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Engine Change


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After deciding I'd like to get a "younger" engine into my 110, I managed to get hold of one recently re-built 4.6 from Pod....

V8 Developments block with top hat liners, oversized valves etc. and set up to run off an Omex 710 ECU.

I compared the two engines and it was clear I need to do a lot of re-plumbing /re-jigging to get things to work as the inlet manifolds were diffrerent, water pumps different, loom was different etc...

What I had before.....

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Basic 3.9 with Hotwire....

Then it was a case of removing all hoses, radiator, all the bellhousing bolts and pull the ECU loom through into the engine bay. Pull the existing loom back from the front of the engine (Coil feed, Distributor to coil, temp sender, alternator feed etc.) and move out of the way... It's a few hours work but then you are ready to pull the engine out.

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The out she comes....

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Ah... Need to pull the front off to get it out completely.. Hey ho.... Eventually I win...

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Leaves a really big hole you will need to fill....

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I took the opportunity to get in, de-grease the chassis rails and cover with Waxoyl / Hammerite paint and replace the steering UJ's.

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Nothing too fancy and I'll cover the undersides of the rails and go back further, eventually covering the whole chassis.

I changed the water pump (Adrian ran an electric pump as the engine was rear mounted) fitted the new thermostat, belt tensioner and serpentine belt.

(Adrian also ran two alternators for winching he used to do in events..)

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The engine was a workhorse for Adrian so I was going to have to apply some TLC and change a few things. While out I decided to paint and re-seal the sump and replace the rear crank seal before it went back in...

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I changed the thrust bearing and it was time to offer the engine up for fitting... Second offer and it goes in.. What a relief!!

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Now time to get all the bolts back in and start to sort the plumbing challenges. I took a trip to Pirtek to sort out the PAS hoses and located the external oil filter on the drivers inner wing. Rupert (Bogstandard on here..) made a plate to fit on the underside to spread the load a little. I then set about fastening the pipes and used some old hoses to give a little more protection from the chassis etc.

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The plumbing challenges were overcome with a bit of shopping and brain work...

It was now time to sort the electrics and fire it up!!!

More to come.

Neil

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Now it was time to fire it up and get it running...

I discovered I had knocked the crank sensor during transit / installation. Changed the sensor and off we went.

We cranked and cranked and eventually it fired but was a rough as they come. Firing on 4 or 5 and nothing more.... Changed plugs and after several calls to Adrian, I located a diagram of the Coilpacks from the Rave disks and saw I had 4 leads in the wrong place. :rolleyes:

Still not running well cold and not great when warm either ! Tried setting the master timing number in the software as the manual suggests but the car runs sluggish if I do this, so back to a setting that feels good for now. More conversations with Nige and co I guess...

Lots of conversations continued with Nige (HFH) and Adrian (Pod) and I left things alone for nearly a week while I did a lot of reading and prepared the replacement rocker covers...

As they came from Nige...

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A few spots of paint and ready to go in....

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Before...

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During...

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After...

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I re-installed the flame trap on the even bank

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Replaced the thermostat again.. (Thankfully this one (Third one) seems to open and closed when designed to do so...)

And calibrated the water temp sender for the ECU. (I had done it roughly off my VDO guage so not too far out.)

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Started the truck and still running like poo when cold.

Looked into the software and could see there were effectively two calibrations in there for cold running, adding more fuel. While running pants, I changed one setting from a reasonably high number to a reasonable low one and the engine settled, needed no further nursing and ran sweet right up to operating temperature. I then smoothed out the compensation table and will see how the engine starts next time I have to fire it up.

Piped in the inlet vent for the rocker covers. This is held in the engine bay presently but will go through the bulkhead and take dry air from high up in the cab under the dash in the near future. When the snorkel finally plumbed in it'll hopefully make for a fairly waterproof engine for those few occasions it'll get wet!

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The engine is really running quite well now.. No oil or water leaks, nice smile every time I bury the loud pedal and it's looking like it's happy too...

I even took the time to play with the software to make a basic dashboard on the laptop this evening... :)

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So, still some minor plumbing and wiring to sort out, timing to figure out and one chuffing great airbox to fit under the bonnet somewhere. It may mean I have to extend the coil pack feed wires in the loom and move the coil packs to the front of the engine where there is a little more room now there is no dizzy.

Big thanks to Adrian for the engine, Rupert for the assistance and space to do the change over, David (DavidLandy) for the loan of the hoist and Nige and Fridge for telling me to go MS over the last few days while I've tried to sort the timing out... :P

This hasn't been pulled together as a tech thread in any way, just showing you what's been going on since early January...

Neil

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Guest diesel_jim

What sort of power are you (expecting?) to get form this engine Neil?

the old 3.9 was standard wasn't it? so about 182bhp.

is this one much more noticably powerful?

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The older 3.9 had 150k under it's belt. I had a fast road cam put in late last year as one lobe had seen better days on the old standard cam. Maybe 180 BHP if you were lucky... Compressions still 200LB per cylinder, just not revving free if that makes sense.. It would sound a little laboured at 4k so I never took it there.... Great for cruising at 70 with overdrive engaged....

The replacement makes 5th feel like 3rd was, now it's running better. It's got to be good for mid 250's if not higher.. If Adrian reads this thread he may offer a suggestion of what he was hoping it would put out...

Who knows... It makes a nice noise anyhow ! :)

Neil

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this what im thinking of doing to my v8 90. was your 110 v8 standard or converted just wondering how uch difference id notice between the standard 3.5 and a 3.9. have been looking at 4.2s but not many about, another thing to consider for me is its a daily runner so fuel has to be something like (well for a v8 anyway, currently getting about 11 on gas)

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Mine was originally a 3.5 on carbs so not a lot needed changing structurally.

It's worth changing for tubular headers and decent exhaust while you go through the process if you haven't done so already.

The time is spent changing anything that is different. To add a hotwire ignition you will need to check / upgrade fuel lines and fit higher pressure EFi fuel pump. Cut a hole in the bulkhead to get the loom inside (Approx. 60mm hole) and attach a few wires. (Fuel pump control, earth , live and one wire to negative pole of the coil.)

The 3.9 was much smoother and forgiving when compared to the 3.5. Considerably more power through the range and a lot more torque..... I averaged 14 on Petrol when I cared to measure it, but of course I could get it a lot lower....

:)

Neil

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