Discovery V8 series 1
Discussion
My new wallet raping toy.
I'm not even sure why I bought this, I spotted it advertised sometime before Christmas, it's a 1998 'R' prefix, GS spec (cloth seats, not much else
), with an LPG conversion, underslung tanks and a tiny 18 litre petrol tank. Oh, and 148,000 miles and a short MOT until March.
Anyway, I went for a look at it, in the dark of course, as usual breaking all the usual rules of car buying.
Went for a test drive, it displayed the usual Landy characteristics, it's slow, noisy, vague, and doesn't self centre particularly well compared to modern cars (when exiting junctions etc). There was also a noticeable exhaust blow from the front, which I suspected was a manifold or gasket problem, but the seller assured me it was due to the 'sports' centre section. It'd also got a bit of a running problem. However, it switched over to LPG smoothly enough, and ran nicely on gas.
I had a good look over it with a torch, there didn't seem to be too much rust, although one rear wheel arch was a bit crusty. Anyway, we agreed a price and I left a deposit.
Picked it up a few days later, only for the seller to claim he'd mislaid the LPG certificate, but that he'd forward it on when found (I know). Oh well, it's hardly difficult getting a new certificate, or so I thought.
On the drive home, around 70 miles, there was a noticeable smell of burnt lpg entering the cabin, due I'm sure to the blowing exhaust allowing gases to enter the cabin.
Oh yes, it looks a lot rougher in daylight too, and there's a hole in the usual place just below the driver's side 'safari' window (the one in the roof).
Here are some photos, apologies for the poor quality.
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/L7lTOBRK.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/RtNpJLvF" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/RtNpJLvF.jpg)
First things first, I figured looking at the running issue might be prudent. The rotor arm clearly hadn't been replaced in a long time, and the Dizzy cap was pretty ropey too, so I figured a set of plugs, leads, cap and arm would be useful.
Unfortunately, I didn't realise that getting the rotor arm off was a little tricky. Basically, lifting the arm lifts the distributor shaft, which dislodges the bob weights on the mechanical advance mechanism. I only realised this when I attempted to re-fit the cap, and realised there was a bit of a clearance problem. Helpful comments from a mate of 't
t it with a hammer', didn't really help. I gave up for the evening and went a-googling.
Turns out, it's a bit of a design feature (funny how I don't recall it happening on the last one I had) of the Rover V8 distributor. Anyway, some people claim it requires a new distributor, but it turns out it's not difficult to strip all the components out of it and carefully re-locate the bob weights and reconnect the springs (which is a bit fiddly). While I was at it, I discovered the vacuum advance mechanism wasn't working, which I'm guessing is a punctured diaphragm.
Oh yes, the attempt to force the distributor cap back on had broken it, so a new one was ordered. Once all fitted, it started up and ran ok, but there was still a misfiring problem at part throttle, which I attributed to the broken Vac Advance unit. A new one was ordered.
In the meantime, I replaced the gaskets on the driver's side manifold, although it didn't cure the blowing. I can feel gases escaping from underneath the manifold, so suspect it's the manifold to exhaust gasket that's failed, or the manifold has cracked. A job for another day.
Last week I took it for its' LPG check. Unfortunately, it failed on a few minor items. Some pipes under the bonnet were not too well fitted and were rubbing on the strut top, a simple repair with plastic pipe/cable shielding cured that. More serious was the underslung side tanks. They only had two straps supporting them, while current regulations require 3. The LPG chap didn't really want to do the job, and was quoting a price of £150 - £300 depending on how easy it turned out to be.
I got myself a couple of straps from Tinley Tech, and spent Tuesday afternoon this week trying to figure out how to fit them. I managed it eventually, although it's a little unorthodox, but is secure. The straps were cut down, and fit around the tank in a deep 'U' shape, being bolted to the floor on one side, and through the sill on the other (using cut down Volvo D5 cylinder head bolts
). Hopefully it will suffice.
The LPG system is in a poor state anyway, it's fairly old, the pipes are suffering a lot of corrosion and the tanks are close to requiring replacement as they're rusting.
I also discovered that LPG doesn't like to operate when the engine is cold. Unfortunately, I had two explosions in the air intake, which has effectively blown the air filter box apart, so now I need a new one of those
.
