Hard bit over

The 2.7TDi engine and gearbox is now in the Navara and looks at home. I used the Navara gearbox mounting and cross member the Navara  prop-shaft fitted perfectly. The 2.7TDi engine mountings fit straight on to the Navara chassis mounting points, there is even a threaded hole in the front of the mounting the same as the Maverick. The only other bit I changed over from the old Navara engine is the vacuum pump pipe which means the pipe will fit perfectly onto the Navara system, as if it's always been there. The power steering looks as if it might be more involved but that is for another day.

Fitting the engine and gearbox together was a lot easier than fitting the engine and gearbox separately, it just went in like it wanted to be there.

Navara reassembly

Putting it all back together now,

Navara alternator fits straight on using 2.7TD bolts,the Navara alternator has a double pulley which I left, the belts seem to line up OK. I have connected the Navara wiring.

I have fitted the Navra starter circuit to the 2.7TD and the Navara gearbox loom to the Maverick box.

The other Navara engine electrics I have left to one side for the moment. I hope to run the engine with the Maverick electrics and ECU and let the Navara do the rest.

I have used the Maverick power steering pump with the Mavirick oil supply pipe and the Navara high pressure pipe. I had to reroute the pipe in a backward loop but it fits OK I will make a new support bracket to stop any vibration.

Power steering pipe looped around and fitted on to the 2.7TD pump

The fuel pipes a close enough to fit using the Navara pipes I just removed the Navara leak off pipe as the 2.7TD leak of goes back to the pump.

Little things are the most annoying like the heater pipes are different sizes so will need modifying, but the Maverick exhaust when straight on, matching perfectly with the Navara system.

The Navara high/low range gear-stick fits straight on and is better than the old Maverick one.

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Puzzling over the radiator now, seems the fan is now a bit to the right and the cowl will not fit. I think I will put the bonnet back and see if the taller Maverick rad will clear with a bit of fiddling the hoses will  look better with that option to.

Maverick loom

The Maverick rad did not fit very well it was just touching the bonnet, so I will use the Navara rad and make a neat metal pipe to run along the top of the rad to create an outlet for the top hose on the other side of the rad.

I removed the wiring loom from the Maverick, wasn't such a bad a job. I just had to keep telling myself that most of the loom will be surplus to requirements and I won't have to find a home for all of it in the Navara. I plan to use just the bits essential to make the engine run, the annoying thing is going to be the NATS system which will mean I have to use more parts of the loom than otherwise. The Maverick accelerator is different, older technology they both do the same thing so they might be interchangeable. Will have to wait and see if the Maverick ECU will recognize it, not that big a job to switch them over if not, plus it will be running by then and I will be in a good mood.

Maverick wiring loom

A few hours and a wiring diagram should see this sorted I will leave every thing attached until it is running and then remove each unused section at a time, I can then adjust the lengths to make a neat fit. I am hoping to connect the oil pressure, temp and fuel filter senders to the Navara ECU but I don't yet know how this will behave, hopefully if it gets the correct information it should think everything's OK.

Getting it running

I might have been a bit optimistic thinking I could reduce the wiring loom using the workshop manual, there are just too many things to worry about. So I will forget the wiring diagram and use logic.


I have wired up the engine using the Maverick loom which I just draped over the Navara roughly where it was in the Maveric. I fitted all the components that I think its needs to run and some I am not sure about. I used the Navara loom to the alternator, starter and gearbox all the other sensors and injector pump are wired using the Maverik loom and ECU.

Maverick loom;

• ECU
• Engine sensors and injector pump
• Ignition switch and NATS coller
• Accelerator pedal 
• Immobilizer box
• Radio signal box
• Super lock box
• Dashboard
• All the relays and fuses
• Glow plug relay
• Several other small box's and relays I haven't a clue what they are.

I fitted a live to the alternator cable on the maverick loom and fitted all the earth wires I could find, when the Maverick ignition key was on all the dash lights worked, of course wouldn't start with this key. However a quick flick of the Navara key and she was away, tick over and high speed all the Maverick dash lights out except the engine warning light, no surprise there. The Navara glow plug system was working so could possibly use it for the 2.7TD something to experiment with later.

Now I can start paring back the unused part of the loom a truly daunting task because if I cut a required wire it will be a job to reinstate it. Things like the light circuit and any empty plugs can be safely cut and pulled through. I kept test starting her every so often and before and after removing any relays. Now the loom to the ECU is a manageable size and will fit in nicely.

I plan to fit the ECU at the rear of the n/s inner wing there is quite a bit of space on that side of the truck I hope that I can reroute the rest of the parred down loom and relays to this area for neatness, I will try to make some sort of water resistant bag to keep it all dry just in case the truck goes swimming one day.

A bit of a birds nest at the moment but is changing dramatically as the unused wires are pulled out.

