Just got a 94' V8i LPG - Need Advice plz

jwaldron · Dec 16, 2006

Hi guys and girls,

I was wondering if any1 has some advice for me: I have just bought a 1994 3000 V8i Auto with a Tartarini Tec 97/99 LPG conversion. 140K on th clock.

I am looking for some advice on best way to sort out:

1) LPG gauge is totally pointless.. It's one of these 4 LED ones, with a 5th red led when you're to re-fill.. only thing is: I go to re-fill (as gauge says) but can only ever get about 16 or 17lit in.. which is fine apart from the fact that I have 2x30lit under tanks on it... can you get gauges that are accurate for lpg, or is there a fault with the system (only filling one tank maybe?)

2) When the auto box clicks into 4th gear (change is smooth).. say up a slight incline.. with the engine at about 2,000 revs.. the engine seams to struggles. If you push more on the throttle.. it changes down and this goes... any ideas?.. box on the way out?

3) On most of the doors... the inner knob thingy drops just a little, which means that from the outside, the doors can not be opened.. does not happen all the time - and not on all doors.. but its a pain in the ars.. any ideas what this is ( spring? ) - I also have the normal back door C/L not working.. will investigate this to see if its the actuator.

4) The odometer does not work.. so I have no idea what millage I am doing. Any ideas?

5) Raised dash on the px side.. understand kits are available for this at about £40 and another hour labour costs to fix.. can this be done as a DIY ( simple Simon diy - cos I'm new to LR's )?

6) Transfer box will not change when engine is running, but will change easy when not... again - any ideas?

7) I think rear driver shock has gone. Rough ride and knocking noise when over bumps... shocks expensive? best one to go for ? ( without spending silly money ).. spring done at the same time? do you do all 4 or just the rear pair?

8) Driver seats seen better days.. the padding has shifted, and the spring / center bar is kinda hard on the bum... replace seat from scrappy - or is it worth doing this myself?

9) When selecting rev after the car has moved fwd.. the selection is very rough ( loudish clunk type noise ).. does not happen when selecting drive.. any ideas on this?

10) Last one... When starting from warm.. she doesn't like it. She'l start, but say 4 times out of 10 die.. the other times ( even when cold ) has to go hunting for about 5 to 10 sec before settles.

Sorry for the long list.. I'm just not sure where to start. I have recently had the distributer re-built after the advance mech had rusted!, and the plugs changed out.

I'm also thinking of putting a K&N air filter in her.. but unsure if its worth it. Am also looking for another performance mod. Have seen these £5 chips in ebay that trick the ecu into pumping more fuel - do they work.. and can they damage the lpg system.

The final thing I am thinking of doing is fitting a snorkle ( I think ).. but am worried about air flow with the lpg system. I would like to take here green laning in the future, but know nothing about these wadding kits ect and how to waterproof the electrics or what I need to watch out for.

Well. thats it - unitill something goes wrong ( cross fingers ).

Jimbo

tonyw · Dec 16, 2006

Hi Jimbo,

That's quite a bit of info needed there!

I can help with one of the questions. Number 5, Yes there are kits available, and the cheapest I could source one was for £38.95 (inclusive of P & P) from Allabout4x4. Their website is Quality Land Rover 4x4's Spares in the Midlands, and they were very good.

I had the kit fitted by my local independent LR specialist, so can't say how easy it is, but if you search on this site there are a few posts that detail info on the kit. I think the most important points are lack of space to drive the screws in (windscreen in the way) and that you may want to get better quality screws, such as Torx type (torque). Best if you do it with the windscreen out!

The kit looks really good in my Disco, but if you are going to get one, I advise to put a little lubricant around the contact points (vaseline?), as the movement of the car whilst driving can make the parts 'rub' against each other, which occasionally makes a small (but annoying) noise!

BTW, do the autoboxes have a 4th gear? I thought they only had 3! Personally, I don't think your box is on its way out, but you might want to check/change the auto fluid. Remember to consult your handbook before checking it, as the check is different than normal gearbox oil checks.

If your odometer isn't working, perhaps the previous owner decided to unhook the cable?

Regarding your irregular start issue, it sounds like the cold start system is playing up (even if the problems are when the engine is warm). I don't know much about the Disco system, but in my old Saab Classic, the warm up regulator, cold start valve and thermo time switch were all considered culprits when this issue appeared. It could be linked through to the fuel system (lack of supply on startup). Then again, this is a diesel engine we're talking about, so I am probably way off track!

jwaldron · Dec 16, 2006

It is quite a lot to ask I know.. but as you have done - I suspect peeps can answer one or two and have some ideas about others... I also find it usfull to see if they are connected in some way or not.

