Land Rover Defender N57 Conversion Kit

Complete Land Rover Defender N57 Conversion Kit

This kit puts BMW’s N57 diesel and the ZF 8HP transmission into a Defender 90, 110 or 130. The N57 is the newer of the two BMW sixes we build Defender kits around, and the kit is specified to match: immobiliser solution, OBD diagnostics provision and wiring diagrams on the electrical side, and a full cooling, fuel, intake and exhaust package rather than a short list of adapters.

It is aimed at vehicles that get used – expedition builds, overlanders, daily drivers and tow vehicles – on road and off.

What the electronics package is actually for

The hard part of putting a modern BMW diesel into an old Land Rover is not mechanical, it is electrical. The engine expects a car around it, and the immobiliser is a common point at which a conversion built from scrapyard parts stops. This kit ships with an immobiliser solution and an OBD diagnostics provision as part of the specification, which means two things: the engine runs without a donor car’s body electronics, and when something is wrong later you can plug a reader in and be told what it is instead of guessing.

It is also the kit that comes with wiring diagrams as well as an installation guide. If the conversion is going to be finished by someone other than whoever started it, or serviced by a workshop that has never seen one, that documentation is worth more than it looks on a parts list.

Kit Contents

The Defender N57 8HP Conversion Kit includes:

Drivetrain

• BMW N57 engine package
• ZF 8HP transmission
• Torque converter
• Flexplate assembly
• Transfer case adapter
• Transfer case input components
• Gear selector assembly
• Transmission controller

Engine Installation

• Engine mounts
• Engine mount brackets
• Transmission mount
• Transmission crossmember
• Mounting hardware

Electronics

• Engine ECU
• TCU
• Immobiliser solution
• Engine wiring harness
• Transmission wiring harness
• Electronic throttle pedal
• OBD diagnostics provision

Cooling System

• Radiator package
• Intercooler
• Intercooler pipework
• Coolant hoses
• Expansion tank solution
• Transmission cooler (if required)

Fuel System

• Fuel system integration components
• Fuel lines and fittings (if supplied)
• Fuel filter solution

Intake & Exhaust

• Air intake solution
• Air filter assembly
• Turbo intake pipework
• Exhaust downpipe
• Exhaust integration components

Documentation

• Installation guide
• Wiring diagrams
• Technical support

Two items on that list are conditional

Notice the transmission cooler is marked if required, and the fuel lines and fittings are marked if supplied. Those qualifiers are there because what your vehicle needs depends on what is already fitted to it and how it will be used. Do not order on the assumption that both are in the box. Ask us to confirm your specification in writing, listing the two conditional items explicitly, and you will know exactly what is arriving.

Outside the list entirely: the exhaust behind the downpipe, propshafts, the transfer case itself, and the vehicle. The kit adapts to your transfer case rather than replacing it.

Vehicle Compatibility

Suitable for:

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

Add a brand new chassis to the build for + 2500€.

Installation is documented on video from start to finish – engine fitment, 8HP gearbox installation, wiring and dash integration, final setup – alongside the installation guide and wiring diagrams supplied with the kit.

N57 or M57

We build a Defender kit around each. The M57 8HP kit is the same idea with the older engine family, and the 6HP kit is the only one of the three that offers a manual package. If you are undecided, the question worth asking is not which engine is better but which one the rest of your project already assumes: parts availability, what your workshop has seen before, and whether anyone local can diagnose it.

Before you order

Have the wheelbase, the year, the current drivetrain and the state of the chassis to hand. Say whether the vehicle needs to keep air conditioning or power steering as they are, and whether it will tow. Then contact us and we will confirm the kit specification for your vehicle before anything is built.

Contact us to book a drive in, drive out package 16.000€

Land Rover Defender M57 8HP Conversion Kit