450SE engine mods

[aghbop]

I am having a hard time getting my 450SE to run properly. Can anyone tell me what actually has been done to the Rover engine/EFI? I am considering scrapping the electronics and going to a 4bbl carb set up. Pros/cons? Please respond to me off forum at [e-mail]. Thanks

[JMF894]

Hello mate. I think if you describe what exactly your engine symptoms are and what you have/haven't tried then people can start with the advice.

Whilst it's been done before i think going down the carb route is quite drastic.

Good

Jimbo

[Campbell]

I would have thought your car would be a hot wire, there is a mega squirt conversion for it and think about going to coil packs and junk the dizy..

It may be the easy route to go to a big cab but it would be like going back in time.

You should realy look into the better options like fully mappable ignition and fueling.

Whats the probs with the 450....

Cambelt

[aghbop]

The problem with the 450 is it runs really rich and won't idle to save it's life. The gas milage is poor (not from a heavy right foot) and the throttle responce is poor at the low end. I have replaced most of the sensors, but not mass air flow sensor.

[combine]

garage with diagnostic equipment should find whats going on , especially one with tvr experience , don't give up on the fuel injection , seems complex but likely to be ecu fault/electrical earth fault/failure of electrical component which should be picked up by test equipment.

[GV]

aghbop said:

I am having a hard time getting my 450SE to run properly. Can anyone tell me what actually has been done to the Rover engine/EFI? I am considering scrapping the electronics and going to a 4bbl carb set up. Pros/cons? Please respond to me off forum at [e-mail]. Thanks

The main reason why I went to carbs and haven't looked back since - once the Efi starts paying up it's a pain to sort out. Carbs - especially the Edelbrock 4 barrel - is a more reliable option long term and would work well on a big V8 such as yours...

[rev-erend]

I would start by checking that the voltage output from the throttle pot is linear .. - starts at 1.1 and goes up to 4.5 (I think from memory).

Next - check all connections are good and I mean all of them.

Both very easy fixes.

If that does not work - you need a fellow owner.

Swap ECU. Does it fix it.

Swap AFM. Does it fix it.

20 mins work - should find you an answer but there are a lot more diagnostics to try after that.

YHM - reply to my mail and I will send you a few efi documents ..

Edited by rev-erend on Thursday 13th October 09:38

[Henry Harris]

My car had a Edelbrock 4 barrel when I bought it. The engine is a later 4.6 litre cross-bolted unit. During restoration of the chassis, I removed lots of redundant wiring. It has a multiple spark ignition unit. Now having replaced the hydraulic power steering with electric, a side effect is that you can see the engine and get to all the important ancillaries.

The car starts first time with a couple of prods of the accelerator and is very reliable. It runs very smoothly with plenty of low down torque and I rarely take engine above 3,000 rpm.

[GV]

Now having replaced the hydraulic power steering with electric, a side effect is that you can see the engine and get to all the important ancillaries.

I'd like to know more about the Electric PAS - such as what is used, how it is connected etc. Sounds an interesting mod...

[aghbop]

I forgot to mention that I am in the US and the nearest TVR compentent shop is in Canada 14+ hours away. So far every shop I have taken it to has been throwing darts at it hoping to get lucky.

[Wedg1e]

aghbop said:

I forgot to mention that I am in the US and the nearest TVR compentent shop is in Canada 14+ hours away. So far every shop I have taken it to has been throwing darts at it hoping to get lucky.

Do you have a LandRover specialist nearby? They should be able to get to the bottom of it.

[aghbop]

Went to my local LR dealer and they (according to them) couldn't get their dianostic computer hooked up to the 450. So they couldn't do anything for me.

[Mr WST]

Change to carbs... I had the same problem for over a year, ended up being an electitcal fault. As GV said the Rover V8 suits a good carb conversion, less hassle and looks a little more interesting.
I used a Holley 4 barrel 620CFM carb.

[aghbop]

Very interesting. What TVR is that a 390?

[UKAuto]

aghbop said:

Went to my local LR dealer and they (according to them) couldn't get their dianostic computer hooked up to the 450. So they couldn't do anything for me.

Tony, I have a spare ECU for my 350i, not sure if it is the same (probably chipped differently) - but if so I could ship it to you to try. I also have a flapper Airflow meter.

I have had problems with an ECU before, and had to re-solder many connections inside, and that fixed the issues. Keep in mind this is a flapper system, not sure if your system is flapper or hot wire.

Other thought, is your Land Rover 101 FC a fuel injected engine? (doubt it), if it is it would be a flapper I assume. And your Discovery, not knowing engine and year, perhaps it is hot wire?

You may already have some trouble shooting parts there in the driveway. If they are the right type (hot wire / flapper) they may not be the exact right ones due to chipping, however, they may be close enough to help you identify the issue.

Again, if you want me to ship my spares to you please let me know. It would be best to confirm if you are flapper system first, and get some feedback from others on here (who know far more than me) to see if they feel 350i components are worth trying.

If they solve the problem I won't be in a rush to get them back, but one day will be ;-)

Edited by UKAuto on Thursday 13th October 20:57

[aghbop]

I haven't had the air flow sensor off so I don't know if it's a flapper or hotwire, but I'm guessing it's a hotwire. As to the 101 it's carbed and my Discovery II has EFI. I would be interested in knowing what exactly TVR did to the 450SE engines both internal and with the EFI (chip). Once I get that info I can make a decsion in which direction I want to go

[JR]

Well like the poster above I'd normally advise to shy away from the carb conversion but if you're having too many problems finding someone locally I'd try to have a chat to Cirks about his car. He does a thorough job with great results and can give the pros and cons from experience: http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?car...

[JR]

Alternatively one of the best RV8 efi guys is MA: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?mem...

Good luck, Jonathan

[aghbop]

I would like to find someone in the US that can set the engine up or fix it.

[GV]

Summit Racing will sell what you need. You're lucky as prices are cheap for such parts compared to the UK.