Quagmire

I would say age is not so much a factor with defenders, more general mechanical condition. My 90 is one of the first, and apart from a new issue with the engine which I will resolve in short order (positive mental attitude ) it is in way better condition than a lot of much later ones.

Just for info for other factory v8 lt85 owners, my Dad is currently modifying a td5 era bulkhead to fit his 1988 v8 110. The transmission tunnel fits the td5 bulkhead with no mods at all.

Thanks for the offer Fridge, top man - I do actually have a set kicking about somewhere just never got round to fitting them - dont think my heads are tapped to accept them, which is a ballache. Plan at the mo is to make myself a pair of det cans and use those. I guess the idea with knock sensors would be to drive about and somehow tweak the sensitivity of the knock sensors using the det cans to decide what is real knock and what is just basic engine noise. Have swapped out a coil pack this evening (I only have one good spare) will drive to work and if no improvement will swap it for the other one. Failing that I have taken Thursday and Friday off to do a few more tests before I open it up and see whats going on.

I'm thinking that is going to be my next step. I guess that just because #1 is showing as correclty timed on the strobe, doesnt mean that any of the other coils arent doing something weird/ out of time. and thanks for the compliment on the sound- its understated but still a v8

Right so no further in getting to the bottom of this. Over the weekend I have done the following: Checked base timing when running on EDIS only (Megasquirt left unpowered, running on LPG) - this was about -2 degrees off, same as it has been from day one with megajolt. Trigger wheel moved is therefore off the list. Checked timing with Megasquirt in charge. Actual vs commanded was totally spot on with 1 degree of trim added in spark settings. This was the same as before. I set the spark map to all the same values in the bottom left quadrant of the map, but due to not having any timing tape I only checked timing values at idle of 6 and 9 degrees. Both were fine. Then took the drivers side rocker cover off to check if oil contamination was still a potential cause. The flame trap was free from oil, but I noticed that I hadnt fitted the baffle into the lid of the rocker cover itself, potentially allowing oil to get splashed up into it. Fitted the baffle and refitted rocker cover. No change. Then took the hose off that feeds into plenum from the flame trap and noticed I was getting a steady stream of oil vapour coming out of it. I then realised the pinging sound had started soon after I changed oil - I normally use Comma classic green 20/50, but couldnt get any locally so had used Comma "Motorway" 20/50. Decided to change the oil back to my normal stuff. No change. Then decided to remove the hose from flame trap to plenum and block each end off to see if that made a difference. No change. Then changed the spark plugs. The old ones had been in about a year (NGK BPR6E) and when they came out they looked fine, although a couple were a little sooty. No change! Finally, i recalibrated my wideband this morning- readings are the same as before so it must have been ok previously... I have tried recording the sound but using my phone doesnt work - it picks up the wrong frequencies. So now I have no idea on what to do other than take the heads off (which I don't really have the time, money or inclination to do). So does anyone have any further suggestions on things I can check/ test/ do? Thanks!

Ordered a spare set of plugs lat night - also ordered some cheap ear defenders so I can make some "det cans" and listen properly. Have unfortunately left my timing light at my parents but am over there tomorrow so will check timing then. Ignition is EDIS, so usually reliable. I might try and capture a sound recording to put up on here... Sounds like all cylinders to me but I could be wrong, and don't want to risk being wrong with an issue like this!

Guys, After swappng my SU's for an EFI (flapper) top end controlled by MS tihngs have been good. Petrol was running well but LPG was pinging slightly initially. MS (MJ before) has been running ignition for some time now and i have not changed my spark maps for a year or more. I originally put this pinging down to the fact that I still had the old round style rockers and had simply piped the crankcase vent connections from the rockers, via flame traps and a y-piece into the plenum. My thoughts were that the larger diameter port on the plenum (compared to the SU's) was drawing in more oil vapour and causing the pinging. I thought perhaps the cooling effect of petrol was inhibiting the symptoms when not running on LPG. This was not initially a problem as I was busy hooning around tuning for petrol. Anyhow at the start of the week I fitted "proper" Efi style rockers with the foam filter on one side and the brillo pad filled outlet on the other that goes to the plenum. Still the same. Pinging on gas. This happens on medium to hard acceleration. I have tried running uber rich at all times (like 13:1 or better)- no effect.. I have cut timing so that LPG is now the same spakr map as petrol - still pinging. Worst of all it now seems to be pinging on petrol too. So what else could it be? My thoughts are: 1- Soot from tuning petrol causing detonation - things were a little rich when I started out tuning the MS 2- My wideband is lying to me and I am not running as rich as I think I am 3- My air intake is now above the drivers exhaust manifold and hot air in may be contributing. (MS reports 30-35degree air tems when cruising on a hot day - i would not have thought that was too high) 4- I had initially thought a weeping petrol injector, but now it is pinging on petrol too I think this is pretty much ruled out. 5- My trigger wheel has moved. My plan of action is to check base timing, then recalibrate the wideband, check the plugs and then the injectors. So does anyone have any further suggestions on causes or things to check? The noise sounds like a cross between a bunch of keys or a couple of marbles rattling around in a jam jar. It is definitely load related and backing out of throttle ior shifting down a gear instantly stops it

Yep, use niges map- worked for me perfectly and I am sure it has started countless other rover v8's on their path to Ms bliss too.

