I know we're far from a statistically significant sample but...
How long have people run their Rover V8s for?
If you have had headgaskets, cams, chains - or even new engines it would be interesting to know when those items were replaced.
It would probably be useful to know what mileage was showing when you bought the car. For example, mine was bought at 96k and it's now showing near 130k so I can't speak for anything that happened before 96k as it had no service history.
my 4.6 thor has 125k bought with 118k.
The leccy system let it down first, engine is sweet as a nut..
It has piles of service history.
Original Headgaskets ticks over silently etc
She's had LPG on her since 2003 and with 100k under its belt with LPG it's quite a clean engine.
Mines on 158k, I changed the engine at 156k for a low mileage one, the original was in need of a full rebuild, the rest of the car has pretty much been overhauled in the 5 yrs I’ve owned it
4.0 Thor, is now coming up to 170,000, 11 years ago was at 80,000 - no known history with it. Has needed EAS valves rebuilt once, hoses, fan coupling, lots of small bits done as expected (11 years worth of daily use as a work vehicle), suffers from cooling problems, new radiator at about 165,000 miles. Have failed passenger front lock, new one on my desk ready to go in.
4.6 HSE GEMS, was 96,000 miles 2 years or so ago, now 105,000 or so I think, would need to check - no known history besides previous MOT records, most alarming being two reports of non-visible coolant levels. Bought in early 2017. This one was a mess when I got it, is personal and occasionally work daily driver. New battery and fusebox, along with BECM repair. New leads (and plugs etc). Added cable to alternator (it is too small for the car, at least by later standards) and replaced belt. Needs a front axle seal done, it's in the cubby box, will do it hopefully over Christmas, needs discs and pads, again - in the office ready to fit. New O2 o/s fitted a couple of weeks ago. New thermostat fitted last weekend (was running at 78c and adaptive not working now runs at 94c - will monitor, figures as reported by Nanocom). Oil change, filter (and air) and plugs pending. Had a good few loose bolts round the engine, rocker covers, some underneath etc. Sump needs replacing, the plug it came with had half the thread missing and it's chewed the hole up.
Some other stuff, bit of a list. GEMS HSE and as above some is rest-of-car specific not the engine, some, like drivetrain condition has implications I suppose: Have had to adjust idle bypass, also cleaned stepper and airways, not got to the bottom of why that was needed - may be more to it, but sorting out the steps worked at the time as an MOT was due. Usual regular services. IAT reads low, especially when car is not yet warmed up, could be wiring/comms. New airbags underneath x4 last year. Has oil leak somewhere which I need to pin down, suspect cooler lines. Want to replace fuel lines - that's up next hopefully. HEVAC is cold n/s, need to get in and do blend motor. Had intakes off last week and cleaned pollen filter drains, some sealant added to covers at leak points, N/s was dripping from under the glovebox. Suspect viscous in transfer box is due for replacement, when I got the car it had black fluid in the transfer case, 4 changes later it's still coming out slightly silvery and dirty. Suspect willl need new box. Gearbox oil and filter changed a year or so ago. Currently very rattly at cold, so is the Thor tbh, ideally I'd like to fully overhaul the engine and (if it lives to 150,000 or so will probably get it done and top-hatted). Car has clearly had a hard life, fair amount of rust on rear crossmember attached to the chassis. Ongoing wheel-well water problem, changed boot seal, flushed sunroof drains, o/s boot floor I had a hole in where water was trapped in the rubber underlay, rusted on one of those sunken round plates under the boot - welded (badly) a patch for now. Welded subwoofer frame. CD changer volume is nearly fully quiet, I just use an FM transmitter instead tbh. A fair bit more as well, but I bought it for something to do anyway and it's fun chasing problems. Backed into in a carpark a few weeks ago (large saloon bent itself around my front end), can't find any evidence of damage but monitoring.
4.0 GEMS (Defender) done about 90k. Had it 15 years. properly serviced, never any problems. Replaced an exhaust gasket once
4.6 GEMS RR 138k miles. Bought at 130k in 2018. Limited history, but the big/ significant stuff... had a replacement engine at about 80k. Since 130k I redid both HGs, refurb'd injectors, replaced rear diff, changed gear oil cooler, radiator and a/c condenser, as well as the water pump. Removed poly bushes from front radius arms. Obviously lots of low level stuff in between.
Sam H - here's my bodge for the IAT sensor reading low https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/iat-sensor.327734/#post-2284752
romanrob wrote:
Sam H - here's my bodge for the IAT sensor reading low
Thanks! That is really helpful, I thought mine just read low at startup at first but having saved a short drive or two on the SD card and checked a few randomly timed readings, it is currently all over the place somewhere between -15 and about 10c. I'll have a bit of fun with it in the next week or two. Cheers.