Thread: 3.9 Rough on startup when cold but fine when warm

I'm giving Green Light Car Care a go at Thornleigh. I have read some good reports (some on this forum) and I spoke with Carl yesterday who was knowledgable and passionate.

I will let you know how I go.

Pressure tested and cylinder 8 is leaking coolant so slightly reassured in that it is not the middle cylinders on either bank. I will likely have both heads done whilst the manifold is off as insurance.

So, this took 4 weeks and $2750 but I now have it back. The gasket fire ring had failed on cylinder 8 and was on the way out on cylinder 1. Additionally the gaskets had delaminated however I suspect this would have occurred on diss-assembly.

Heads were pressure tested and skimmed, heater hoses bypassed on assembly and we are now running at about 88 - 89 deg C, as opposed to its original 89 - 91, and the 91 - 94 post heater core failure.

Currently the coolant temp and oil pressure dash lights are on permanently and a wiring inspection is in order. The car will go back after 1k kms for a once over.

Not happy with the turnaround time but the quality of work looks good so far.

Currently the coolant temp and oil pressure dash lights are on permanently and a
wiring inspection is in order. The car will go back after 1k kms for a once
over.

They are both on the same loom, so the mechanic has the wrong wire on each. Both single wires. The temp gauge is on the RH front of the manifold and the oil pressure switch down below on the filter.
Regards Philip A
Acxtually I am not sure of the temperature gauge sender posiation now as I don't think there was room on the front of the Thor to put it and it may be on top towards the LHS, but it is easy to know as it is a single wire not an injector plug

And 600km's later it is still running. Doesn't 'quite' feel the same but it isn't bad. The injectors were reseated with new o-rings which means it now starts on the 4th crank instead of previously 8.

Idle is still high and I was expecting this to settle a little so a tweak is order. I spent last weekend fixing up a few niggly items. The wiring to the rear qtr lights had come away in part, and the radio fuse had blown with the ingress of coolant from the heater core failure. I re-attached the central rear armrest which the kids had pulled out, and re-fitted the carpets after letting the interior dry-out for 3 months (should be really dry now). Fitted the cargo barrier to keep the dogs in the back, and now I will order a new heater-core (copper and brass rather than aluminium) in preparation for replacement.

The starter motor 'clicked' at me once last week but after a bit of persuasion with a broom handle it is back to normal and has started normally several times since. I have a spare starter motor in the shed that I was planning on fitting to the last POS but never got around to it.

So, the feel-good-factor is back and thoughts of offloading this for a 'normal car' have subsided for now. I still over-analyse every click, bump, and noise from forward of the windscreen waiting for the next 'event' to occur. Maybe this will subside with time.....?

If the idle is high it has an air leak somewhere.

The gen 111 injectors in it require a second Oring at the base to prevent the injectors slipping out of the fuel rail, but if they haven't slipped yet it is probably OK.

If it feels dead , possibly the mechanic does not have enough static advance on it. When it was originally tuned it had 6 degrees and I found it would take 8-9 degrees without pinging on full throttle. Be careful on this and don't go overboard as the electronic "vacuum " advance has lots more advance than stock.
If you want I can have a look and see if everything is as it should be . Talk about after sales service! LOL.
Regards Philip A

This morning after I dropped the kids at the station I could smell fuel. This became quickly and progressively worse and as I pulled over I noticed a trail of fuel spillage/drops behind me and on opening the bonnet, fuel jetting out from behind the plenum behind No 8 cylinder. Fortunately the engine bay was still cold at that stage so no flames (reminder to myself to put the fire extinquisher back in car tomorrow) but I was feeling more than a little nervous at this stage.

NRMA suggested that the spillage was from an injector rather than the fuel rail or FPR. So, back to the mechanic who fixed the head gaskets for diagnosis and fix. Also noticed that the T-piece on the crank case breather hose was uncapped so this may be the cause of the fast idle.

I must admit, I have had enough of Range Rover ownership now. Time to move on after this fix so watch out for a new Market Place add in the near future.