What do I do next? Cr*p mechanic!

[aidanbree]

I put my 94 Chim 4.0 into a local garage last year (lets not mention when....it only makes me want to cry) to have the Cylinder Head Gasket replaced. I used the local garage as the guy I bought the car had previously used them.

Once the engine was stripped down he recommended that I replace the Camshaft. The car has done around 50,000 and I posted here for recommendations. From the information I got back, I decided to go with the Kent MC1 which I had supplied from V8Dev.

Due to the owner of the garage having family issues the car ended up sitting in there for months with only the old hour here and there getting spent on it. As it was now winter and there was not really much scope to use the Chim I bowed to his family circumstances.

Over the past few weeks I have started to push him to get it back to me. He has now however given up on it and has admitted defeat. For some reason he is unable to get it to start.

He has recommended that it is shipped from Glasgow to the specialist in Perth to have them take a look.

I have a mechanic that looks after my other Car (which is a Golf) who when training tinkered on his boss's TVR.

I am unsure which direction to go in.

By all accounts (and I am no mechanic) there isn't too much to the Rover V8. I cannot understand why the garage is having an issue getting it started.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Aidan

[spend]

spin the dizzy 180... seems to be the most common 'oops'.

Quick results of noid lights & plug testers will confirm if you are getting fuel & fire? Short of info really, considering it is possible anything might have been disturbed?

Dave

[SimonV8ster]

Any mechanic worth his money should be able to work on and get a RV8 going !! They've been in so many cars/vans/trucks/4*4's that any decent local mechanic would be able to carry out work on them.

[blitzracing]

Apart from the above Im assuming he got as far as replacing the cam, new cam followers will need to pump up to open the valves. Take the plugs out and spin the engine until the oil pressure has been up for a while (dont overcook the starter). Then replace the plugs try a spurt of easy start into the air intake whilst cranking the engine. If it fires but wont keep running, its ecu / fuel. If it dose not run, or pops and bangs then its likely to distributor / HT leads in the wrong position (easy done)or no spark. Its possible hes got the cam timing out, but a basic compression test should show this.

Mark

[That Daddy]

If that plum cant get it to runthen i would get everything he as done checked,can you imagine the outcome of say the cam drive bolts coming out for example,dont mean to scare but i think you have to be realistic about this kind of thing,if he is only spending a little of time here and there then how is he gonna remember what he as done,good luck

[griffter]

The problem's probably electrical. At least one of the heads has been off, so the plenum, intake, injectors, and wiring will have been moved. My money's on the ignition amp - ecu wire, which tells the ecu the engine is turning, not having been reconnected. It's all very well saying anyone can work on an RV8 but not anyone can fathom the intricacies of the 14CUX ecu and TVR's hybrid wiring.

[aidanbree]

Thanks guys for all the imput.

I am going to get the trailor and uplift it. With the help of a few friends I should be able to get it started (hopefully!)

Cheers

Aidan

[Chimjunkie]

That Daddy said:

If that plum cant get it to runthen i would get everything he as done checked,can you imagine the outcome of say the cam drive bolts coming out for example,dont mean to scare but i think you have to be realistic about this kind of thing,if he is only spending a little of time here and there then how is he gonna remember what he as done,good luck

I second this!

[Roop]

FWIW, I agree with your decision to move the car elsewhere. I had some work done on my RS500 last year at a place that shall remain nameless. It took such a long time that when it came to putting it back together (it was an easy job - turbo off) the mechanic incorrectly plumbed the amal valve (the device that operates the turbo's wastegate actuator to relieve excess boost). The end result was that the first time I nailed it, the amal valve was unable to do it's job. As a result, the actuator did not open the wastegate and the boost ran away massively (it's a huge T04 turbo on a comparitively small engine).

Fortunately, I realised that the car was delivering massively more power than usual (it was squirming under acceleration in 3rd gear in the dry) and instincively glanced at the boost gague to see it rapidly heading off the end of the clock (it should run between 20 and 21 at full boost - it was well on it's way to 30 when I looked). I immediately backed it off. Luckily, despite the poor injectors being completely max'd out, no damage was done. I could have easily melted pistons and grenaded the engine. I was quite simply very lucky.

I usually only have work done by well known Cosworth specialists with a proven track record. In my case, this is MSD in Blackpool who have been absolutely superb from start to finish. This one little indiscretion in using another outfit almost cost me dearly.

Get your car to someone what can work on these motors blindfolded. As other posters have suggested, there's enough RV8 and TVR specialists around these days to get it sorted. Good luck and hope you get back on the road soon...!

ETFT

Edited by Roop on Tuesday 19th February 09:39

[thegman]

I am looking for a garage to do a cam change on my RV8. Was thinking of using my local instead of my usual TVR specialist for purely economic reasons. Now I'm not so sure.