Thanks Tonyw... will probably get one of the dash kits after xmas now. I after looking into it - I'll be taking it into a local 4x4 garage. Don't fancy doing that myself. I'm mechanical minded and all - but I don't fancy learning practical application on my own baby..lol

Re: the auto box 4th gear.. yeh - they have 4th... the selector has 1, 2, 3 and drive.. I'll look into the cold start valve you mentioned.. thanks for the reply.

clutchdust · Dec 17, 2006

jwaldron said:
Hi guys and girls,

I was wondering if any1 has some advice for me: I have just bought a 1994 3000 V8i Auto with a Tartarini Tec 97/99 LPG conversion. 140K on th clock.

I am looking for some advice on best way to sort out:

1) LPG gauge is totally pointless.. It's one of these 4 LED ones, with a 5th red led when you're to re-fill.. only thing is: I go to re-fill (as gauge says) but can only ever get about 16 or 17lit in.. which is fine apart from the fact that I have 2x30lit under tanks on it... can you get gauges that are accurate for lpg, or is there a fault with the system (only filling one tank maybe?)

2) When the auto box clicks into 4th gear (change is smooth).. say up a slight incline.. with the engine at about 2,000 revs.. the engine seams to struggles. If you push more on the throttle.. it changes down and this goes... any ideas?.. box on the way out?

3) On most of the doors... the inner knob thingy drops just a little, which means that from the outside, the doors can not be opened.. does not happen all the time - and not on all doors.. but its a pain in the ars.. any ideas what this is ( spring? ) - I also have the normal back door C/L not working.. will investigate this to see if its the actuator.

4) The odometer does not work.. so I have no idea what millage I am doing. Any ideas?

5) Raised dash on the px side.. understand kits are available for this at about £40 and another hour labour costs to fix.. can this be done as a DIY ( simple Simon diy - cos I'm new to LR's )?

6) Transfer box will not change when engine is running, but will change easy when not... again - any ideas?

7) I think rear driver shock has gone. Rough ride and knocking noise when over bumps... shocks expensive? best one to go for ? ( without spending silly money ).. spring done at the same time? do you do all 4 or just the rear pair?

8) Driver seats seen better days.. the padding has shifted, and the spring / center bar is kinda hard on the bum... replace seat from scrappy - or is it worth doing this myself?

9) When selecting rev after the car has moved fwd.. the selection is very rough ( loudish clunk type noise ).. does not happen when selecting drive.. any ideas on this?

10) Last one... When starting from warm.. she doesn't like it. She'l start, but say 4 times out of 10 die.. the other times ( even when cold ) has to go hunting for about 5 to 10 sec before settles.

Sorry for the long list.. I'm just not sure where to start. I have recently had the distributer re-built after the advance mech had rusted!, and the plugs changed out.

I'm also thinking of putting a K&N air filter in her.. but unsure if its worth it. Am also looking for another performance mod. Have seen these £5 chips in ebay that trick the ecu into pumping more fuel - do they work.. and can they damage the lpg system.

The final thing I am thinking of doing is fitting a snorkle ( I think ).. but am worried about air flow with the lpg system. I would like to take here green laning in the future, but know nothing about these wadding kits ect and how to waterproof the electrics or what I need to watch out for.

Well. thats it - unitill something goes wrong ( cross fingers ).

Jimbo

1. I personally don't like lpg and wouldn't advise it but anyway i suspect a fuel sender fault

2. auto box is fine, its changing out of the power band of the engine so thats why it struggles, lpg doesn't help as this makes the engine lose power (only a little but noticable)

3. spring broken on latch, these are available on ebay, lr will only sell you a door latch.

4. Does the speedo work? if so then its a speedo fault, if the speedo doesn't work then id say cable or sender (if its an electric one).

5. kits are available, look in lro mag.

6. make sure when you change from high to low the gear selector is in neutral, if it doesn't go in, move the car forward or back a bit, diff lock should go in and out even when moving.

7. check the 'A' frame ball joint on top of the rear axle for play, check the shock bushes.

8. Again look in a landy mag for breakers, sounds like the seat foam has collapsed

9. transmission clonk is normal, they all do it to some extent, some worse than others, if its really bad then it could be the transfer box input gear thats worn.

