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Stand alone wiring harness for RRC?

Gatorgrizz27

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
756
Messages
875
Hi all, I have a 95 RRC LWB that has been sitting in a humid environment for about 7 years. The original wiring had been hacked together by the redneck PO, but the thing did run and drive. I’ve finally gotten to working on it again and while I haven’t spent a ton of time screwing with the wiring, I’m wondering if it is a lost cause. This thing has enough ECU’s, multi pin connectors, and linked systems that are likely corroded I don’t know that its ever going to be ”reliable” even by rover standards.

The eventual plan had been to swap in a 300 tdi for fuel range and deep water compatibility, and I’ve come across one with an R380 and LT230 that I believe came out of a Defender, with the 1.4:1 high range gears.

I’ve been toying with completely removing the entire factory wiring harness, swapping in the 300 tdi, and then re-wiring the vehicle completely using something like a Painless or Speedway wiring harness. This thing would be used as a street legal camping/wheeling rig, as well as for beach trips, etc. I’m not looking to keep everything operational like power seats and mirrors, but I would like to leave the factory dash in place rather than using aftermarket gauges. I want working HVAC, power windows and door locks, working dome light when the doors are open, etc. Don’t care about ABS, airbags, traction control or those things.

Any input as to if this is a route worth considering and I can get it reasonably functional/non ghetto without being an MIT grad?
 
I think this may fall under the "if you have to ask then you aren't ready" type of scenario. What you are trying to take on requires many hours of reading diagrams, figuring out what you are cutting out, where that takes place, etc.

So if that hasn't happened yet or it's above your pay grade it's not going to work out well. You may just be better off finding a good harness from a donor, swapping that it, and keeping it the way it supposed to be. That way when something breaks you don't have a one off custom harness truck that no one can fix.

If you are doing an engine swap that would probably be the time to do it.
 
Thanks for the replies, I went ahead and ordered the drivetrain, hopefully will have it sometime next week. Plan is to check it out and freshen it up with gaskets, cooling hoses, timing belt, etc without doing a complete overhaul. At some point down the road I’d love to do a body off rebuild on this thing, but it’s not right now.

I have done quite a bit of wiring harness work on motorcycles in the past, I am good at diagnosing issues and hacking out/ simplifying unneeded stuff. The all black and white LR diagrams that are spread out over multiple pages are harder for me to follow though, and I’m more taking the stance of “rip it all out, re-run what necessary” than sorting through and labeling everything. I don’t care if cruise control works, but I do want functional reverse lights, for example.

May start a build thread on this thing, it’s nothing revolutionary but it’s pretty dead in here.

Found out today that the 300 tdi’s were apparently only manufactured ‘94-98, I thought it was a bigger range than that. The Range Rover is a ‘95, it would be cool if it was a matching year.
 
Sounds like you’re on the right track. Regarding a refresh, do:

Timing belt (get the whole kit)
Front inner crank seal
‘P’ gasket behind the water pump housing
Water pump
Viscous fan clutch
Mechanical lift pump
Thermostat
Rocker cover gasket (inspect the lash caps while in there. They like to go missing.)

And you should be in pretty good shape. Rear mains always leak and it’s an easy job if you already have the motor on the floor. There’s an updated double lip seal that works better. Never a bad idea to reseal the oil pan as well…you may find any missing lash caps at the bottom of it.

PM me if you need help with part numbers or parts. I keep a good bit of that stuff on hand.
 
ash said:
Sounds like you’re on the right track. Regarding a refresh, do:

Timing belt (get the whole kit)
Front inner crank seal
‘P’ gasket behind the water pump housing
Water pump
Viscous fan clutch
Mechanical lift pump
Thermostat
Rocker cover gasket (inspect the lash caps while in there. They like to go missing.)

And you should be in pretty good shape. Rear mains always leak and it’s an easy job if you already have the motor on the floor. There’s an updated double lip seal that works better. Never a bad idea to reseal the oil pan as well…you may find any missing lash caps at the bottom of it.

PM me if you need help with part numbers or parts. I keep a good bit of that stuff on hand.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks. Any good sources for rebuilding injectors or turbo? Know those are easily done with the motor installed. Also wondering if it’s worth it to go with OEM gaskets on the R380 and LT230 vs aftermarket. It’s like $150 vs $20, but not worth it if the aftermarket ones are construction paper. :laughing:

Are you by chance the Ash that raced the FL supermoto series? If so, we’ve met and talked rovers.
 
Gatorgrizz27 said:
Awesome, thanks. Any good sources for rebuilding injectors or turbo? Know those are easily done with the motor installed. Also wondering if it’s worth it to go with OEM gaskets on the R380 and LT230 vs aftermarket. It’s like $150 vs $20, but not worth it if the aftermarket ones are construction paper. :laughing:

Are you by chance the Ash that raced the FL supermoto series? If so, we’ve met and talked rovers.
Click to expand...

Haha I am in fact that Ash. That's wild. Shoot me a PM, I'll send you my number...I have a ton of wholesale accounts with suppliers, I should be able to get you hooked up on parts and can save you some coin.
 
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