V8david

I've had a look for the output bearing replacement thread. Seems to be the LT230? Is it the same sort of procedure for the Borg Warner? Or is that a completely different arrangement? What Tbox have you got Al? As you may be able to tell, I know absolutely f*ck all about transfer boxes! Well the inards of them anyway...

Cheers Al. Sounds good to me. I'll have a search round for the thread. Can't think of anything else it could be. To answer your question there's a small amount of wiggle but it's visible, can't just feel it I can actually see it. That's why I need to compare it to someone elses. I'll dive under the next RRC I see and have a waggle.

Right, I have had a waggle about under the truck today and here's where I found some play... The sort of flared bit (arrowed) that sticks out of the transfer box is where there is visible play when I waggle the prop. There is no play at either diff, the rear of the transfer box feels like it's got similar play at the output but I can't see because of the handbrake drum. Another thing about the vibration... When it's in full swing at speed it gets louder if the car bounces over a bump in the road (smooth bump rather than harsh, like a dip in a motorway, so the car bounces). As the car naturally bounces the vibration sounds louder then quieter, seems to vary while articulating. Once the car settles it's back to normal, until the speed drops enough or I re-apply the gas. Another way of getting it to vibrate is hitting a pot hole or manhole cover at the correct angle. This happens around 30 mph and it's a much shorter vibration but sounds the same. Thanks for the info Al, joints were good on the old props. If anyone's in the Hereford area with a Borg Warner transfer box on their truck that they don't mind me waggling about a bit it would be much appreciated. Just so i've got something to compare mine to.

Cheers FridgeFreezer, I shall have a waggle today and report back!

Hi sparg. It's only in top gear yes. Just as I ease off the gas and the car starts to slow down naturally, doesn't happen if I ease off in lower gears. Not there if i stamp on the gas.

Just to add to this, I replaced the props and still getting the vibration. It's like a loud humming vibration, if I go to 60mph or 70mph and take my foot off the accelerator it starts. As the car slows I get this humming, like a grinding sort of humming, back on the gas and it stops. So my question is what else can it be? Are there bearings in the BW transfer box? If so how do you and how hard is it to replace them? Failing that it could be a bearing in the diff. Any more thoughts much appreciated. Cheers.

It's not a killer job getting the drop arm off?!?!?! Not with the right kit. It'll never come off with a standard gear puller, but as I said I used a hydraulic puller from a tool hire place and it came off a treat. With regards to the swivel bearings you'll need to strip the hubs etc back and you may as well replace them but I would recommend a manual for your first go. Get a couple of swivel overhaul kits and a manual and it's dead straight forward.

Nige... Hi Wayne. You'll need a hydraulic puller to get the arm off. Bit of a tight sqeeze to get it off, and comes all of a sudden when it does so don't leave your head in the way! The adjuster for the steering box is the allen bolt on top of the box, undo the lock nut and adjust. Full procedure's in the manuals or rave download. Have you checked your swivel bearings/settings? Is your damper ok? Loads of possibilities, have you done a search on here? Good luck with it mate.

I fitted the wheels off 2 old road bikes, stripped everything except the driver's seat, windscreen, instrument panel and lights, and drilled holes in the chassis No, fair play mate. That is good. I'm on goodyear wrangler ATs on the front and kumho ATs on the back. And I haven't stripped anything...

About 150 miles+ off £30. You're doing 200 miles+ off £40. So to answer your question... same as you pretty much?! Same ratio. i.e. we'd both get about 50 miles from £10. 'kin ell indeed...

Try half a turn. Doesn't take much, I noticed a big difference in power/consumption with just 1/4 turn. Don't try making it run rough, may get backfires and risk the AFM. Is it leaking anywhere? I had a slight leak from the plastic Y piece which lost a fair bit of gas. Lot of trial and error really mate. Like everyone else I expect 160-170 miles from £30-32. 200+ miles on a good motorway run (without jams!) Or go to an autogas place and have the system serviced/checked/setup. Shouldn't be too expensive. Good luck.

