Quagmire

I would do as the others suggest, I am currently rebuilding a 3.5 to drop into my 2.25 90. One thing i would say is that you need to price up what you want to do and see if it is realistically affordable/ worth it. My engine is going to be pretty much standard spec when its back together but just ensuring that everything is done to a good standard means that inevtibaly you end up spending more than you planned. Parts are cheap for the v8, but there are twice as many of them! Make sure you include money for a slight overspend in your budget. Check www.v8forum.co.uk for engine stuff, there are quite a few landy owners that post.

Thanks Paul, disco manifolds it is then

It is a 2.25 from the factory- the 3.5 is currently being built to go in sometime over the next month or two. I have later 10 bolt heads to go on the block, and as these are more free flowing (bulleted valve guides, wasted stem valves and larger ports) it would be a shame to strangle them with an early exhaust if the later design is better.

Has anyone got 3.9 manifolds from a Range Rover or Disco on a 3.5 in a 90? Are there any clearance issues if i use these, and is there actually any palpable benefit over the older style 4into1 manifolds? Just working everything out before i do the conversion. Thanks

Have you checked tappet clearances? Easy to do.

Electric fan is sorted, as is the v8 rad. Both currently on the 2.25 as my old rad let go a couple of months ago and i couldnt see the point of getting another 2.25 radiator only to replace it later...

Long bellhousing so that i don't need to use adaptor plate and chop bulkhead as engine will be further forward. Proper job, much more like a factory fitted v8, and easier to access too

Hi, I am in the process of rebuilding a 3.5 to go in my 2.25 powered 90. I have also acquired a long bellhoused LT77 ready for the swap but one thing i have not been able to find out is where the engine mounts will need to be? I am assuming (perhaps incorrectly ) that the gearbox mounts will remain in the same position, and that the engine mounts will end up further forward than the current ones. Does anyone have the specs on where the new mounts will need to be? Thanks

Mine does it if the downpipe is not absolutely tight, or if the heatshield is loose even the tiniest amount...

Mine only had a bikini roof when i bought it - you might just be able to see the spare series fume curtain i used to provide a back to it until i bought a full length tilt. Heres the full length in action- much warmer!

Oi! you said it WAS gonna be ready! Like i said, just take the s2 if you need to- you'll need to borrow the prop from the s3 and i'll need to get it MOT'd if required.

Can anyone recommend a good LR mechanic in the Hayes/ Heathrow area? My colleague wants to get his Freelander sorted and having only owned Series and Defenders myself i have never needed a mechanic! (I have at times often wished i could afford to pay for one though- usually when stuck under a vehicle in the rain in the middle of winter ) Thanks in advance Jamie

OK, I dont have a freelander and have never even sat in one so don't shoot me for being a bit lacking in the knowledge department! I have a series2 and a 90. This post is for a work colleague. The guy has a 1999 1.8 petrol model and it has recently been playing about. He seems to be experiencing two issues- one is that the car intermittently picks up in revs (by itself) and levels out at around 3000rpm. Not sure how he clears this... The other is that the car has been randomly stalling. After conking out it will start fine again immeadiatley afterward. I have asked if the temp of the engine has any effect, and he is not sure. He has had the ignition checked out and that is all fine. His main problem is that when the AA come out they can't find anything wrong with it Oh and its done 67000m if that has any bearing on what might be going on. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Thanks Jamie

Well i'm not an electrician and I did the same thing! Maplin kit was easy to do just take your time. I havent had my head skimmed but have rebuilt it, again thats easy but does take a few days. LPG- Bought a kit from Tinley tech and fitted it. (about £450ish) This took much longer and adding up the hours i did here and there over the course of a couple of weeks it probably all came to about 2-3 straight days. Again there is nothing hard about this, its just time consuming and sometimes fiddly to do it neatly/ right. Like i said before, i get 18mp on LPG now, and as Hattymender says, thats the same or cheaper than running diesel! Just make sure you have a filling station near you.

Its not expensive at all, when i've done 2.25's all it cost me was the head gasket and rocker gasket, and the valve lapping tool and paste.... oh and some springs and valve stem seals. Still not much- sub £20 i would say. Depends in you have a spring compressor and the other tools you might need. They're always the expensive bit but then you do have them for next time! But doing the top end does make a big difference when done- its definitely worth doing if you've got the time. Like Phoenix said it can be done in a couple of days if you are prepared with all the stuff ready and on hand.