I fitted the new vacuum advance unit yesterday, which has made a massive difference to how it runs. All the misfiring and spluttering has gone, although it's still lacking a bit of power at the top end. I suspect it requires a new cam, followers and timing chain. I'm running it on petrol at the moment due to the ambient temperature being so low, and also I suspect it hasn't ran very much on petrol, so it won't hurt the injectors etc to have some clean fuel wash through them.
My gut feeling at the moment is that the LPG system has a very limited life left. I don't particularly like it, as it seems to require handling with kid gloves, so rather than spend a good bit of money replacing it all, I'm currently leaning towards binning the whole lot at some point (maybe next year).
Oh yes, I pushed my finger through the crusty wheel arch the other day too, so there's another hole that needs rusting. The boot floor is ok though, albeit a bit wet under the carpet, as are the front footwells.
So, in summary, it's a bit of a heap, and needs quite a bit of work doing to make it nice. Whether I will or not remains to be seen. It will do to pull trailers around with in the short term though.
I'm not even sure why I bought this, I spotted it advertised sometime before Christmas, it's a 1998 'R' prefix, GS spec (cloth seats, not much else
), with an LPG conversion, underslung tanks and a tiny 18 litre petrol tank. Oh, and 148,000 miles and a short MOT until March.Anyway, I went for a look at it, in the dark of course, as usual breaking all the usual rules of car buying.
Went for a test drive, it displayed the usual Landy characteristics, it's slow, noisy, vague, and doesn't self centre particularly well compared to modern cars (when exiting junctions etc). There was also a noticeable exhaust blow from the front, which I suspected was a manifold or gasket problem, but the seller assured me it was due to the 'sports' centre section. It'd also got a bit of a running problem. However, it switched over to LPG smoothly enough, and ran nicely on gas.
I had a good look over it with a torch, there didn't seem to be too much rust, although one rear wheel arch was a bit crusty. Anyway, we agreed a price and I left a deposit.
Picked it up a few days later, only for the seller to claim he'd mislaid the LPG certificate, but that he'd forward it on when found (I know). Oh well, it's hardly difficult getting a new certificate, or so I thought.
On the drive home, around 70 miles, there was a noticeable smell of burnt lpg entering the cabin, due I'm sure to the blowing exhaust allowing gases to enter the cabin.
Oh yes, it looks a lot rougher in daylight too, and there's a hole in the usual place just below the driver's side 'safari' window (the one in the roof).
Here are some photos, apologies for the poor quality.
First things first, I figured looking at the running issue might be prudent. The rotor arm clearly hadn't been replaced in a long time, and the Dizzy cap was pretty ropey too, so I figured a set of plugs, leads, cap and arm would be useful.
Unfortunately, I didn't realise that getting the rotor arm off was a little tricky. Basically, lifting the arm lifts the distributor shaft, which dislodges the bob weights on the mechanical advance mechanism. I only realised this when I attempted to re-fit the cap, and realised there was a bit of a clearance problem. Helpful comments from a mate of 't
t it with a hammer', didn't really help. I gave up for the evening and went a-googling.Turns out, it's a bit of a design feature (funny how I don't recall it happening on the last one I had) of the Rover V8 distributor. Anyway, some people claim it requires a new distributor, but it turns out it's not difficult to strip all the components out of it and carefully re-locate the bob weights and reconnect the springs (which is a bit fiddly). While I was at it, I discovered the vacuum advance mechanism wasn't working, which I'm guessing is a punctured diaphragm.
Oh yes, the attempt to force the distributor cap back on had broken it, so a new one was ordered. Once all fitted, it started up and ran ok, but there was still a misfiring problem at part throttle, which I attributed to the broken Vac Advance unit. A new one was ordered.
In the meantime, I replaced the gaskets on the driver's side manifold, although it didn't cure the blowing. I can feel gases escaping from underneath the manifold, so suspect it's the manifold to exhaust gasket that's failed, or the manifold has cracked. A job for another day.
Last week I took it for its' LPG check. Unfortunately, it failed on a few minor items. Some pipes under the bonnet were not too well fitted and were rubbing on the strut top, a simple repair with plastic pipe/cable shielding cured that. More serious was the underslung side tanks. They only had two straps supporting them, while current regulations require 3. The LPG chap didn't really want to do the job, and was quoting a price of £150 - £300 depending on how easy it turned out to be.
