sotal

This image shows the scratch from another angle plus also shows a bit of light surface marking where the PO has cleaned off the gasket - is that OK?

This image shows the scratch

This image shows the head, you can the one on the right is cleaner

He said it was the hose on the drivers side towards the rear of the engine. The compression check was only done on two cylinders - so I don't know what the others are like No Mayo, but I don't know how much it has been cleaned up Yes I put a straight edge across in every direction possible and used the feeler which was the same as the overhaul manual specified as being the max warp (can't remember now which one) I tried to push the feeler under all the way down the straight edge but couldn't fit it under at all. I have a better straight edge at work though so will retest when I get home tomorrow night as a double check. So would you just do the one gasket? Or would you strip the other side as well? The kit also comes with valve stem seals so should I do them etc whilst apart? I'll probably order the composite gasket set from island 4x4 they're about £56 inc p&p and include both gaskets, all the bolts and all the other seals and gaskets required. So I may as well then do the other side as well? Cheers mate will reply in a second

Thanks for the reply I'll try and get a photo of the damage and a few photos of what I'm facing. I didn't know they came with composite gaskets - I thought they were tin from the factory. I forgot to mention that the radiator looks knackered the bottom has corroded away a fair bit so that could have caused the overheat? Luckily the PO had purchased a new radiator which is in the back of the car.

Thanks very much for the offer but if you could post details on here it would help others in the future too, or if you want a bit of a discussion about it then the private messages can be used to have a conversation. Many thanks

I've now got my p38 on the drive, and have spent a couple of hours playing with it and many hours reading up about it on the internet, and on the RAVE disc. As I posted before I've bought this Range Rover with problems. Looking at the documentation the Range Rover was taken off the road nearly a year ago when one of the coolant pipes burst and the vehicle overheated. The car was recovered back, the PO didn't know much about cars so a friend came to have a quick look. They started the car for just a few seconds to check the compression, they did this for the front two cylinders (which they said were low - no idea how low - no idea what they should be), After doing the front two cyclinders they it would no longer start up - it turned over but wouldn't actually fire. At this point they took the head off on the offside, to have a look for damage. His friend then told him it must be the piston rings letting compression past (no idea how he came to that conclusion). It has then sat there like that for nearly a year. I now have it like that. The head, rocker cover, manifold valley cover, alternator etc is all in the boot. I don't have the old head gasket to examine. I've now had a proper look over the parts as best as I can to the best of my knowledge. The liners all look fine and don't look to have slipped at all. The pistons all look fine but the front one is cleaner than the others. The head looks ok, checked for warping and it doesn't look to have warped out of tolerance, but would like to check it over a bit better. It looks like it was blowing between the two middle cylinders. The only other problem is that with head being off the vehicle for months the PO has managed to scratch a small section of the head surface. We put a 24mm socket on the front nut and turned it a little with a breaker bar the pistons moved up and down freely - didn't move it far as the other head is still on. - Just moved it back and forth a little. I'm just not sure where to go from here. My thoughts at the moment are to do one of the following options: Option 1: Get a cheap composite head gasket @£10, and put it back together using the old bolts and gaskets as a temporary measure so that I can test the compression and see if it's got sparks and fuel and to help the diagnosis a little. If it runs and compression seems OK then strip down and put both sides back together with new bolts, and new gaskets and seals all round @£60 Option 2: Get the full gasket and seal and bolt set @£60, build the one side up with the new bits - test as above and then build up the other side? Option 3: Strip the other side off then rebuild with kit @60 and cross my fingers Not sure if I should get the head skimmed to get rid of the scratch? If I skim one head should I do both so they match? Or is the amount so small that it wouldn't matter? Not sure but I think the gaskets that were on were composite as there was a bit of black left on the block. Is there anything else I should check whilst the head is off. Would pictures help? If so please say what to take pictures of. Thanks in advance

Yes went round slowly with the bellhosuing bolts - something is not quite fitting right though. I've just done a couple of tests... Test 1. I removed the layshaft alltogether, and put the bellhousing on with the bellhousing seated the shaft would turn, but when the 4 bolts were tightened it locked up stiff - so pretty sure it's just down to the mainshaft. I used a drift to carry on tapping the rear bearing down the mainshaft, I didn't think it had moved at all but I could now turn the mainshaft by hand all though it did have some resistance. I tried drifting the bearing further on but it didn't seem to budge. I measured the length of shaft sticking out past the end of the oil seal. It sticks out 98mm, I checked on the spare suffix A box and that sticks out 100mm although the shaft looks quite different the threaded bit is longer on one than the other etc. Test 2. Having decided it was definatley the mainshaft at fault, I removed the 3/4 synchro hub as I was sure that would allow everything to turn then. I refiited the layshaft and replace the bellhousing. Now with reverse idler out of the way the shaft wasn't stuck solid but it would only move slightly either way Further things I did to see if I could find anything at fault... Checked front pinion bearing to make sure it was seated all the way - it seems to be seated perectly up on the shaft no spare room, and it seems to be seated correctly into the housing - so I don't think the issue is there. I then tried fitting the selectors - partly as a practice run for later, they seemed to drop in much easier than removing (although I did still have the 3/4 synchro out at this point) The reverse selector went in easily and has quite a large throw of movement the 1/2 selector went in but only moves about 5mm back and forward - is that correct? Seemed short to me - have I fitted the selector wrong or have I made a mistake on the mainshaft?

