Well.... looking back through photos I took of the strip down, I find it hard to believe the engine hasn't turned since mid-April.

Nearly there now though. It's looking more like it used to, and the 'strip down' photos are invaluable in remembering where the snakes nest of different pipes and cables are supposed to go.

Might turn over tomorrow, might need to wait till the weekend.

Couple of questions if anyone drops by....

1) the earth lead that attaches to the bonnet - where does it go on the other end? I'm assuming the back of the O/S cylinder head somewhere - but no photos show this.

2) those 'cyclonic' oil separators in the top of the rocker covers.... yea or nay? Can I do without them, or do they make a difference? Assume I could run without them for a couple of days if they are really necessary?

Thanks as always.

Thanks again.

I had a closer look at the assembly, and I think I've made a bit of a fuss about nothing - apologies. I did lift the injector rail off complete with the inlet manifold, so the O rings haven't been disturbed at all. In which case I can't see any need to do anything but refit the whole assembly. I should have looked more closely before posting.

On the chassis numbers that means my car is a year 2000 registration, but a 2001 model year. I'll bear that in mind for the future - it hadn't occurred to me before, but I think that's still common enough isn't it - bringing in the 'model year' towards the latter half of the calendar year to boost sales.

Thanks Richard - my edit crossed with your post.

I did just that - lifted the rail off complete, and carefully. I have to say I haven't had a close look at the O rings since, I just thought it would be essential to replace them.

Are you saying that, if on inspection they are in good nick, that you've left them in place?

There are two places I could phone on the off chance they have some in stock, but if not that then I'd probably lose two days waiting for them to arrive. If just lubing the existing O rings and putting the rail carefulky back in place, then that could be handy.

Thank you.

Yes, I saw that number too, but it was listed for chassis numbers up to WA. Mine is a 1A...... Which I thought from looking at some chassis number interpretation stuff was later than WA......? Maybe I've just made a simple mistake somewhere.

x16 presumably if the injectors have been removed from the rail...?

EDIT - RTC5679 seems to be listed for the 3.9 engines?? I can't imagine they would be different for the 4.0 though?

Hi guys,
Not posted for a wee while, so the car has sat with the top end rebuild a little 'stalled'.

A few days off and hoping to progress but parts might be the issue.

Looking at the injector rail diagram on New LrCat shows the older rail - so I'm hoping the parts numbers are OK. Is ERR7309 still the correct number for the small/lower O rings?

Do I need to replace the centre ones? EAC2414L? Do I need to replace the 'top' ones? I haven't removed the injectors, just the rail itself.

And, again the LrCat diagram doesn't show the correct fuel supply pipe. Mine's a 4.0 Thor/Bosch with the supply pipe coming in at the centre of the valley with a square sort of 'spring' clip. I assume there's an O ring in here too. Will that need changed? - and if so what's the part number?

I think I missed the lower injector O rings when I was compiling my parts list for this job, so that could unfortunately cost me a couple of days. I'd be surprised if I could find fhem locally.

Thanks for any replies.

Thanks for the further replies folks.

I can confirm that it is in fact 5/16. I found my thread gauge yesterday and couldn't get any of the similar metric ones to work, so I was more or less convinced, but the 5/16 nuts and threaded rod I'd ordered arrived today, and that's the right thing for my car.

Work can recommence.

Hmmm. Thanks Richard. That would be dissapointing on the basis that I've just ordered some 5/16 threaded bar!

If it's M8, it isn't the most common thread - quite coarse, which I assume is because it's going into Alu.

Because my working diary is stuffed I'd hoped to avoid a specific trip to our local fasteners supplier, but I guess I'll have to.

I noticed though that the bolts which hold the front cover on have 11mm heads (or are in fact an imperial size which closely equates to 11mm) so I wonder if the change to metric was a bit piecemeal??

Hi guys,

I've got to the stage of putting my sump back on (4.0V8, Thor).

Of the three studs that are supposed to be in the front cover only one stayed in place on removal.The other two came out with the nuts, as they've rusted together.

I 'could' just screw the studs/nut combo back in..... but would rather get new studs. However the LRCat diagram doesn't show the studs on the sump page, or on the front cover page....

I think the nut is NH505041L (5/16 thread) but can't find the studs,

Any idea what the part number might be please?

I suppose I could hacksaw carefully through the two stuck nuts, and tidy up the thread below, but it's a lot of work for two studs.

