Just real quick it wasnt mentioned before but when youa re adjusting the wheel at the U-joint. make sure the wheel is ACTUALLY CENTERED" by this i mean that you should make sure you are the proper number of wheel rotations between the stops. other wise you risk not having full travel in one of the directions of steer.

so basically turn it all the way to one side, count the rotations to the other stop then count half way back and center, then attach and lock down the joint as directed in the previous post.

 

Elboy - those vacuum lines are for the cruise control. Mine were completely disintegrated and my truck drove fine...they will not cause the issue the OP is having.

I'd also recommend cleaning the IACV and MAF as well. Use MAF cleaner only on the MAF or you'll have more issues and a expensive repair bill on your hands.

As far as not being able to read codes, x2 on checking your OBD2 connector under the dash, the Previous Owner may have messed it up somehow, i've seen people cut/splice wires that they think is for the stereo.

Hope you can get this issue sorted quickly so you can relax and enjoy your new to you Rover.

 

IM aware of what they are for. But experiences may vary. And yes mine did cause this very type of issue. Sorry.... but its happened to me. when mine were going I could pin down the exact moment they would pull off as the portion ihad cut down would come loose.... dont ask me why. like most things with this truck... it just was.

 

Oh and in response to the cleaning of the IACV suggestion..... DONT MOVE THE PLUNGER WHEN REMOVING, INSTALLING OR CLEANING.

 

pretty sure I found a good potion of my problem....first let me say the previous owner replaced the iac and I can only assume that he cleaned it for I have not take that apart yet. I replaced the wires and looking through his notes although incomplete he did replace them recently and champion plugs....the reason I could not get a reading with the scanner is this...I pulled the computer out. It had never been out of there before and through an unfortunate design flaw they placed it next to the washer fluid. Washer fluid corrodes aluminum. So I pulled it and sat it inside the garage while I went to a local pull a part because they got one in a few months back...the ecm on that vehicle was worse than mine...so not to be discouraged on the way home I thought...well I really don't have anything to lose I will take it apart and look at it.
OH WOW I had never seen anything so gooey corroded....but I have to tell you those boards are made for war....the boards have a thin coating of plastic on them so all of the gold tracers were protected and the main problem was just the corrosion from the box shorting out the solder points....Looking at this thing i bet this is what the problem is for people most of the time. It only has a a few chips on it the two big ones are probably the ones that store errors and the one that is programmed for the vehicle. I spent four hours cleaning this thing out with contact cleaner and q-tips....and then I took a circuit writer pen and dabbed the few soldered contacts that were showing copperish being careful not to his any of the tracers and then I sealed it up and glued around the seam with that 5000 glue. Now I can uplink and the verdict is out because I saw a little smoke coming from that area when I turned on the rover and so I switched it off really quick and I thought I will let this cure for a while....that was yesterday today I may crank it again after I clean the plugs....I really think it will work....I was proud of myself thank you for the advice on the vacuum hoses I wanted to make sure all of them were ok....I hadn't found all of them yet. I bet most people would avoid a lot of pain and money loss if they knew to take theirs apart really wasn't that difficult but like I said the verdict is still out.

 

so far so good....It idles so much better now and the scanner uplinks I really do believe it is going to make it.....I have to pull the plugs and clean them really good and see what that does and where I am going from there. I believe the o2 sensors are next but I am not sure.

 

Amazon.com: NGK 25044 Oxygen Sensor - NGK/NTK Packaging: Automotive

o2 sensors. You know you reminded me that i have never had my ecm out to check the connections. congrats on the success... any of these things are salvageable if you have the time and/or money. but i will tell you this forum will help you a lot. there are a lot of folks on here and sometimes they disagree but overall between the lot of them you will not likely find your answers...... good luck ... stick with it ...

 

I will replace the o2 sensors very soon.....probably end up calling tillery they say he will give you a good price on tested used ones and give you a warranty. that or buy the new ones you need to splice I am not scared of that have the wire strippers ready and a new set of heat shrink tubes......I kind of like the idea of knowing they are new. Yes I agree there are a good bunch of folks in here and they might not always agree but they want to help and it keeps these vehicles affordable for regular folks. I really appreciate that. hopefully I can help someone else and pass it along.

 

hey elboy I just saw where you are from....is that anywhere near Bremen? I spent a couple of months in Germany with the Army. I really enjoyed myself there. Aaah the heffe visen in a glass boot...smakin my lips just thinking about it.

 

No no where near bremen. Im actually from St. Louis but live here while i work for the DoD. But yes it is pretty nice here and the beer is delicious. Sadly I dont get a lot of time to drink them these days..... Ive become a bottles at home kind of guy... sigh...!!