Thread: advise needed: disco 3.5 v8i - bad engine vibration

for the past few days my engine has developed some heavy vibrations, to me it seems like it has a timing issue, spark problems or feels like its not running on all cylinders.

it started beginning of this week when my starter motor gear sorta seized when it couldnt disengage after cranking.
When i started the motor, i could hear metal grinding noises coming from the starter motor and true enough when i took the starter motor out about quarter of the gear motor was chewed/grinded off. Fortunately for me my flywheel teeth was still alright.

It was only when i drove on the way to the mechanic's shop that i notice that my engine is loosing power.
It just doesnt feel as gutsy as before.

While at the shop, i had a cracked rubber engine mount replaced and a couple of core plugs replaced as well as a new starter motor.

All is good except when i drove home the engine was again gutless and had heavy vibrations, especially at low rpm. The vibrations gets less as i increase speed.

How long does the distributor last?
Perhaps the vacuum component is faulty or worn out?

Im still learning more about the rover engine, so would be great if anyone whom experienced similar problems can help point me in the right direction.

Im taking it back to the mechanic tomorrow, but if anyone have any suggestions please drop me a note.

Kind regards,
Jonno

Sounds like it isn't running on all 8 cylinders. You will notice the missfire (vibration) much more at low revs. It will feel smoother at high revs. That would account for a lack of power and high fuel use.