Thanks

Edit - is it 252513..?

Thanks Richard - I think it was the very minimum they took off. 3 thousandths... I'm largely metric, so 0.0762mm doesn't sound like much!

I hadn't thought of running in oil, given that it's 'just' the cam, tappets and pushrods that have been changed. Presumably with its high Zinc content there's little chance of it causing any damage to the rest of the engine, that's already well run-in? Just run it sensibly for 500 miles then drop it out?

At the risk of stirring up all the worms in the tin, the link above also 'highly recommends' an engine flush. I'd gathered the impression that these potions were just snake oil? Though I have to say, when I drained and removed the sump there was a lot more 'sludge' than I'd expected. In my ownership my diesel LR Defender has had very regular oil changes. Sump was very clean, as was the underside of the pistons last time I looked. Would the sludge in the RR sump indicate anything? Service book suggests regular changes, but low miles in between.

Finally - though I've been here a bit now, still ready with the numpty questions..... the heads came back from the machine shop with the rocker shafts fitted. I'm assuming I need to remove them again in order to fit the heads? (Can't see any other way I'll get the pushrods in?). Guy also said I'd need to adjust the tappets - but as they're hydraulic, that won't be an issue.. unless I've missed something?

Fingers crossed I'll be at this at the weekend.

I 'read somewhere' ( i.e. the internet, so caution required ) that leather seats these days are covered with what's effectively a plastic laquer. Therefore you're not cleaning leather as such, but a flexible plastic coating. This guy therefore recommended a generic fabric/surface cleaner.

Of course maybe his intention was to create mayhem and drive stunned DIY cleaners to his business....

I won't be trying this at home in the near future - just wondering what the collective view might be. I'm thinking saddle soap, then a colourer treatment to restore any faded patches, followed by a conditioner/sealer.

Thanks both,
Yep, I understand the reason behind the revs. The instructions specifically say it's to achieve good oil pressure and good. lubrication. It's just a worry when there will be so many new gaskets, remade joints and disturbed systems. Not to mention gassing myself in the garage! Reckon I'll choose a good day and get it out into the open asap!

That's a clear enough procedure for the coolant fill. I think I'll print that off and keep it to hand when I get to that stage.

Your accident is a lot more dramatic than my issue, Richard. I just got a stress fracture in my foot through exercise, which has brought on my second ever inflammatory arthritis attack (aka gout). The pain is 'considerable'.... I can't afford to take a month away from life's commitments completely at random, so I reckon I'll be on the pills from now on. I can't even bend my foot to pick something off the floor, far less clamber up and down from underneath the car. Oh for a 4 post ramp and the garage to go with it.

Glad you got through your accident 'relatively' unscathed. Bad enough as it is, sounds like it could have been a lot worse.

^^ Thanks guys. I'm using the studs. I'd never heard of them till mentioned on here but it seems to win both ways - a more predictable torque application across the head ( not subject to the vagaries of different bolts stretching more or less than others) and just plain easier to fit.

Been away, and trying to work around a little injury which affects mobility, so there's not a great deal to report but yesterday I cleaned off the block faces (p800 wet 'n dry) for the head and front cover gaskets, as well as the gasket faces on the inlet manifold. Happy with all of that. Expecting to get the heads back next week. Might go out and clean up / prep the sump today and clean out all the bolts that I'll be re-using. Exciting, eh!

Couple of quick questions though - camshaft timing and running in related.

The new cam has some complicated instructions relating to timing - using dials etc etc. A lot more complicated than what Richard has said above about lining the timing gears up and slotting them on. ( Not doubting it! - just checking my understanding). As far as I can see, once the chain gear is one the cam, there isn't really any further adjustment possible - it's a tight enough fit - maybe half a degree either way.

Do I really just ditch those instructions on the basis that they are for other engines where such adjustments of angle are needed?

Secondly - it says it's really important to run the engine at ca. 2500 revs for the first 20 mins or so. That's really counterintuitive ( and frankly scary ) after such a big rebuild. I haven't looked at all yet into filling/priming the cooling system, or the oil pump, but the idea of just turning the key and revving up straight away worries me a bit. I'd hope not, but there could be all sorts of leaks or issues, or at very least it makes sense to anticipate them. Hard to do when you're sitting in the driver's seat with your foot on the pedal!

