Quagmire

My 3.5 was set to 8 deg i think, and runs well at that position. At this setting you would get pinking under load if you were too heavy footed and running on unleaded. However, running on LPG most of the time that didnt matter and when on petrol you could just "drive around" the pinking if you know what i mean. Megajolt ran the car for the first time tonight though, after i bodged some leads together! yay! Roll on payday and proper fastlane leads

Just beware that the bigger the reservoir you are using to damp, then (i think) the more the MAP reading will lag behind what the engine is doing...

My brother has one on his 2.25 lightweight at the mo whilst he sorts out fitting an SU and proper filtration. It makes a hell of a noise compared to my 2.25 with oil bath filter. Too much. Sounds like when you finish a milkshake with a straw, which is a shame because his engine actually sounds really nice...

I have actually (just yesterday infact) connected the MAP to the take-off on the rear of the manifold. This is behind the drivers side carb, and is basically a mirror of the point at the front for the servo vacuum. Mine was blanked off with a bolt, but i found another old mainfold we had lying around had a banjo in this position. I fitted the banjo and some nylon tube last night. However.... In this position my MAP is seeing a lot of pulsing, with it fluctuating around 5kPa (i.e at idle i see 30-35kpa spikes...) At the moment i just have a straight tube to the Megajolt, so i will be investigating using a small air reservoir to smooth in the signal. I will let you know how i get on.

Carbs or EFi? If Carbs, have you checked for air leaks- seals can dry out when on LPG etc etc...

I drive my 1984 90 (pre-Defender) 33.5 miles to work and then 33.5 miles back again everyday along the motorway. Its not as bad as people make out, but then i guess that everyone has a different comfort threshold. Mine is a ragtop with the old style seats (no headrests) and no power steering. However its warm, fairly draft free, drives nicely, and makes a lovely exhaust sound. You can even hear the stereo if you turn it up to 23 out of 32

Are you sure there was no suction? That is kind of hard to achieve as it would mean that 2 cylinders per side were not working. From the lrFAQ site: " Each carb feeds the two inner cylinders on the opposite side of the carb and the two outer cylinders either side of the carb" I have had issues where crud has been sucked into the line and effectively blocked off one carb. Pull the leads off on the cylinders that the problem carb is supposed to be fuelling. If you hear no change in engine note you have nothing going on in them. Then i'd check that the needle is rising and falling on the duff carb with changes in revs. If it isnt thats your problem. Fix that and try again... If the needle is moving up and down freely then take the carb off and clean out any crud you may find. Popping back through a carb is a symptom of an overly lean mixture and so would tie in with a fuelling problem. Hopefully that will help.

Did it sound like it was on 8? My Dads 101 had a stuck needle (also Strombergs) and this resulted in it running as a V4. Would still be warm though, but two outer cylinders on one bank and two inner ones on the other... In that state it ran badly, no power and sounded like a tractor. It had also been laid up for about 2 years before we bought it and this was right after.

Well it would if i attempted to drive with the centre diff operating- it would be spinning like crazy! I have it locked so there is in effect no centre diff a la series.

I have LPG in my 90- it's great. I would tell you more but amposting from my phone. Will see what I can do tomorrow in terms of providing more useful info.

Thanks Les! I made it home and will checkout the CVs quick sharp. Looks like the series 2 will be getting another airing!

Thanks Errol- i am currently at work, but when i make it home (very slowly) i will jack it up and check the steering UJ's. i have had a look already and could not see anything that might foul anything, but that kind of thing is always better with two people.

After speaking with my brother he said it could be CV's? the time it first happened last night i had just removed my front prop to troubleshoot yet another vibration that had developed, and was actually out testing to see if the vibration had gone. The front prop is still not in place- could this be related? I have been thinking about this and even if the column shroud did catch surely with a fairly good heave on the wheel it would just snap and i'd be off again? I have not been able to straighten the wheel at all in either instance and it has only freed up when i have slowed to a crawl... Oh, and the vibration is still happening... at around 65mph. This was found on my way to work before i realised the steering was still funky. Things done to troubleshoot this vibration (and my last one) have been: replace TRE's check and adjust swivel preload rotate wheels about to see if issue moves around car check steering damper check toe.

Although the P6 lumps did have higher compression (well some of them at least) they are all so old now that any benefit from that will have likely been lost. I myself bought a 3.5 that turned out to be a 10.5:1 ratio P6 lump however it was so shot on disassembly it wasnt worth touching. The P6 blocks are slightly weaker too, with thinner reinforcing webs than the later engines, and the heads will have smaller valves and may not be unleaded proof. That being said, they obviously worked well enough in that form to be used by Rover. Realistically, if its low comp then there is no point. But if it is higher compression and in good shape then you will at least need to change the heads for later ones with larger valves and harder seats. I got some later "10 bolt" heads on ebay for £23 that were perfect Remember that whatever you think you'll spend, you'll always spend more. I did a pretty basic rebuild on my 3.5 and that still cost a fair bit. Check the v8 forum for engine numbers so you can see what spec engine it is, but even if it is in top nick i reckon the 300tdi has got to be better- even if it doesnt sound quite the same when running.

