V8david

Thanks Quagmire, your sympathy is much appreciated! It's good to know I'm not alone! No, the annoying thing is I have the ARP studs fitted so there are no stretch issues and the heads are torqued down to their specifications (i.e. fookin tight, borderline brown trouser moment when going round for the final torque down, thinking "aluminium block, this feels wrong"!!!). Also the Elring gaskets looked like real quality so I don't suspect them. Next step is to to pull the heads off again , and check for corrosion around the water ports on the block. Although I would have noticed anything major enough to leak to the outside. We shall see though. I will also have the heads pressure tested to see if there are any cracks etc. in them. I was so close, only had the HT leads to fit before firing up. I haven't driven it for nearly 2 years. Anyway....

Hi all. V8 3.5 1989, 14 bolt heads. Can anyone tell me if any of the outer row of bolt holes in the block (11-14) enter the coolant galleries at all? Reason I ask is that I have fitted Elring composite gaskets and the way they are made meant I couldn't get the outer row of bolts in at all. I have filled with coolant and now getting a slight weep of coolant from between the heads and block on both sides.

http://www.brit-car.co.uk/product.php?xProd=80831 http://www.lrseries.com/shop/product/listing/1866/603659-ENGINE-SUMP-DRAIN-PLUG.html?search=603659&page=1 http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID010808 http://www.paddockspares.com/603659-sump-drain-plug-200tdi.html etc. etc. 603659 is the part number.

Thanks for that. That link has some excellent close up pictures of the throttle assembly I askedfor in an earlier thread!!

Sorry if this is a stupid suggestion, but have you tried making more room yet as well? I had the same thing on my RRC, just one f##king little sh*t of a bolt right at the top! Anyway, I ended up taking the engine mounting rubbers out so I could lower the whole lot, had enough room then to swing the hammer to get a smaller socket on and off it came. Took two full days of my life that b*stard bolt. I kept it and mounted it on the wall of the workshop to look at for inspiration, nothing could ever be as bad as that bolt...

Thanks for the replies. I have tried pretty hard on the spare one, but not my hardest yet! Penetrating fluid and lots of heat made no difference at all, it's fookin solid quite frankly. I'm thinking it could be a job for the machine shop place when I need it in the future, once I've saved up for megasquirt.

Has anyone got, or could anyone take, a quick picture of their throttle assembly linkage thingy at the back of the plenum? 3.5 Flapper ideally if possible? I've put it back on and I'm sure I'm missing at least one spring, also one spring doesn't seem to relate to anything or in fact do anything. Much appreciated if possible...

Thanks Bowie, and thanks for all the help and suggestions. Hi CwazyWabbit, no not HFH, though his V8 porn thread is brilliant (if not totally and utterly out of the league of what I'm doing!), I meant BBC as in Ian 'Bull Bar Cowboy'. His thread I followed ages ago, pictures have gone now but it's still great. Here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14006&st=0 I didn't spend anywhere near as much time or take as much care as him but it's an interesting and inspirational read.

If I could just cut into this minor altercation for a minute... Just to say the Elring gaskets arrived and I fitted them yesterday. I see what people mean now by the quality, they were/are bloody lovely. Anyway, I've had two further long oil pump sessions with the drill and everything seems to be fine, head gasket areas are lovely and bone dry, and clean! Just what I always wanted.... I shall consult my engine number tomorrow and try to find this compression ratio number. For the record, this is my second set (third set counting the sh*te I've just pulled off) of composite head gaskets. I bought the car with 32k miles on the clock with the original tin head gaskets which had no issues or leaks. I put a new cam (standard) in a couple of years ago and thought I'd do the head gaskets while I was down there. Nothing really needed doing but I did it because I found it interesting. This time around I took the engine out because I needed to replace core plugs, including the ones at the back of the block. Again I thought 'while it's out I might as well'... So I replaced all the bearings, had things checked, had bores honed, crank polished etc. etc., new rings, even had new cam bearings fitted. Again, nothing really needed doing (apart from the core plugs) but it was interesting and enjoyable. And now I know exactly the state of the engine and how badly beautifully it's been put back together. My point is I never noticed any difference or drop in performance when I changed from tin to composite. It just drove like it's always driven, i.e. a 3.5 Efi, leisurely take off but gets there eventually. What I don't want are any leaks and drips, service her once a year, and fix bits where necessary as they go. As has been mentioned, this compression doom has been talked and talked about many, many times before and when deciding to fit the composite gaskets I read extensively into the pros and cons.The 40 thou figure you quote is also quoted in the 'How to Power Tune a Rover V8' book, another thing I purchased and read during my research. I took all these arguments into account, as well as reading excellent threads like BBC's V8 build on this forum and took the plunge and went for the composite. They are not leaking, I am now happy The heads I have used are new to me, from a 4.2, made in June 93 according to the stamp on the side. Whilst they are not the reduced CC, recessed valves and thickness of the later heads made for composite gaskets, they have the hooded valve stem seals which was my primary aim. They have been skimmed and the valves re-cut and re-ground and during assembly all the lifter preloads were/are fine. As I said I now know my engine and I am happy, and that's all I wanted from the start.