I will be using an assembly grease on anything that looks like it might benefit from it - cam, followers, pushrods, rocker pads, timing chain etc.

Any thoughts or experience on this?

Thanks

Fair enough that seems pretty definitive, if maybe a little counter-intuitive.

What I mean by that is, for example that you read about the crank pulley nut being the 'biggest torque on the engine' at ca. 250nm or something. My rattle gun takes that off in seconds - yet won't really look at the head bolts which will be < 100nm (nominally at least). I'm not expecting an answer to that - it's just a wee puzzle!

Thanks again.

Not much actual progress to report on the car - but the pile of parts is growing...

Just thinking ahead - and on the question of head bolt torques. Obvs the manual is all about the 20nm /90' /90' procedure. A few posts back Richard said a final figure of 65-70lb/ft via 3 rounds of 40, 55, and 65.

Being of the Nm generation, can I just check that? For 70lb/ft I get a final figure of 95Nm - which just seems low given the palaver I had getting the OEM stretch bolts out.

95Nm is no problem - got good tools that can manage that accurately, it's just that the figure doesn't square with the fight I had getting them off!

Peace of mind gratefully accepted!

I'm afraid I've got no advice to give, but I'm interested in any answers as I'm in the same position - though with black/dark grey seats instead of cream.

The leather is in good nick but could benefit from some TLC.

^^ I might have mentioned this here before, or maybe it was somewhere else: I was waiting in a queue for a ferry once - in the Defender. A tourist from Oz wanders past, has a look at the rear door, and asked me: "Jeez! What do you do with that thing, wash it in salt water?!"

Before they made cars from zintec and plastic, rust and cars in the UK was just the way it was. Poor steel and an unhappy workforce in the 70s and 80s made it even worse.

The salt on the roads also depends on where you live in the country. I guess somewhere on the south coast of England sees very little, up here in the north of Scotland we see a LOT. Imagine setting off in the early morning for a 1 hour drive to a ferry; you come around a corner and you're following the gritting wagon. What do you do? Listen to your car crumble away around you, or overtake and take a chance on the icy road ahead...?

(I usually go for the icy road!)

Nice pic David - it confirms something I came across at the weekend when I removed my front bumper. Took the two bolts out; gave it a little nudge downwards, and it just slid off. I didn't have to do anything with the clips at the sides, but having read up on the job beforehand, I'd been expecting to have something rusty to contend with.

Studying the parts afterwards it seemed that someone just hadn't bothered to flip the wire clips downwards. I thought I could see by the shape of the bracket that the wire was supposed to sit in the slots, but your pic shows it nicely.

^^ That's reminded me that I meant to ask what the purpose of those boxes is? I hadn't noticed them previously, looking onto the engine from the top. However when I removed the hose, I thought wtf??

Im going to need to get a new hose anyway, as the bit that spurs off near the throttle to go to the valve has broken off.

I thought I saw them (the weird boxes) called 'resonators' or the like?

Thanks guys,
There are followers/tappets in the order with the cam. I think the cam is specifically designed for the 4.0V8, and as I've said Turners have been fitting these for many years.

I'm still reading up on cam specs etc - just to understand the details, though I get the basic principle.
These are the specs of the Kent H180G:
Cam Lift (mm) 7.01mm Inlet/Exhaust
Duration 262° Inlet/Exhaust
Duration at 1mm 215° Inlet/Exhaust
Full Lift 108° Inlet
LTDC 1.42mm Inlet
Timing 23/59 59/23
Valve Lift (mm) 11.20mm Inlet/Exhuast

In further news... the second head came off yesterday evening. A breeze compared to the first now that I had the 'knack'. The pics of head and block aren't sufficiently different from the LH ones above to be worth posting. I haven't managed to get a straight edge across them yet, as I need to do a bit of a tidy in the garage, but I'll be sending them to the local engine machine shop anyway for a clean up and pressure check. Another genuine LR stamped Elring gasket...

And, in looking at wiggling the other condensers and coolers out of the way to get the cam out, I've noticed that my A/C condenser is falling apart; the drier/receiver looks like a WW1 mortar shell that's just been dug up; and the system is completely empty....

Every day is a schoolday. On the plus side I've found a helpful local A/C guy who was happy to offer initial advice last night, and will come along and check out the system/fill it once I've put it all back together. Parts and HNBR O rings now in the post...