4.6 engine in an 88 RR - GregH

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Author Message   John Cinquegrana (Johnc) Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 07:43 am:    Hey Greg, thanks for the tip. Where do I get a chain? Here's the first pic of the cyl heads. You will notice some glue on the outside of one of the heads. Does this mean that the head was cracked and repaired? I purchased the engine for $200 so if it's unuseable I could always sell the good parts. Cyl Head I know nothing about rebuilding an engine. Could you tell me what should be done to the engine before installing (polishing, porting, etc)? My next problem is what can I use from the 3.5 and what ECU to get. I heard I can use a 4.2 ECU and have it rechipped. What do you think? Any help would be appreciated. John   John Cinquegrana (Johnc) Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 07:47 am:    More pics: Cyl Head1 Cyl Head2 Cyl Head4 Cyl Head5 Cyl Head6 Cyl Head7   Stephan Laputka (Sflash868) Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 01:42 pm:    John, Does this mean that the time has come to finally put that engine in your truck?   Greg Hirst (Gregh) Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 01:57 pm:    John- If you've never rebuilt an engine before I would recommend that you have a competent mechanic or engine rebuilder do this job for you. It's really no fun learning the hard way. I don't know where you live but having East Coast Rovers (www.eastcoastrover.com) do the job for you would save you stress and $. Also, D&D Fabrication (www.aluminumv8.com) know their way around the rover engine going back to buick days. East Coast Rover is in Maine and D&D is Rochester, MI. Dan LaGirou at D&D can possibly recommend a machine shop or rebuilder close to where you live as well. AS for the timing chain, I used a Cloyes Tru-roller but any of the domestic double roller chains would work fine. The Rover uses the same as the Buick V6. I got mine at Summit Racing (www.summitracing.com) or you can check with PAW (www.pawinc.com). You bought a 4.6 liter for only $200? Are you sure it's a 4.6? Easy way to check is look to see if block has cross-bolted mains and the new style front timing cover with rotary type oil pump. Did the engine come with front cover? Yes, the head looks like someone used a shitload of JB Weld on it-I wouldn't use it. You should be able to use your 3.5 heads on the 4.6 block. If I were you I'd start the process by reading up on engine rebuilding procedures so you can decide what to spend your money on and what it's worth to you. HPBooks and Haynes have several good books out. That way you can talk knowledgably to your machine shop/rebuilder about specific procedures. For Rover specific, I'd get the Haynes books "Range Rover Purchase and REstoration Guide" by Dave Pollard and also "Tuning Rover V8 Engines" by David Hardcastle. For rechipping your ECU, I would contact East Coast Rovers. They do this conversion all the time and can handle the re-chip for the 4.6. Good Luck and let me know how it your project progresses. GregH   GregH Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 02:19 pm:    BTW-your local rover club probably could also recommend a good shop as well. Someone that local club members trust and have had good results with.   John Cinquegrana (Johnc) Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 02:49 pm:    Stephan, hopefully in the spring time. Then we could drag race over the Tappan Zee. Greg, no I've never worked on an engine except for head gasket replacement. Local Rover club...hahahaha...you mean the same guys that took my $50 and closed up shop two weeks later without even sending me a letter or sticker...yeah right. I was hoping to take it to some local shop and just need some info on what to ask for. Just some basic stuff. I will check the cross bolts. I don't think it came with front cover but I will check tonite. The previous owner said he had a piece cutoff, he wasn't sure what it was for but it looks like the ignition pick up as shown on RPI's website http://www.rpiv8.com/engine-2.htm Thanks for your help. John C.   GregH Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 04:29 pm:    Someone on dweb put me on to this site which really has some good info as well... www.ajmac.co.uk/rover_4.htm BTW-it was pointed out to me that the 4.6 actually does not use nylon toothed timing gear. I still like the double roller. GregH   Ron Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 09:09 pm:    Hey John C. I just sent you an email. If you want to truck it down my way I can take a look. The fact that the head is cracked does not bode well though. Ron   Kyle Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 07:19 am:    I dont really see the crack and thats not JB weld. Its the disk that is affixed to all reman parts and the bonding thats put on there for warranty purposes. If you over heat t the bonding will melt and the disk will fall off... Pics are a little shaky looking but thats about all I can see.. Kyle   GregH Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 10:29 pm:    There's a large gray area to the right of disk and(between left spark plug and next head bolt to the right) that goes to top of head. It appears to me to be JB Weld (but I certainly could be wrong!). It's on the second posting of pics not the first. GregH