I got myself a couple of straps from Tinley Tech, and spent Tuesday afternoon this week trying to figure out how to fit them. I managed it eventually, although it's a little unorthodox, but is secure. The straps were cut down, and fit around the tank in a deep 'U' shape, being bolted to the floor on one side, and through the sill on the other (using cut down Volvo D5 cylinder head bolts
). Hopefully it will suffice.The LPG system is in a poor state anyway, it's fairly old, the pipes are suffering a lot of corrosion and the tanks are close to requiring replacement as they're rusting.
I also discovered that LPG doesn't like to operate when the engine is cold. Unfortunately, I had two explosions in the air intake, which has effectively blown the air filter box apart, so now I need a new one of those
.I fitted the new vacuum advance unit yesterday, which has made a massive difference to how it runs. All the misfiring and spluttering has gone, although it's still lacking a bit of power at the top end. I suspect it requires a new cam, followers and timing chain. I'm running it on petrol at the moment due to the ambient temperature being so low, and also I suspect it hasn't ran very much on petrol, so it won't hurt the injectors etc to have some clean fuel wash through them.
My gut feeling at the moment is that the LPG system has a very limited life left. I don't particularly like it, as it seems to require handling with kid gloves, so rather than spend a good bit of money replacing it all, I'm currently leaning towards binning the whole lot at some point (maybe next year).
Oh yes, I pushed my finger through the crusty wheel arch the other day too, so there's another hole that needs rusting. The boot floor is ok though, albeit a bit wet under the carpet, as are the front footwells.
So, in summary, it's a bit of a heap, and needs quite a bit of work doing to make it nice. Whether I will or not remains to be seen. It will do to pull trailers around with in the short term though.
The roof isn't too bad, it's got the twin sun roofs, which aren't overtly leaky, but there's water getting into the back through the hole below the window in the rear roof (it's a common place to rust), although I've taped the hole up with Sail Tape at the moment.
The boot floor seems solid enough, there's surface rust, but I can't punch any holes in it, so it might be ok.
The boot floor seems solid enough, there's surface rust, but I can't punch any holes in it, so it might be ok.
Lovely old things when you get a good un. I managed to stumble on a 95M Disco V8ES a couple of winters ago. It was being sold my a small mechanic business in my village. This garage run by a LR/Defender nut. Someone had given it t him as payment for some work on another car. 100k miles, huge history, leather and all the toys which all worked. He had it up for £850. I talked him into £600! Ran it all winter with only a new alternator required. Great fun, enhanced by the fact it had a straight through exhaust! I sold it in the spring for £1000 and had buyers queuing up one sat am..could have had a hastily arranged auction! I still regret selling it a bit. That old Disco had a lot of character and appeal to me
Since the snow's been falling heavily for 3-4 hours, I decided it was time to go out for a play.
The car's shod with BFG All Terrain tyres, which are remarkably grippy in the snow. It is possible to lock up though, as there's no ABS, so it needs a little care when stopping.
I was getting wheelspin and front wheel lockup, so engaged the centre diff lock, which helped massively.
There's a big hill nearby that was littered with cars spinning and weaving, but going nowhere. A Phaeton went blasting straight up, so I followed. The old Disco was completely underwhelmed, and went up as though it was dry tarmac.
I then decided to divert out into the countryside, to get out of the way of the kamikaze car drivers. Nothing particularly exciting happened, it was just nice to drive on virgin snow covered lanes, with the V8 woofling quietly away to itself.
It's trying to rain now instead anyway, so I suspect that's probably the last snow we'll see this winter.
The car's shod with BFG All Terrain tyres, which are remarkably grippy in the snow. It is possible to lock up though, as there's no ABS, so it needs a little care when stopping.
I was getting wheelspin and front wheel lockup, so engaged the centre diff lock, which helped massively.
There's a big hill nearby that was littered with cars spinning and weaving, but going nowhere. A Phaeton went blasting straight up, so I followed. The old Disco was completely underwhelmed, and went up as though it was dry tarmac.
I then decided to divert out into the countryside, to get out of the way of the kamikaze car drivers. Nothing particularly exciting happened, it was just nice to drive on virgin snow covered lanes, with the V8 woofling quietly away to itself.
It's trying to rain now instead anyway, so I suspect that's probably the last snow we'll see this winter.
She looks a decent old bus that hasn't been cared for.
Having run a few of these I would strongly advise:
1) Magnecor leads or similar. LPG needs a strong spark and the LR ones are not up to it.
