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Will do, thanks. Have found another head which has been pressure tested. Any thoughts on the alloy replacement radiators? Mine has the internal baffle, but it's very beaten up and I don't want some dodgy plastic copy.

No, completely standard. I know they're often recommended, but I think the last thing it needs is more power with this problem...

I'll strip down that head and salvage the cam and valves (all of which are in excellent condition). Remember I said the car came with a spare head? Cleaned the carbon off it this afternoon and, as Cilla would've said, surprise surprise.... Is it worth knocking the swirl chambers out firstly...

I'm quite fond of my dirty diesel P38... I've had a few V8s in other motors and loved them, driven V8 P38s and they're lovely, but there's something about the reassuring 'chugachugachugachuga' that gives me a warm feeling inside. (Probably caused by the overheating...) Anyway, head is off and...

Absolutely, a cracked head is better than a slipped liner! ;) Checked and re-checked everything this evening in anticipation of lifting the head off and although there is supposed to be a 4.7mm gap between cam retaining plate and head surface, I have 11mm, so substantially more than expected...

Perhaps in that case I will renew remove the front cover, check timing and renew the chains as a precaution. Mileage is an unknown as it's not the original engine, and it does take a good 5 seconds of cranking to fire when hot.

Both inlet and exhaust cam lobes pointing upwards. I did read on in RAVE after the initial post and see that when timing the cam up on refitting, it advises a 4.6mm gap. I will check whether this is the gap, but it felt like substantially more than 4.6mm. Photo to follow this evening. As...

There is a second (bigger) hole a few degrees further round, but I'm confident I've located the right hole as it is the only small, correctly sized hole when both cam lobes point upwards. Excellent, look forward to his response if he has the time!

Hi all, I've been suffering from excess pressure in the coolant system over the past few weeks on my 98MY DSE, which, a few days ago, culminated in complete loss of power, the temperature gauge fully in the red and a blown top hose. Driving with the expansion tank cap off allowed me to get...

I've just been outside, and sure enough there's two multi pin connectors, one for the engine harness and the larger for the chassis by the pedal box in the engine bay, which gives me much more confidence the Autosparks harness will arrive with the same connectors.

Hi all, I'm just in the process of removing and replacing the main loom in my 1980 Series 3. I've no reason to suspect there's any problems with the chassis loom, so will be leaving that where it is. Before I start pulling on the loom and pulling the chassis loom with it, where should I be...

@Simon Perks I don't believe the oil viscosity is the root problem, but it may be increasing the load on the starter both in terms of the speed it can turn the engine and the current it draws, dropping the voltage and preventing the ignition from providing sufficient spark. Once the engine oil...

A great set of suggestions above, I'll try hot wiring it tomorrow as @Gazbo and @Dippypud have suggested, measuring the voltage. @Wimblowdriver , I think you could be right. Other electrical issues compounded with the greater resistance of 20W50 could tip it over the edge of non-starting. That...

Spark plug gaps were fine when I checked recently, and they're only 6 months old. I'll double check the battery to chassis and engine to chassis earthing straps, but looks like a new battery would be best. Only other thing I can mention is once the truck has been running and the oil is nicely...

It's worth me adding that often moment I release the key from the start position, she'll very briefly try to start. Seems like once there's no draw from the starter, but the engine is still turning, there's sufficient power to the ignition circuit.

Yes, and that's just from a 2 year old Mini Cooper, although admittedly with its engine running.

Correct, tested it 5 minutes ago and it's -1'c outside and nicely snowy.

10.79v when cranking, 12.7v when not

Hi all, It's not often I find myself not able to diagnose a fault on my 1980 2.25 Petrol Series 3 - usually there isn't an easier truck out there to work on! However, recently I've been running into an issue which I can't seem to solve. Once the mercury falls below 0'c, the starter motor still...

Quick update on the above, the IP address is 77.129.227.59 you can see the forums here: http://78.129.227.59/forum/forum.php The only problem is the html, php and media links on the site will need to be changed to account for a domain change, which is frustrating. You wouldn't normally need to...