First time LPG owner. Bestow your wisdom on me please

[Pr0ko]

Hey all, recently got back in a Land Rover. Got a disco 1 v8 on dual fuel with 160k on it. Runs and drives nice. First time owning a dual fuel vehicle so I’ll need a bit of guidance. I believe it’s got an impco setup in it (as evidenced by the photo I will attatch) and it has two tanks underneath and the petrol tank has been shrunk to half the size.

Anyway, it drives nice. I’ve yet to go through a full tank of gas in it so I don’t know what mileage to expect out of it. Car is stock at the moment bar a bull bar and a winch.

My question relating to the has system is this - when I first start the car in the morning or after it’s been sat all day - it kicks over then cuts out. After that it starts first click till it’s parked up long again. I also notice that moreso when it’s cold the idle is a bit low. It’s fine on petrol. One of my colleagues mentioned that the filter on these things tend to gum up and either require cleaning,replacement or removal. From what I’ve been advised is shut the valve off at the tank (which at the moment I cannot locate I gather I have to park my car on ramps to see the whole tank underneath) then undo the bolt in the filter to get the actual filter out.

Understandably it varies per vehicle and setup but am I right in thinking the shut off valve on the tank will be obvious? I can’t see it from the very rear. (Mind you I probably didn’t look that hard)

And once I do find that - looking in the engine bay I cannot for the life of me find where the filter would be? Is it meant to be on the converter or somewhere along the lines of?

And lastly (for now atleast) I’ve read that it’s a good idea to run petrol through it every now and then. (20-45l) it says on the sticker. But is there anything else I should do specific to owning a car on lpg? Do I run 98? Or whatever fuel? Is there issue with running the car on lpg 95% of the time? Also cold starting on lpg is fine I imagine?

[Pr0ko]

Sorry I forgot to attatch these!

[Pedro_The_Swift]

LPG CONVERSION | Mercer Industries | IMPCO BRC (https://www.mercer-gfpd.com/)

Some questions,
is the LPG sequential injected?
Sequential will start on ULP and seamlessly switch to LPG.
Rovers dont like being cold and running on LPG.
If you bought it in QLD the car will have an LPG certificate, just worried about the tanks being in date.
Like any injector, they wear out. Good LPG ones should reach 100K.
You get more HP on LPG, but you use more, but its cheaper to buy.
Engines run better/cleaner/live longer on LPG than ULP

We had an LPG Wizard until recently... read old posts on this Forum, anything written by Bee Utey is gold.

[scarry]

There should be a shut off valve on the outlet of the tank.
The filter will be on the line somewhere,probably under the vehicle.

We had the same type of system on vans years ago,LPG is very touchy and doesn’t take much to upset it,so it won’t idle or run properly.
Air leaks are often an issue,on the inlet manifold somewhere,hose come off,perished,etc.
Even an air filter half blocked or leaks on the airfilter box causes issues.
Can’t remember ever having a filter block up,and we did millions of K’s in the vans over the years.
Changed converters regularly,they often didn’t last more than 150,000km.

FWIW,the later vans we went to Landi Renzo injection system,many did well over 300,000 Km with out one problem,so much more reliable than the old impco systems.

We ran petrol through them every now and then,whether it is necessary or not,I don’t know.Probably good to keep the fuel injectors clean,that is if yours is injected.Both systems always start on fuel,anyway.
We didn’t have any engine issues,burnt valves,etc ,either.

[Pr0ko]

LPG CONVERSION | Mercer Industries | IMPCO BRC (https://www.mercer-gfpd.com/)

Some questions,
is the LPG sequential injected?
Sequential will start on ULP and seamlessly switch to LPG.
Rovers dont like being cold and running on LPG.
If you bought it in QLD the car will have an LPG certificate, just worried about the tanks being in date.
Like any injector, they wear out. Good LPG ones should reach 100K.
You get more HP on LPG, but you use more, but its cheaper to buy.
Engines run better/cleaner/live longer on LPG than ULP

We had an LPG Wizard until recently... read old posts on this Forum, anything written by Bee Utey is gold.

Im not 100% sure but I don’t think it switches over. There’s a switch to choose what you want it to run on. I suspect that for lack of a better description it’s an ‘either or’ setup. If I start on petrol it doesn’t cut out. If I start on gas it cuts out and from the second start it’s fine.

That being said though there is a sticker that says keep petrol at atleast 1/4

[Pr0ko]

There should be a shut off valve on the outlet of the tank.
The filter will be on the line somewhere,probably under the vehicle.

