Mike_H

So if the strap is just round the gearbox it'll damage the T-box, or are you just thinking it'll be unbalanced? Sounds like a combination of engine hoist through the gearlever hole, and big trolley jack under the transfer box, could work. Sounds hopeful re. dropping the box out. I'll see if my mate has found a replacement yet.

You could try a block tester kit (coloured indicator fluid and a big glass vial that looks like a turkey baster) which will tell you if there's exhaust gas in the coolant from a porous block. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BT500-TEST-TOOLS-BLOCK-TESTER-KIT_W0QQitemZ180403712565QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Hand_Tools_Equipment?hash=item2a00e63235#ht_1986wt_1164

No, they're not galvanised. IIRC there weren't any galv facilities at Solihull back then.

This site is down at the minute, but it's very useful (when it's working). There are good video tutorials and lots of knowledgeable folks on the forum. http://mig-welding.co.uk/ In terms of a welder, if you're ever going to do any chassis stuff, you need to be up around 130-150amp. 100 amp isn't going to be enough - you'll be running on full power and cutting out on overheat all the time, and probably still short of penetration. I'm no fan of Clarke tools in general, but the Clarke 150TE(?) welder that my mate has is a good bit of kit. I've read (probably on that mig welding site) that SIP welders have lots of problems with the wire sheath, so are best avoided.

So, looking at the Britpart catalogue, the clutch kit is the same for R380 and non R380 models - STC8358 Can anyone give me a couple of pointers on how high I need to get the car, and any good tips for dropping the 'box out?

The car is at Silverstone at the owner's place. I live in Windsor I've got access to decent trolley jacks, some big drive-on ramps, and an engine crane. I was wondering if the engine crane could be used from above inside the car (through the gear lever hole with a strap round the 'box) to lower the trans down. How much clearance is needed to drag the transmission assembly out from under the car - 18" ish? I reckon we could get it on the ramps using 4th gear and low range (that's how it got home). The owner might know of an R380 box going spare. Does the clutch need to be changed to match the 'box, or are they the same? Any differences that I need to worry about in the transfer box? I think there were some design revisions when the R380 came in, but I'm not sure if they affect the fitting to older cars.

Sorry for being a bit slow on the uptake - I'm not sure what / where the spigot bearing is. I guess I'll have to RTFM

Thanks. Are V8 and diesel boxes significantly different? Also, I've never changed one of these before. Can they be dropped out of the bottom without taking the engine out, or is it a question of pulling it all apart?

I haven't seen it yet, but my mate tells me his gearbox has blown up in his RR Classic TDI. I guess we'll be looking for one to swap in, so I'd appreciate advice on whether they're interchangeable with LT77s from Discos or defenders, or from V8s RR / Discos. Other than the question of whether they fit, are there differences in ratios to consider? Alternatively, is an R380 box a straight swap? Which models would work? Which other bits would be needed?

The LT77 line was decommissioned in '93 and the R380 line went in around the turn of the year, and had a slow ramp-up - I was there So cars built from 95MY onwards had the R380, I think. The memory is hazy, but I think a big stock-build of LT77's was done around the same time.

I've recently bought one of the block testers where a fluid changes colour on contact with combustion gas. I'll give that a try to confirm, but I'm pretty confident that the radiator was ok when we started - looks nearly new. However, the engine has had sealer chemicals in it, so it could be getting blocked up now.

I'm in Berkshire, but the car is in Northants, near Brackley/Sliverstone. If anyone's got a good 3.9 lump (ideally running and testable with a block tester) then there's a good chance that the owner (a mate, not me) would be interested.

I guess they're not worth a huge amount, but I'd have thought it's worth something, as there are lots of nice bits on it.... maybe I will be changing the engine after all?!

I thought I'd come back and report on this one.... Unfortunately all seemed well, and the engine would tick over happily without any problems, but when it did some real work, the pressurizing / coolant loss problems came back with a vengeance, so at the end of it all, the conclusion is that the block/head has gone porous somewhere. So there are two options left really. 1. Buy another lump, fit it, and hope the new one is ok. I've been offered a TVR 4.0 lump for sensible money. I imagine the swap would be fairly straightforward, but are there any issues with swapping a manual engine into an auto car, or 2wd to 4wd? Obviously I'd be planning to use the existng transmission from the rangie. 2. Sell the car as-is for a project / breaker. What's an otherwise decent classic worth with no tax or MOT, and a dud engine. It still runs though. The owner has a 1972 short wheelbase car, which he really wants to keep, as well as the 1993 classic, so if anyone's looking for a project (the 1993 one), let me know!

Thanks for all the advice... I'm pretty sure it's not the radiator, as it looks nearly new, and the bottom hose gets hot too... although it's hard to get a paw in there to check! The thermostat was also changed in the last year, at the start of the overheating problems. Next up, it's definitely not leaking from any of the hoses... I guess we need to double check for the presence of combustion gases in the header tank to be sure, but I reckon that's what's going on.

