Land Rover Defender M57 Conversion Kit 8HP

Complete Land Rover Defender M57 Conversion Kit 8HP

This is the 8HP specification of the Defender M57 conversion: the BMW M57 turbo diesel behind a BMW 8HP automatic, supplied with the M57 to 8HP adapter kit, torque converter and flexplate, the transfer case adapter kit and separate engine and transmission wiring harnesses. Eight ratios and a torque converter change how a Defender 90, 110 or 130 behaves on the motorway and under tow, while keeping it suited to expedition travel and demanding off road conditions.

Why this is the kit people order for distance

A Defender that is used for long journeys, or that spends its life with a trailer behind it, asks something different of a drivetrain than one that mostly goes green laning. The eight speed and its torque converter are what this kit is built around, and everything else in the specification follows from that choice: a dedicated transmission control unit, its own transmission wiring harness separate from the engine one, a gear selector assembly with its own wiring, and the adapter hardware to join a BMW box to a Land Rover transfer case.

It is the longest parts list we publish, and that is the point. There is no stage of this conversion where you are told the cooling package, the intake or the downpipe is your problem.

Kit Contents

The M57 Defender Conversion Kit includes:

• BMW M57 engine
• BMW 8HP transmission
• M57 to 8HP adapter kit
• Flexplate assembly
• Torque converter
• Engine ECU
• Transmission control unit (TCU)
• Complete engine wiring harness
• Transmission wiring harness
• Electronic throttle pedal
• Custom engine mounting brackets
• Heavy duty engine mounts
• Transmission mounting bracket
• Transmission mount
• Transfer case adapter kit
• Gear selector assembly
• Gear selector wiring
• Cooling package
• Radiator hoses
• Intercooler and boost pipework
• Air intake system
• Fuel system integration components
• Exhaust downpipe
• Power steering integration components
• Fastener and hardware kit
• Installation documentation

Where the kit stops

The exhaust is a downpipe. Everything behind it is yours to make or buy, and it is worth deciding early whether that is a fabricator’s job or a catalogue part for your vehicle. The same goes for propshafts, the fuel tank and its mounting, and the transfer case itself, which stays with the vehicle: the kit supplies the adapter to it, not a replacement for it.

Where the list says integration components, read it literally. Those parts join the new drivetrain to what is already on your Defender, which means the condition of what is already there matters. A radiator hose kit does not fix a radiator that was on its way out.

Keeping your TD5 instead

Some people arrive at this page wanting the eight speed rather than the BMW engine. If the TD5 in your Defender is healthy and the gearbox is the part you actually want to change, the TD5 8HP adapter kit is the cheaper and much smaller job: it keeps the TD5 and puts a Discovery 4 ZF 8HP behind it. Buy this kit when you want the engine changed as well, not when the gearbox is the only complaint.

Vehicle Compatibility

Suitable for:

• Land Rover Defender 90
• Land Rover Defender 110
• Land Rover Defender 130

The same package can be supplied built onto a brand new chassis for + 2500€.

The kit ships with a step by step installation video covering the whole job: engine fitment, 8HP gearbox installation, wiring and dash integration, and final setup.

Before you order

Tell us the wheelbase and the year, what is in the vehicle now, and what the chassis is like underneath. If it is beyond economic repair the + 2500€ new chassis option usually works out better than a repair, and we also list the galvanised chassis separately.

If you would rather run a manual, or want a 6HP, that is the 6HP kit instead. If you want the newer BMW six, look at the N57 kit, which is also an 8HP build.

Contact us to book a drive in, drive out package 14.000€

Purchase a brand new M57N2 engine

Land Rover Defender M57 6HP Conversion Kit