Starting a new thread so I can take a poll. Previous thread is here: https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...56/#post663278

Three weeks later, and my startup knock is suddenly back, WITH the engine full-up on oil (smh). I did an oil change (Rotella 15w40 w/ wix filter) just before a 400-mile round trip across FL. Had no issues for a few weeks, checking the oil level religiously every few days. All seemed well, then suddenly I went out to the truck after work yesterday, started it up and my dear old startup knock had returned. Came out of nowhere, didn't return gradually. About 3 seconds duration. Oil light is functioning, stays on for duration of knock, then turns off and never lights up again, whether hot or cold, idle or rev. So I'm looking again at main bearings... Hate when old problems come back to haunt on these vehicles, because I'd already moved on to the next problem! According to some people, this startup knock is totally normal, but I'm not sure I buy that. With that said, and if I can get this to function properly, let's have a poll. Does your rover knock on startup?

 

There is a common problem where the bolts securing the oil pickup tube loosen. I had that happen and found numerous threads about it when troubleshooting. Had to drop the pan, and tighten the bolts on the pickup tube, and then I had a lot more oil pressure and no more knocking. If it hasn't been done before, it's well worth dropping the pan to clean the pickup screen and dump out the debris in the oil pan which will usually have some gasket remnants and other junk. But if you've already been in there, then it may still be worth re-checking the pickup tube that the screen is clear and the connection is tight.

 

Hey, thanks for your reply. Sounds reasonable, I will have to add it high on the to-do list... I half suspect my crank bearings are toast, but this would be a much nicer solution. My mechanic was in there about 7 months ago when the heads were off, apparently there was a fair amount of debris in the screen and the o-ring had issues. I'll have to check it out again. I've heard dropping the oil pan on D1s is a nightmare...

 

I get a little clatter on startup and say 2 solid seconds before the pressure light goes out. Otherwise when warm no clatter, pressure is immediately OK.

I removed the oil pan once and its annoying, if I did it again I would do it the same time I did the steering dampener and joints, and I would remove the front swaybar.

 

It's not hard, just jack up the truck and leave the front axle on the ground. That gives you clearance to remove the pan. It's that simple. Pickup tube is simple as well and must be removed before the pan will come away from under the motor. No big deal. Jack stands and a jack. No check box for a morning woody. Old problems haunt you until you fix them......and they aint fixed. It's simple, you'll have to get dirty and find out what the bearing measurements are and there's no better time than when the pan is off. Remove one cap, measure and surmise the rest are about the same then come up with a plan to attack it. The top end has more to do with clatter and oil occlusion than anything else due to the rocker shafts being full of carbon and sludge and the same goes for the block drillings/oil galleys. You may even have a stuffed pressure relief/bypass in the filter housing or you have a worn gear-rotor/front cover. Nobody can diagnose these from the net, up to you.

One more thing.... the 4.0 motor is too small to push the fat **** of a Disco, always was a poor choice on the part of Rover. At about 120k the motor is tired and is going to show it's weaknesses. Your at that point.

 

I'm not sure I agree the 4.0 was a poor choice or particularly weak for a Disco. Certainly, I can attest mine is weaker than I'd like at times, but at least on paper the Rover V8 was a brilliant choice since 1970. I can't think of a much better motor until way more recently. While the 4.0 Rover V8 might have seemed old in "2000," bearing in mind it was in use in Buicks from 1960, Rovers since '67, Range Rovers since 1970. Yet in 2000, the Jeep's 4.0 made 192hp and 235ft.lbs to the Rover's 188hp and 250 ft.lbs of torque and the Rover engine weighed about 100 pounds less. One thing is absolutely certain, it's far and away better than the diesels most of the ROTW Discoveries got. Even the late-model TD5-equipped Discoveries had less horsepower and torque and the motors were stupid-heavy.

Now, 40 years after the Discovery was introduced, we could say the Rover V8 was too small and it should have had a motor something like a 6.2 L GM LT-1, but that didn't exist. I can imagine back in 1989 when the Discovery was introduced, had it used a Chevrolet V8, it would have been a "305" that produced 140hp and 240ft.lbs with a heavy iron block and heads. If they were daring, they could have used the 190hp/275ft.lb 5.0L motor from the IROC Camaro and the Firebird TransAm. But it was introduced with the 158hp/210ft.lb 3.5L Rover V8, which later evolved to 4.6L and 222hp/300ft.lbs. Short of putting a 'vette motor in their cheapest SUV, I don't see how Rover could have done better. But even to do that, they would have had to anticipate that the Discovery, their lowest-cost utility 4x4, would become a high-priced, Conolly-leather clad, 6-disc CD changer, DVD-player-equipped, status-symbol for effeminate yuppies and American soccer-moms whose husbands would want to buy them the kind of 'vette motor performance and low-profile tires that come with late-model Discos.

 

Under developed for way too many years and especially through the 90s. The 62 Skylark had a two speed transmission. The 215 only lasted two years in BOP's hands before binned for cost. I don't know, enjoy it while trying to hang with traffic on any average day without burying the throttle speciffically on a hill. The Jeeps I6 has enough to hang and the whole Jeep weights 3600.

 

All good points. Bringing this thread back on track, I have a question about the bearing renewal process. I read the section in the V8 overhaul RAVE, and it's all fine and dandy except that it contradicts the way the guy did it in this thread on his D2 in a few major ways. (Obviously GEMS and BOSCH engines will be different, but people have said it's basically the same rotating assembly so the major points still apply). The biggest thing is that in the RAVE, they make a point to say that you should lube up the bearings with engine oil before installing. In that thread, the guy makes a point to say exactly the opposite, that you -shouldn't- lube up the bearings, and that this will cause them to spin in the block. What's the deal?

Also, that guy tears down his engine way more than the RAVE indicates is necessary, including timing cover, starter, and crank sensor cover, so I'm wondering if that's just a BOSCH engine thing or if I'll need to do that as well on my D1... Really trying to avoid removing the front cover as that means crankshaft pulley AND touching the cooling system which I've just wrestled into submission. Thoughts?

 

Well the guys an idiot obviously since he's continuously tearing down his motor. Gee, wonder why? The RAVE is common practice, and common sense, you dip the shell halves in clean engine oil before install. Tin coated copper doesn't withstand much heat before it fuses to the journal.

 

Yeah it makes sense, that's why I thought it was so weird. You've been super helpful, mate, I appreciate it. During the process, will it be necessary (or desirable) to turn the crank to get better access to different shells? If so, I can just pop the transmission in neutral and hand-turn it?