sotal Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Not been on here much since selling my tdi disco, I've been after a bit of a winter project to do up ready for when my company car ends in May, and I've come across someone with a Disco which they're having problems with - so they're thinking of selling. It's an M reg 4l V8 (300tdi shape), it's not a high end model from what I can tell - manual cloth seats etc. It's a little high on the mileage I think around 130k It's currently miss-firing and it sounds like he's getting fed up with it after a week of trying various bits. Does it sound like it's worth going for? Not sure how much he'd want yet - so any idea what price would be good? I was thinking that megasquirt might sort it out - and I'd always fancied having a go with the whole megasquirt idea (I like that sort of stuff) - Any ideas if that would cure it? If it's something mechanical then I'm likely to struggle a lot more as I've never worked on a V8. Finally what sort of mpg can you expect on LPG? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Also how much does it cost to get everything for a meqasquirt setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 misfire could be anything, plugs, leads, cap and arm would be a good start. coil maybe, ignition amp on the dizzy. could even be a dodgy fuel pump. does it misfire on both fuels, or just one? that will help to identify which is causing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 I've asked about which fuel but I'm awaiting a reply, from his comments it's probably both though. All the cheapish bits have been replaced to try and cure it but with no luck. Not sure if he used genuine leads though as I've heard aftermarket ones can be next to useless on these. Thanks for the reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltyoldseadog Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I'm no expert but that one doesn't sound brilliant. Last time I had any experience of the V8 with LPG the beast did 15mpg but that was a Range Rover and it was a while ago so maybe they've improved the technology a bit. My first V8 was also a Range Rover in about 1982 which never quite managed 11mpg on petrol so I didn't have it for long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Megajolt/Megasquirt it anyway, you know it makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Right - it runs better on gas than petrol, but it missfires on both. He says it's running loads better now but still doesn't sound quite right on gas and still horrible on petrol - drives ok on gas just doesn't sound quite right. He's changed plugs,leads,dizzy cap, rotor arm 125k on the clock Condition of body is really good - solid boot floor and sills and no welding needed for MOT. It failed it's MOT and needs -track rod end, front to rear brake pipe, parking brake efficiency below requirements. Wants £500 for it - had a quick look on autotrader and found one with MOT all running etc for £850 same age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 It might just be an innocous component thats faulty, however V8's can eat their camshafts casuing similar issues... I'd take a close look at the engines internals to see if its been treated well or not. If its all sludged up then its probably not worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 When you say take a look - is that just through the oil fill up hole? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Re the V8 stuff - at that mileage it's an idea to find out how much water it uses. If it is using a lot, then the block may have small cracks running between the water ways and the cylinders - a relatively common fault on Rover V8's and some would say even more so on one that uses LPG. If that's the case, walk away unless you want to have the whole unit out and replace or renovate it. Re the running problems - one of the best pieces of advice someone gave me was not to replace parts without going through a really methodical fault finding approach, starting with a really good clean up of all connections involved in the ignition system and a thorough check of the wiring. V8's are recognised for their ability to put up with a number of small things wrong which individually affect performance before it becomes noticeable. Tough choice if you can't get at it without putting your £500 on the table, but you seem to have a few things to do for the MoT anyway...........if it were me, I would probably look for a better one.....................HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 It doesn't use any water and hasn't needed topping up. I think the bloke would like to fix it up if he can, but is getting stuck and needs a tow vehicle. If he can't sort he's thinking of selling. I'm sort of on the edge of whether it's worth it. Financially it's probably not really due to the possible expense and time required - but it's supposed to be very good condition albeit a low spec model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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