If you want to minimise chassis mods, could you not fit one of the steering ram type power steering kits? Not cheap but might suit it better?? http://www.heystee-automotive.com/parts/pas/pas.htm

David just had time to read that - very useful link thank you very much, Cheers

It won't be me towing, a friend of the seller has a recovery truck which it is going to go on, it just looks quite low at the moment! Might just be me worrying about nothing though - Just wanted to make sure I knew as much as possible in case any problems arose

Thanks for the help, from the way it's stored at the moment it will probably go on backwards is the procedure as simple for the rear bumper? I'm not 100% sure it will be a problem yet - it was more in case it does cause a problem, Someone else suggested jacking the vehicle up and putting wood under the bump stops which seems a good idea

When collecting the RR P38 I could do with raising the suspension to make it easier to get it on the trailer. Currently one of the heads is off, so obviously it can't be started. The seller has told me that it won't raise as we can't start it. Just wondered if there was any way round it? I'd read something about holding the footbrake down for 3 mins but I may have misunderstood what that was on about as it wasn't very clear. Any ideas? Why does it need the engine running if it's an electric compressor? Can the compressor be directly connected to get it working?

will the diagnostics cables you can buy on ebay for £15 for the suspension clear this fault?

Sorry been a while since I updated this post. Gearbox is now back together (only just) A few minutes ago I put the bellhousing back on, but now it's back together the mainshaft won't turn. My hopeful guess is that I'm in two gears? Is that likely?

I used the proper solvent free stuff from machine mart, after a month or so it had rotted the bottom of the parts washer. After fixing up the parts washer - I have only used diesel since and it's been fine - I don't use the pump though just incase

Thanks for the tips - I've gone for it so should (if everything goes right) have it on the drive next weekend - I will then bombard the forum with questions!

Hopefully not too off topic - and a genny is sort of a tool?... My father in law has a diesel generator which was working fine, until he swapped the electric start battery in the dark and connected it up the wrong way round It now seems to run ok, but doesn't charge the 12v battery so after a few goes it runs out. Is there a normal fix for these? what would it be likely to use an alternator type charger or a mains charger? I've not taken a look at it yet, all I can say is it's orange from the one time I did see it. Was hoping it would just be a diode or similar which needs replacing - any ideas?

Done it on a SWB Hardtop a few years ago, got to do it sometime soon on a LWB Safari, Currently we've got a new galv chassis sitting next to the old vehicle just needs the body lifting over - just haven't had time to go and help. You can remove doors easy enough etc, but it doesn't have to be done. I'll let you know how well it goes when we eventually get it done, it's been sat waiting since Feb. The bulkhead holds alot of weight so may be worth removing. Also have you got some way of lifting the body? We are hoping to use a Hiab to do the safari. The SWB was fun, we removed the body by using a friends JCB to lift it off (straps through door openings) We then dropped that onto a trailer. We then moved anything required onto the new chassis over a couple of months. Once complete we needed to put the body on but no longer had access to the JCB, we ended up pushing the trailer up to the rolling chassis then lifting the body up and putting railway sleepers across supported on oil drums, then pushed the trailer out and the chassis in then lowered it down. Hope this helps a little!

Thanks for the help, I think it would be worth a punt at those sort of costs to see if it fixes it. Just been searching the web for similar problems to the ones you mention. I just found one where the bloke reckoned his LPG system was pressurising the Coolant and causing pipes to burst etc - is this at all likely. (I forgot to mention this one has an LPG system fitted!) Cheers

Thanks for the reply unfortunatley I don't have much more info, it's a car I'm in the process of buying, if it's going to cost too much to fix I'll break it for parts. Do you think from the description that it may be possible to fix? How much does head skimming normally cost? Is there any way to make sure it is needed? I was told the compression readings were low that's all, and I thought it was odd they only tested two cylinders? Only one head has been removed at the moment. My thought was to build it back up with new hg's and then start the testing again properly? I don't know much about V8's but the car is cheap and I can make money breaking it, so I figured it was worth buying but I'd like a go at fixing it first - in which case I'll use it.

Car: 4.6 V8 HSE Range Rover 1998 Cause of Problem: Coolant pipe split, lost coolant quickly, overheated. Car recovered back home. Problem now: Engine did start and run but the compression was tested on the front two cylinders and was found to be low. Drivers Side Head removed - no damage can be seen, head looks fine liners look fine, bore is fine, top of pistons look fine etc. Question: Can anyone suggest why the compression is low? What could have happened? Suggestions to fix? Or is it a new engine job? Also when looking at paddocks for some engine parts - some are listed as 4.6 v8 low compression parts and some are listed as 4.6 v8 high compression parts. Did they do two versions of the engine? If so how do you know which is which?

When I first got the series, the steering was so light that whenever I hit a bump the steering shot off in that direction - I bought a steering damper to put on (cost £14 IIRC) - I already had the bracket on the steering linkage, but not on the chassis. Never got round to fitting it, and a few months later found out the king pin had too much play, when a couple of shims were removed it fixed it perfectly but since then the steering has been loads better and the damper isn't needed.

Got some brake pads last week - retail price was about £45 Trade price was about: £35 Also got a small tin of hammerite and a tube of threadlock, Got about 30p off the threadlock and about 50p off the hammerite. Not huge savings but over a tenner off, so it was worth borrowing that trade card! You seem to be able to borrow anyone's card - I even paid on debit card which had my name on instead of the trade card name - they weren't bothered at all.

I think I read that a Rover 45 clock is the same and there is more of them in the scrapyard, check first as I'm only going on memory of what I've read - might be a cheaper source though?