A few other small but fiddly jobs, the Maverick air cleaner bracket has to be slightly modified almost fits but not quite and I am making a steel pipe to move the top hose over, this will also act as a fan guard as the plastic one won't fit now. I bolted the slam panel back in place I welded some extensions on each end, its so much easier to work on if you can remove it, might help someone in the far future.

Should look quite neat when finnished

Fiddly bits

The top hose pipe I made fits well and looks neat, as I hoped it also acts as a fan guard. I modified the air filter mounting from the Maverick so the Maverick air cleaner now sits comfortably in the Navara engine bay. It needs to be lowered by 10mm and the filter mounting holes moved closer to the engine by about 25mm.

So its all running now, just a final tidy up and wire the Maverick engine loom into the Navara ignition.

These are the Navara electrics that I am using, all the connectors are a straight fit onto the 2.7TDi engine except the glow plugs.

• Glow plug system
• Charging system
• Oil pressure sender wires
• Starting system
• Gearbox loom

Navara bits NOT used;

• Injector pump loom, just tucked out the way.
• Accelerator pedal.
• Engine sensors

Maverick electrics used;

• ECU
• Engine Loom
• Ignition switch and related NATS parts.
• Accelerator pedal, needs slight modification to mounting.

Modified Maverick pedal assembly, shortened, new lower mounting holes drilled and the top mounting leg from the Navara pedal welded in place.

More fiddly bits

The accelerator pedal looks like it's always been there, I routed the wiring from the Maverick loom through the unused air con evaporator holes behind the heater to the drivers side and connected to the pedal, I had to supply a new ground wire as the Maverick loom ground was too short then I refitted the air con cover. Looks neat and tidy.

I have left all the original Navara connections in place just in case they are needed one day.

I have found an ammunition box that is perfect to store the Maverick relays, fuses and ignition barrel along with any spare loom.I had intended to cut the loom down,but as it's tucked away nicely now I will leave it alone, it will be much more reliable without all those extra joints to potentially fail.

Ammo box is fixed where the second battery would be, everything fits in perfectly nice and tight so there will not be any movement. I cut a hole for the loom to the engine and ECU which I will make a silicon bung for when the truck has proven its self reliable, the ammo box lid has a good seal so it should keep everything nice and dry. The jump lead is a temporary live while in the test stage, I will connect this to the Navara ignition circuit so that the \maverick system becomes live with the Navara switched on.

The finished engine bay, you can hardly tell its the wrong engine. I have re-covered the maverick loom in red tape just to make identification of the two systems easier the data link for the Maverick is in the ammo box. It will be easily found by any one tracing the loom, I think I might paint a message on the lid as well to help future owners.

All the Navra electrics seem to work, the speedo and 4 wheel drive lights, the door locks and windows. The tachometer and a couple of other dash lights and the temp gauge do not work and of course the engine management light is on. I have run it up to temp for about half an hour and its seems fine, I can't wait to get the front axle back and go for a test drive. 

The Maverick ECU waiting for a tidy up and fixing in place. I plan to paint several layers of mould making latex over the top and create a water proof seal that will pull of when servicing is required. There are a few extra wires still to sort these should relate to the dash board lights and gauges, I can sort these at my leisure as I can live without a few lights for a bit. The loom runs under the air filter into the ammo box looks very neat and tidy.  

Finishing off

I had trouble finding an ignition live to power up the Maverick ECU, I used a red wire from the ignition relay in the end. The only problem is a short delay switching off the engine, I will work on that one, just that this wire was easy to get at and the only one that I could find that stayed live when starting. I have got to find the rev counter and water temp wires from the Maverick ECU and try them in the Navara dash, then everything should work except the engine management light.

How many hours have I spent on this project, I would have to guess 95 spread over the last couple of months The mechanical side has been straight forward although having to do everything twice was tiresome. I suppose if you bought every thing you needed already removed from a donor that would be easier, but I suspect a lot more expensive. I will make a list of the bits I used in another post.

The electrics have been a greater challenge, mainly the fear of cutting an important wire or sensor. But working slowly and methodically with constant testing it has been successful, only time will tell about reliability. At the end of the day I can still fit a mechanical pump if this set up proves problematic.

It has been my aim to keep the costs as low as possible, I will recover my investment by selling the old Navara engine gearbox and unwanted ancillary's and of course the Maverick still has a scrap value, I should be a couple of hundred up on the deal and have a usable and unblowupable pickup. I am lucky I have not had to count my time in monetary terms, though there is a long list of other jobs that has built up.

My advice to anyone thinking of a project like this, if you are confident with your mechanical skills and can modify some brackets the engine change is quite straight forward. However it gets a bit harder with the electrics, I spent a long time on this section. Removing the maverick loom took a day and trying to workout which bits to use on the bench with a wiring diagram wasted a few more hours. So don't try to work it out just connect it all in and them slowly remove components whilst constantly testing. When it fails to start put that bit back and mark it necessary. Eventually you will end up with a much smaller and lighter loom which will tuck away neatly.