So I got the RR Classic running sweetly, purring on tickover, it idled for 20 minutes with the cap off, with the temp gauge at normal. There were a few bubbles in the header tank, which I thought might be an airlock bubbling out, but looked a bit worrying. So we took it for a run... pulled well, felt smooth, but overheated after about 5 miles once we'd pushed it a bit down some country lanes. Got back and the top hose was rock hard, and you could hear pressure hissing out of the cooling system. So, looks like we've got a porous block / liner problem.If nothing else we might chuck some 'block sealer' in it and see if that sorts it out for a temporary fix. My mate who owns the car doesn't really want to spend the money on an engine swap, so has anyone got any ideas? Any advice would be welcome. In case you didn't see the other thread, it's a '93 RR Classic 3.9 v8.

I'd double checked with the screwdriver down the bore, and in this case the marks were accurate, as I'd read they often weren't. So I timed it up... had to 'adjust' the vac advance unit to get enough movement in the dizzy, and it idled really nicely, sat at normal temp with the cap off... etc. Shame it overheated and pressurised the hoses when we took it for a run....damn!

Scratch that.... just found them..... although I can't seem to get them to adjust in, because the dizzy vac advance is hitting the hose. Guess I've got the dizzy in the wrong place then!

Trying to get the RR Classic 3.9 v8 running - '93 Model. I reckon the timing is out, and I can see the notch in the crank damper pulley, but I can't see what I'm supposed to line it up with - I can't see it from above, so I guess I have to go in from the side somewhere (alternator side?). Could someone answer this basic question please! The Haynes manual only goes up to '85, so not for this version (the owner has a 1972 RR as well). Thanks!

Aaah I see. I think it's OK, but I'll keep it in mind if I can't get it timed in properly. Thanks for the explanation.

Not yet... currently working abroad, but will be back up there to check it all this weekend. I was trying to build a list of likely things to check, in advance. I thought the dizzy was a slot type of drive, so I'm struggling to understand the 'one tooth out' comment.

Any more ideas? Would leaky injector seals cause it to run rough? Thanks!

It had a camshaft and tappets under the previous owner, and I did check for signs of wear - all looked pristine. It's had new top-end gaskets - all of the composite variety, sourced from Real Steel. It got a smear of sealant on the valley end rubbers, but nothing else (I don't like using sealant normally, as it can block oilways, so I only used it where I thought it was really necessary). I only mentioned the sealant there, as one of the previous posts suggested it.... looks like opinion is divided on the subject. If you'd had the heads off a v8, would you expect to have to reset the mixture and tickover? I guess with the compo gaskets (it had original steel ones in there) it's got slightly less compression, but I wouldn't expect that to make the difference I'm hearing. So what are the common 'schoolboy errors' when rebuilding one of these? What will I have connected in the wrong place?

Right... it's finally back together and running. It's been sat at fast-ish idle for 20 minutes and warmed up nicely, sat at an even temp, etc. No sign of any oil or coolant leaks as yet, the cooling system behaved very well, in fact. BUT: It's not happy at tickover... I need to reset the timing as I had the dizzy out at one point, and just lined it up by eye (made a note of the position before I took it out) but I think there's more too it than that. It starts fine, but then idles lumpily, and will die if you don't wedge the throttle open. It was idling better before we took it apart - that's for sure. I'm convinced the plug leads are in the right order - having checked carefully The injector seals looked pretty bad, so do you think that would cause the issue? I'm sceptical that they'd let enough air in to cause a running problem I'm even pretty sure we got all the wires and pipes back in the right place. Do the hydraulic tappets need any more time to pump up? Next stage is timing light, check the plugs, do a compression test, but any advice would be gladly received. From what's been written above, the valley gasket might be the place to look for air leaks? The inlet manifold parts were all put together with hylomar, although the inlet manifold to valley gasket / head joint wasn't. I'd suspect there might be an air leak, but the engine and fan make so much noise it's hard to tell... I'll have to get in there with a can of carb cleaner and spray-check. I'd normally expect an air leak to cause a faster tickover though.

Thanks for all the help so far - with a bit of luck it's going back together this weekend. I've been shopping for the bits we need, and decided against the special bolts on the manifold (for the heatshield) as they're 8 quid each! The other one I'm struggling with is the Alternator Bracket countersunk screw (the one that sits behind the PAS Pump body, and bolts the alternator bracket to the end of the head). The man in the LR dealer couldn't find it, although I did give him some misinformation about where it was... just came home and found out I should have said Alternator Bracket, not PAS Bracket. Anyway... has anyone put an engine back together without that fixing, or will the bracket fall apart if I don't use it? Any options other than dealers for those bits? I think they're beyond my friendly local fastenings supplier, particularly as they're UNC thread (I think).