Thread: Distributor position 3.9 V8

Listen very carefully budgie bottom.

(For the Fast Forward fans)

I know that you've now got it more apart (or less together, depending on your outlook on life), but get it timed right and running before making any more assumptions. What can be done with fewer assumptions is done in vain with more. Poor timing can and will make an otherwise happy engine sound like a bucket of monkeys.

Totally agree, make sure your timing is spot on before panic-ing, plus (and yes I know you will have checked before) but re-check that you have all the plug leads in the right place.

With just two leads swapped the engine can sound like a box of spanners.

I know what it's like to miss the bloody obvious - I do it all the time, but with me I put it down to senility and old age

Thanks for the input guys. I am 100% sure it was timed properly before I pulled out the spanners. The car was idling properly and as the car ran for longer the noise began to quieten down. However it was still noisy. Which is why I suspect a damaged hydraulic tappet.

As it stands I have removed the 2,4,6,8 tappet cover and the plenum chamber, ram housing and have the bolts out of the intake manifold. An interesting point is that three of the intake manifold bolts were only finger tight . Just been having a bit of trouble lifting the intake manifold out of its position.

Since some of the hydraulic lifters came out of place when I pulled their respective push rods out I had no choice but to remove the intake manifold. As annoying as it was to pull it apart I have been meaning to replace the intake manifold gasket and the 1,3,5,7 tappet cover gasket plus reseal the plenum chamber to try and get rid of that annoying vacuum leak whistle (maybe the loose intake manifold bolts caused that?).

Anyway not the end of the world.

Just an update.

The Disco is feeling better and has been on the road since Friday afternoon. Took it 4wding at Amamoor over the weekend and had no problems.

I spoke to Tank a few times on the phone and he talked me through the timing with a few tricks I didn't know about.

Once it was all back together I discovered the clack, clack, clack noise was a noisy lifter as when I started the car on Saturday morning it did it again but only for about 2 seconds. It hasn't done it since. I guess it needed to reprime or something after possibly getting a hit from the timing being out so much?
The only problem I had after the whole lot was put back together was a coolant leak which disappeared after I nipped up all the coolant hoses.

What came of this whole episode though is I learnt a lot about how my Landy works and what I can do with just a toolbox, RAVE CD and a mechanic on the end of a phone when needed. Also I got rid of the front and rear oil leaks from the intake gasket and the vacuum sounding whistle.

So thanks all especially Tank.

after possibly getting a hit from the timing being out so much?

Hit by what!?!?!

Very curious that a seemingly unrelated thing happened at the same time, but ***** happens I guess. Great to hear it's running nicely again. They are too heavy to push around!

Originally Posted by MacMan

Hit by what!?!?!

Tank mentioned that it was possible for the incorrect timing to cause the spark plug to fire when the valve gear and piston was at the wrong position and it could slam a valve shut.
Something like that anyway.

I'm thinking that if the above happened and a valve was slammed shut then since the push rod wasn't bent and the cam wasn't broken then something had to give. So it would have to have been the hydraulic lifter having the oil squished out of it. So until it primed itself again it would be noisy.

That's my theory anyway. Whatever happened all is good now.

Great news - glad to hear things are back to normal.

It's a great learning curve isn't it

hey landy owners i have just bought a new lead kit and its still running wrong can some give me a rough layout of the v8 3.9 dizzy apprechiate it thanking you very much dan the man