2) If you run on LPG with the same advance and retard settings as petrol you'll get poor performance and economy as LPG is 114 octane it needs advancing far more than petrol so fit one of these: http://www.v8engines.com/faq-lpg-ign.htm#advance-r...
3) Fit a backfire valve - they are only a few quid and fit between the airbox and plenum and stop you considering airboxes a consumable!
With that lot done she will perform quite a bit better on LPG than petrol and will use LPG whatever the weather.
Having run a few of these I would strongly advise:
1) Magnecor leads or similar. LPG needs a strong spark and the LR ones are not up to it.
2) If you run on LPG with the same advance and retard settings as petrol you'll get poor performance and economy as LPG is 114 octane it needs advancing far more than petrol so fit one of these: http://www.v8engines.com/faq-lpg-ign.htm#advance-r...
3) Fit a backfire valve - they are only a few quid and fit between the airbox and plenum and stop you considering airboxes a consumable!
With that lot done she will perform quite a bit better on LPG than petrol and will use LPG whatever the weather.
Cheers for that, I'll carry out both those mods. It is very flat on LPG, it had occurred to me that the ignition needed advancing.
Yes, it's not a bad old motor. It seems happier having had a bit of use. Front suspension was rock hard initially, but I've been up and down some rutted dirt roads near me, and also over the speed pad things (rather than straddling them), which seems to have loosened it up a bit. The steering also self centres better now, whereas it needed the lock actively winding off when exiting a junction, which caused a bit of excitement the first time as it carried on turning, straight back towards the pavement.
Over the next couple of years I'm going to give it a bit of an overhaul. The chassis is fairly sound, it's covered in a waxoyl type susbtance that's beginning to flake off.
I'd like to do a bit of off-roading as I haven't done any in years, but the underslung gas tanks might be an issue. The options are: bin them, put a big tank in the boot, or make some skid plates that will reduce clearance and necessitate a bit of a suspension lift. I was thinking of lifting the suspension anyway, and doing a few other tasteful off-road upgrades, but we shall see. I don't have a huge budget for this, so the priority will be maintenance, and sorting out some of the rusting issues.
ETA: It's passed its' LPG inspection which is a relief.
Yes, it's not a bad old motor. It seems happier having had a bit of use. Front suspension was rock hard initially, but I've been up and down some rutted dirt roads near me, and also over the speed pad things (rather than straddling them), which seems to have loosened it up a bit. The steering also self centres better now, whereas it needed the lock actively winding off when exiting a junction, which caused a bit of excitement the first time as it carried on turning, straight back towards the pavement.
Over the next couple of years I'm going to give it a bit of an overhaul. The chassis is fairly sound, it's covered in a waxoyl type susbtance that's beginning to flake off.
I'd like to do a bit of off-roading as I haven't done any in years, but the underslung gas tanks might be an issue. The options are: bin them, put a big tank in the boot, or make some skid plates that will reduce clearance and necessitate a bit of a suspension lift. I was thinking of lifting the suspension anyway, and doing a few other tasteful off-road upgrades, but we shall see. I don't have a huge budget for this, so the priority will be maintenance, and sorting out some of the rusting issues.
ETA: It's passed its' LPG inspection which is a relief.
I've been looking at three of these this week and nearly coughed up, until I remembered that what I really want is a V8 Defender and if I buy the Disco I'll only end up shelling out twice (actually MrsC pointed that out to me!).
If anyone is looking for one in the South East I do know of one I saw which on the face of it appears to be a steal, although I haven't heard it run - but have had a good poke around it and the only thing I could spot apart from a couple of small marks were potentially leaking sunroofs (common problem). It's some sort of trader selling it and he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to find a buyer.
If anyone is looking for one in the South East I do know of one I saw which on the face of it appears to be a steal, although I haven't heard it run - but have had a good poke around it and the only thing I could spot apart from a couple of small marks were potentially leaking sunroofs (common problem). It's some sort of trader selling it and he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to find a buyer.
Super Slo Mo said:
Cheers for that, I'll carry out both those mods. It is very flat on LPG, it had occurred to me that the ignition needed advancing.
Yes, it's not a bad old motor. It seems happier having had a bit of use. Front suspension was rock hard initially, but I've been up and down some rutted dirt roads near me, and also over the speed pad things (rather than straddling them), which seems to have loosened it up a bit. The steering also self centres better now, whereas it needed the lock actively winding off when exiting a junction, which caused a bit of excitement the first time as it carried on turning, straight back towards the pavement.