Right, So last night i was coming round a roundabout - luckiliy quite slowly. As i approached my exit and started to take off the lock it appeared that the steering lock came on- i really didnt didnt have time to analyse what exactly happened, as i was pooing my pants at the time... The wheel locked solid and i had to brake to a stop before i went into the oncoming traffic. Wiggled the steering wheel and it freed off- drove home very very slowly. Anyways i removed the steering lock, ground off the tongue that engages in the column, and refitted- a steering lock is not going to stop someone stealing my landy. BUT This morning it happened again as i pulled out of a side road. This time i noticed that it was because the steering wheel was fouling the column shroud. I really dont see how i can adjust this to avoid it happening, the shroud just fits in its place. And why would it have suddenly started to happen? Previously to the first event yesterday i had not touched anything in that area. Any suggestions from the team? Thanks *BTW this is a B-reg 90. 1984?

3/4 narrowtrack behind my 90 is great- nice and stable and when empty you wouldnt even know it was there (no noise at all). When loaded still stable and rides very well. Had a Disco MPi unit, still attached to R380 and LT230 in it the other day, along with engine crane, Disco exhaust, rad, tools, tea making facilities etc with no problems from Stonehenge(ish) to Farnham. When loaded it rides more like the land rover, and kind of wafts over bumps instead of leaping in the air. With the brakes working it doesnt push the rover at all either. My dad got his for £26 on ebay- but nothing worked and was all seized. Tub was also pretty rusty, but that has all been sorted

I thought that most engines at idle produce somewhere around 30kPa mainfold air pressure? Yours at 96kPa is nearer to wide open throttle (~100kPa). Weird. *edit- used "idle" twice in same sentence. Too early for posting!

Until my dizzy went Pete i was getting about 16-17mpg on LPG. Currently i am getting 15-16mpg (no mech advance). This is cruising up and down the m3/m25 everyday at 60mph or thereabouts. I pay 51.9ppl for LPG... Petrol is what? 104.9ppl? Using 15mpg and 51.9ppl for gas/ 104.9 for Petrol i therefore get the cost equivalent of a Petrol vehicle returning around 30.3mpg. Not too shabby for an old LR. Anyway- with completely no bias i say go V8 *Edit- Having said all that, as Petrol seems to be as expensive as Diesel these days, without LPG perhaps the devils fuel may be the only option. *shudder*

Early isnt always bad- my 1984 90 chassis is fairly solid compared to some later ones i have seen. Seems they switched from using painted steel to using Cheese at some point...

OK, good news- i got the thing rewired yesterday and hooked up a coilpack with 4 plugs in it (i still need to make a coilpack mount). It worked! Lovely big crackly sparks. Seems you can therefore connect up an EDIS module wrong and not fry it. Must try harder next time

All my lovely soldering and heatshrinking down the pan eh? I stupidly just unplugged the EDIS connector, and then left the module in its bubble wrap until i had finished wiring, referring only to the MJ diagram. To make matters worse, as i went some of the colours would have made more sense if they were reversed but i pushed on thinking "hundreds of people must have used this diagram with no problems..." What a dumbass

Guys, Been wiring for Megajolt using the EDIS diagram on the autosportlabs site here: Installation guide I fear i may have fooed up my EDIS wiring and have it all arse about face. I believe that the diagram shows the plug looking down from above into the rear of it (where pigtail exits)... On the diagram pin 1 is shown at the top, near the offset locating notch in the plug. However after connecting it all up today and getting no spark, i have realised that my module has Pin 1 labelled as being at the end of the plug with the centered notch. So have i goofed? My cry for help on autosportlabs here Thanks

Not sure if its changed on the later ones but on my B-Reg 90 it was doable but very fiddly. And the screws are very, very small... Drop them into the dash and you are a goner. Good luck!

Get a genuine one! Mine failed a couple of months ago, whereby it would twist and spring back etc, and would even turn the engine over, but when you released the key as the engine caught everything just died.... No power to ignition in running position. I ordered one- didnt specify non-genuine and it didnt fit! The little screw holes in the body of the switch didnt line up with the steering column/lock mechanism holes. I ended up robbing a 20yr old one from our series 3- and that works like a charm (touchwood)

Its gotta be EDIS related i reckon- i've been running the same Champions since last November with no issues and 12,000 miles or so on them with my crappy dizzy gapped to the upper limit in the book. If you clean them up and they still dont work, then surely its got to be related to a physical change in the property of the plug. What might cause that god only knows...