Thread: V8 Owners, your opinions please

Love my v8 but like most alloy engines you overheat them and they will toast the head gaskets. Mine did at 200,000. Block and heads are in great condition. Strong motors. I get 15 l per 100klm in mixed peak hr in Brisbane with my 5 speed and direction better on the highway_ if I sit on 90 its respectable. Plenty of grunt and sounds great with some muffler work. Tows the 2 tonn vagabond well also. Off road torque is excellent down low as is engine braking.

Cheers

I dont own one (anymore) but I do the monkey work on some.

common items I see v8's for (in no particular order, counting all variants from the 3.5 with carbs up to the 4.6 and excluding minor servicing)

head gaskets
exhaust gaskets
rocker gaskets
replace various hoses (vac lines and hard to do cooling system hoses usually)
engine mounts
viscious couplings on the fan
alternators (usually noisey bearings or swap for bigger please)
Idlers + tensioners
plugs, leads (not so much on the coil packed version)
fuel filters, pumps and fuel relays
MAF's
Idle Air Control
Fix cruise control (usually a gone vac line or brake pedal valve)
Minor Other Electrical
Compression tests + leak down tests as an aid to owner diagnostics/health checks

Hope thats helpful for ya.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the responses. Nice to know that there are many of us that love the v8 variant. As for the problems associated, the only issue I have had in the 3 months of owning her, is had to replace the Spark Plugs and leads (was misfiring something shocking when I took posession of her.)

at present the vehicle has clocked up 132,000kms, and running like a dream (although having said that, I have probably set myself up for a world of pain soon.)

As my first disco, I am very happy, and as my wife keeps telling me... you finally got what you have dreamed of for years!!!

Thanks BlkNight, for the insight into what your see on a regular basis. I will keep all that in mind, but I am thinking that as long as I keep her serviced on a regular basis, and have my Mechanic look for all the "usual" issue's then I should be OK (fingers crossed).

as a side note, does anyone know anywhere around adelaide (apart from Thompsons Beach and Deep Creek conservation park) that the disco can be taken for a day trip off road, with a bit of fun??

Originally Posted by mattadelaide1975

as a side note, does anyone know anywhere around adelaide (apart from Thompsons Beach and Deep Creek conservation park) that the disco can be taken for a day trip off road, with a bit of fun??

Pretty much all the good tracks around Adelaide I used to be able to enjoy in the 70's have been closed off to traffic, so I have to enjoy them on my MTB instead. There are some "summer track only" roads near Milang and in the Barossa valley and Mid North that pose a little challenge in the wet, but as for good tracks the best bet is to look at private 4wd parks such as Loveday:
Loveday 4x4 Adventure Park 4x4,4wd,caravan,camping
and join 4wd clubs for access to other areas.
One of SA's best 4WD areas is Ngarkat national park, must be done in winter though.

2000 Blue. 260 xxx Km. I got it after the engine had been replaced with an D2a engine that had done about 60 xxxKm.

Put an engine saver on.
Put a CDL lever in.
Put a new seat foam and diaphragm in on the drivers side. Anyone with a car that has done over 200 000 km and thinks their car is comfy has no idea how much better it will be with a new seat base.

I was going to play with the engine, but it is so good as it is I'm putting my money into going places.

"Put an engine saver on."

Ok stupid question time..... whats an engine saver?

Getting my seat rebolstered tomorrow due to same reasons.

ENGINE SAVER is sold on here by Dave. It's a low water alarm that works very well. I have one.

Cheers

is the d2 engine better than the D1? I do kinda miss myD1 though I love my D2