We had the same type of system on vans years ago,LPG is very touchy and doesn’t take much to upset it,so it won’t idle or run properly.
Air leaks are often an issue,on the inlet manifold somewhere,hose come off,perished,etc.
Even an air filter half blocked or leaks on the airfilter box causes issues.
Can’t remember ever having a filter block up,and we did millions of K’s in the vans over the years.
Changed converters regularly,they often didn’t last more than 150,000km.

FWIW,the later vans we went to Landi Renzo injection system,many did well over 300,000 Km with out one problem,so much more reliable than the old impco systems.

We ran petrol through them every now and then,whether it is necessary or not,I don’t know.Probably good to keep the fuel injectors clean,that is if yours is injected.Both systems always start on fuel,anyway.
We didn’t have any engine issues,burnt valves,etc ,either.

Thank you. Looks like I’ll get it on ramps this weekend and have a look! Someone suggested I just remove the paper filter and leave it off! 😂

[scarry]

Im not 100% sure but I don’t think it switches over. There’s a switch to choose what you want it to run on. I suspect that for lack of a better description it’s an ‘either or’ setup. If I start on petrol it doesn’t cut out. If I start on gas it cuts out and from the second start it’s fine.

That being said though there is a sticker that says keep petrol at atleast 1/4

The switch is for LPG or petrol.
Petrol is just that,petrol.
LPG,it should start on petrol and switch over once engine has warmed up,never seen them start on LPG,under normal operation.

I can’t remember what happens if fuel runs out,on the Impco set up,i think there is a sequence to start on LPG even if cold.There is on the newer LandinRenzo system we now have.

FWIW,we have now gone away from LPG,as it is difficult to get these days,and often rediculously expensive.Only have one van left that runs on it.

[AK83]

I've had a few RV8s on LPG over the years and I used to wind up the (ign) advance to crazy numbers to get some power/economy from them. They can run fine if tuned properly.

Going from Pic #1, it's not an injected install. The mixer can cause issues over time too.

Another thing I used to do religiously was to change plugs at every service(about 10K or sooner).

[Pedro_The_Swift]

It was scarey watching the short term fuel trims go from 98ULP to LPG.. the software screen limit was 33 and it hit that quick!! but then mine would ping on 95... [bigrolf]

[DiscoDB]

From the LPG vehicles I have owned in the past, I always started on petrol and switched over once running. Tended to keep the petrol tank at least half full. At least once a month I would run it on petrol to use the old fuel in the tank and replace.

Also needed to advance the timing. If running exclusively on LPG you advance more, but as I would run on LPG and Petrol, then would go about halfway (5-6deg additional advance instead of 10deg) and then fine tune to find a spot that works best for both LPG and Petrol. Also use a spark plug which is one heat range colder, and reduced the gap by 0.1mm.

Do check the date stamp on the LPG tank - they must be re-tested, re-certified, and re-stamped every 10 years.

[Pr0ko]

One more question - lpg in alpine areas.. I know that there’s no lpg up at dinner plain (there is at bright I think so I’ll just pack some jerry cans of fuel too) but do these things work in winter/snow/alpine areas? I’m reading that people switch to petrol before climbing up. Should I be doing that or is it fine?


And also - let’s talk fuel range. I know I can’t expect as much range out of lpg. I think I have 75l tanks which is good for around or just under 300km? I may be wrong. But prior to people switching to lpg- what mileage were you getting out of petrol on a stock v8 disco 1? I think for now I’m happy with the lpg setup in it. But if it gets to the point it’s more annoying and I’m using more petrol than lpg I may just yank it out.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

One of the problems with LPG is it can freeze going through the converter. Its just physics, or lack of maintenance. The converter needs HOT water running through it. Make sure the converter hoses are in good shape and expect to replace your converter if old.
Mine froze going over the Gateway Bridge at 9am on a workday in the middle of winter... a quick swap to ULP and all was good..
LPG requires a different plug gap, you can buy dedicated LPG plugs.

Fuel economy from a 60"s V8 moving two ton?? Do you have a loud exhaust?[bigrolf]
I have no idea on a GEMS, but I once got 14L per hundred with my THOR on '98.. once..

[Pr0ko]

Is there a different coolant bleed method for d1 v8s on lpg? I had a sloshing sound but good heater - bled it and sloshing seems to be gone but now at idle my heater goes cold someone mentioned I need to burp the coolant at the converter