Any recommendations on either? I see that the Michelin XZY's have been mentioned a couple of times. As for the shocks, there's a set of Bilstein's underneath her at the moment that seem to be holding up well so far.

You forgot the duct tape and swiss army knife

REPLACING THE INDUCTION MANIFOLD

I had noticed a film of oil coating the manifold side of my engine block for the past few months, and while it didn’t seem to be affecting the oil level of the engine in any way, it’s constant presence had me s**tting myself over thoughts of blown head gaskets and shiny, irreplaceable bits of metal flying around inside the engine, but thankfully Justinc and others pointed out that I had a blown manifold gasket, a relatively easy repair. So last night I set about replacing it.



I couldn’t actually find any great instructions online to change it, so it’s here now should it come in handy for anyone else. Much of the steps are blatantly ripped from the Rave CD, but the pictures might help (I certainly wish that I had them at the time).

Steps:
Disconnect battery and remove the rocker cover insulation from the engine. Apparently it’s quite easy to short out the back of the starter motor while working on the manifold, and that as they say, would be a bad thing.

Loosen the two jubilee clips on the intercooler hose and remove it.


Loosen the two small bolts that hold the heat shield in place, and remove it.



On the underside of the manifold you’ll find two nuts. Loosen them, but it’s not necessary to remove them completely, as the induction manifold simply sits on them.



Remove induction manifold upper securing bolts.



Now, all things going good, you should be able to lift away the induction manifold and set it aside for cleaning. In my case, one look at the gasket was enough to see why it was seeping out oil – it was in a few pieces and was certainly in need of replacement.







Now to get the exhaust manifold off. First remove the turbocharger outlet hose so that the exhaust manifold can be moved back from the engine block.



Time to get under the vehicle. Find the flange that joins the front exhaust to the middle silencer. Loosen the flange nuts so that when you do move the exhaust manifold, the exhaust pipe has the freedom to turn.



Now you can remove exhaust manifold securing nuts. Remove the centre lower nut first – it’s well hidden and you’ll need a long socket extension bar to get at it. To get at the bottom nuts, unbolt the dip stick to make things easier. When you remove the top left and right manifold nuts and the heater rail can be moved clear.



With the exhaust manifold and turbocharger still attached to exhaust front pipe, withdraw the manifold from head by turning the front pipe until sufficient access is gained to remove the gasket. They’re heavy, so strap them to a timber laid across the engine or something similar to take the weight.

As mentioned earlier, my gasket was in bits – three bits to be precise – and was well overdue a replacement.



Now it’s time to clean years of accumulated crap from both the engine block face, and both the induction/exhaust manifold faces. What you use is up to you – me, I prefer old fashioned petrol – but it might be a good idea to plug the ports in the cylinder head with a clean rag to prevent any debris falling into the engine.



Once everything is clean, it’s time for reassembly. Either replace or reuse the manifold studs, and fit the gasket over them, making sure that the metal facets face outwards. I’m told it’s a good idea to replace the studs, but I couldn’t get a hold of any at short notice, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them, so a good soak in degreaser and a clean with a wire brush and they were ready to go again.

At this stage it’s pretty much all of the above in reverse order. Mate the exhaust manifold with the engine block, and start doing up the exhaust manifold nuts, making sure to relocate the heater rail to its original position before tightening up. (Recommended torque: 45 Nm (33 lb/ft).



Loosely reattach the induction manifold lower nuts to their studs, and fit the induction manifold to the engine block. Once in place, bolt up the upper induction manifold bolts, and tighten both nuts and bolts up.



From here on in it’s all about the ancillaries. Tighten up the exhaust front pipe flange, replace the turbocharger outlet pipe, bolt the dipstick back on to the block and finally, reconnect the intercooler hose.



And there you go – one manifold gasket replacement. It’s a good idea to clean the block of old oil as best you can – I’ll put hot water through the pressure washer tomorrow. Time will tell if it will still seep, but already it’s looking better and I’m pretty optimistic. One thing I have found though, is that all that misting oil has condensed inside my alternator over the past couple of months, and when I hooked up an ammeter while driving, the charge rate was all over the place. So the next quick job will be to strip it down and clean it.

Good stuff Mike!

Bilsteins, Good choice and they'll do nicely Make sure you replace all their rubber bushes and carry a spare set.

Michelin XZY, you can't go past them for a tough and durable touring tyre. Everyone I know with them on their vehicle is happy enough wth their performance to go out and replace them same again.

If only I could get them in 255/85/16 I'd have them in a flash

JC

This is shaping up to be a fantastic thread.

The amount of detail, especially with those great photos, is really going to assist many people I am sure.

The way the gasket has failed makes me suspect that the legs of the exhaust manifold to #1 & #4 cylinders, may be frozen in the centre section and not allowing them to slip as intended when the manifold heats and cools.

The amount of oil in the inlet manifold indicates there may be a good amount in the intercooler as well.

__________________
John

I think that, although the standard LR size for XZY's is 7.50R16, you can also get them in 235/85/16, so quite a bit wider than the std fit, but not as wide as you are after.....

or as tall.

255/85/R16 really do rob the power out of a na 4BD1 LT95 combo, dunno about a 4BD1T the turbo might just be enough. I wasn't impressed. Also rubbing issues at the rear if your on standard offset rims.

I drove some down from Newie to Yass, around town and therefore offroad they are fine, get them on the freeway and they are not a nice combo.

235/85/R16 or 7.50R16 are the best sizes on my setup for any type of distance driving.

Buy this it will be a big help....

Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide: Field Manual

That is an excellet book. I bought mine from the USA for over $150, but later found out you can get then direct from the UK at a cheaper price (40 Pounds I think).

It will take you a month to read it - it's thick and detailed.

I think Abaddonix has some Wolf rims he want to trade. Where are you located, Mike?

__________________
Ron B.

1995 P38A Range Rover HSE 4.6 V8 Auto; 1968 LR Series IIA trayback (Holden 202); Yamaha XJR1300, Suzuki DL650 V-Strom



RIP Bucko - Riding on Forever