Harv wrote:

Morat I had a Dakota that acted like that. The problem was a bad check valve in the fuel pump. It’s there to hold pressure for your next start. If it leaks a bit, the pressure won’t be there and you need to cycle the key a couple of times to run the pump for a few extra seconds. Maybe not the same issue but maybe?

Yes, that sounds identical. I just wish there was a hatch in my floor already! Thing is, the pump doesn't seem to run on the key, only on crank so it'll be a new pump rather than getting along with the "poor man's prime" on the key.

BrianH wrote:

Morat - have you got a lead for your lpg system? If so can you actually see any fuel timings when your cranking? Or alternatively can you force it to start on gas? Thinking you could rule out crank sensor if you can see timings or start on gas.

Alternative way to rule that out would be to verify you have sparks, if you haven't already done so (when the problem is present).

Sadly no lead and I don't know the trick for forcing a BRC to start on gas. I'll put some flashing spark plug testers on and verify spark but the fun thing is that it fires, sputters and dies most of the time, then you have to pump up the fuel. Sometimes it'll fire on the second attempt, sometimes 3rd or 4th. I can hear the fuel pump relay cutting out after about 17s (just count thousands in my head). Does the fuel pump cut out when correct pressure is achieved or is it just on a timer? Because it's remarkably consistent.
Another thing I don't know is whether the fuel pump relay is meant to kick in at posn1/2 on the key. Looking at the nano, the fuel pump only seems to start running on crank which is quite a bold strategy compared with my other cars which run the pump at position2 on the key whether you crank or not.

Of course, just to be special, it will fire right up from cold maybe 1 time in 10.

As you can imagine I'm not massively excited at the prospect of swapping the fuel pump to get a new check valve but it might end up being the correct option. The other end of the system could also be at fault if there's a leaking injector but I guess that's just as annoying to check as the injector rail is tucked under the manifold. The knackered Schraeder valve is just another annoyance.

It's weird, once it's started it runs fine and restarts instantly when hot. But you have to run the fuel pump a few times before it'll fire on a cold start. A filter can't hurt, I guess. I suspect it's the return valve (assuming there is such a thing in the fuel module) so a fuel tank drop/fuel pump may be in my future. I can't smell any leaks.
I tried pressing the schraeder valve but the pin wouldn't budge. I suspect that might be why my adaptor wouldn't screw on. It seemed to grip the thread and then popped off. Of course, it's in a stupid location so I can't see what is actually going on :/

I think I mentioned this elsewhere but seeing as this is an actual Tyre thread:

I went with Cross Climates in the end. In doing so I've decided that the Range Rover is 100% on road and the Jeep can do any offroad tasks with its Grabber AT3.

The Cross Climates are quiet and extremely good in the wet for braking and although we haven't had any proper snow yet (despite everyone else getting it, boo) they've been perfect on super cold frosty, icy mornings. We haven't done much driving in the dry recently (or much driving at all, of course) but I did some full ABS stomps on the brake pedal and I was impressed at the rate stuff started flying round the cabin. If we have a summer this year, I'll report back! So far they're shaping up to be a nice on-road tyre for all conditions.

Broke it, fixed it.. still scratching my head...

I've been having cold start problems which I believe are related to fuel pressure so today I finally broke out my Fuel Pressure gauge and tried to attach it to the valve on the back of the engine. It turns out that my gauge has all the attachments except the correct one (although it might just be that the centre pin on the test valve is seized) so I wasn't able to hook it up.

Rather frustrated I tried starting her up, and after a couple of attempts (Crank, nothing, start fuel pump with nano, wait till it cuts out, crank, nothing, fuel pump, crank) she started up and shot straight to 2400 rpm.

I started her a couple more times but after she hit 3500rpm with 0 throttle I decided to have a think. Yep, in thrashing around trying to hook up the fuel pressure gauge I'd dislodged the Cruise Control pipe from its bracket and pulled the CC throttle tight, about 1/2" off the stop.

Doh.

Now I need a way to test fuel pressure.

Wow, they have a lot of solenoids! The AW4 in my Jeep only has 4.

My preference would be for a return for refund.

Under DSR, "I don't like it" IS a valid reason for 14 days.

My cousin married a guy who moved from being some big cheese at BMW UK to being a bigger cheese at Jeep UK. He saw me driving my Cherokee and gave me the usual "Oh, you should call me I'm sure I can do you a great deal on a new Grand Cherokee". He was very confused when I said thanks but no thanks. Ultimately the only argument he had against my current car was "but, it's OLD - I can get you a NEW one".
Needing a new car didn't seem to be in question.

Even 10 years is pants. My cars both ended production in 2001 and I see no need to "upgrade" to something more modern just to keep up with the Joneses. They also run on LPG so they're vastly cleaner running that they were when new. Had I joined the Car Finance rat race instead of buying my Jeep I'd have probably leased 4 cars by now. How is that cleaner or greener?
The whole "new stuff is greener" message is Marketing Bullshit (tautology there) and leads to landfill full of white goods, smartphones, PCs, TVs, DFS sofas and all the other consumer tat with which we surround ourselves. If Mr Chippendale could make a chair that lasted 300 years where have we gone wrong since?

And why can't car manufacturers do the same thing? There really should be leglisation on the minimum life of new cars.

Yeah, it's a great winter car - especially with the heated seats/screens.

185/75= 2.46 miles per litre on the Orangebean scale which I'd say is a little low, but everyone drives differently and if you're smashing the throttle these V8s will take pretty much all the fuel you can throw down their necks :)

I usually get about 2.7 on day to day B road commutes (against the clock) and up to 3.1 on the motorway on cruise control at 75mph.
That's broadly similar to GilbertD except for his freakishly good best figure (3.6) which I guess is something to do with the 4.0 vs 4.6. Or maybe he had a sail up :)

Drive it in a tight circle on tarmac and check that the front end doesn't skip. If your Viscous Unit (centre diff) is locked you'll end up knackering lots of expensive parts of your suspension and transmission.

Wow, have you found a source of new NRVs?
I could probably do the international shipping, there's a franking machine at work which will print the relevant labels. I'll need to pay them back of course!
I won't be able to do customs declarations or anything flash like that so you might want to check out the implications - I've no idea what shipping TO the USA will mean for taxes/import duty.

I waved my wife off in the Range Rover today - she actually chose it over her Golf for the School run. Incredible!

Well, I'm impressed!

Nah, they're very well tucked away until you pull on them and then they pivot down. They spring up flush with the headlining when not in use.

Martyuk wrote:

If anyone is around the Swindon area and wants bushed pressed, then I have a 20T bottle jack press and the correct tool to do it.

The tool was about £80 when I bought it and does the job nicely. I've done a few sets on my own without help, and it takes a bit longer to get it all lined up but once it starts pressing, its fine.

Bah, next time I'm just going to watch you struggle :P

The recommended way to clean the sunroof drains is with some smooth flexible wire type device rather than compressed air. Just in case the pipe is really blocked and pops off at a joint when you pressurise it.

Zinc is very important for old flat tappet engines from everything I've read. If a genuine lubrication engineer wants to step in I'd love to hear more.
Yes, the Comma 5w50 is lower in Zinc than some other grades at 900ppm vs 1200ppm which is the highest I've found so far. But I went with the higher viscosity and compromised a bit on the Zinc, because it's still much higher in Zinc than oils designed to the latest manufacturer specs (which don't seem to have any at all).

Who's right? Who can tell?!! See you in 50,000 miles :D
(I hope!)