GSxTC said:
So what I'm gathering from you is that, even though these trucks are being touted as very tough trucks, they are built with crap components and junk parts??
Gotcha.
Now, I was going to just apologize and say ok, but you had to dig all those other posts up..
So.... Do you really think it's any harder to get into the engine bay of the Rover even on a lift than it is to work on the NUMEROUS full size domestic trucks the shops see every day? I can climb in and out of the thing without any problem, just like any other able bodied mechanic. Lift kits, brush gaurds, all that is no different than say you're average Ford F-150, and the engine has more room around it in the Rover. So that nixxes that argument.
So, the only part of what you had to say that made any sense was the part quality and needing to take hours to inspect every little part. But in all seriousness, are these thing built with any worse components than the typical domestic offering? Or are we talking Yugo quality in a BMW pricetag?
Crap parts are relative. Nothing Yugo about it, but they are very old fashioned motors with newfangled electronics tacked on to make them road worthy. The same basic design has been in production since around 1959. Give it a break, already, it's old. That same basic design has had the same basic flaws the entire time, too.
Get it a few degrees out of it's comfort zone, and pop. Let the coolant get too old, pop. Don't rev it like you should, pop. The problem can be attributed to many things, but overall, the motor is very tolerant. It will keep it's temperature very nicely, but if it does climb, you are going to be shelling out some cash. They will also leak eventually with age. Most all aluminum motors suffer similar headaches on various scales. Head gaskets are simply part of the experience.
The aluminum causes many of the problems, but in general, the motors are not the tightest machines ever made. You have to get things just right when they go back together. When I work on other cars, I am routinely amazed at the lack of effort required to do complex jobs, when even simple ones on a Rover require tools that take up too much room in the box.
It all comes down to meticulous maintanance. Keep it up like you would a swiss watch, with regular servicing and winding, it will serve you like a swiss watch. Sure, a Timex will be much less effort, but where is the fun in it? Service things that don't need to be serviced, simply because it's been a while. It's probably the only motor on the road anymore that's truely worthy of old fashioned preventative maintanance.
As for your experience in service, I wonder. Put wrench to Rover and see how you do. If you are a zen master midget bodybuilder with a masters in contortionism, tiny hands, torque sensitive elbows, an ear for shearing metal and steel knuckles, you might just prove us wrong.
Cheers,
Kennith
