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I removed everything from the P38 block that I don't need, but how do I get the damn SAI pipes off. When I turn the nut the tube in the head turns as well. I am trying to clamp the tube with a vice grip, but it slips. Heat the nut up?
Heat might help. Did not realize P38 SAI tubes did not have the wrench flats. Stupid SAI trucks, I hate them.
Hey I am new to this forum. I also have a blown engine with no warning - looking for help in the Atlanta, Ga area. Supercharger over-boosted - which has lead to oil leak, timing chain loose. Recommended work is: replace engine and supercharger, catalytic converters as well. They say repair with a new engine is more than car is worth. Can a used engine be an option and does anyone have recommendations for a shop in or around the Atlanta area.
This is common diagnosis, they don't actually want to do the work, they want you to go away. Unfortunately the 5.0 is not very reliable, several known problems. The timing chain wear is due to low viscosity oil and infrequent oil changes. The oil leak is not a major deal, more an annoyance. Cat converters are not a giant expense, you can well in new universal ones for aroun $400. Bigger issue is the timing chain, that is around a 40 hr job, at $150/hr, Around $4500 in labor. You mentioned supercharger, so it must be a RR or RRS. You can buy a complete engine for around $2500-3000. Not sure of year but since it is a timing chain problem I am going to say 2010 or newer. Timing chains begin to wear our around 100k , so I am going to guess you are past that. Entire truck in good shape is worth about $12k, with a blown engine maybe $3. Probably $2000 bill to remove and replace engine, plus $3k for the engine. No easy fixes unfortunately. You should know the transmission is probably living on borrowed tim jobe, they all go bad around 150k. They are super luxury vehicles when new, unfortunately LR did not do a very good job on making them good for the long term.
Finally I got the SAI pipes off the P38 engine. A brand new vise grip and a slight tap with a hammer on the wrench did the trick. I hope my broken D2 engine has the adapters with wrench flats and I can use them.
The flex disc is a bit warped at one place and has marks all around. Otherwise it looks good, no cracks. Should I try to flatten it out or better get a new one?
I took the valve cover gaskets off and measured the travel of the exhaust valves (on top of the rocker). The travel of #6 (with the 210 psi compression test result) is the same as of the other exhaust valves. I wonder if the valve stems or the rocker can wear down so much that the exhaust valve opens later and closes earlier? Another explanation would be high carbon deposits or an oil leak into #6, but I didn't see any more deposits than in other cylinders and there are no indications of an oil leak into #6. Maybe just swap some parts to see if the compression changes?
Working on the P38 engine I am going to install into the D2 ... I did another compression test with the block heated to about 180F (see pictures below) and the anomaly on #6 disappeared. Also I did some other unconventional block tests to make sure there is no connection between cylinders and cooling system. I think the engine is good to go, except I will install a new water pump (bearing has some play) and replace all gaskets and seals except head gaskets. Since I install a new water pump and the oil pan comes off, does it make sense to proactively replace the front cover gasket? I also wonder if it is advised to replace the rear main seal, although it doesn't show any signs of leakage.
A 900W heating element from a coffee maker heats up the block to about 180F within a few hours. It comes with a check valve which makes the water circulate through the block:
Good system, you need to pressurize it once it is at temperature too.
I did this test the other way round (as mentioned an unconventional test): After the block was heated I sucked air out of the cooling system with a vacuum pump. Then ran standard compression tests on each cylinder while observing the needle of the vacuum gauge. The pressure in the cylinders gets up to about 180 psi while the cooling system was at -7 psi which results in a 187 psi pressure difference between cylinder and cooling system. The compression in the cylinders didn't increase the pressure in the cooling system, the needle didn't move a bit at all (the vacuum gauge is very sensitive since the range from 0 to max is 14 psi only). From this test I conclude block, heads and gaskets are fine.
03-18-2023, 06:04 PM