I drive my 2.25 90 to work everyday (a 70mile round trip) and it has only let me down once in over a year. That was the points closing up due to me being slack on maintenance. Since then i have fitted an electronic dizzy and am running LPG. The 2.25 is a fine engine but as stated above it does lack go on hills. I cruise at 60 but can do 70+ if required. I recently towed a 3/4ton sankey fully loaded with some weight in the 90 too and although it was pretty slow, it still had the torque required to get it all moving. When i got the vehicle it was returning about 16mpg, but with some attention to the ignition and changing my driving style that was up to around 21mpg on the motorway. I get around 18-19mpg on gas. This compares with the 2.25 in my series2 which will usually get 25+mpg (being 2wd most of the time) Offroad, the 2.25 is fine. Having said all that, i am currently rebuilding a v8 to replace the 2.25

I never drive on petrol out of choice anymore- only if i run out. The 2.25 is perfectly happy running with the timing set so that it will just pink under heavy load on petrol, i just have to drive around it on the rare occasions i am running on it. Was planning on setting the V8 in the same manner. My original question was more to do with what differences (if anything noticeable) there were between the different cams listed as standard LR parts on the various sites.

I have checked the engine number against several different listings and it shows as a 10.5:1 P6 engine. The pistons also have much less of a dish than any of the other engines i have lying about so am pretty sure that the lists tell the truth. I think i have decided to go with the 9.35's and get the heads skimmed for comp gaskets anyway, much as i try to run on gas all of the time it is handy to have the ability to run on the expensive stuff sometimes

Nige, The block i am using was given to me free by someone from the v8 forum, was in a guys AC replica having done only 5000 from its last major overhaul. He took it out to start improving the performance when he was offered a good 4.6 at the right price and so the 3.5 sat on the bench. The crank has been nitrided, and has new main bearings fitted, the bores are all spot on and honing marks are still visible. I was also given the solid steel timing gear and chain, which was new when the engine was rebuilt- and the guy has some unused ARP bottom end studs he said i could have (when he finds them) The engine will be running on SU's not EFI. I do have a P6 engine that i could take the pistons out of, but am not sure i want to go as high as the 10.5:1 comp. However i was thinking I could stick those in and use a comp gasket to lower the overall compression slightly and benefit from the better gaskets. I guess i would need to do some buretting to figure out what the compression difference would end up being. As i spend most of my time running on the motorway i ideally am after some mid-range overtaking type grunt, not stupendously high revs. As i run on LPG 95% of the time, running the more advanced efi cam would be a benefit i guess? Thanks Jamie

I know its not for a Rangie, but it is a V8 so figured most of the relevant knowledge would be in here. I have a top notch block that i am going to be using as the base for building a new engine for my 90. The block is a 9.35:1 from an SD1. I am aiming to build a nice reliable unit that will make my 70mile a day commute more bearable/fun. With that in mind, which of the standard cams would you suggest i go for? What are the differences between the 3.5 carb and 3.5 efi cams- if any? And how do the different compression ratio cams compare- say the 8.13:1 vs, the 9.35:1? I dont have megabucks to spend hence the reason i want to go for a standard LR cam. cheers in advance.

Have you got the power valve (aka economy valve) adjusted correctly? I found on mine that this has biggest effect on mpg. Supposed to have it wound all the way out when setting up vapouriser, then once idle is nice bring revs to approx 3000rpm and screw in the valve until revs drop then back it out half a turn. i get about 18-19mpg on my 2.25 90, but i drive very conservatively (i learnt to do this when still forking out for petrol!) As for timing, mine is set so that it is just pinking under heavy load on petrol. I have to drive around this when on the expensive stuff but spend 95% of the time on gas anyway so no biggy there. I set the timing up by ear, so have no idea where it is degrees wise. You might want to consider going more advanced, as gas has a slower flame front than petrol and so needs to be ignited sooner in the stroke to stand a chance of burning fully. running 95 unleaded you should be about 6deg BTDC anyway i think? Good luck

I might have a spare you can have, will check....

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't" Totally agree. I plan on keeping my B-reg 90 as long as poss and just improving things as i go...

As already mentioned, make sure you check the chassis thoroughly- tap it and see what it sounds like in areas you not sure about. After owning a series vehicle for 6 years i still managed to miss rusty areas on my 90 when i bought it- they go in different places! The places i would say to look out (others may well chip in) for are: -The rear cross (obviously) -The webs that strengthen where rear spring seats meet chassis. -The cross member that the A-frame attaches to. On mine the triangular braces on top had rotted through as they catch and hold mud. -Areas around bump stops, again full of mud. -Outriggers I bought mine a year ago, and now commute 70 miles a day in it, 'tis only a B-Reg but i love it.

LPG!- but then you'd need to get rid of the oil burner