Thread: New V8 Cam Break-In Problems

Hi Davo,

I know that rover engines don't have a bleeder for air and so they can get an airlock in system.

I've heard that some owners Jack up the front of vehicle and carefully fill water into engine, leave it overnight to try any work any air bubbles out of system and then lower vehicle before starting ..... others squeeze top hose to push / pump water around the engine to get air out of system filling it with water via the bung on the radiator.

Also not sure if its the same with a new engine and new oil pump, but most repair manuals advise if you changing gears or servicing existing oil pump to fill it chockers with vasaline to allow the oil pump to prime itself ....

Hope it all goes OK for you as I've been following your posts with interest.

Cheers

Baggy

Oh dear, wait until you see the Rangie rebuild thread I'll do once it's on the road!

Yup, these things take a while to get the air out, but it seems full now. I'm going to run it again in a minute and see what happens. The oil pump is all new and to specs and I did the whole Vaseline business, so maybe it's the gauge, maybe the bypass valve, maybe the thinner oil. Once I can idle it, I'll see what happens. Bloody annoying, though.

Done this a couple of times. What you're doing is fine. Just don't let it idle. If you've kept a tally on how much water you've added you should be able to judge when it's almost full. The temp is as expected...up to 93-95 deg is OK...you need the thermostat to open so that the water can circulate and get rid of the airlocks. Shutting it down straight away is OK to check water level ...then start again and keep it at 2000 rpm for 20 mins or so. Once it's had 20-25 mins total time at 2000 rpm and you are sure there are no leaks and the water level is stable, take it for a run

Very interested to hear of your experience with the Kent cam

Well, I learned today that you don't run these things for the full 20 minutes. You certainly do need to turn them off after five minutes, cool down, top up cooling system, and again and again. So I got the full 20 minutes in 5-minute stages and the water level didn't drop in the end. It was also 40c today and maybe not the best conditions to sit there with your new engine at 2000rpm.

I'll dump the water and put some coolant in, change the oil filter and see how we go tomorrow. And synchronise the carbies, get it to idle, la la la.

Oh, and take it for a run after I replace the heater, floor, driveshafts, seats . . .

....... and the steering wheel

But she will be a sweet ride and worth all the invested time and money you have put in her.

Interesting photo ......what year is she, looks like an early 4 door (83) but the position of guages suggest middle to late 70's vehicle.

Cheers

Baggy

Very good - 1983 4-door it is indeed. (But with 2-door seats that don't tilt. That weird factory back then.) It's got aircon, hence the gauges down low, and as part of this job I replaced the Torqueflyte with a new LT95. It's supposed to be our family 4wd, hence all the work, especially to make it reliable while living up here. It was either this, or, for about the same money, a Prado, which isn't even worth discussing. Previous to this rebuild, I was very impressed by the way this thing handled, and with that legendary ride as well. (But of course - I'm used to a Series Landie!) With all the soundproofing, this should be very nice.

And one day I realised that I'm not exactly going to get another chance later on to have one of these in great nick, either!

Yes, it is OK to do the 20minutes in stages, as long as it doesn't idle or have prolonged cranking - I found out the hard way The second time around I did 2500rpm for 30 minutes to be sure.

I find with my Disco that it takes at least a week of checking the coolant each morning and topping up as necessary, before the system is full. If you run the heater when it first gets going, that helps to get some of the air out,

Cheers Charlie

Originally Posted by chazza

Yes, it is OK to do the 20minutes in stages, as long as it doesn't idle or have prolonged cranking - I found out the hard way The second time around I did 2500rpm for 30 minutes to be sure.

I find with my Disco that it takes at least a week of checking the coolant each morning and topping up as necessary, before the system is full. If you run the heater when it first gets going, that helps to get some of the air out,

Cheers Charlie

I had a bit of cranking when it wouldn't start after a problem, which included a new rotor falling to bits, (it must have been a Lucas knock-off), and then I flooded it, (which is easy to do with these engines, it seems), so I left it overnight. The next day it started right up. So, who knows?