Over the next couple of years I'm going to give it a bit of an overhaul. The chassis is fairly sound, it's covered in a waxoyl type susbtance that's beginning to flake off.
I'd like to do a bit of off-roading as I haven't done any in years, but the underslung gas tanks might be an issue. The options are: bin them, put a big tank in the boot, or make some skid plates that will reduce clearance and necessitate a bit of a suspension lift. I was thinking of lifting the suspension anyway, and doing a few other tasteful off-road upgrades, but we shall see. I don't have a huge budget for this, so the priority will be maintenance, and sorting out some of the rusting issues.
ETA: It's passed its' LPG inspection which is a relief.
Probably best to lift it, bigger tyres and then shield the tanks. If you go the big tyres route remember to swap the transferbox for a lower ratio one to compensate as with a V8 (especially auto) you won't have enough engine braking in 1st low for really steep stuff.Yes, it's not a bad old motor. It seems happier having had a bit of use. Front suspension was rock hard initially, but I've been up and down some rutted dirt roads near me, and also over the speed pad things (rather than straddling them), which seems to have loosened it up a bit. The steering also self centres better now, whereas it needed the lock actively winding off when exiting a junction, which caused a bit of excitement the first time as it carried on turning, straight back towards the pavement.
Over the next couple of years I'm going to give it a bit of an overhaul. The chassis is fairly sound, it's covered in a waxoyl type susbtance that's beginning to flake off.
I'd like to do a bit of off-roading as I haven't done any in years, but the underslung gas tanks might be an issue. The options are: bin them, put a big tank in the boot, or make some skid plates that will reduce clearance and necessitate a bit of a suspension lift. I was thinking of lifting the suspension anyway, and doing a few other tasteful off-road upgrades, but we shall see. I don't have a huge budget for this, so the priority will be maintenance, and sorting out some of the rusting issues.
ETA: It's passed its' LPG inspection which is a relief.
If it still backfires might be worth testing the lambda sensors as I had a dead one and it caused a lot of bangs until we tracked it down.
Caulkhead said:
Probably best to lift it, bigger tyres and then shield the tanks. If you go the big tyres route remember to swap the transferbox for a lower ratio one to compensate as with a V8 (especially auto) you won't have enough engine braking in 1st low for really steep stuff.
If it still backfires might be worth testing the lambda sensors as I had a dead one and it caused a lot of bangs until we tracked it down.
Cheers, the transfer box is whining anyway, so it needs looking at. It's a manual (at the moment!) BTW.If it still backfires might be worth testing the lambda sensors as I had a dead one and it caused a lot of bangs until we tracked it down.
This sounds very similar to my Disco 1, a 1998 3.9 V8 GS Manual on LPG.
I would say mine is anything but slow, it's quite nippy off the mark and will cruise happily at normal motor way speeds.
It cam from the factory with cruise which I believe is an oddity for the GS spec, I've since fitted leather electric seats too. I replaced the exhaust with one of the Rimmer Brothers S/S sports systems + manifolds which made a fair difference.
Hope you enjoy your Disco as much as I enjoy mine!
I would say mine is anything but slow, it's quite nippy off the mark and will cruise happily at normal motor way speeds.
It cam from the factory with cruise which I believe is an oddity for the GS spec, I've since fitted leather electric seats too. I replaced the exhaust with one of the Rimmer Brothers S/S sports systems + manifolds which made a fair difference.
Hope you enjoy your Disco as much as I enjoy mine!
Mine's slow on gas. On petrol it's ok, but doesn't have the top end power that I remember from my previous one, which makes me think camshaft/timing chain need looking at (it'd got 149,000 on the clock, after all).
Mine has cruise too, but it doesn't work. I believe it's an easy fix, but it's not a priority currently.
I like it, it's nice to drive a car with 'character'. It doesn't matter that it's not fast compared to my daily hack, it amuses me to potter about in it.
Mine has cruise too, but it doesn't work. I believe it's an easy fix, but it's not a priority currently.
I like it, it's nice to drive a car with 'character'. It doesn't matter that it's not fast compared to my daily hack, it amuses me to potter about in it.
