This slip liner thing is worrying me now.

Is there an engine from another manufacture that can bolt directly up or whatever? An engine swap that doesn't have an issue like this?

Some say it's more the cooling system that the D2 has that causes the slip liner because of heat which causes cracks in the block. Can you put a whole new cooling system in from another vehicle?

Options? lol

 

Your best bet is a 180 T-stat and keeping the cooling system maintained. Temps should be below 200F with the AC on, even in the summer for regular driving. Ultraguage is a "must-mod", as critical, IMO as the front drive shaft.

I'm pushing 188.6 right now, occasionally going up to 190.5 under load (climbing grade at highway speeds, mild off-road), 194 at idle prior to shutoff. This was with the T-stat only, radiator change is planned for next year, should buy me 8 degrees or so (I'm hoping).

Prior to the T-stat, the Rover would hit 224-230 on normal highway driving, which equates to slowly killing your head gaskets (because you'll be around 240-250 after shut down), and all this with my temp guage stuck at center.

So if you keep your cooling system up-to-date, my guess is you can avoid 98% of the issue and have happy motoring; however, nothing is going to protect you from fatigue and creep caused by constant cycling of temperatures on a flawed-cast block. It's going to go sometime.

My hope is 200k (at 102k right now, that gives me plenty of life).

But she could just as easily slip a liner tomorrow.

 

The 180 T-stat sounds like a good idea, now how or what do I do to rig this up? Because don't 180 T-stats go inside vs the factory T-stat on the D2 which is on the outside, exposed, plastic and rather cheap? Is there something I need to buy or what? Or are you referring to the same setup but an upgraded thermostat?

I do plan on doing an ultra gauge as well, I think a person would be dumb not to do this knowing that the temp gauge on the D2 doesn't work worth a crap.

So the heating temps you provide, can you go long distances and be ok? Like if you were to take a trip or go across state would you temp stay good?

I just really want to buy a new D2 and make it work. I don't want a fail here. My fiancé agreed not to long ago about me getting another D2 because she said she felt more safe and unstoppable in the D2 but she worries over these things as well. I just replaced the engine in here Ford Fusion which was screwed up knowing it only had around 90,000 miles and was an 06. A used engine cost us $750 and a rebuilt engine would have cost us $1200-$1500. This sure beats the D2 engines costing between $3000-$6000. I just don't understand why these engines cost so much if they are so flawed. I would buy one of the D2 engines from Atlantic British with the fixed liner issues but I don't like paying over $5000 for a rebuilt engine - maybe a Toyota engine but not no Rover engine. Honestly that's what these vehicles are worth, some of them. But like I said if Atlantic British wasn't so expensive on the used and rebuilt "improved" engines with new liners I would buy one and just do an engine swap.

I found this company too but they are just as costly really. They are sort of near by me. I live in north central Kansas and they are in Oklahoma City, OK which is a couple hour drive. Any one know about them?

CannibalV8

I have also heard about successful diesel swaps, would this be a good option? Or is this even more money? lol

 

Lyric: "I was told there is not a design flaw, but how not?" "So my biggest worry overall would b e head gaskets." "Slipped liners, didn't know they were just as bad.:
99Discovery: "With such small metal between the cyl. walls and the cooling passages, a cracked block is also a scary thought, especially on the 4.6L hse."
_____________________

