'03MY L322 Petrol 114k5 miles

Dopey said:

Yea I think there's a a restoration place just down the road, they spray cars as well, to a very high standard

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Prestige restoration a mate used to work there the owner only has one eye but his work is top notch, he ill hand make you a bonnet for your vintage Ferrari or aston

I didnt know about Moore automotive ether and i have regularly been past and worked out that way

Saint.V8 said:

Well bugger me sideways with a wet kipper covered in horseradish sauce...!!!

I live only a couple of miles from there and my old Archery Club has its grounds at Fan Court.....and my dad lives a mile and a half up the road in Thorpe.....I never knew they existed....good find!!

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*titter*

Not tried with horseradish. There is a cafe further down that road at the "Olde School House" that's convenient if you've got a job that you need to wait for. Guess it'd be about ½ to ¾ mile walk though...

(cue silly Edward Coates music performed by the BBC Light Orchestra sometime in the 50s)
Regular listeners will remember in episode eight where our intrepid L322 owner -- let's now call him Lost Soul shall we? -- had eventually sussed that his LPG vaporiser unit's rubber membrane was no longer offering a complete seperation between coolant and changing-state liquid LPG. So gas pressure was entering into the cooling system and causing mayhem. This had already caused the blow of a heater coolant connection situated conveniently at the rear of the bell housing. Following repair of both items, car had moved on to getting it's suspension sorted: first by changing top control arms when a previous shop only changed the easier bottom pair.
Then by last shop changing a "Rose Joint" and the front control bars, the NS one causing a clunk.
So, went out in the drizzle today to try and see why that hose at top has blown. Found also the third hose from the front at the heater unions weeping too.
I was warned by young fellamelad that running this engine at the over-designed temperature with the standard supplied electric thermostat could cause some of the original hoses to fail.

But didn't expect such failures to be the result of damn stupidity. The coolant resovoir cap was on, forced on -- cross threaded. Now, filling causes some show of water escaping out from the front offside of chassis -- close to where it poured out from the rear bell housing connection as much as you poured in .

Obviously I can't go back there again, my Merc mechanic's not taking on any more non-Merc work, young fellamelad's not answering texts. So I'm again in need of a workshop to sort out this mess. If it's also caused the vaporiser membrane to fail again then I'm back where I started. Apart from having fixed the suspension that is...

At some point I may start to lose my presence of mind (You've done that bit. Ed) Especially since temperature gauge gives no impression at all that anything's wrong, needle staying at half even when steam's pouring from bonnet and the oil warning light's starting to occasionally flicker...

Yewowwww!

The old school cafe is good been there for ages, had a few fry ups in there

i do like a bit of cafe bubble, not the same when you make it at home

Eventually found RCV down near Tonbridge in Kent who could take in without the "ho-hum <sigh> we might be able to fit you in next month sometime <sigh>" malarky. And again excellent within the hour transport service from Green Flag (using Kavannah). If you've not been with Green Flag (I'd always been RAC before) then give 'em a try. They're subscription's reasonable and I've had three out of three recoveries with them -- top notch

Speaking of top notch, found on arrival that RCV is one of those outfits that has a "Reception Area": one wall covered with their mechs' certificates, and a concierge. Lots of impossibly expensive Range Rover's being worked on with strange names on their bonnets all containing a Ü. Well perhaps not a concierge but there was a jar of Murraymints on the table. And a copy of Country Life... (get on with it... Ed)

Had a 'phone call this morning saying that one of the hoses leading to heater had split and as fast as they poured water into coolant resovoir, as fast it poured out again from that split. So they're going to change that and the small diameter top hose too that connects to the rad. Mech did say, as has been said in here that I do run the risk of blowing more hoses if I continue to use LPG. And if I continue to use the 110º electric thermostat. At time of purchase and install, I didn't know that the 84º one was available and preferrable.

Anyone know where I can purchase?
Is this a BMW M62 engine item?

I've got the bridge but since I wasn't having cooling issues anymore after changing out temperature sender, old electric thermostat, coolant resovoir cap, and LPG vaporiser barrier rubber, didn't search anymore

Seems this is the king thread about the return of my temperature issue:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/bmw-v8-m62tub-coolant-temperature-reduction-using-a-lower-temp-thermostat.268168/

Anyone recall from that period if using the "no-thermostat" option, what value the resistor should be to not cause an error to be signalled?

These are the parts that previous mechanic took out when he replaced with standard OEM electric thermostat:

The heater hose that RCV had found split is the one in the far right side of this pic:

Those look like bits of the 80 degree mod but without the stat. If you do the mod the lack of connection to the heater shows up in diagnostics but has no effect on driving or any engine light. I think there is a cheap standard thermostat kit that is OEM bmw , have a look at this thread - apologies for the competition link .
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/post423942.html

Excellent posts from those that've been thru this in the past, most welcome

Now that I'm with this firm (gawd knows what their bill will be for changing two hoses so far)
I've asked the head honcho there whether they should change with this 88°C Vemo version, or use my old without the sprung guts in it. (AKA a blanking plate)

As I posted earlier back in this thread I did
keep my iCarSoft connected to compare the dash temperature gauge with what coolant temperature was being reported to the ECU. Running on LPG with light foot was achieving 95-98°C. Then the LPG vaporiser rubber barrier went, and the rest is history...

