Thread: expected lifespan of a rover V8 engine

Originally Posted by prelude

So, I recently thought I had a bad flexplate or something like it since my engine would cut out and the crank position sensor was worn in (GEMS P38 V8). When I took the box and engine apart it turned out nothing was wrong there but after my mate suggested I tried for play on the crank, to which I replied he was daft since the engine had only done 55K from "new" (complete rebuild incl top hat liners etc.) I gave it a go and... there was play. That explains the worn in crank position sensors but it leaves me baffled as to how that can possibly occur.

The engine was a complete rebuild, stage 3 "tuned" (aka port and polish, slightly more agressive cam, top hat liners, the works ie. everything to make it a hapy engine for many K's to come) from scratch by RPI engineering in the UK. It has had nothing but valvoline VR1 20W50 oil as suggested by the builder from day one, changed every 5K. It has done a mix of city, highway and offroad traffic. I would say 1/4 city, 1/4 offroading and 1/2 highway. City is self explanatory, off roading is mostly gravel/sand roads, some hardcore wheeling and half a dozen river crossings. Highway is 130kph with a roofrack and rooftop tent and a full load so that means in hilly surroundings shifting back to third (zf auto box) and pushing it around 3500rpm to keep speed. Sure, it some hard work, but not something I reckon would cause damage like this with such meticulous maintenance. I have never found metal shavings in the oil but then again, I never removed the oil pan or cut an oil filter open to check.

Since I sold my house last month and was just about to put the saw to the girl to convert her into an overland camper to start our round the world trip, this is a significant blow to us. As you might expect we are having doubts about the reliability of the range rover on such a trip. We long ago accepted that the P38 was never going to be the "best" choice for such a trip but being mechanically and electrically very adept I had reason to believe that we would be ok. Even a problem like this is not a really big problem for me to fix BUT the main problem in my head now is: how much CAN one expect to get from a rover V8? If such a job has to be done every time we cross a continent... that's pretty much unacceptable.

In any case 55k is not enough for an engine to be worn I reckon and when I pull the engine apart or return it to RPI (not sure what to do there yet) we'll find out whats what but still.

What can I expect from the rover V8 engine? It has proven to be extremely reliable ever since I got it and even with so much play on the crank it still chugged along, proving its resilience but...

Cheers,
-P

My D1 (3.9) done 400k before the engine was ever opened up. So with good oil, good cooling system and careful driving I'd say the life expectancy is pretty high cheers

I'd be worried about this 20W50 oil recommendation!

I have no idea on RPI's build style, but 20W cold, in cold climate .. me thinks far too heavy.

FWIW:
I've had many RV8s over the years(maybe 20 or so) ... all 3.5's tho. Old bangers, one RRC.
Every one of them had to get me over 100K klms, from an already old and worn, tired vehicle.
The endurance champ in my lineup was the RRC which I did 550K klms on top of the 100K it had when I got it.

I did kill 2 V8s tho.
One very early P6 where it dropped a mains cap.
And then a few years ago(half deliberately) the D2 V8 which I killed trying to get it home(it was fully stuffed anyhow, and had to get home).

The RRC didn't lead a cushy life either. It started heating up just out of the blue one time, and temp gauge up at the start of the red zone(usually right in the middle). I changed everything I could to rectify it, then had my mechanic look into it, and diagnosis was maybe a faulty temp gauge. At the time the radiator felt solid, but a couple years later I found it was almost completely rotten and not really cooling. Replaced rad, and temp gauge back to normal! But in those 2 years with the rotten rad, I'd have driven at least 150-ish thousand klms, and quite a few of those thousands to central Aus in hotter weather.

Also when you say "play in the crank" do you mean fore/aft(end float) or worn mains ... or both?

I'd say either a a dodgy (aftermarket) thrust washer or someone missed something on the rebuild.

That would be a pretty unusual cause of death for one.

I'd be contacting the shop that did the work, it would be out of warranty no doubt, but I'd be embarrassed if that was me! So they may be as well, you need to give them the opportunity to rectify it, you never know what might come of it.

Just out of interest, how much end float are we talking? (should be 0.08 - 0.26mm)

Originally Posted by discorevy

Just out of interest, how much end float are we talking? (should be 0.08 - 0.26mm)

Yep, that was the next question!

Originally Posted by LRJim

My D1 (3.9) done 400k before the engine was ever opened up. So with good oil, good cooling system and careful driving I'd say the life expectancy is pretty high cheers

One of my brothers has a D1,3.5L,also done just under 400,000Km,its his daily,bought when it was one year old.

Engine heads weaped coolant,new head gaskets,no other engine issues.
Does all the work himself on it.Engine oil,always uses Mobil 20W-50,changed every 10,000Km.
FWIW,hasn't touched the drive train,all original,manual.

Thanks for all your replies thus far!

20w50 might be a bit thick in colder climates yes that's why I ran 5W30 when I went into the polar circle in 2017. Other than that, we hardly ever get below zero temperatures down here anymore and even then I hardly use the P38 in those conditions anyway. By far the bulk of my use is in 10c and (far) above. RPI are a builder from the UK which has roughly the same climate as where I live (.NL) so I guess they know what they are doing?

We are talking about end play, I have not yet opened her up to check inside to see if there is any other wear. The end play is enough for the Crank Position Sensor to touch the reluctor ring (there are obviously visible marks on the ring itself and the sensor has two grooves in them from said ring). I have not measured the play but we are talking 1mm+ easily.

Careful driving, as mentioned, not all the time Does depend on what you call careful. I rarely push it to the rev limiter, only when overtaking in a pinch so that has happened only a handful of times over the lifespan of the engine. Prolonged heavy load however does occur once a year when we go on a trip. Since the speedlimit in most countries down here is 130kph I usually try and maintain that speed. For example: Last summer I took a 2500km trip where I was fully laden (a bit over I reckon even when the tanks were full) with a rooftop tent doing 130kph on 32" tyres going up and down hills so the engine had to -work-

Regarding the cooling system, I did flush the radiator out last summer as well because I noticed my otherwise yellow organic coolant (as recommended by the manufacturer) starting to turn orange. Turns out there is a lot of rust buildup in the system which I find a bit worrying. imho this should not occur? Anyway, the coolant was partially replaced (since I only flushed the core, not the entire system) and I was planning to do a full flush this year. I also used a tiny bit of coolant across time, say half a litre per year or so. The engine never overheated as far as I know though.

I have sent an email to the rebuilder and I am hoping for some sympathy indeed, I know them to be good people but since brexit it has become way more difficult and expensive to send an engine up and down but that's life!

Reading about the K's most people get out of their I feel a lot better already Let's just hope that I get my current engine reliable, both the end bearings and the fact that rust started forming on the inside somehow... (and the leaking valley gasket, weeping crankshaft pulley seal... you know, the usual on a land rover?

Cheers,
-P

Well, It seems I need to get glasses fitted. Getting old is fun, being old... Anyway!

I was able to get the engine further apart, that is the autobox seperated further from the engine and I measured the end float and it turns out to be 0.30mm or there abouts. Those micrometers on a magnet tend to be ever so slightly out when you bump them and the crank does not go back and forth gently so there is a small margin of error. It is just outside spec but by very little it turns out. Not sure what to do with that but I did send an email to the builder.

The main culprit for my crank sensors getting eaten up was the mount which had sheered on the inside (see my topic under P38). So that is solved.

Only thing left now is to consider what to do with that end play, it is out of spec but I don't know how much it was to begin with, might as well been like that (or close to it) from the get go.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
-P