10. is the problem on lpg or petrol?

11. k&n will improve engine breathing a bit, cone type wont work with a snorkel though, forget "£5 chips" or other cheap scams that claim to improve power, they dont work, all the "£5 chip" is, is a resistor to fool the ecu into thinking there is more air flow therefore adding more fuel, not the right way to do it!!

12. phew!!!

jwaldron · Dec 17, 2006

Brill.. thanks clutchdust.

I'll be doing some online shopping after xmas then for dash kit and ebay for springs... I've found the sources I want - just have to wait now to see if father xmas brings me any of them first..lol

Re: 4 ( speedo ) - yeh the speedo works.. this mean a new clock then yeh?.. and is this a pain of a job or easy?

Re: the diff.. It is currently as normal for most i suspect in High unlocked.. It will not come out of that selection with the engine running. She will however come out of High and into Low unlocked when off.. I can not get her into locked at either High or Low with her off ( and nothing other than whatever she's in when turned on )... Still stuck on this one.

Re: #10.. She always starts on Petrol - as normal for the Uk... so problem is on Petrol.

Thanks

clutchdust · Dec 18, 2006

jwaldron said:
Brill.. thanks clutchdust.

I'll be doing some online shopping after xmas then for dash kit and ebay for springs... I've found the sources I want - just have to wait now to see if father xmas brings me any of them first..lol

Re: 4 ( speedo ) - yeh the speedo works.. this mean a new clock then yeh?.. and is this a pain of a job or easy?

Re: the diff.. It is currently as normal for most i suspect in High unlocked.. It will not come out of that selection with the engine running. She will however come out of High and into Low unlocked when off.. I can not get her into locked at either High or Low with her off ( and nothing other than whatever she's in when turned on )... Still stuck on this one.

Re: #10.. She always starts on Petrol - as normal for the Uk... so problem is on Petrol.

Thanks

speedo is dead easy to replace, if in doubt, get the good ole haynes manual out!

Difflock/high/low is a bit baffling, without seeing it myself i can't help any further, check to see if it has seized, common fault when its not used often enough, you'll need to take the center console out and there is a plate in the tunnel, drill out the rivets and take the plate off and this'll give access to the top of the gearbox. On the difflock part of the lever, it slides in and out of the housing (you'll see when you get it to bits), this sliding part is what siezes, the steel shaft corrodes to the ally housing, you'll need to take off the transfer lever and housing as one unit then free it off in a vice with a load of wd40 and a hammer

as for running problem, if it only does it on petrol then i suspect the idle air control valve to be gummed up

da10 · Dec 18, 2006

i have a simular problem you mention in question 10 but as my battery is fcuked it wont start at all when warm. I love the V8 though. This is the second V8 in the family my other is a 4.6v8 Lincoln. I love the growl. You can fit a K AND N with a snorkel you will just need a panel filter and not a cone. It is a good mod though as youcan clean it yourself and dont haveto changethe filter too many times.

OutbackJack · Dec 20, 2006

Snorkel is a must if you get into sand or dust or even a bit of mud. The air intake on my V8 is inside the left front wheel well and sucks a lot of air laden with dust/sand/mud. My snorkel takes that air intake up to about 6 ft above ground and my fuel body doesnt get the gut load of crap that it used to.

jwaldron · Jan 14, 2007

Ok - Update time.

*The doors have been sorted ( well awaiting work ) : Got myself a set of 5 springs for £15 off ebay.

*Warn start was down to the thermo stuck wide open.

*It wasn't springs or shocks - it was a dounut on the a frame

*Brake discs under min for LR.. obv' car mechanic that did the last MOT then..lol.

*Rumble & Missfire was due to quite a large amount of backlash found in the prop, transfer outshaft and difs. After a few half sharts etc - much better.

*Transfer box need replacing - its solid. The crown has seized and the transfer box is sending out vibrations... getting a recon unit to sort that.

All in all - not as bad as I suspected. And due to having the LR at a v.fav price.. am still less than 2.5K all in for her. Plus I now know that the transfer box, props and diffs are all ok... plus most service items have been checked or changed in HT's plugs and brakes.. so I think untill next time - I'm ok .

Thanks to all of you that helped, and passed on advice. Some bits actually help quite a lot. If anyone needs more info on any of the above problems - contat me and I'll be happy to bore you to death.hehe.

Just got a 94' V8i LPG - Need Advice plz

jwaldron

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tonyw

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clutchdust

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da10

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