Just to stick my oar in - I (respectfully ) disagree with Bowie that your req fuel figure is too low. Mine is 15.6 as per the online calculator and it runs fine. However if you are using niges map then keep his value of 20 otherwise things will be too lean with the ve values in his table. To use 15.5 you'd need to rescale the table. However that is all stuff you can do later if you feel the need once things are running. For now just stick to the known good map and as the guys all say ensure all sensor readings etc are sensible. With Ms rubbish data in= rubbish running out...

To add to Mr reckless' post, carbs don't time anything and work fine. Having the first 4 cylinders (of the total firing order) getting fuel before the second batch of four- (the last 4 in firing order) get any doesn't make any real difference. As long as the number of squirts per cycle and duration of squirts is correct the right fuel air charge should be ready at the back of the valve for when it opens and draws it in. Sequential fuelling only helps emissions at idle and gives negligible power increases (from what I've read).

Helps keep pressure even around the fuel rail? Every time a set of 4 is fired you are firing even numbers of objectors from each side?

Thanks for the tip! I'll check it out

Hi, Looking for part number for the cork seal on my B registered 90's fuel filler. See pics below for filler style. Seal is located within the filler neck between the inner lip and the outer ring, not the cap itself. Many thanks

Reverse plunger is probably stuck. I have had this a few times...

My 3.5 runs at a 30kPa idle at an idle speed of 850rpm. Thats a bog standard. 9.35:1 compression engine. I wouldnt worry too much about it as any rough running will give you a higher kPa figure.

Install thread to follow. Only problems were with a genuine Luc-arse coolant sensor where the plastic top decided to start spinning uselessly on the brass body before it had wound fully home, (would then not unwind either!) and then later 7 of the 8 injectors were stuck closed. Have tapped the bodies of them all with a small drift and all are clicking away now and the thing runs! Need to tidy up wiring and then tune it

I rebuilt my 3.5 using it- very useful. Copies in PDF are all over the place.

Here we go- the extended pump: The extra bit of steel was from an old drawer runner...

Cheers Nige!

From googling it looks like I do need it... can anyone confirm?

Efi going on this coming weekend... question: Do I connect a vacuum line to fpr or leave open to atmosphere? Will Ms account for the variance in fuel pressure (with o2 correction) or is the likely drop in fuel pressure without vac line at WOT too much? Cheers! Jamie

I have a prc8318 in my side tank. Its a two hole tank. Pump has been extended to reach bottom of tank as in standard form is too short. Not hard to do, just add a piece of steel in and a longer section of hose. I have pics somewhere but am at work (full internet lock down). Will post one up later... someone will probably beat be to it though!

Big subject, lots of questions to answer there... try www.v8forum.co.uk for plenty of reading material... Good companies for rebuild work are v8 developments, realsteel etc. Avoid rpi!!!

You can use your LT77 with a conversion ring - google "Milner ring" - they come up on ebay sometimes. problem with this is that it sets the engine too far back compared to factory and may mean bulkhead chopping a bit like on a series v8 conversion. I cant say this for def though having not done it. A better bet is to fit a proper v8 LT77 with the long bellhousing and that way everything stays in the factory position. I got a longstick box from an old range rover. (I converted from 2.25 petrol to v8 in my 90). Or you could find a bellhousing, and change the mainshaft in your 4 pot box for the longer v8 one. Disco LT77's will not work as the shifter will end up in the seatbox somewhere. Dunno about mounts. What size kenlowe do you have? I run a single 16" with no issues on my 3.5 I bought a two hole tank when my last one started leaking a while ago - I have fitted the rangerover efi fuel pump with the metal top and extended it to the bottom of the tank- its quite simple to do, just replace the section of hose with a longer bit and add in an extra bit of metal to lower the whole thing. Part number is prc8318 i think. Your brakes should be more than fine to cope. Mine are and they are the standard solid disks. Just make sure everything works as it should. I went from Petrol to Petrol and there are still way more little fiddly things to do and or connect than you think. Best bet is to do some reading, and then sit down and mentally work your way through the job and write it all out. Think about what you will need at each stage. Then do it again because if you are like me you will have missed a load of stuff the first time. Hopefully someone who went Diesel to Petrol can come along and comment some more...

I am running ignition only, no need for tps but you do need a MAP takeoff so Ms knows engine load.