Thread: D2 V8 Engine: Slipped Liners and Suitability for Towing

I know stuff all about Thor ECU's but when you went from 4 to 4.6 did you change your ECU or fuel map and MAF etc over to match the 4.6 and do you have a standard D2 or a 4.6 RR radiator. If no then underfueling and cooling is the cause.

I'm very sorry to hear you are having problems with the 4.6 Terry after all the work you have done to make your D2 suitable for towing and long distance touring.

I guess your stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment with the need to make the choice of rebuilding the 4.6 and keeping the D2 or just moving on and upgrading to something else.

All I will say there is some reasonably good second hand D3 2.7's around for prices that are becoming almost sensible. Still it could be a case of buyng someone elses problems. Also there are now a number of second hand D4's coming on the market for sale and while the owners are asking still to much chances are these owners will have to drop their prices to sell them given how tight money is now.

cheers,
Terry

Originally Posted by cockie55

I know stuff all about Thor ECU's but when you went from 4 to 4.6 did you change your ECU or fuel map and MAF etc over to match the 4.6 and do you have a standard D2 or a 4.6 RR radiator. If no then underfueling and cooling is the cause.

Hi Cockie,

The 4.6 software was installed, and the radiator stayed the same (but new). I understand that the US 4.6 Discos use the same radiator. Cooling is quite adequate, as referenced by the Scan Gauge. Even on very long hard second gear climbs with the van, the temperature would never move more than a couple of degrees from the normal 92-93 degrees.

The excellent Robison article (there is a link in Pedro's first reply) makes it quite clear that the cause of this increasing problem is inadequate design and/or poor quality manufacture. Some people get a good block, others get a not so good block. I am happy to accept that extensive towing of a heavy van has probably aggravated the existing weakness, but what I tow is well within Land Rover's 3.5 tonne rating, so that is not an excuse.

The problem with the second engine with the excessive end float appears to have been that the block was incorrectly drilled for the crankshaft which was, as a result, misaligned. More poor quality manufacture. Which is a pity, because the basic vehicle is such a brilliant design.

Sad to hear about this, but not all that uncommon with 4.0/4.6 blocks I'm afraid. The 14CUX may have helped prevent this to a lesser extent on the 3.9s but there's still reports of 4.3/4.5/5.0 litre TVRs suffering the same fate, and they were all hotwire injected.

The V8 Developments and Turner Engineering websites provide a lot of good information about the need to use flanged liners in these engines. Even the supposedly superior latest Coscast blocks (non top hatted) are showing signs of cracking/slipped liners - in fact V8D will not guarantee them now.

Roverparts in Ballarat supply top hat exchange 4.6 blocks; Orger Engineering in Melbourne can do a good job of fitting top hats to to your own block.

Originally Posted by Traco

Sad to hear about this, but not all that uncommon with 4.0/4.6 blocks I'm afraid. The 14CUX may have helped prevent this to a lesser extent on the 3.9s but there's still reports of 4.3/4.5/5.0 litre TVRs suffering the same fate, and they were all hotwire injected.

The V8 Developments and Turner Engineering websites provide a lot of good information about the need to use flanged liners in these engines. Even the supposedly superior latest Coscast blocks (non top hatted) are showing signs of cracking/slipped liners - in fact V8D will not guarantee them now.

Roverparts in Ballarat supply top hat exchange 4.6 blocks; Orger Engineering in Melbourne can do a good job of fitting top hats to to your own block.

Cheers Traco, I'll give the melb guys a call out of curiosity, thus far the top end of my motor has all been rebuilt but the the options the better if the bottom end let's go.

Originally Posted by TerryO

I guess your stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment with the need to make the choice of rebuilding the 4.6 and keeping the D2 or just moving on and upgrading to something else.

Thanks Terry.

As we have discussed before, there is not a lot available to choose from for what we do. I tend to favour the D4, but to get appropriate sized wheels, I have to take the 2.7, which has not much more torque than the current 4.6, along with the lower rated transmission, and less range than the D2. Then I wonder if when three Rover engines in a row have failed, the last two factory new, why would I expect the 2.7 to be reliable?

I am increasingly tempted to just hit the current engine with Healer Sealer and see what happens. After spending so much on the 4.6 conversion, the HP24 transmission and bigger cooler, I really wonder about spending a further 6.5K on the current engine. But the rest of it is so ideally suited to what we do. Decisions, decisions!

Apparently-
my D2a had a crank replaced under warranty, so its not just the bigg'uns that have quality problems,,

while you wont see the extra 6.5K on the price tag when you eventually() sell it, any LR enthusiast will KNOW the engine has been looked after by a serious tourer,,

and, FWIW, I think the only logical step forward is a D4.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Apparently-
my D2a had a crank replaced under warranty, so its not just the bigg'uns that have quality problems,,

while you wont see the extra 6.5K on the price tag when you eventually() sell it, any LR enthusiast will KNOW the engine has been looked after by a serious tourer,,

and, FWIW, I think the only logical step forward is a D4.

Thanks Pedro. I appreciate your advice. We are slowly coming around to the view that because we want to continue our touring with the van for a few more years, we are probably going to have to bite the bullet and get a new vehicle. We are just asking too much of the D2 at its age. If we decide to do that, it will either be an LC200 or a D4. The heart says a D4, but the head says don't write off the LC. If only the D4 SE came with a side opening rear door, 18 inch wheels, and reasonable towing range! Time for a bit of advice from D4 owners!