Ah, will do. Thanks for the tip. Elring gaskets arriving tomorrow...

Good idea with the locating dowels, hadn't thought of that. I checked though and I have about 2mm clearance on them, plus gasket thickness.

Stupid question. Where the heads have been skimmed is the final finish? Oil couldn't work down the teeny, tiny grooves left by the, er, machining machine?

Thanks for all the replies. The set was from v8tuner, I thought it would be safe from there but obviously not. The head gaskets were composite (which I f**cking paid f**cking extra for) but were not Elring as I assume the name would have been visible on either the packaging or gaskets themselves? The valley gasket was sealed at the ends (really nicely I found when I pulled it all apart). It never came into play anyway as all I did was pump a bit of oil round with my drill until I saw it dripping from the rockers. Then it gently dripped back down the valley and into the sump. The engine never even ran which is why this is so annoying. Anything above the head/block join was also bone dry and spotlessly clean so the oil only came from one place. I could also see that the gasket material was wet with oil before I took it apart again. Also it was definitely from the heads as when I took them off the gaskets were covered in oil. It's like they just didn't seal at all around the oilways. I know what you mean Team Idris, those ARP studs took the heads so tight I thought it would be (almost) totally impossible for any leaks. That's why I couldn't believe it when I saw the oil weep down the sides of the block. Anyway, today I cleaned everything AGAIN for re-assembly. I'll update this when I get the gaskets and re-test with my trusty, fault finding drill. If it weeps oil again, a grenade is DEFINITELY going plum in the middle of the valley...

Thanks Quagmire, much appreciated.

Update... Got the heads off again today for a look. Both heads and block faces are dead straight, can't get the finest feeler on my feeler gauge under my straight edge on either head or block face at any point. So my only question is why, or rather more importantly how have the head gaskets failed so dramatically without the bloody thing even running? There's one tiny little oilway going up through the heads on each side, at pretty low pressure, and they BOTH leaked, and undid all my F**KING hard work. Anyone got any stockists, or better still links to stockists of aforementioned head gaskets...?

Thanks for the lightning fast replies! No, I don't think there's a bottoming out issue with the threads, the ARP studs seemed a fair bit shorter than the standard bolts I took out. Like the train of thought though. I've heard 'Elring' before, thank you, will look into some of them!

Partly answered my own question, these look good; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/V8-composite-head-Gaskets-Range-Rover-Discovery-Morgan-Kit-Car-TVR-Marcos-MG-/170921920665?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27cbbd8899

Next question, sorry... Has anyone removed/replaced the inlet manifold bypass pipe at the front of the inlet manifold? Part number ETC6547 I think? Pictures of the part suggest that it is threaded so will it simply unscrew? Is heat required? I've got a spare inlet manifold to practice on as well. Mine's rusty and leaks slightly so if I've got to take the inlet manifold off again I may as well replace it. Also, if it does screw in, does it need the thread coating with anything before screwing the new one in? Cheers again David

Right... bo**ocks and more bloody BO**OCKS I've got the newly assembled engine back in the car (3.5 V8). The block was spotlessly clean, both heads skimmed, both heads torqued down as per torque sequence (except for bolts 11-14, they're less than half torque), all with composite gaskets and ARP studs. F**king bullet proof i'd have thought... but no. I primed the oil pump with a drill to make sure oil was safely getting up to the rockers, which it was. Confidently put the engine back in the car. Now there is a slight oil weep down both outsides of the block (OS more than NS). I wiped and left overnight incase it was from the re-assembly but no, it was back this morning. It's definitely coming from between head and block on both sides. Anyone had this? Any ideas? Rubbish gaskets perhaps? The gaskets came as part of a set. Obviously I haven't started the car yet as reassembly has stopped, so it's only got the intake manifold to remove to get the heads off again. If it weeps oil from a quick prime with a drill I dread to think what would happen at a few thousand RPM with the bloody thing running. Anyone recommend really good quality composite head gaskets? Do any come with additional sealing around the oilways? I'd also like the ones with specific sealing around the water ways. Cheers David

Hi again, just to finish off this topic. I actually opened my eyes and looked at the tube and there is indeed a flare on it. In fact there is a bloody stopper actually welded to it! I tapped the tube home down to this and it's back where it should be. I knew it was a stupid question....

Thanks Nige, I don't need an excuse to re-visit that thread! looking bloody brilliant by the way...

Right, next question. Has anyone ever made/had made replacement pipes for the two metal ones that run across the top of the rocker cover? The ends of mine are beyond use and are definitely NOT going back on the motor!

Many thanks for the replies and advice. I'll give it a go today.

Hi all Finally putting the engine back together (3.5 V8 Efi 1989). Only thing is I can't see how far to re-insert the dipstick tube into the block? There are no obvious markings on the tube and the bracket that bolts it to the rocker cover moves freely so is no guide. I assume it's reasonably important as it regulates the distick height when checking oil level... If someone can give me a measurement as to how far the tube protrudes from the block I would be most grateful! Or how far below the block the dipstick should hang (no sump on at the moment so either is easy). Sorry for the stupid question! Cheers David

Get a manual as well mate, Haynes, download or anything like that. Step by step guides to jobs like this help loads.