What is a high mileage for a 3.5 carb?

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chris_mack

chris_mack

New Member
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Location
Melbourne, Australia
Im after a 110 3.5 V8, preferablly on LPG although I would get gas fitted to any that I might buy.

Not really knowing much about these V8s, what would be considered a high mileage? Iv only had diesels before, and I know my TDI will go on for over 200k. Ive been told that anything over about 100k is pushing it with these V8s, does that sound about right? I realise it depends on service intervals etc.

What is best to look out for with them.

Also does anybody know roughly how much it costs to get LPG fitted. I realise it can be anything up to around £2k.

cheers, chris
 
Don't know about LPG, would ahve said not really worth the investment unless you're going to be doing big mileage.

As for how long a V8 will last it really depends how it has been looked after. If you get one for a sensible price and you are able to work on it yourself I would suggest do a compression test, if O.K. would say replace camshaft and followers, and also timing chain, overhaul distributor, replace HT leads and give it a service. Should be fine. You could go mad and replace bottom end bearings but if they're not knocking and it runs sweetly should be O.K. BTW would also check condition of oil pump and probably replace the oil pressure relief valve and spring.

Hope that helps you.
 
classic kev said:
Don't know about LPG, would ahve said not really worth the investment unless you're going to be doing big mileage.

As for how long a V8 will last it really depends how it has been looked after. If you get one for a sensible price and you are able to work on it yourself I would suggest do a compression test, if O.K. would say replace camshaft and followers, and also timing chain, overhaul distributor, replace HT leads and give it a service. Should be fine. You could go mad and replace bottom end bearings but if they're not knocking and it runs sweetly should be O.K. BTW would also check condition of oil pump and probably replace the oil pressure relief valve and spring.

Hope that helps you.
Click to expand...

Ditto on the what Kev says about Gas (mines not converted) and I won't bother unless my mileage goes up considerably.

Also, check each spark plug and do a compression test if you can. Chances are that if the top end needs work then the bottom might too. If looked after and oil changed regularly the 3.5 is pretty robust and not under much stress so should last well.

The best advice I can give is buy the most "standard" and "original" vehicle you can. Its less likely to have been dicked about with.
 
IF a V8 is cared for and treated sensibly they can clock up as many miles as a TDi.
Thing is few DO get well cared for and treated sensibly! A case of out of site out of mind; TDi's need a new cam-belt as course every 40K or so, and becouse every-one knows the consequences, they TEND to get them.
Similarly, V8's SHOULD have a new cam-chain every 50K; but becouse they dont snap and wreak havoc, few do. And the RV8 is so 'tough' by nature, and designed to run with a low pressure oil-feed..... they just keep going, and going and going and going, with a gradual drop off in power as the cam retards and the valves stop opening as far......
Oil changes get further apart, and slowly everything clogs up..... but they STILL keep going!
Until they dont!
Idea that anything over 100K is a bit 'iffy' is becouse its at about this point complacency has set in and the motors just aren't getting much attension, and are probably on thier original cam-chain, VERY clogged up!
They usually start drinking oil as the valve guides wear, or the bores get loose; then they will loose compression and start missing, and eventually they'll probably blow a gasket; but they can run on just six or seven pots and not feel much more than 'a little rough'! even with a blown gasket!
end of the day, its a bit of a lottery; you'll be looking at a vehicle with an engine likely to be 'in the danger zone', so just go for the one that sounds sweetest, looks best looked after, and you can get most confidence from the seller on, and not worry about what the oddometer says.
end of the day; there are enough Rangies and V8 Disco's being broken up these days for getting another engine cheaply NOT to be a major worry.

As for LPG, well I LOVE the stuff. I DON'T do enough miles to really justify a conversion; maybe 3000 a year! But BY CRIKEY, it's great to be able to fill up for £30 rather than splashing in ten or twenty's worth, trying not to run over on the now hyper-speed FPF pump total display! Then worrying about being 'frugal' becouse I dont have enough petrol in the tank to go too far!

Again; like engines; there are a lot of second hand LPG kits available at the moment; the old 'grant' scheme where the government would give you money towards the cost of a conversion on a new or nearly new car was in opperation in the mid nineties, and those motors are now hitting the breakers in numbers.

