I Just replaced my engine with one that has 54,000 miles on it and I got about 10-11 mostly highway going back and fourth to the drilling rig. I got about 260 miles on a full tank. I still love my disco though and wouyldn't trade it for anything else. I have easily gotten through ruts and mud that the other guys with thir chevys and mud tires couldn't get through. Especially crossing ditches that are higher on the other side. I see them get stuck with one front and one back wheel spinning. I hit it at an angle let one front tire up and one back tire up and balance the truck on 2 wheels, lett off of the brake and barely breathe on the gas just to rub it in, and it crawls up there with no effort at all. They stopped trash talking my disco after that and gave it respect! They look at it and say oh my S-10 or My Silverado will kill your land rover off road, but after that day they couldnt say nothing :-)

 

Whatbasinare you working in? Are you working worms corner, chain hand, driller or toolpusher?

In any case, you're doing better than me. When I was chasing rigs in Wyoming and Nodak I had an '82 Celica with tire chains for bad days. Got stuck only once and got pulled out by a chained up water truck I had just pulled over to let get by me. My front tires slid off theedge of the road and that was it. There were some days I just rode with other people, however [8D]

Wonder how many folks know what a yellowdog or a beaver slideis?

Dave

 

I'm working the worm hole right now. It's funny you mention you got stuck that way because one of our hands got stuck like that earlier this week letting a truck by.

 

Only reading your title, and nothing else...

Get over it, you bought a brick with a v8...

Common sense applies here as everywhere else... haha

 

Closest thing I could find to illustrate my point, haha

 

No complaints here. Was getting almost 14mpg on the highway and this new engine seems to give a little less, I'll have to sea foam it. I didn't buy it for fuel economy. Yeah it sux but what do you expect having a brick with full time 4wd and a v8. I'm sure the brush guard and Safari rack kills some of my fuel economy. Oh well, I wouldn't trade my disco for anything else except another Land Rover. Sometimes mine is the only one that can make it through some of the terrain checking out locations before they build the road and gravel it.

 

Kraelo: Yes, I know what I bought and what the trade offs are for Land Rovers, and I love mine. But at $4.00+ a gallon in CA, there's a significant difference between 10 and 15 mpg. If I can get close to 15, I want to know. Most importantly, I want to know if a big drop in fuel economy can be an indicator of any other problems...

 

If you wanna get a MPG Boost, you're gonna have to fork up cash anyways .....


Head rebuild, valves grinded and intake hot tanked, injectors rebuilt and pistons cleaned... -- $853 not including labor it would take to get the heads off ... add another $1000 to that, and throw in another $200 for head gasket set ...

That is a very reasonable price, compared to what dealership might quote you ...

now $2053 / $4.10 a gallon would be ? *drum roll please* 500 gallons of 93 octane fuel ... 'guessing' our tanks are around 20 gallons that would be 25 full tanks of fuel .... Saying you use ... 2 tanks a week (average commuter) you spend that much in 3 months ....

I hope my math is correct in some areas :S

Everything I stated above, I did to my motor i'm installing right now ...

Cost me $200 (head gasket set), $200 (heads rebuilt and valves grind and intake hot tanked and pistons cleaned), and $200 for rebuilt injectors off ebay ....

Did all work myself ...

 

i am getting 12 mpg.
i know that the 3" lift has made my mpg worse due to higher "brick hight"
thats why range rovers and lr3 lower hight at highway speeds (also better handling)
lets not forget the arb bumber and the removel of the lower air dam, this will
no help in the effert to save gas and the extra 200 pounds.
i don't think that rebuilding the heads will help as kraelo has suggested.
i think you sould focus on engine management (sensors, real-time feedback from scan tools)
to verfiy there is a problem first.