4.5 AJP engine advice required
Discussion
I am giving some serious thought to replacing my 5lt rv8 with the 4.5ajpv8 in my griffith, I have spoken to a couple of people who have already done this, so on the installation side of things I have others experiences to draw from.
what I would like to know from you guys is about the engine itself, I have carried out all work on my griff myself, and would therefore like to know as much as possible about the ajp engine.
for example, are all parts available? obviously the rover v8 bits are available from many sources, but how do you get on for sourcing engine parts, any problems?
what engine jobs can be carried out with the engine still in situ? is it a bit of a pig to work on, is the engine best removed from the car? for example, if removing the cams for replacing the valave shims, is the timing cover easily removed to remove and replace the timing belt ect.
how often do the shim clearances need checking?
what engine oil is best to use?
what sort of engne work would you expect to have to carry out at all after a certain point in its life, for example with the rv8 you could expect a cam replacement around 45k to 60k miles.
I am assuming that these engines are pretty strong anyway, but I`m just trying to work out all of the pro`s and con`s of what I may be letting myself in for, and would appreciate any advice and experiences from people who have exprience with these engines.
you`ll have to bear with with if some of my questions seem a bit daft, but my life in tvr ownership so far has revolved purely around the rover v8, so perhaps its time to broaden my horizons.
what I would like to know from you guys is about the engine itself, I have carried out all work on my griff myself, and would therefore like to know as much as possible about the ajp engine.
for example, are all parts available? obviously the rover v8 bits are available from many sources, but how do you get on for sourcing engine parts, any problems?
what engine jobs can be carried out with the engine still in situ? is it a bit of a pig to work on, is the engine best removed from the car? for example, if removing the cams for replacing the valave shims, is the timing cover easily removed to remove and replace the timing belt ect.
how often do the shim clearances need checking?
what engine oil is best to use?
what sort of engne work would you expect to have to carry out at all after a certain point in its life, for example with the rv8 you could expect a cam replacement around 45k to 60k miles.
I am assuming that these engines are pretty strong anyway, but I`m just trying to work out all of the pro`s and con`s of what I may be letting myself in for, and would appreciate any advice and experiences from people who have exprience with these engines.
you`ll have to bear with with if some of my questions seem a bit daft, but my life in tvr ownership so far has revolved purely around the rover v8, so perhaps its time to broaden my horizons.
The engine is not overly complex once u get into it. valve clearances need to be checked every 12k.Engine has no timing belt only a chain BUT on a cerb you cant remove the front cover with the engine in place as theres a lack of space, dnt know if it would be the same on a griff but effectivly means most engine jobs result in engine removal. Parts are not as easy as the rv8 but MOST bits can be sourced in time.
clive f said:
I am giving some serious thought to replacing my 5lt rv8 with the 4.5ajpv8 in my griffith, I have spoken to a couple of people who have already done this, so on the installation side of things I have others experiences to draw from.
what I would like to know from you guys is about the engine itself, I have carried out all work on my griff myself, and would therefore like to know as much as possible about the ajp engine.
for example, are all parts available? obviously the rover v8 bits are available from many sources, but how do you get on for sourcing engine parts, any problems?
what engine jobs can be carried out with the engine still in situ? is it a bit of a pig to work on, is the engine best removed from the car? for example, if removing the cams for replacing the valave shims, is the timing cover easily removed to remove and replace the timing belt ect.
how often do the shim clearances need checking?
what engine oil is best to use?
what sort of engne work would you expect to have to carry out at all after a certain point in its life, for example with the rv8 you could expect a cam replacement around 45k to 60k miles.
I am assuming that these engines are pretty strong anyway, but I`m just trying to work out all of the pro`s and con`s of what I may be letting myself in for, and would appreciate any advice and experiences from people who have exprience with these engines.
you`ll have to bear with with if some of my questions seem a bit daft, but my life in tvr ownership so far has revolved purely around the rover v8, so perhaps its time to broaden my horizons.