This 88ºC is what I ordered. Despite the URL, it comes from Germany (it's said)
https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/2292128-vemo-thermostat-coolant

RichardSEL said:

This 88ºC is what I ordered. Despite the URL, it comes from Germany (it's said)
https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/2292128-vemo-thermostat-coolant

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I fell for that one once, the +49 code is Germany, there are loads of .co.uk car parts stores that are not uk based.
Try the stock vemo one, i have the mod in mine and is fine, just protect the open end of the stat heater cable with a plastic bag or some other waterproofing and tuck under the engine cover.
This is quite a thread you have going here !

This car is turning into quite an adventure. Who thought a trip down the road could be so eventful. One life. Live it (in trepidation).

Part still in Germany as of this morning.
Mind you, Parcel Farce have taken over from German courier so it could be anywhere in the world...
So looks like this Vemo 88° one won't get fitted until earliest next week

At least ma'am is out of the house coz of London Bridge. I can get on with the Christmas shopping.
Don't think I'm not watching you. Due to job I have unmarked patrols always passing by.
Yes ma'am <cringe>

Here's the replacement mechanical Vemo 'stat alongside the 110º one I'd replaced above heavily furred up one pictured above. That arrived a week ago, and this is the pic taken by the mechanic asking me if I'd bought the right one <groan!> Haven't heard anything back since...

Did you say shut up you tart and get it fitted or sorry, i tried to find one covered in ****e but they are not available, or im sorry, i thought you were a mechanic not a photographer, now chop chop there's a good girl and get my car back on the road before i get a taxi round your house and give your wife something to hang her tea towels on , or, thank you that is the new type i would like try, thank you, please don't put anything in my bottom when you write out the bill thank you, did i say thank you and take as long as you like ?
or none of the above

>>or, thank you that is the new type i would like try, thank you, please don't put anything in my bottom when you write out the bill thank you, did i say thank you and take as long as you like ?
or none of the above

All of the above. I'm afraid I had one of their Murraymints while I was waiting in their reception area. Gawd knows how much extra that's gonna cost me. They'll probably know that as they would've counted them...

Running round in a Merc SLR ATM, bloomin' awful machine. Principally coz I can get in it alright but have some little difficulty getting out
Nothing to do with it having low profile tyres. Had interesting time aquaplaning my way across to Rottingdean on Wednesday...

Will revert as soon as I know whether I'll need to sell one of my kidneys

I've had the report (and invoice) back from the current workshop.
"Sniffer test failed. Vehicle producing white smoke on start up. Suspect water is getting into cylinder.
Possibly head gaskets or warped heads causing the issue. Cooling system is over pressurising and
around four seperate leaks are present. Advise our repairs are not guaranteed and customer drives
the vehicle away at his own risk."

Far from having my wallet raped, considering the extra hours that've been spent trying to rectify the
faults as far as possible (for example the LPG vaporiser coolant feed has been bypassed -- system disabled by removing fuse) the bill for changing out the electrical 110º thermostat for the mechanical 88º one, and changing out two hoses (one a heater hose difficult to access) has come to £300 including the two new hoses, including the VAT.
No charge for the Murraymints

At some point one has to trust a specialist workshop -- the mechanics there do seem to be serious in their work, so given that the immobiliser / steering column lock problems that plague L322 have been sorted, battery discharge problems sorted, air compressor rebuilt, got an 11-month MOT, tyres with 4k only on them, and it's a fully loaded Vogue with sunroof, orginal 'phone, Bose speakers, leather, suspension and control arms all done, and otherwise clean body have asked them whether in their contacts they know of a replacement M62 engine (with or without gearbox) kicking about specialist breakers.

I will give a merit card to this workshop even though their stock in trade appears to be the high end of the marque.
Y'know them. They have silly names on their bonnet: Overfinch, or have a Ű ostentatiously showing. Matt kept me abrest of what was going on even though he didn't know of the thermostat kludge!

RCV (Roberts Country Vehicles (Nationwide) Ltd
Waterside Garage, Bainbridges Road
East Peckham, Kent TN12 5HH
01632 873 000
email: [email protected]
www.rcv.co.uk

I don't know whether engine changeout will cause issues with ECU security not being matched to the car's IMMO system.
It'd have to be a lump that's still in a doner vehicle soas to run it up to check not buying another duff lump. Guess that changing for a P38 engine or sommat would be nigh on impossible coz of the configuration changes?
I'm not a Range Rover expert.
The alternative is heads off and skim -- for which a workshop in the midlands had quoted me a max figure (without checking yet the per cylinder compressions) of £3,500

Wot's it worth now? Nuffink
Wot's it worth all done? £6 to £7k
Wot's it stand me in now? About £3k inc. purchase

... Yewowwww!

I'm guessing, but I would have thought that a good indy could have heads off and skimmed for significantly less than that but I'm from oop North!

That was just a ball park figure given over the 'phone. They did say they'd done a P38 V8 that was both. And the L322 (M62) was only the driver's side bank so that was just under £2,000. They added that they have to cover themselves in case a stud breaks, etc.

Haven't asked RCV yet. Will ask them for a compression check since there's no mayo. So whatever leak is occuring is on the exhaust side (?). Guess that's the reason for the over pressurising of the cooling system. The top end rad hose is hard but it's not ballooning (diameter greater than the circlip)

... I told you not to mess any more with that evil car. But you wouldn't listen. Now go and stuff the turkey. And put your pinafore on. And nothing else! Yes dear. Yes what? <crack> Yewowwww! Yes ma'am <sniff, blub>