So I have an independent Landie/Bosch shop here on Long Island and have come in contact with many of these slipping liner trucks. I would usually have to sell them a $9000 job to replace the engine. I decided to try this method on Saturday on one of my own trucks that I acquired. It works, It's quiet now. The most difficult part is trying to drill Perpendicular with the cylinder wall at the same time trying to get the correct angle when entering the cylinder wall. It is also very difficult to deburr the inside of the cylinder, especially the cylinders that have larger counterweights and have minimal access for even your fingers. I used my dremel with the accessory shaft and a small drum sander. It fit through the counterweights but I had poor visibility. The other very difficult step is setting the set screws with loctite in the cylinder. It's the depth that it very hard to get perfect. You can try to feel it with the tip of your finger but it plays tricks with you and you can't tell if it is flush or just below or just above. I tried to use my small camera boroscope and a small mirror. If you leave it protruding into the cylinder any amount it catches the piston skirt. If you don't screw it in far enough you risk defeating the purpose of the job, to catch and lock the sleeve. The sleeve is extremely thin and believe it or not, when using a 1/4-20 set screw it barely touches 1 thread of surface area. I wish you luck and steady hands! Scott- Expedition imports

 

Thank you so much for a good detailed outline of this procedure.

I just picked up a 04 Disco for $2k in amazing condition, knowing it had a slipped liner, and knowing I may have to go as far as a top hat rebuild. Now I MAY love this car enough that down the road I may buy a top hat block, but for now I think pinning the liners will get me where I want to go.

I've got the parts on the way to pin it and I should be able to start this weekend.

Thanks

 

As soon as warm weather comes to the northeast I'll pin the liners and see if my tick is no mo'!

 

I can say that definitely the liners can and do (sometimes at least) not come to rest in the down position. I saw proof of this when i took the head off my 4.0 litre bosch engine the first time. The liner on the passenger side (RHD) rear cyl was protruding by at least 0.5mm and had damaged the firing ring on the gasket almost cut right through. The guy that earlier said that the firing ring is outside the liner diameter is full of ****e. i don't care how credentialed he says he is. ( my experience is that when someone has to tell you how many medals etc they have they are most likely a tosser anyway)
The first time i had the heads off I was certain that the noise was the lifters or rockers so i replaced them and the head gaskets. At the time while i had it mostly apart i thought I'd whip the heads off for a look. I was a bit suspicious of the protruding liner but couldn't convince myself or didn't want to believe it that they could make the noise i heard by going up and down. So i bashed the liner down with a lump of copper. Put new gaskets on replaced the lifters and rockers. Replaced coils as the thing was backfiring on LPG too. All was good for a few thousand K's then the dreaded banging returned with a vengeance.
So, i have the old girl in bits again only this time I'm going to pin it with the heads off as the gasket firing ring is rooted on that rear cylinder again anyway.
Wish me luck ...just need a spare few days to tackle it and to convince my wife that wasting more time & $ on this thing will be worth it.
I love the way these things drive which is why i persist. If only they had a decent engine...dream dream dream

 

Just wanted to add a quick thanks to all the guys above for all of the info and advise on pinning the liners. I am going to use all of it when i finally attempt the operation. cheers guys !!

 

Guys, I thought I would offer and update on my 2004 Disco. I pinned the liners in February 2013 and have since put around 30,000 miles on the old girl since. What started as a head gasket job led to where I am today. I had the annoying ticking sound that was progressively getting worse. The engine had 80,000 miles on it and I really wanted to investigate the cause of the noise and figured pulling the heads would be a good start. I found the liner in #1 was extending above the block 1-2 mm and had completely cut a ring out of the head gasket. I could also see evidence of the line on #3 hitting the gasket as well but it was not punched all the way through. I called and talked to a couple of Factory trained Land Rover techs who had opened their own shops and they both said the engine was toast and I would have to find a new one due to the liner sticking out of the block. I saw the video on YouTube where the guy heated his block on a grill and moved the liners in and out freely and figured “what do I have to lose?”, so I pulled the engine and disassembled it to the bare block. I heated the block to around 220 degrees and was able to get the liner in #1 reseated in its correct position. I was also able to move the liners on #3 and #5 just like in the video. The rest of my liners I couldn’t budge. I pressure tested my block using some homemade plugs, both cold and at 220 degrees and didn’t find any issues, so I decided to reassemble the engine. I used new bearings on the lower end but did NO machining. I only lightly honed the cylinders. I used the same rings and bolts on the lower end. I figured the worst that could happen was an engine that had been condemned by the Land Rover techs would blow up and I would be out my time and a little bit of money spent on new bearings and the screws I used to pin the liners. I had my block out of the truck on an engine stand while drilling and tapping the holes. It was very easy work and I ended up doing two screws per cylinder. So, after making 16 holes in the block and putting her all back together I have now added another 30,000 miles and a year’s worth of driving. Most of the miles have been highway miles but I did take the truck to the Arkansas Rover Society 2013 Rally in Hot Springs, AR last year and drove the trails two weeks after putting it all back together. I still smile at the amount of money I saved by not having to purchase a replacement engine almost every time I start her up. If anyone has any questions and wants to call me I would be happy to talk to you about just drop me an email or message and I’ll shoot you my phone number.

 

Thanks for posting an update. A frequent statement about pinning that I have seen on this and other forums is that it won't last. Glad to see it has for you. I suspect that those making the statement know it won't work despite never having done it.

I'm surprised that you only heated it to 220 degrees to pull the liners. That is well within the range of the operating temperature of the engine with the stock thermostat. Pretty scary. I realize that the sleeves are tapered so that once they have moved the block won't need to expand as much to make them move again, but being able to reseat them again at that temperature is a bit disconcerting.

Good luck with your truck! By the way, at 30k per year you might want to considering buying fuel on the futures market!

 

I think I talked to you about this truck at that rally, while in the pouring rain next to the pavilion.

I'm glad all of your hard work has paid off.

Are you going to the event at superlift on the 26th? I'm not sure it's as "official" as the last Rally, just some people going out camping and wheeling I think.

 

Okay. Getting ready to attack my tick, (I'm sure it's the same thing, because new lifters did nothing). I have one question: Did you thread the block, AND the cylinder liner, or just the cylinder liner? Thanks in advance for the help! JTS 2003 HSE7

 

Yes , block and liner.