Converting a Disco 2 from 5-speed to Auto

[SupraLux]

Long time no see... its gotten quiet in here...

So everyone talks about swapping the other way and getting a 5-speed, but I've got the 'holy grail' 5-speed TD5... and quite like it - but its really a pain for my short-ass partner who can't reach the pedals - so I'm going auto again.

Has anyone done this before? Do I just need a trans and an ECU? My ECU is chipped (Superchips) and I'd hate to loose that because damn it makes a HUGE difference and I don't think I could go back to a factory slug. Can you swap the Manual ECU module for an auto one then swap the actual chips to keep the mapped one or is that coded for the trans as well?

I have a V8 auto parts truck (which has a CDL fortunately because my '02 was that horrible year that didn't get them), so that will help - I'm planning to just use as much of the trans from that one as I can.

Anyone done this?

[turoa]

Hey Steve, good to see you're still rocking the landy lifestyle and not gone back to dirty hiluxes and isuzu's

From what I can tell the main harness is different so going manual to auto is a bit more difficult than going the other way. Some info here https://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-2- ... rsion.html so can be done. If you're that way inclined you could set it up as a manual shift auto

The only other suggestion I would have is using a D1 valve body or whole trans (will bolt in with bellhousing and torque converter swapped over from a td5 trans). They are both 4hp22's but the d1 is hydraulically controlled. You would have to sort out a bracket off the pedal for a TV cable but not the end of the world.

[SupraLux]

Hey Turoa, yeah I'm up to number 3 now... Not likely to go back to anything else until someone comes up with a vehicle as well appointed, capable and comfortable out of the box. I wish it was a little more reliable, but I've got a reasonable handle on what goes wrong with them now so I can fix most things at home or on the side of the road... And I have Rex on speed dial

Great thought regarding the D1 auto, I hadn't considered that. I don't need a manualised auto, just a plain one is fine. The first D2 I had was stock auto and I did about 100,000km in that one. I'll look into the availability of the bits and investigate it further.

Cheers

Steve

[Rotazuk]

I miss my old d2 .....

Anyway , I am a short ass and the best thing I did was space the gas pedal off the floor an extra inch . Mine was auto thou , but I found the gas pedalwas too low compared to the brake pedal .

Oh and if you are going to chuck an auto in it go with the 4.6 torque converter . I paid just over a grand to get an ashcroft tq in and it made a hell.of a difference to it . But its just a 4.6 converter with the td5 bolt pattern I believe . Im a tight ass and it was still worth it . Will make it a much better drive with the tweeked ecu .

Cheers
Chris

[SupraLux]

I miss my old d2 .....

Anyway , I am a short ass and the best thing I did was space the gas pedal off the floor an extra inch . Mine was auto thou , but I found the gas pedalwas too low compared to the brake pedal .

Oh and if you are going to chuck an auto in it go with the 4.6 torque converter . I paid just over a grand to get an ashcroft tq in and it made a hell.of a difference to it . But its just a 4.6 converter with the td5 bolt pattern I believe . Im a tight ass and it was still worth it . Will make it a much better drive with the tweeked ecu .

Cheers
Chris

Cheers Chris, what were the actual improvements with that torque converter? I never really liked the fact that I'd push the loud pedal then go make a cup of tea while waiting for it to spool up and start to bite... that really could use improving... but the TD5 has nothing (and I mean NOTHING) below around 1850 RPM, even chipped its got nothing... so I guess its a balancing act.

Cheers

Steve

[Rotazuk]

The td5 is no power house but I was happy with the chipped td5 power , mind you I was not trying to make it make power below 2000rpm . Not saying it did not have any but it just seemed happy in the 2 to 3g range . To be fair my old torque converter was a bit sad so no direct comparison to a good factory one but I believe the factory tq does not start to bit until 2600rpm .
Anyway after the ashcroft one went in it would bite at 2000 and start to pull . I think even 2600 is too late , you have wasted half of your good torque by that point .

Cheers
Chris

[SupraLux]

I'm definitely happy with mine chipped as well... Its night and day difference to a factory engine.

2000RPM sounds like a much better spot to be biting... I'll definitely look that up. So, shopping list - D1 auto, D2 TD5 auto bellhousing, Ashcroft torque converter kit (looks like it will work with the 4.0 D2 V8 setup - and since I have one of those as a parts truck I should be good to go - I'll ask them), and beer.

Seems doable...