Super Slo Mo said:
Caulkhead said:
Probably best to lift it, bigger tyres and then shield the tanks. If you go the big tyres route remember to swap the transferbox for a lower ratio one to compensate as with a V8 (especially auto) you won't have enough engine braking in 1st low for really steep stuff.
If it still backfires might be worth testing the lambda sensors as I had a dead one and it caused a lot of bangs until we tracked it down.
Cheers, the transfer box is whining anyway, so it needs looking at. It's a manual (at the moment!) BTW.If it still backfires might be worth testing the lambda sensors as I had a dead one and it caused a lot of bangs until we tracked it down.
Super Slo Mo said:
Caulkhead said:
Definitely give that A&R ignition box a go - it transformed mine from OK on gas, to much better than petrol on gas!
I will, cheers. It's on the list (ever growing!) of jobs to do to it.Not sure where you are based, but if you're around here:
http://midlshir02.uuhost.uk.uu.net/mcp/energy/auto...
They are well worth signing up with - you get a key and a code and you can fill up 24/7 with no cash and they bill you each month.
Caulkhead said:
Just for the sake of comparison and with an auto, I got 16mpg on petrol and 18mpg on LPG after fitting the box and leads. Mind you, I was paying 28p a litre from Countrywide back then in 2002!
Not sure where you are based, but if you're around here:
http://midlshir02.uuhost.uk.uu.net/mcp/energy/auto...
They are well worth signing up with - you get a key and a code and you can fill up 24/7 with no cash and they bill you each month.
Just off the top of that map.Not sure where you are based, but if you're around here:
http://midlshir02.uuhost.uk.uu.net/mcp/energy/auto...
They are well worth signing up with - you get a key and a code and you can fill up 24/7 with no cash and they bill you each month.
My first fill on LPG worked out at 13.6 mpg, but I'm estimating I'm getting 16 plus on petrol, so that little box will pay for itself fairly quickly.
Took the driver's side manifold off a couple of weeks ago (again), this time to replace the manifold to downpipe gasket, which was blowing.
Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the manifold to downpipe studs sheared. There was a small stubby bit left, so I clamped it in the vice, and promptly snapped that off flush with the manifold.
Anyway, I found a suitably bigger bolt (from the V70 I'm stripping), so took the whole caboodle to the office to sort (we have tap & die sets, drill press etc). Unfortunately, I had to perform emergency brake repairs to a colleague's car, as she'd got a seized caliper, the pads were on the metal and chewing their way through the disk (down to half thickness, no exaggeration), and it was the day before I was going on holiday, so it had to be done. She was also going on a longish trip the day after, so couldn't take it to a garage (well, she could, and hire a car, but she's short of cash and I was trying to help).
I finally got down to fixing the manifold on Friday (yesterday). I'd bought a stud extractor set, just on the offchance it would come out. Ha ha. Fat chance. All that happened was the stud extractor snapped. Nevertheless, all was not lost, as the contingency plan was always to fit the bigger bolt (M10, compared to the studs which are M8). A few minutes spend drilling, then cutting a new thread, and the new bolt was ready for the manifold.
SInce it was off the car, I decided a lick of paint was in order, so got a can of BBQ paint from B&Q. Left overnight to cure, and fitted last thing this afternoon (I've been removing the last few bits from the Volvo this morning). Quick battery charge, and the car fired up first time. Seems the throttle is a bit sticky as the idle seems to be settling high on occasion.
It sounds nice though, quite, smooth, no gasket blowing.
It also now goes like the clappers (relatively speaking). Seems the blowing gasket was sapping power, as even on gas it'll now pick up its' skirts and get a hustle on. Previously it generated more noise than acceleration, but now it seems to have the acceleration I remember from my previous example, where 0-50 mph is quick enough to surprise people off the lights.
Anyway, here's a pic of the newly painted manifold in situ, shame about the rest of the car, still it's a work in progress.
Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the manifold to downpipe studs sheared. There was a small stubby bit left, so I clamped it in the vice, and promptly snapped that off flush with the manifold.
