Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
Philsteward - 2005 v8 HSE
Hi all,
Owned my D3 since October 2015 but only just been able to start using it! Bought from an auction for £5k it had flat battery issues, the grill had been ripped off due to the battery and the bonnet release cable broken so looked a little miserable. Had 125k on the clock, a BRC lpg conversion, cream leather, black outside, perfect combo for me, not to mention the v8 engine and HSE spec.
Unfortunately once I got it home and MOTd, for which it needed one tyre, a bulb and a lower front wishbone, I soon discovered it was not quiet right engine wise. Started and drove fine, pulled okay but idled lumpy. Soon diagnosed by me as valve seat recession (VSR) to which only a top engine rebuild would fix.
Long story short, I have now finished the rebuild of the engine myself with massive amounts of help specifically from forum member Alphamale. The car is running well! No rough idle, smoother and quicker uptake of power and better mpg. Few niggling issues but getting there slowly.
Anyway, happy to say that just 2 weeks after first turning the key following the rebuild and a mere 300miles of test driving later, we are now in Calais having an overnight stop before continuing down to Disneyland Paris! Car has run very well, returned about 18mpg on gas and not missed a beat. Very happy.
Have got a couple of outstanding issues, below efficiency bank 1 cat and suspension air supply component failure as well as minor leak from water pump but otherwise all good!!
Hopefully this will be the start of an interesting journey for me and my Disco, many thanks to all those who have helped me so far and those that will in the future. I'll be in touch about how the rest of the road trip goes!!
Cheers
Phi
4th Apr 2016 11:47 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
Great news I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.
The cat issue could be related to the VSR, mine was totally trashed off side and I may have lost the internal contents of them and it passed its emission tests no problem.
Bill==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
5th Apr 2016 12:23 am
Philsteward
Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
Thanks, yeah realise the VSR would have caused unburnt fuel to get to the cat, also given cylinder 7 had the worst compression by far, that would align with bank 1 cat being knackered. Thing is though if the cat is knackered and it still throws up an EML for below efficiency when on gas, if there is no cat at all surely the EML will still be on?? Is yours Mogwyth??
Anyway, made it to Disneyland a week of Mickey Mouse fun now!!
5th Apr 2016 9:05 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
You need to to fit spacers on the O2 sensors to over come the EML issue. As it happens mine is on at the moment but its not cat related, think I have a slight vacuum leak, a job for next weekend.==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
5th Apr 2016 9:48 pm
ST53VEN
Member Since: 18 Dec 2012
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 260
Phil, are you still running it on gas? I get over 18mpg easily on unleaded and don't have any engine worries. I think your as well buying a diesel if your not running a V8 on unleaded. Mine has been running on unleaded and nothing has been touched on the engine at 90000 miles. Benefit for me buying a V8 was solid reliable engine and loads of power but running on gas your loosing both of those to save a few pennies of fuel. Now you have done the top end rebuild maybe better run it on unleaded and get rid of the lpg. Your engine will thank you for it. Plus re sale will be much easier as anyone that knows about V8's looks for one without lpg.
6th Apr 2016 2:46 pm
ST53VEN
Member Since: 18 Dec 2012
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 260
Phil, are you still running it on gas? I get over 18mpg easily on unleaded and don't have any engine worries. I think your as well buying a diesel if your not running a V8 on unleaded. Mine has been running on unleaded and nothing has been touched on the engine at 90000 miles. Benefit for me buying a V8 was solid reliable engine and loads of power but running on gas your loosing both of those to save a few pennies of fuel. Now you have done the top end rebuild maybe better run it on unleaded and get rid of the lpg. Your engine will thank you for it. Plus re sale will be much easier as anyone that knows about V8's looks for one without lpg.
6th Apr 2016 2:47 pm
Philsteward
Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
Thanks Steven.
Yes still running on LPG and will continue to, all my cars and it's a no brainer!! If a decent system is fitted and maintained there is little to worry about.
I've got about 16mpg on the run down to Paris but filling up for sub £0.50 per litre means saving a lot more than a few pennies!! Top of the range BRC kit plus top of the range electronic valve saver kit means no loss of power too, happy days!!
8th Apr 2016 11:55 pm
Philsteward
Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
Well made it back from Paris, without issue. Only returned about 14.5mpg on the whole trip though, was hoping for better than that!
Still getting suspension faults. Also whilst the vehicle was parked up for the 4days it was nearly on its bump stops by the end, I have already rebuilt the front valve block as after removing the fuse for suspension it would sit down at the front within 12 hours!! So have improved that but need to check again me thinks.
These are the two faults I get, not always both, seems to interchange between the two, any suggestions where to start?
Suspension
• C1131-92 (68) Air supply - Component failure - performance or incorrect operation
( on 27-03-2016 14:25:18 at 126310 mi )
• C1A20-64 (68) Pressure increases too slow when filling reservoir - Algorithm based failure - signal plausibility failure
( on 28-03-2016 18:16:56 at 126328 mi )
12th Apr 2016 1:53 pm
Philsteward
Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
Few repairs and improvements done yesterday. Changed the coolant pump as it was the only part I did not change during my rebuild and it sprang a leak. The Bearmach replacement was very good quality and cheap at about £25. Also changed the coolant tank to stop the low coolant warning, again like the slightly updated Bearmach design. All seems good in the coolant end now.
Got round to changing the auto gearbox fluid. Followed Filo's method from this site, thanks to him all those years back! However only got 2.5 litres out!! I bought the metal pan and separate filter so went ahead and fitted that, only a small amount residual in there so my fluid must have been very low! Needless to say there was a fair amount of filings on the magnets and actually a lot of small gritty bits generally on the pan, not a good sign. Will be doing another flush in another 1,000 miles or so.
Removing the stock pan was relatively easy once you get all the bolts off. The hardest bit was the bolt for the transmission shield bracket where the gear selector is (drivers side rear most) just about managed to get the bolt out but cannot get it back in for toffee!! I cannot remove the gear selector as the bracket has corroded and swelled so won't push out!
Not very impressed with the Bearmach replacement pan and filter. Filter wouldn't stay in the box, so by the time you wiggle the pan up it has fallen off. The pan itself has no drain plug, what's that all about!!?? Also the lip on the pan means you cannot use a spanner but have to use a ratchet which just makes it that bit more tricky. Bolts are loads easier than the Torq ones though.
Anyway long and the short of it is that the gear changes are mush smoother now, we will see how long it all lasts!!
Whilst I was under there changed the front diff oil. Again rather a large amount of metal on the magnet! Fresh oil and see what happens now. Still need to do the rear...
Oil and filter change as well as new coolant and all set now for a good few months. Last thing I did was changed the front side lights and rear reg plate lights for the LED ones suggested on AdvancedFactors, wow the fronts are bright!! Don't know what the legal limits are but they are very very bright!! I like it!
Next on the list is the rear parking sensor change, rear camera and brake fluid change. Getting there slowly but enjoying every minute!
24th Apr 2016 8:13 am
Philsteward
Member Since: 05 Nov 2015
Location: Leeds
Posts: 102
So managed to get the rear diff oil changed quickly yesterday morning...oh dear. Brown thick oil came out, nice fresh clear Fuchs 75w90 went back in.
The magnet on the sump plug had a considerable amount of filings and sludge on it. See pics below, should I be concerned and is there anything I can do about it?? Thinking of changing the oil again in a couple of thousand miles not sure there is much else I can do!
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