Rover V8 Sounds Like a 'Rattle Gun' Under Load

Thanks for your thoughts Garry and PhilipA:)

If/when I do pull the motor down, how do I test for a slipped liner? (When I had the heads off last week all the bores appeared flush with the deck).

If the problem does turn out to be a slipped liner, what do I do? Remove the block and get it top hatted? Put a 4BD1 in? :p

No I haven’t tried lifter lubricant. It does sound like lifter noise I guess (many things sound like lifter noise though!), however I can’t understand why the compression raises to 180 psi when oil is added, which is the same as the other cylinders.

I took another compression test this arvo with the motor at running temp in case something had changed - it hadn't!

2 – 150 psi
4 – 150 psi
6 – 120 psi
8 – 160 psi

I've got Saturday set aside to pull the engine down again. I'll take some happy snaps and post them.

Edward

I found this video which answered one of my questions on how to test for a slipped liner:
YouTube

The pistons in this video also look almost identical to mine, including piston # 6.

YouTube

Edward :(

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If the problem does turn out to be a slipped liner, what do I do? Remove the block and get it top hatted? Put a 4BD1 in? :p

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My understanding is that once you have a cracked block it is the end of story.

But there should be lots of 3.5 blocks around at reasonable prices . On a 3.5 it would be unlikely that you would have the problem again even if you just fitted another block as is after checking that the sleeves are Ok .

Maybe check with a specialist like TR spares on what your options are as maybe someone now has a magic cure .

If you want a diesel then I would recommend a 300TDi as you can get full fitting kits from the UK. AFAIR 4BD1s are a lot older than your car so legality may be an issue.

Regards PhilipA

Thanks PhilipA. I'll pull the motor down on the weekend and i'll report back.

Edward :)

Not sure of this but you could drop the sump, make covers for the water jacket slots on top of the block and then pressurise the block through the water pump and see if there are any leaks in the block - might save having to drop the engine.

I think there are YouTube vids on how to pressure test the block. If there are cracks behind number 6 liner it will be obvious in the test.

Never done it, and dont know much so just suggesting a little research might show up something.

Garry

I had a slipped liner and the dreaded ticking on my old 4.0 D2 block. When I pulled the engine to do a 4.6 upgrade I couldn't justify the cost of Top Hats at the time so I pinned the liners.It worked a treat and the ticking never came back and only cost about $50 for the 8 1/4"unf machine screws, a #1 1/4" tap and a bit of Loctite.

But as you have what appears to be coolant leaking into the cylinder as well why not try some "K seal" first. It might seal the crack and glue the liner back in place and might save you a bit of coin.

Good evening all,

We stripped the motor down today and we found the problem! A broken top ring on cylinder # 6. It has also worn the groove out, so the piston will need replacing.

I took some photos but my camera is playing up -i'll upload them soon if i can.

I noticed that the lifters are showing some wear, which surprised me considering that the motor has only done 60,00 km (most of that with Penrite HPR 30). They are not concave, but some do have some pitting. I purchased them from the UK and they were advertised as ‘OEM’, but they look slightly different to my old genuine ones and the packaging was different.

I’ll have to have a closer look, but the camshaft looks pretty good. The camshaft came with a black coating on the lobes, and I can still see some of this on the lobe faces.

Can I put new lifters on an old cam?

Many thanks,

Edward 😊

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Can I put new lifters on an old cam?

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Wow you dodged a bullet there.(maybe)

But wasn't it using water? I would still be pressure testing the block unless you found some other obvious problem.

That would not be caused by a broken ring.

IMHO it is not advisable to replace lifters without replacing the cam.

The cam depends on the lifter convexity to be held in place and rotate the lifters.

if some lifters are worn then the cam shoulders are also probably worn. Cams eventually fail by the shoulders/edges on the top of the lobes breaking up.
Regards PhilipA

Hi PhilipA,

Thank you again for your advice.

It's strange because the motor didn't seem to use any water, the truck never ran hot and there were never bubbles in the radiator, BUT when we changed the head gaskets a couple of weeks ago we did notice that piston # 6 did have a tan colour and less carbon than the other cylinders, possibly indicating that some water may have been entering the cylinder. Interestingly (and strangely), despite not putting many km’s on it since we changed the head gaskets, piston # 6 has coloured up similar to the rest! (Hasn’t got the carbon build-up, but has definitely become blacker). My Dad and I spent a morning trying to diagnose the problem last week, and we tuned the truck on the exhaust gas analyser at the same time. We richened the mixture on LPG, so perhaps that may have coloured the cylinder??? I dunno, it’s a bit strange. I’ll have to take a photo.

I’ll have a closer look for the cause of the broken ring shortly. Yes I may get the block pressure tested, thanks for the tip.

Edward 😊

I had a look through my photos of the day. Didn't take many good ones, but in the photo attached you can see the broken ring in piston # 6. You can also see in the top right hand side of the piston how the groove has worn. You can also kinda see how the piston crown has coloured up and is no longer tan. Perhaps that cylinder was running lean? I did change the heads when i did the gaskets. Perhaps the other head had a valve issue? I dunno... my head hurts from thinking...

Edward :)Attachment 162108