I got mine from Halfords. Kenwoods. I took an old one in to compare size. There were quite a few options. All I had to do was glue the new one to the bracket for the lower speaker. The upper ones went straight in. Only real problem was being served by a load of spotty 14 year olds "do you want us to fit them for you?" Er, no...

Nice one. Cheers Nige.

Would 4.2 cylinder heads fit on my 3.5? They're the same aren't they? Would they have the later valve stem seals on them? Cheers David

Like Les said mate. One at a time is safest. I chocked all the wheels and worked my way round the car. Very little movement. And i felt safer because I didn't jack or put her up on axle stands at all! Only thing to worry about is getting the bolts undone/out. That can be a right b@stid and extremely time consuming! Good luck.

Thanks BBC, does sound like horrible job! I'd be interested in the later type guides/seals solution. Are the any detailed picture references to any of the work in your threads? I'll start by looking through your V8 rebuild thread and go from there. (that thread is awesome by the way!) Cheers mate David

cheers Steve. Yeah, I can imagine with a tricky fiddle the seals could be replaced. But I reckon it's the guides so i'll do it when I rebuild the engine again. Just top up the oil for now. Thanks for all the help everyone.

Cheers sheltie50. Yeah, the valve stem seals were replaced. On the intake valves. Which makes me think it's the valve guides? There's hardly any smoke so it's hard to determine the colour! It's more the start up smell. The oil seems to go down faster after a long journey if that helps. As it's a heads off job I think I may just live with it for a while!...

Right, had a good fiddle today and here's what I found: Not losing any water, well, literally half a cup full over months, which I can safely put down to the leaking core plug. No contamination of water in oil/oil in water. Engine oil definitely going down slowly but surely. Goes from 'high' on the dipstick to about halfway between 'high' and 'low' every 400 miles or so. No external oil leaks. Also performed a compression test, results as follows, in PSI: Cylinder 1: 140 3: 135 5: 150 7: 165 2: 160 4: 140 6: 160 8: 160 No idea if this good or bad. Not even sure if it is white smoke now. Definite funny smell on start up and a bit smokey, and losing engine oil. Next step leakdown test then? Any more thoughts most welcome... David

Thanks for all the replys. I'll give it a check over tomorrow. Water consumption is good. When I first got it it was losing water all the time. Since then new head gaskets, valley gasket, coolant pipes and radiator. If it is losing any it's hardly any now, one of the core plugs has a slight leak. But I guess it only needs to be a tiny amount to produce a tiny amount of smoke. I'll try BBC's pressure release theory and check the plugs, and update tomorrow hopefully. I'll also have a look for that vacuum connection Steve. Cheers for the thought. Is it worth getting a compression gauge and checking the cylinders? Also where can I get proper genuine head gaskets?

Thanks for the replies. I'll give the coolant thing a go. Definitely white smoke and smells funny. I'll check the coolant level as well next time I drive (prob thurs) and update.

Thanks for the thought David, interesting to think away from the engine/engine oil. Brake fluid level is good. Also thanks timmymac. I had the heads off recently and replaced the valve stem seals. So being pretty much sure it's neither of those, is the only thing left the valve guides? Like you said it's as if a small amount of oil is getting in and being burnt off on start up. The engine oil level does slowly but surely go down and there are no external leaks. Can I assume it's not piston rings from the symptoms? As I said the smoke/smell clears straight away and remains clear until I stop and start again. Any more ideas welcome...

Hi all, as the title says really, 3.5 V8 efi, puff of white smoke on start up whether hot or cold. Accompanied by rich oily burning smell. Couple of revs and all is fine, runs sweet, no more white smoke, even under hard acceleration. Any suggestions much appreciated. Is there a small amount of oil leaking down into a cylinder while it's standing? Slack valve guide perhaps? Is there anything to look out for on spark plugs if I take them out one at a time for a look? or anything else I can look for? Cheers

Nice one mate. Looks good.

Goodyear Wranglers are a good tyre for road use. 205 R16s. Kumho tyres are good as well. Had them on the back with the goodyears on the front for many 1000's of miles. Like Bille said you'll probably get loads of opinions on this. But that's my 2 pence worth anyway.