I am wondering if there are any great mechanics/auto electricians or forums to assist with a problem I have.

I have a 2000 X Discovery 2 V8 LPG GS model

and a 1998 S Discovery 2 V8 LPG GS model

both with approx 130k miles

both with seized engines

engine is the 4 litre Thor v8, not the Gems v8

Engines were removed from from both cars

I thin bought an Engine from a Land Rover breakers, although it was not warranted.

I decided to get the older Discovery rebuilt, as it had a better spec, was quite tidy and had some extra features

The 'new' second hand engine was put into the older Discovery. It then passed it's MOT, and the LPG switches over seamlessly.

The problem is, there is no power delivered to the car. It will struggle to do 8 mph

the garage that are doing the job are at their wits end, and want to abandon the job, as their is nothing more they can do. The car has been to the auto electrician and they can not solve the problem.

The car revs, a little unevenly. there is spark to all 8 spark plugs, as I added 1 coil pack from the other car.

The Land Rover Centre Huddersfield put the car on their diagnostic. It mentioned a an immobiliser fault and a throttle idle valve fault.

The garage doing the job also added the crank positioning switch from the spare car, incase it was that.

I know no history of either Discovery, nor do I know the history of the engine.

The fault is said by the garage to be electrical. I am not mechanically minded as such, so I cannot tell on what they base that assumption on, but they are a good garage and I do trust them, so as a layman, I don't doubt their word.

The engine is very, very slow to rev. It does not transfer any power to the car.

Could it be timing, or an earth?

I don't know what to do, and neither do the garage, the auto electrician or the land rover centre.

I would be very grateful for any advice on what to check, or someone to get advice from, or a garage that can do the job.

i need the car running.

I have an identical car to take the spare parts from.

As for budget, i am pretty much skint...

 

Does it run fine on petrol?
Does the engine rev fine while the transmission is in park or neutral?

 

Hi Spike

thanks for the reply.

It didn't run initially, and this was due to no spark to 4 of the spark plugs

coil pack cured that, so it runs and idles now, but not smoothly

it switches over to gas fine, and the symptoms are the same on gas and petrol

this is all in neutral

it can stall when drive engaged and you need to have the revs on to keep it going at maybe 10mph

when it is first fired up, for one second, it sounds and feels like it should, and revs promptly, then it goes into daft mode, so can take 2 or 3 seconds to rev from 800 rpm to 3000 rpm

it has me flummoxed!

 

I think it is the torque converter on the transmission, it is putting to much load on the engine.
So basically it would be equal to trying to pull the Queen Mary out of the water, the load on the engine is more than it can handle.

There is a "stall" test that can be performed to confirm this, it is in the RAVE manual, go to the tech section ontop of the DI page and download the repair manual.

 

would that be the case as it still does this in neutral

(i know nothing about automatics)

 

Yes I think that is whats wrong, the torque converter is locked up all the time for some reason.

I am assuming the shop checked the fuel pressure at the fuel rail while running it on petrol, it should be in the mid 30's PSI while at idle.
I would only use petrol until you get it figured out, and then work on the LPG side since it came from the factory running on petrol that will make it easier to figure out.
I am not a transmission expert so I cant help much, but it sounds like a transmission problem.
I also assume that the shop made sure all the spark plug leads were on the correct cylinders, the GEMS engine sparks on each up stroke of the piston, so that means every exhaust and compression stroke the spark plugs fire.

 

Hi Spike, I really appreciate your responses. I am downloading the RAVE manual right now.

I think my engine is the THOR engine, if that makes any difference?

I am going to video the problem, then upload it to youtube, which may help explain the problem.

Some of the garages over in the UK are more fitters than garages, as I guess that is easier, less skilled and makes more money.

I don't think they have been through it methodically, as they were doing it as a bit of a favour, so the view it as a pain in the backside rather than a genuine customer job. My payment thus far has been 200 dollars in cash approx, plus the lpg system from the other landrover.

I wonder if the torque converter is engaged straight away as soon as the engine is started even though neutral is engaged?

the engine seems to be lazy, as though it wants to clear it's throat.

The people who have looked at it so far (the garage, land rover centre huddersfield and the auto electricians) see convinced that the issue is not mechanical...ie, the engine is fine

i don't know the history of the cars, so I cannot imagine what the symptoms were before i got them.

my thoughts (based on a hnch and nothing more) is it sounds a bit like a timing issue. Could it be an ecu or something?

i am hoping to compile a checklist to go through, and if the current garage can't or won't check through the list, I will find a garage that can.

I have just been made redundant, as the recession deepens here, and basically, my 'good' land rover is nothing more than a bag of bits unless it works.

My 2000MY landrover is fine except it is minus the engine and the lpg system...

 

What does your engine look like?

GEMS vs BOSCH Engines - Discovery I, Series II, Range Rover 4.0 & 4,6 - Tech Tips at RoverParts.com

Click on the link, it has a pic of the 2 different engines.

 

it's the Bosch engine

 

You said you have a '98, it has the flush door handles yes?
Rotary ***** for the heater on the dash?
Analog odometer?