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Thread: Land Rover V8 3.9 struggling to start!!

  1. #1
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    Land Rover V8 3.9 struggling to start!!

    Hey guys!

    I’ve got a disco 1 v8 love it to bits but it’s having trouble starting.

    So far I have; completed the Bosch amp conversion, Ngk 8mm leads, NGK bpes6 plugs with .8mm gap, new Bosch coil, new dizzy cap, new fuel pump, new fuel pump, new rotor button, new idle control valve and injectors checks and tested all ok. However it still struggles to start.

    One day I pulled the terminals off the battery and it started first time every time for a week, hot cold whenever. Recently it’s starting to struggle again.

    Symptoms are:

    1. Cranks for a long time
    2. Engine seems to misfire on a lot of cylinders
    3. Smells very rich when it finally starts
    4. I believe raw fuel gets shot out the exhaust (watery black substance, not coolant and no sign of head gasket or cylinder issues as it runs beautifully when it fires up, this goes away when warm)
    5. I have to give it a good rev a wait roughly 5 seconds for all the cylinders to give cleanly and then it is perfectly fine!

    What I have noticed is my breather hose is split on my fuel tank and my filler hose is cracking but no signs of leaking.

    I’m not really sure what to do next!?

  2. #2
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    Hey mate, have you been having trouble since you first bought It?
    If so definitely check your ignition timing and check your MAF with a multimeter it may be causing your overfueling issue. But I think you will only have problems once it's warmed up if its your MAF.
    I was having heaps of problems before I got the timing right, then after adjusting the MAF the richness went away.
    Cheers Jim

  3. #3
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    Try checking the little vacuum hose from the stepper housing to the fuel pressure regulator and see if it is leaking fuel into the inlet manifold.

  4. #4
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    Yes it has been happening since I bought it and changed everything as I have mentioned above, but it hasn’t nutted out this issue. I was running like crap before I changed all of these things but still struggling to start.

    Will check all of this with some light tomorrow I’ll let you guys know!

    Last time I check and adjusted my timing I was at 12 deg advance running 98 octane fuel which seemed to be the sweet spot especially with the ignition amp conversion. I’ll double check my maf, I’m certain that she was about 1.1v can’t remember the resistance value though.

    Yes! Great idea for the idle valve didn’t think of that!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Willyboyau View Post
    Yes it has been happening since I bought it and changed everything as I have mentioned above, but it hasn’t nutted out this issue. I was running like crap before I changed all of these things but still struggling to start.

    Will check all of this with some light tomorrow I’ll let you guys know!

    Last time I check and adjusted my timing I was at 12 deg advance running 98 octane fuel which seemed to be the sweet spot especially with the ignition amp conversion. I’ll double check my maf, I’m certain that she was about 1.1v can’t remember the resistance value though.

    Yes! Great idea for the idle valve didn’t think of that!
    If you have gone through the timing and MAF then don't worry, unless you want to for piece of mind. It was something I found with mine not long after buying it, the timing was at like 25° and struggled to start and ran like crap.
    Cheers Jim

  6. #6
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    I pulled that vac line off quickly before going to bed. No fuel leaking however after pulling it off and cleaning out the port on the idle valve it’s starting beautifully! 4 times 4 perfect starts. Revs our to 1400-1500 on start up and drops to smooth idle which I believe is normal starting procedure for these vehicles?

  7. #7
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    Worked perfectly for a day and now it’s back to normal unfortunately....

    Possible fuel reg issues, diaphragm getting stuck?

    Fuel pressure last time I tested it it was fine.

    30psi at the rail at idle 35-37 psi when reved

  8. #8
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    hard to start

    had similar problem turned out to be magnetic pick up in dizzy wire inside had small break run like a dream all day next day no start

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by redmond View Post
    had similar problem turned out to be magnetic pick up in dizzy wire inside had small break run like a dream all day next day no start
    Hmm, that is a very useful comment. I am having the same trouble, and it is difficult to determine if it is a fuel or ignition problem. Have also been through all the testing and replacing, except for the Bosch replacement, which I have ready to do when I can find somebody fitter than me to do it.

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