OK, not delved that deep into the ajp's internals, but from what I do know:what I would like to know from you guys is about the engine itself, I have carried out all work on my griff myself, and would therefore like to know as much as possible about the ajp engine.
for example, are all parts available? obviously the rover v8 bits are available from many sources, but how do you get on for sourcing engine parts, any problems?
what engine jobs can be carried out with the engine still in situ? is it a bit of a pig to work on, is the engine best removed from the car? for example, if removing the cams for replacing the valave shims, is the timing cover easily removed to remove and replace the timing belt ect.
how often do the shim clearances need checking?
what engine oil is best to use?
what sort of engne work would you expect to have to carry out at all after a certain point in its life, for example with the rv8 you could expect a cam replacement around 45k to 60k miles.
I am assuming that these engines are pretty strong anyway, but I`m just trying to work out all of the pro`s and con`s of what I may be letting myself in for, and would appreciate any advice and experiences from people who have exprience with these engines.
you`ll have to bear with with if some of my questions seem a bit daft, but my life in tvr ownership so far has revolved purely around the rover v8, so perhaps its time to broaden my horizons.
Most parts are pretty easily available, a few little odds and sods need a bit of work on the sourcing front, but AFAIK nothing that's a deal-breaker.
On the engine itself, everything northwards of the exhaust manifolds is pretty easily accessable. I haven't had the timing cover off, so I don't know about that, but all the top end stuff is pretty easy to get to.
I think officially, the shims need checking every 6k, but realistically 12k is fine (the clearances only get smaller, so I think most garages use 10-12 thou inlet +exhaust, rather than the 8 thou for inlets specified by the factory).
Oil - factory recommends Mobil 1 0W40, but just about everyone else reckons nothing thinner than 10W something. I think the Silkoline Pro S 10W40 or the Mobile 1 15W50 are both popular (mine's got 0W40 in at the moment, but will be changed for thicker stuff next time round).
I know lots of people have done better than this, but I think to pessamistically assume 50k between rebuilds.
HTH
Edited by Nefarious on Wednesday 13th August 08:32
thanks guys, so I assume if your looking at 50k approx between rebuilds are we assuming top end only as a general rule?
are there any websites available showing pictures of engines during rebuilds ect, I know there are a few guys who have done this when rebuilding their rv8`s, anyone on here done anything similar?
are there any websites available showing pictures of engines during rebuilds ect, I know there are a few guys who have done this when rebuilding their rv8`s, anyone on here done anything similar?
Edited by clive f on Wednesday 13th August 08:37
If you have checked out this forum you will have noticed that a rebuild can be very costly (£6k+).
Sourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
Sourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
Storer said:
If you have checked out this forum you will have noticed that a rebuild can be very costly (£6k+).
Sourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
already in handSourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
clive f said:
Storer said:
If you have checked out this forum you will have noticed that a rebuild can be very costly (£6k+).
Sourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
already in handSourcing a good engine will not be simple either as they are in demand for Cerberas. If going to the trouble of fitting an engine it would need a thorough check over first by somebody that knows these engines.
Hello Clive
I used to do all the work on my Cerb admittedly a 4.2 but the maintenance is the same. If you're happy to build an engine then you'll have no problems doing the maintenance, shims need setting every 6K which involve removing the cams, there's a couple of posts on here about how to do this and I'd be happy to send you a copy of the workshop CD which is of 'some' help.
Use a thick oil 10W 50 etc, also while several engines have done big miles if you've got the lump out of the car I'd fit a new timing chain and new head gaskets as these are the parts I've heard of giving up the ghost and the cost of the parts isn't much.
I'd also go for an Emerald ECU while you're there instead of trying to make the MBE mate up, also while the 4.5's can give good power don't dismiss the 4.2 as these are more easily found and still make 350-380Bhp depending on tweakage.
Obviously an nice exhaust won't be a problem
Matt
I used to do all the work on my Cerb admittedly a 4.2 but the maintenance is the same. If you're happy to build an engine then you'll have no problems doing the maintenance, shims need setting every 6K which involve removing the cams, there's a couple of posts on here about how to do this and I'd be happy to send you a copy of the workshop CD which is of 'some' help.
Use a thick oil 10W 50 etc, also while several engines have done big miles if you've got the lump out of the car I'd fit a new timing chain and new head gaskets as these are the parts I've heard of giving up the ghost and the cost of the parts isn't much.
I'd also go for an Emerald ECU while you're there instead of trying to make the MBE mate up, also while the 4.5's can give good power don't dismiss the 4.2 as these are more easily found and still make 350-380Bhp depending on tweakage.
Obviously an nice exhaust won't be a problem
Matt
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