As I'm beginning disassembly of the engine I'm running into some oddities and conundrums. First of which is in the linked picture. There is what I believe to be a thermostat sensor that does not have any wires to it. Is this normal or do I need to look for a wire at reassembly? The thermostat in the vehicle works so its' wired into somewhere not sure just yet.
I would recommend geting Hardcastle's book on Rover V8's....tons of ideas and inexpensive "souping-up" tips.
Using a Buick 3.8 timing cover is one of the best mods, then you can use a Buick high volume oil pump, Buick 350 HEI distributor, Buick adjustable timing chain set for more low end, and best of all, 20 dollar Buick water pump. Only downside is that you have to modify your brackets (Alt, PS Pump) to make everything line up.
Heads are easy to modify since they're aluminum....stock rover heads are very restrictive..old school hot rod tricks apply here...use 4.6 valves, modify your combustion chamber to unshroud valves, cut down the valve guides in the runners, polish intake runners and match them to manifold....you can do all this yourself with only a Dremel....
Just doing what I listed here will make a 3.5/3.9 blow away a 4.6, and there's a lot more you can do...such as an Edelbrock manifold and Holley Projection and throw that Lucas Injection crap away..
That book doesn't come cheap! Thanks for the heads up... gotta digest that for a minute before I order. I do have the entire manual DVD from RN as a guide. But it doesn't have any tips n tricks.
Just wondering if the Buick engine for the Rover came in any specific car for reference? Not that into the history of Buicks.
mmh, I'm not sure I'd advocate doing all this. Karl, what's the reason for the teardown, and what are your end goals? If it were me I'd leave everything the same in terms of the front cover and EFI.
I'm a tech guy problem solver mechanical type so if there are options that can be done as parts are disassembled I'm all for it. It's cool knowing all the options available.
Reason for tear down is that the engine leaks coolant and oil everywhere! I removed the oil pan (in another thread ) and found suspicious white sludge in it. I know to a degree British engineering does this but as an anal nitpicker it bugs. The engine has 110K on it and hoses, belts, & some wiring has definitively seen better days. Also, The D is actually the wifes. She got it 10ish years ago and I want it to be somewhat reliable for her. I'm just the house mechanic with my trusty golden as shop dog and supervisor.
sorry , guys, I guess I'm too much of a tinkerer....I can't leave anything stock....cars, electonics, guns, etc ..... for instance, haven't bought factory ammo in years....I'm the type that will spend hours making a part rather than going to the store and buying one....drives my wife crazy....sure it will be my downfall.....
I found a used copy of the book on amazon and ordered it. Last night was more tear down. Got the radiator out, front end off, misc items removed. Now that I can see the top of the intake I see that it too is packed with dried mud. Time to get a brush and shop vac out. The link is to a pic of the radiator. My guess is that this has something to do with it running hot!!!! It wasn't noticeable with the fan shroud on.
Ohhh yeah that does get overlooked when washing down the ol'truck after going off road. When I had change engines the fins of the old radiator just crumbled when I ran my fingers across it.
Alright I'm at assembly!! Though with a couple minor issues...
1. I had in my mind that I would leave the hoist bracket on the even side head so I knew my left (even) and right (odd)... well the machine shop removed all the parts for cleaning and now I'm cursing myself a bit. One obvious is that there is a non removable machine thread stud on only one end one of the heads... is that the odd or even one??
2. Manual says mount the gaskets labeled TOP up and so on. I have no verbage on my proline gaskets. So in my thinking the silicone strips and metal webbing go towards the block... right?
3. In removing the timing cover I'm wondering what's better... a OEM style gasket or RTV it in place?
I have the gasket ready. Just trying the figure out which gaskets folks use and which they use a "sealant" for. So far I have the oil pan as a candidate for "sealant". Personally have had great success with blue RTV in other applications.
One more for the day. When I removed the intake cover exposing the intake fluted stacks the #7 stack had dislodged and was sitting up loose. Is this a reseat with a good hit or should it be peened or glued in?
I have the gasket ready. Just trying the figure out which gaskets folks use and which they use a "sealant" for. So far I have the oil pan as a candidate for "sealant". Personally have had great success with blue RTV in other applications.
One more for the day. When I removed the intake cover exposing the intake fluted stacks the #7 stack had dislodged and was sitting up loose. Is this a reseat with a good hit or should it be peened or glued in?
Glue with Indian Head (black adhesive) and use a mallet to make sure that they are seated well. I have had an engine failure becuase I used shorter stacks that came undone on washboard (in Mexico of all places).
Also I would you RightStuff as your sealant. The shop that I go to uses that religiously.
Winn - please don't stop posting that type of thinking as there is something in your post for everyone and I didn't know any of that. I did switch to a Mallory Unilite Dist and ended up using steel gasket.
Also it is my understanding the the older non-stretch bolts are better than the stretch ones. You just retighten them from time to time.
Karl,
I hope you went with a steel timing gear and upgraded chain. Also, don't forget to pack the oil pump gears with grease as this will help the pump start to suck up oil upon start up.
When I removed the existing head bolts there was a funky one with a threaded top at cylinder #1 that was used to hold down the power steering pump bracket. I'm assuming this is unnecessary and go ahead and use a replacement bolt without the tread?
Timing gear set for a 3.8 Buick will work, you can get them from Summit or Jeg's. Get the one that has multiple keyways, advance it 3 degrees, will give you lots more low end, from what I remember that's the only difference between the old cams and the 4.0/4.6 cams....
How does the timing advance affect overall driving? This is the wife's D90 so it's more of a summer day driver and sees very little off road other than what I do on occasion which isn't much
I have a new gear and chain set coming but will run down to my parts store and compare it with a buick for reference and then I'll decide what I'm going to do.
Karl
------ Follow up post added April 19th, 2012 10:05 AM ------
So one of the mysteries I have of the head job is why they don't supply a new cylinder #1 lower head bolt (the one with the threaded top) when you order them? I went on the reuse it method as suggested and it snapped!
Now I ask: If the head bolts have done their 90 & 90 on a brand new gasket but never run... would you re-use those or just bite down and get a new gasket and bolts for a brand new torque?
Got the engine fired up first turns!! What a relief!! Thanks all for the info and tips. Got a last one. What is this chunk of steel? It hit me in the throat as I was dropping the exhaust from the manifolds. I think it was wedged between the frame and exhaust? Don't think it's even a part of the vehicle.
looks similar to a body mans dolly, it certainly is not a rover part, prior owner may have droped that thing and could never find, probably hoped/expected and thought it may have fallen on the road years ago.
A body mans dolly... I had to look that up and I'm convinced that's what it is as well!! I'm just happy it didn't clock me in the skull when it dropped. In a previous ownership this D saw some action. I noted that the front grill frame has been resprayed.
Thanks!!
Karl
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