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...

See! I knew that was a numpty question. I hadn't stuck the nut back in and was just trying to turn the shaft by hand (though with my 'grippy gloves' on, and it seemed pretty solid. I just had a little panic that I'd cocked it all up at the very outset.

On the rads etc, I'll to investigate that too then, or just decide to junk the whole idea of the replacement cam and rebuild it the way it is. Pretty sure the A/C system is empty anyway.

Thanks for the reply.

Finally a bit of 'progress' this eve, but it was a bit of a hard fight still.

First time I've had or used cobalt drills - won't be the last. Even at this stage I had to use the impact gun to twist off the last of it.

So - the (one) cylinder head is off. Ta da!

Obviously enough, I had no idea what to expect, but it all looks fine to me!

LH # 4 cylinder is maybe the 'grubbiest'

Followed by its neighbour - LH # 3

and the block/bores themselves.

It's hard to photo, but there are still faint hatching marks on these bores. Though a couple of faint vertical lines too.

The gasket is showing no sign of leakage, and is actually a genuine LR Elring - it has LR and the part number stamped on it. I don't know where all the muck on the front of the engine was coming from, maybe the valley gasket, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the head gasket.

And, not quite 'best of all' but when I went to the remains of that awkward head bolt - the bloody thing just came off in my fingers! Aargh. But what a joy that I don't have to fight with it to take it out.

So if anyone spots anything in the pics that I haven't seen, please let me know.

Now, the numpty questions (there's always numpty questions)
1) How do I turn the crank to move the pistons? Or, what's really concerning me I suppose, can you move the engine with the transmission in Park....

2) Is it actually possible to remove/refit the camshaft with the engine in the car, and without removing the A/C condenser? I've measured the cam, roughly 51cm. The space between the block and the condenser, roughly 41cm. But perhaps the shaft angles when it comes out? There's no mention of this in the overhaul manual, but perhaps that assumes the engine is out and on the bench...

Ta

Gd - if cam timing is a black art to you, rest assured it's like double dutch heiroglyphs to me!

So, before pressing the button I have sent an email to the tech-support guys at Kent as well; and am researching further on cams and options/pitfalls. Even if I didn't get all of the "extra 22bhp" they're claiming, if I got some of that, and didn't cock up the engine running, I'd be happy. It would be at least as good as it was when I took it apart, I'll have more confidence in the engine, and in myself having learnt some new stuff along the way. Like all this stuff about camshaft... who knew!

Thanks Harv. The crank pulley came off easily enough with my impact gun - the same one that's struggling with the head bolts... which I find interesting.

Good to get it confirmed that I can manage the seal and oil pump in 'bush mechanic' fashion without the LR tools.

On another note, anyone know if the timing procedure is in RAVE? I've seen it set out online, but all I can find in my workshop manual is a reference to lining up the timing marks on the cam and crank sprockets and sliding them on with the chain - nothing about finding TDC or measuring the degrees with the protractor. Of course it could be there, hidden somewhere else, and not in the same section as the camshaft or timing chain replacement.

Hi - not much progress really. The postie arrived with my 3/4 drive 5/8 socket... and it's just too big. The head casting just gets in the way. Luckily I did also get my 1/2 impact 16mm and 5/8 sockets so I now have a couple of options to use.... when I feel lucky!

Still pondering the camshaft. I phoned Turners to put to them the thoughts above about not changing only one thing. (Though I do get the logic of that). They reckon they've been successfully putting this, or cams like it, into V8s for some 10-15 years. I have a 'shopping cart' filled, just not hit the 'buy it' button, as I thought it might be cunning to check there wasn't some absolutely essential special tool costing as much as the cam.... and while there isn't for the cam, I've realised there are two for the front cover.... b@gg@r. A tool to line up the oil pump drive sprocket; and another to put the outer crank oil seal on.

I haven't set timing before, but have been reading up, and I reckon I could manage that. I'll need a protractor (apparently) but I do have a Dial Indicator (DTI). And of course the heads will be off, so finding TDC shouldn't be rocket science.

For those who know more than me - i.e. most of you - can I presume there are workarounds to this? Any reason I can't fit the oil seal with the cover on the bench, and then persuade the pump into place on the woodruff key?

Back to the camshaft, and pitfalls, tips or tricks to that and the timing??

Thanks.