles for spares. The BMW radiators were fitted from 1999-2001 you would just need to be specific. I would also get the exhaust hanger that bolts to the gearbox off them.

The radiator mount bolt onto existing mounting points on the chassis.

Hi Jorg,
Thank you for the info. I sent an email to LR Service Centre early last month and I haven't received a reply. I asked one of their reps on Facebook and I didn't receive a reply from them either. I'll try again.

Follow up: I called them and they don't have the parts. They told me to ask the Land Rover agent. It looks like there isn't a part number for the BMW radiator cowl. The part number he gave me is for the brass radiator cowl. I called Land Rover Stellenbosch and they told me they don't work on the 2.8 anymore. It's too old. They gave me the number for LR Service Centre. So looks like I'll be making the parts myself.

 

[Chip]

I was able to tell from your pictures Jorg that the 2000 2.8i has the E39 thermostat housing so I ordered one of those and also the newer gearbox crossmember so I got one of those too. It has hex shaped holes in the bottom for rivet nuts so I installed those. These ones fit well: McMaster-Carr

 

[jorg]

I was able to tell from your pictures Jorg that the 2000 2.8i has the E39 thermostat housing so I ordered one of those and also the newer gearbox crossmember so I got one of those too. It has hex shaped holes in the bottom for rivet nuts so I installed those. These ones fit well: McMaster-Carr

Hi Chip,

Please remember to get the updated thermostat housing from BMW rather than the old bakelite plastic housing as they tent to crack.
Below is the updated part number, I also changed the housing on mine.


See below some of the part numbers i have collected thus far.

2000 Land Rover Defender 90 2.8i
Part	Brand	Part Number	Kit Number
Diff Carrier Bearing & Racer, Front & Rear	Timken	LM 102949 / LM102910
Swivel Hub Pin Bearing Top	Timken	11590 / 11520
Swivel Hub Pin Bearing Bottom	Timken	606666
Front Wheel Bearing	Timken	LM 603049 / LM 603011	Set 37
Rear Wheel Bearing	Timken	LM 603049 / LM 603011	Set 37
Swivel Ball Seal	Land Rover	FTC 3401
Half Shaft Oil SealBack of Swivel Ball Seal	Land Rover	FTC 3276
Swivel Ball Gasket	Land Rover	FTC 3646
Stub Axel Outer Seal	Land Rover	FTC 5268
Rear Wheel Bearing Seal Inner	Land Rover	FTC 4785
Front Wheel Bearing Seal Inner	Land Rover	FTC 4785
Half Shaft Gasket	Land Rover	FRC 3988
Universal Joint	Land Rover / GKN Hardy Spicer	RTC3291HS
Fuel Pump	VDO	WQB100450
Viscus Coupling	BMW/Behr	11527505302
Fan	BMW	11521712058
Radiator	Behr	BMW E39 528i (4 core)
Fan Belt	RAM	6PK1555
A/C Belt	RAM	5PK770
Air Filter	Donaldson	P77-2579
Oil Filter	BMW/GUD	11-42-7-512-300
Fuel Filter	FRAM / Hengst	G8018 / H110WK
Spark Plugs	NGK	BKR6EK
Clutch Kit	Valoe	STC50512
Slave Cylinder	Delfi	Range Rover P38 Diesel ANR2967
Slave Cylinder Seals	Land Rover	STC 2818
Thermostat Housing	BMW	11.53-1-740-478
Thermostat	BMW/Masterparts	7-511-083 / 27482
Fly Wheele	Range Rover P38 Diesel	ERR 5205
Bellhousing & Adaptor	Range Rover P38 Diesel	FTC 4461 & FTC 3424
Brake Pads Front	Ferodo Ceramic	FDB871
Brake Pads Rear	Ferodo Ceramic	FDB872
Front Discs	Ventilated	FTC902 / LR017952
Rear Disc	Solid	FTC1381 / LR017953
Cranksensor	BMW	12141709616
Crankshaft Position Sensor; Update Harness/Adapter	BMW	12514592703
Crankshaft Position Sensor O-ring	BMW	12141748398
Camshaft Sensor	BMW	12147518628