Classic advice pleeeease!! Longish post

As I expected with RRC ownership, my '93 LSE has various issues that are getting attended to as & when I can BUT, I'm wondering if my suspicions are right with the latest faults...

Changed oil & filter (10W/40), all good.
Changed air filter, cleaned housing, all good.
Water pump started leaking badly (didn't overheat)... replaced it, all good.

All lights have been dim now & again & I suspected the alternator.
Engine has always had occasional misfiring issues at idle & in heavy traffic & I suspected the MAF.

Now it gets strange!

I had to move my newly bought caravan tonight for a distance of about 2 easy miles & the flippin oil pressure warning light started coming on at below 1000 revs at traffic lights! So I parked up, switched off, checked the oil, checked for leaks, and all appeared fine. BTW when the oil light came on it was dim, then bright, then dimmed & went out when the revs were raised any.

Anyway dumped off caravan, went home without any stops & oil light came on again when I went to park up & the engine started misfiring. Switched off again, checked under the bonnet, couldn't see feck all wrong, started it up again & it ran perfectly with no oil light on!!

Oh & because my other half had better things to do tonight than **** about in the pishing rain, there was no way of me checking for caravan disco lights when indicating/braking, but the front caravan marker lights change from dim to bright on occasion.

Could all of these faults be attributed to a bad earth on my Classic??

Check the earth straps from battery to chassis and engine to chassis.

Sounds like you need a new oil pressure relief valve, cheap as chips and not really that hard to swap out. Make sure you do it sooner rather than later.

Not sure about the misfire, ignition amplifier would be favourite but could be coil, leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm even the ignition switch. Could also be a failing alternator so really you need to check/test the ignition system and alternator.

An old timers trick used to be to fit 3 or 4 washers behind the spring to increase oil pressure.

The Mad Hat Man said:

An old timers trick used to be to fit 3 or 4 washers behind the spring to increase oil pressure.

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Not heard that one! Guess it would get you out of a spot if needed but for what a new relief valve costs I'd just replace it.

BAZZ said:

Check the earth straps from battery to chassis and engine to chassis.

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Hmm... the lights dim sometimes if I hit a bump in the road, so looking very likely that it's a bad earth. Hit another bump & things brighten up again lol!

I'll look into the oil pressure relief valve, however the light has never came on since that day. I need a new sump anyway, so it'll all be getting pulled apart fairly soon. I've also got a new coil to fit & gonna change the suppressor too.

Just worked out today that I'm getting a tad over 12mpg on petrol with mostly B-road driving, how does that compare to other Classic LSE's with the 4.2/4.3 litre engine?

rangieden said:

Hmm... the lights dim sometimes if I hit a bump in the road, so looking very likely that it's a bad earth. Hit another bump & things brighten up again lol!

I'll look into the oil pressure relief valve, however the light has never came on since that day. I need a new sump anyway, so it'll all be getting pulled apart fairly soon. I've also got a new coil to fit & gonna change the suppressor too.

Just worked out today that I'm getting a tad over 12mpg on petrol with mostly B-road driving, how does that compare to other Classic LSE's with the 4.2/4.3 litre engine?

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I get 15 miles per American gallon in my 93 LSE. I paid $12.95 for a new oil pressure switch. Your misfire could be the result low voltage because of a faulty alt or battery. Have you checked to see if you have any codes shown on your little screen under the passenger seat?

West Slope Rover said:

on your little screen under the passenger seat?

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Don't waste your time looking for it (unless you have a North American version), for some reason LR thought the home market didn't need them.

A

odyssey said:

Don't waste your time looking for it (unless you have a North American version), for some reason LR thought the home market didn't need them.

A

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I was mystified with the thought of seeing a little screen lol. Might have been helpful if LR had given us every help for fault finding!

I've got a new battery to fit as the current one is slightly too small & I guess my mpg isn't out the game for winter time.

But the good news is I've got my Honda Civic back from the garage, so the RR is back resting again

I'd use 20w50 in a rover v8 - 10w40 is a bit thin when the engine gets warm.
Especially if the engine has a few miles under its belt.
I know the spec sheet calls for a 10w40 for ambient temps down to -10, but in reality, the RRC engine bay is like a flipping oven on the coldest days, so I opt for the 20w50
I suppose you could go for a 10w50 - best of both worlds - but a bit more expensive.

Re the lights - check the main earths between the engine and the body, and the battery earth strap.
Do this fairly quickly, because if the engine earth fails, the throttle cable is the next best pathway - and the throttle cable can stick ( ask me how I know!)

captainbeaky said:

I'd use 20w50 in a rover v8 - 10w40 is a bit thin when the engine gets warm.
Especially if the engine has a few miles under its belt.
I know the spec sheet calls for a 10w40 for ambient temps down to -10, but in reality, the RRC engine bay is like a flipping oven on the coldest days, so I opt for the 20w50
I suppose you could go for a 10w50 - best of both worlds - but a bit more expensive.

Re the lights - check the main earths between the engine and the body, and the battery earth strap.
Do this fairly quickly, because if the engine earth fails, the throttle cable is the next best pathway - and the throttle cable can stick ( ask me how I know!)

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My plan is to rarely use the car tbh, just happy enough to own it & drive it now & again... it never entered my head that I'd have to end up using it as my only daily drive for the last two months lol!! But I did wonder about the engine oil as it does get kinda hot under the bonnet.

Earth strap is the next job to get looked at & the bloody drivers seat ecu too.

I keep reminding myself that I knew RR ownership was never gonna be plain sailing

Glad to hear you are a Rangy enthusiast, oil light sounds like electricary to me, check as above, also check your pressure sensor wires.

MPG wise 14 sounds good, the PO reckoned he used to get 20mpg out of my 3.5 carb with 3 speed auto, he drove A roads at 50-55 so would say its possible. I will be happy with 14 mpg when I finish it and get it back on the road.

Well I've not had any time to do more work to the RR, however it's been completely reliable & not a thing has gone wrong since it's been parked up & not used lol!

I've not got a weekend off to work on the car till the beginning of March, so this'll not be getting updated anytime soon