Anyway, I found a suitably bigger bolt (from the V70 I'm stripping
), so took the whole caboodle to the office to sort (we have tap & die sets, drill press etc). Unfortunately, I had to perform emergency brake repairs to a colleague's car, as she'd got a seized caliper, the pads were on the metal and chewing their way through the disk (down to half thickness, no exaggeration), and it was the day before I was going on holiday, so it had to be done. She was also going on a longish trip the day after, so couldn't take it to a garage (well, she could, and hire a car, but she's short of cash and I was trying to help).I finally got down to fixing the manifold on Friday (yesterday). I'd bought a stud extractor set, just on the offchance it would come out. Ha ha. Fat chance. All that happened was the stud extractor snapped. Nevertheless, all was not lost, as the contingency plan was always to fit the bigger bolt (M10, compared to the studs which are M8). A few minutes spend drilling, then cutting a new thread, and the new bolt was ready for the manifold.
SInce it was off the car, I decided a lick of paint was in order, so got a can of BBQ paint from B&Q. Left overnight to cure, and fitted last thing this afternoon (I've been removing the last few bits from the Volvo this morning). Quick battery charge, and the car fired up first time. Seems the throttle is a bit sticky as the idle seems to be settling high on occasion.
It sounds nice though, quite, smooth, no gasket blowing.
It also now goes like the clappers (relatively speaking)
. Seems the blowing gasket was sapping power, as even on gas it'll now pick up its' skirts and get a hustle on. Previously it generated more noise than acceleration, but now it seems to have the acceleration I remember from my previous example, where 0-50 mph is quick enough to surprise people off the lights.Anyway, here's a pic of the newly painted manifold in situ, shame about the rest of the car, still it's a work in progress.
Bloody thing.
Gaskets on the opposite exhaust/manifold have blown now, so it's making a bit of a racket again.
It also seems to have developed a misfire, especially when cold, then this morning it basically wouldn't run on gas, there's no response when backing off the throttle then accelerating again.
Petrol was ok, but now it's started playing up on that too, as in, when I put my foot down, nothing happens, in fact it dies, then splutters and coughs and finally picks up and goes. My guess is the advance isn't working properly, but the vacuum unit is brand new, and the mechanical bobbins were working fine when I had them apart recently. I'm just hoping it'll get home without any issues.
Gaskets on the opposite exhaust/manifold have blown now, so it's making a bit of a racket again.
It also seems to have developed a misfire, especially when cold, then this morning it basically wouldn't run on gas, there's no response when backing off the throttle then accelerating again.
Petrol was ok, but now it's started playing up on that too, as in, when I put my foot down, nothing happens, in fact it dies, then splutters and coughs and finally picks up and goes. My guess is the advance isn't working properly, but the vacuum unit is brand new, and the mechanical bobbins were working fine when I had them apart recently. I'm just hoping it'll get home without any issues.
Little update: It passed its' MOT at the end of March, only just mind you, but it still passed. There were a few advisories, 4 x corroded springs, corroded disks, light corrosion on the brake pipes and some bodywork corrosion. Nothing particularly difficult to sort.
One thing that did come to light though, the emissions on petrol were sky high, and it's misfiring on petrol. The only way we could generate a pass was on LPG. I noticed a couple of days ago that it smells pretty badly when on petrol too. I've not investigated anything yet, but it's probably going to be duff injectors, dodgy sensors or perhaps the MAF is on its way out.
The LPG system has 'blown off' gas a couple of times recently, it's a bit disconcerting, but it doesn't seem to affect anything. I also was stupid enough to give myself a cold burn when filling it up last time too. I hadn't engaged the bayonet properly, locked the handle so the gas was released, while at the same time still trying to turn the bayonet. It hurt for hours, and my fingers were cold to the touch for nearly a week, although luckily there were no long term effects.
Just renewed the tax for another 12 months too, although have been having thoughts about getting rid of it of late. We shall see. It's still useful for towing and stuff.
One thing that did come to light though, the emissions on petrol were sky high, and it's misfiring on petrol. The only way we could generate a pass was on LPG. I noticed a couple of days ago that it smells pretty badly when on petrol too. I've not investigated anything yet, but it's probably going to be duff injectors, dodgy sensors or perhaps the MAF is on its way out.
The LPG system has 'blown off' gas a couple of times recently, it's a bit disconcerting, but it doesn't seem to affect anything. I also was stupid enough to give myself a cold burn when filling it up last time too. I hadn't engaged the bayonet properly, locked the handle so the gas was released, while at the same time still trying to turn the bayonet. It hurt for hours, and my fingers were cold to the touch for nearly a week, although luckily there were no long term effects.
Just renewed the tax for another 12 months too, although have been having thoughts about getting rid of it of late. We shall see. It's still useful for towing and stuff.
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