v8 probs?

Hi all
Almost in the fold

Looking at either a v8 range/disco or a 300tdi. Must be auto.

Several I've seen have engine rebuilds/boiling problems. One that interest me is using water.

I'm well up for reasonable amounts of work, plenty enthusiastic tinkering experience on Benzes.

What are the pitfalls for me?

Thx

v8 ALL THE WAY!!!

Diesel is for school buses and poofs.

Oh. Im not biased by the way.

v8 is good. This'll be the 6th, no 7th.

A 4.2 common rail diesel v8 is not for poofs or buses btw Still got that one...

So....whats the crack with boily v8's then chaps? thanks

V8's are great when they work

for ease of working on and lack of major problems a 3.5 v8 on carbs is the way to go but these are getting old and tired now unless you get a nice one.

the 3.9 hotwire efi v8 is good but the earlier flapper type 3.5 efi can be more problematic and the much later LSE 4.2 motors seem to have liner/block/headgasket issues more often.

I would say in summery if you dont mind paying road tax I would go for a 91 or 92 3.9 v8 classic which has antiroll bars and heater door locks (plus all the other toys) but doesnt have cats to pay for or cuase problems.

If you dont like paying road tax and are happy for a bit of restoration then get a 71 or 72 classic on carbs.

and diesels are gay unless it the GM v8 6.2 conversion. range rovers need eight cylinders its the law!

my disco has a 3.5 efi hotwire and tbh its great.

sometimes i have had head scrathcers, but its always been an easy fix eventually, and cheap too.

im lucky tbh to not have had any more expensive problems like head gasket, or any of the dearer efi parts fail, but i think its kinda rare that they do fail cos its such a simple system.

frm what i have read the 3.5efi in the disco is probs the best all round, the 3,9 efi rangey or disco could have liner problems, and a 3.5 on carbs will use more fuel and might need a bit of fiddling, whereas efi is fit and forget until it plays up, which i reckon is kinda rare-ish

definitely the later 4.0 and 4.6 that really like to boil though, the early ones are great motors, really a pleasure to own. fit an HD radiator is my advice, my original one was pretty average tbh and she liked to run right at the top of the guage, with this new rad is spends all its time just over half on the temp gauge, that's like 40% cooler (on the guage)

if you can battle the heat buildup you will save a lot of problems i reckon, they do get stinking hot for an old fashioned motor.

cheers, sam

two things to clarify mr noisy for our yet to be intiated friend

The injection system on the 3.5 disco and the 3.9 classic are the same, its called hotwire. You may find that it gives you the best of both worlds on the 3.5 but you will have to become a gay disco driver to have it and like all sensible peeps you and a range rover :hysterically_laughi

Also your v8 is the only running hot one I have ever known that hasnt had probs.

My old tired one runs just below half way even when laning with the aircon on in the hottest of summers so I dunno whats up with yours mate I remeber the posts. is it still running rich? as I have an idea.

when I had the original binicle on my 72 rrc the guage showed hot all the time, I changed the rad for the new one I had , lfushed the sytem, new super dooper coolant and still the same- you guessed it new binical, runs bang on just under half way all the time.

I wonder if yours if being over cooled, hence the black plugs and yer guage is off?? what you reckon

Shirley if you have your fans wired up to cut in at a certain temp it won't run too cold. It may just be a lot of short journeys?

Hello fett mate.

Well, how about this.

I ran the gay disco up to the lakes this weekend, and it was truly perfect, never missed a beat - I ran it at 65 mph there and back and it seemed to tear up the miles no problem.

Temp wise, it ran a smudge over half way mark when cruising and sometimes crept up to just under 3/4 when we were balling about round the lakes lanes, bearing in mind ambient was very cold, but it seems to run the same in cool temps aswell as cold tbh.

Fuel wise, I brimmed it til the pump stopped and that took the guage to just above 3/4. When I got to the lakes (just about 100 miles iirc) it was on half. Most of Saturday was spent in the hills and playing about, and by which time the light had just come on at just less that 1/4.

To be safe I put 40 quid in for the drive home on Sunday, which after a few hours playing on Sunday morning, took the level to just less than half, drove home and the light had just come on again.

From this, I can see the fuel guage ain't quite right, but it probably ain't using too much fuel in my eyes, considering my messing about on Saturday and Sunday was probably about 5mpg.

Cooling wise it seemed to be ok mate, I don't think it is overcooling because it certainly get very warm, radiator hoses are too hot to touch when we're offroading. I haven't checked the plugs recently cos they're all sealed up at the leads, and it's running so beautifully I don't want to mess her around

As for sibles comment, yes mate, the fans are thermostatic, they're off normally, they come on after a period of ticking over or after hard slow driving, and are usually constantly on when offroading - so its probably not overcooling and since I've fitted my HD radiator it's not overheating either. Tbh it only got hot hot hot in the midst of summer at tong, and my old radiator was very blocked up and broken up too.

She doesn't lose/use any water, and the oil stays clean for quite some time. Did an oill change last week cos it was getting dirty, and on the dipstick now it's still crystal clear (with a hint of mineral green )

So what's this idea you have fett? If anything yeah she does use a lot of juice but tbh it's not really causing problems, and I really don't know if it's normal or not.

I went through that britishv8 website and tested resistance for everything they showed and all seemed ok. I also tested my maf and got a nice voltage curve when I revved it up - so in theory I think it should be ok.

Emissions are probably better than ever, at the last MOT they were better than previous ones and I bet they're better still now - the main thing is I have no idea how much fuel a 33" Disco is SUPPOSED to use!!

Cheers

sounds too hot on the guage mate, I have had the pleasure of being in 4 3.9s now they all run just under half way all the time regardless of driving conditions so I thing thats wrong but the plugs are the key.

I know it will be a hassel but one will give you an idea, I thought mine was getting thirsty again ( I used to have balck velvet like you said yours were but since stu tuned it they have been fine) so I pulled all 8 and they were perfect, no carbon or oil at all so I know she is good.

I understand you not wanting to mess with it whilst is running though- I have learnt that the hard way myself :doh:

That stu is really good and a nice guy but chats for England but better than some grumpy bloke who don't talk at all

Ok well I'll pull a plug and see what it says. Should give a good indication seeing as it's just been on a long drive at the weekend.

Cheers fett

check the rad all the way across to make sure all rad is cooling often not

sible88 said:

That stu is really good and a nice guy but chats for England but better than some grumpy bloke who don't talk at all

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he does like a chat old stu

Mr Noisy said:

Ok well I'll pull a plug and see what it says. Should give a good indication seeing as it's just been on a long drive at the weekend.

Cheers fett

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worth knowing mate

Sam find out if how much a new rad from ****part is? And give the system a through flush through

paddocks are the cheapest for rads

mines got a brand new bearmach heavy duty in it, it is definitely cooling it sufficiently - temps went down considerably when i replaced my mud stuffed rusty old one.

was about 200 quid with the VAT.

That ain't cheap just brought a new one for a 19J so it has the oil cooler in it for about £100