You can get a complete gas converted MOT fail Rangie for under £300, be worth buying one JUST for the LPG kit, keeping the motor as a spare, and scrapping the rest!

But depends on circumstances.
 
Teflon said:
you'll be looking at a vehicle with an engine likely to be 'in the danger zone'
Click to expand...

... like mine!

Figure on spending £115 on a cam kit from island4x4 and a few weekends fitting it & cleaning goop from all the bits. Not a hard job, just time consuming getting all the bits off. was glad I ripped the sump gasket when I took the timing cover off, enough goop to fill wembley in the sump. Well worth cleaning it out while yer at it I reckon
 
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3.5disco said:
... like mine!

Figure on spending £115 on a cam kit from island4x4 and a few weekends fitting it & cleaning goop from all the bits. Not a hard job, just time consuming getting all the bits off. was glad I ripped the sump gasket when I took the timing cover off, enough goop to fill wembley in the sump. Well worth cleaning it out while yer at it I reckon
Click to expand...

Having been there, and started with the 'small' problem of a head gasket, and ended up spending three months doing a full tear-down and rebuild.......

I'd say opening up a motor was a BAD idea..... you just dont know where it's going to lead!

You start by pulling the rocker covers and valley gasket, and thinking 'I''l JUST' de-sludge it..... so you go find an old table-spoon no-one is going to miss and start scooping!

Then some drops down into the sump, and you think "Yeah, I'll just drop the pan off, then I can flush it all from the top"

THEN you find the tappets, and after pulling them out, and soaking them in petrol for a few days, and cleaning them up, and pumping them through, and inspecting the faces, you think........ err..... well for the sale of £30....... lets just change them"

But THEN as you have excavated far enough to see the cam, you start to wonder about that, and think, 'Hmmmmmm, well IF I'm putting in new tappets, and the cam's worn, MAYBE I ought to swap that out too, specially as I am fitting new timing gears and chain"

So you pull that out and stick it to one side, pondering on the state of the cam-bearings that you can see are JUST starting to 'pink', and thinking probably a good idea to fit new bearings for the new cam...........

And while you were pulling the push-rods to get the tappts out, you noted the state of the rockers and shafts....... and thought "I'll JUST change the shaft, take half the wear out THAT'S the cheaper bit" and then read Rimmers advice page or other source about premature rocker-shaft wear with 'old' rockers..........

By WHICH point you are LOATH to pull any of the main or big-end caps...... becouse by this time you just KNOW where it is goiung to lead!

And after THAT much investment of time and money; seems STUPID not to drip the crank and slugs, anbd get the block bores and crank cround, and put it all back together with nice shiny new bearings..............

IF you find the idea exiting, pretty good way to go,m actually, all up, you can basically remanufacture a RV8 for around £750 in parts and machining services, and have an engine that had 150-200KMiles life in it.

And it's actually a pretty 'nice' and reletively easy engine for an ameteur DIY mechanic to tackle.......

But having done it; I'd restrain myself; I'd do a few 'hot flushes', running some cheapo supermarket oil through the motor with a lot of washing up liquid in it; THEN with the oil drained, I'd get some industrial overn-cleaner, and poor that in the oil filler, and circulate it by cranking the motor round by hand for a bit. Leave it over night. Flush with diesel, and repeat. Then fill with cheapo supermarket oil, run to warm, and drain, THEN do a filter change, and timing chain........ and hope for the best!
 
Haha its hard knowing where to stop!

I don't think my engine would have lasted much longer with the cam/chain/tappets in the state they were... as I say, the kit is £110 delivered & has pretty much everything you need so it ain't that bad if you do it yourself http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/camshaft-kit-v8-39-efi-p-1689.html personally I'd rather just clean the goop while its exposed than risk it circulating back into the engine with flushes...

had a 3.9 RRC which was on 192k, never seen an oil change & still ran- well sort of (rotten to the core so wasn't worth fixing up) so I'm hoping for well over 200k before a rebuild now :cool: (on 140k)
 
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thanks everyone, well i bit the bullet and bought a 110 CSW, an shes running beautifully!

DSC00738.jpg
 
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