I would suggest that there was a design flaw; it is as follows: Original GM Buick and first Rover 3.0L and 3.5L blocks never had problems with cracked walls behind cyl. liners; this problem was first seen when Rover increased bore size to 94 mm, making the aluminum walls behind the cyl. liners thinner than they were previously. Rover became aware of this problem, as they began ultrasonic testing of all blocks (to determine the thickness of the aforementioned walls within blocks) in 1993, by hand; altering the casting process to reduce core shifting which sometimes made some of these walls off center and thinner yet. In 1997, Rover began doing this ultrasonic testing using an automated system, color code grading all engine blocks as to the thickness of the walls behind liners. All 4.6 L. blocks, after 1997/98, used only red graded blocks, the ones with the thickest walls; while all 4.0 L. blocks used thinner walled blocks, most graded blue. This resulted in seeing only 15% of all 4.6 L. blocks having cracked aluminum walls behind liners, and 80% of all 4.0 L. blocks having cracked, when overheated sufficiently, so 99Discovery should be saying "especially on the 4.0L blocks; not as much on the 4.6L blocks, to be correct.
Now, let us put Lyric's worries in perspective: Regarding head gasket failures, cracked aluminum walls behind liners, slipped liners, why me worry? What happens, generally, is that when a Rover V8 engine is overheated adequately, especially on the 4.0 L versions, and to smaller degree on the 4.6 L. versions, due to their having thinner aluminum walls behind liners, those walls develop small minute cracks in the aluminum. That failure, leads to coolant, and/or its resulting steam, flowing up between aluminum wall and cyl. liner, beyond the head gasket, into the combustion chamber, and/or flowing down into the oil pan, or both. Also, in some cases, the combustion gasses escape beyond the head gaskets, between the walls and liners, into the coolant passages. The minute aluminum wall cracks tend to loosen up the liners, enabling them to sometimes slip within their aluminum bores. Rover tried to stop that from happening, because they cast within the blocks, at the base of each liner, a shoulder to butt each liner against, effectively not allowing the liners to move, but, IN SOME CASES; NOT IN ALL CASES, when Rover installed the liners, butting them up flush to the shoulders at the base of each cyl. bore, by heating the blocks and installing air temperature liners, the liners sometimes slipped upward slightly (about 1/8") during the cool down. So, if you happen to have blocks with the liners not butted up flush against the shoulders at base of all bores, they are capable of slipping a bit during overheating and cracking of aluminum walls retaining the liners. If you have a block with the liners fully butted up against the aluminum shoulders at base of each bore, it is virtually impossible for those liners to slip anywhere. If you have a 4.6 L block, with liners flush against shoulders at their base, and especially if you don't ever overheat your engine, it is highly unlikely, nearly impossible, to experience liners slipping.
One remark regarding top end rebuilding, as covered in article posted by Lyric, I must say that the chap who did that work, and posted it, used new heads. If the original heads are sound, not warped at all, not cracked at all, and are otherwise in good condition, or if they have been worked over by a good competent auto. machine shop, it is far less expensive to use them, rather than to buy and use new heads. Any good machine shop can examine your heads, and let you know their condition. Certainly, if you are about to replace head gaskets, automatically, the heads should be examined first, by a competent machine shop, to assess their condition, before bolting them back on. Finally, when doing this sort of thing, I highly recommend that you use studs, rather than the head bolts, because I am convinced that head bolts, especially of the stretch type, put too much stress on critical thin aluminum area between bolt threads and aluminum walls of block, because all of the cracked aluminum walls we see are cracked directly across from, and at the base of, the threaded head bolts. The head bolts appear to be causing, or at least contributing to, the cracking of the walls behind liners.

 

Lot's of information provided, Thank you.

Lot of reading to do and now I'm taking it in so let me see if I get this right.

The 4.6 is the better engine, less chance of cracks in block and liner slipping, plus only 15% of all the 4.6 engines had these issues. The 4.6 was made with a thicker walls which helped prevent cracks from happening. And the liners were fully butted up against the aluminum shoulders at base of each bore and flush against shoulders at their base, which keeps slipping from happening.

Now the 4.0 is the engine to avoid of the two because it was more prone to cracked walls because the walls are thinner and the liners were not fully butted up against the aluminum shoulders at base of each bore and flush against shoulders at their base. This occurred in 80% of all 4.0 engines.

 

Lucky for you, the 180 T-Stat is the exact same one used for the TD-5 diesel. So you just go to your favorite online rover parts store and buy the thermostat for the diesel. Looks the same as the V8 thermostat, just a different color.

Install, and 30 minutes later you have sub 190-temps (pending everything else works right) nearly all the time.

Earlyrover: Thanks for the input. This explains a lot, as I've been doing P38 research, I'm wondering why the heck you CAN NOT get a 180 T-stat, yet nearly every used one seems to suffer from window/door related electrical issues and NO mention of slipped liners, head gaskets, while nearly everyone of the D2s on the cheap are there because the engine barfed a gasket or slipped a liner.

At 100k, I'm praying my D2 block can hold up (the PO replaced a head gasket, Great Basin Rovers did the machining, so I'm fine), but before I had the ultra-guage temps would hit 220, sometimes 240. Electric fan worked, and now that temps are low she seems to run fine. 80% show cracked block? OUCH. Crossing my fingers I'm in the 20%!!!!

So earlyrover, engine-wise, is a 4.6 P38 a fairly safe bet, despite the 88C (190) T-stat?

 

I found this write up using a 180 thermostat and the temps on the write seem really great. Would this be the way to go? Seems very nice and satisfying for the engine. Thanks

Inline Thermostat - LAND ROVER CLUB V.I.

 

Here is the thermostat your referring to:

THERMOSTAT ASSY DII & FREELANDER 180 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, PEL500110, RNQ028 - Rovers North - Classic Land Rover Parts

But I am wondering about the mod I listed above this, maybe earlyrover will be able to chime in on the mod I posted. I think the mod I posted keeps the engine running even cooler.

 

Lets say a slipped sleeve does occur? What could be done to repair it? Cost? Would doing the head gaskets be advisable at that time as well?

 

YES