By Roll Over Rover on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 02:49 am: Edit

Driving down the road........then suddenly my disco goes to sputterin and shakin like somethin went terribly wrong! It misfires now and also sounds like the exhaust is clogged up so to speak!
If the engine is toast what are my options? Chevy 350 conversion? Point me to some websites guys!

Roll Over Rover

By Jon Williams (Jonw) on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 04:48 am: Edit

...like maybe you got a clogged fuel filter. They'll suddenly just clog and give you an experience like you had. I think your engine is probably fine. You could have a bad spark plug wire. You could have a fouled spark plug. You could've shaken-loose the remains of the insides of your catalytic converters and it clogged the exhaust. Same for your muffler. Don't write your engine off yet...

By Matt on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 05:35 am: Edit

I'd be very interested to hear the braintrust's answer to what the options are. What do you do when your Rover engine dies?

By Eric N (Grnrvr) on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 05:52 am: Edit

If I had to replace mine I would get a 300tdi swapped in.. Or a 4.6.. Why get the same engine when you can get a better one for about the same price.

By Chuck on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 05:58 am: Edit

You could do a TDi conversion...but I don't know anything about it. Go here...

http://www.eastcoastrover.com/Tdiconversions.html

Or a new bigger V8...

http://www.eastcoastrover.com/RoverV8.html

**Disclaimer** I don't own a Rover but I've been reading this site and its pretty interesting...

By Bluegill (Bluegill) on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 06:25 am: Edit

ECR Pursuit 4.6 - very very nice...but don't forget to upgrade the driveshafts & axles!

By Chuck on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 07:02 am: Edit

That's the engine that I'm thinking about when I finally get my disco since i'm probably going to buy one with a ton of miles on it. Does any one on Discoweb have any experience with this engine or ECR? From what i've heard their work is excellent but expensive.

By Craig on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 07:57 am: Edit

Chuck-
The ECR setup is definately nice, but only offers about 20 lb-ft over a stock 4.6 for considerably more money. ECR will want to do the work themselves, which raises the question of warranty repair,and shiiping. I have a 91RR with a 9.35:1 4.6L with a 4.2L cam/ heads and ecu. A friend of mine has an almost identical 92RR ( same tire size and gear ratio)with a pursuit 4.6 and the only difference I can feel is above 4500 rpm. the factory motor seems to taper off above that, and the ECR motor keeps making power. Bottom end is where it's at. High revs in any rover motor (less full roller stuff) scares me. We did Brian Jackson's conversion a while back for a tick over ten grand installed. be prepared to spend a good chunk more at ECR or comparable vendor. One more thing, Brian's car now carries a warranty on parts and labor. Food for thought. Good luck!
Craig
LRDE

By Ron on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 08:07 am: Edit

Brian's truck is sweet

4 wheel burnouts on dirt with 255 85 R16 Mud rovers

Ron

By Craig on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 08:36 am: Edit

best of all, it's all of the shelf. Chuck- whatever displacement you decide, go with the highest compression motor you can afford. This has made the greatest difference off road.
Craig
LRDE

By Joshua Weinstein (Untrakd) on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 10:15 am: Edit

Can someone descibe Brian Jackson's Mods in detail?

By Craig on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 02:05 pm: Edit

I'll try- it's been a while
'hope it's cool Brian'

9.35:1 factory 4.6L longblock ( heads included)
95LWB camshaft for distributor drive
4.2L coldstart eprom
3.9L disco oilpan and pickup tube(to clear new crank
3.9L disco front cover
3.9L disco timing set (both gears and chain)
manufactured crank spacer for timing set
note: Brian's rig got real hot, so there is a list of things I'm leaving out.
rest of your topend and ancillaries bolt right up
Have Fun!
Craig
LRDE

By Ron on Wednesday, September 19, 2001 - 03:35 am: Edit

FYI:

You can reuse your 3.9 heads if they are OK.

Ron

By Chuck on Wednesday, September 19, 2001 - 12:30 pm: Edit

Craig, you are right about the warranty and repair issues. Lord knows I wouldn't be taking it up to maine every time it needs to be fixed. So would you recommend the 4.6 in the disco. I want to be able to do 90% of the work myself incase there isn't a dealer or competent mechanic around. I'm in the military and want to be very mobile with all my toys in tow. I'm looking at being able to tow my 300zx and eventually maybe a jet ski or a boat. What do you think is the best set-up for this and then some increasing difficult off-roading as i get into it. TIA

Chuck

By Craig on Wednesday, September 19, 2001 - 01:16 pm: Edit

Chuck-
I'd keep the job as simple as possible-
4.6l short block
4.2l camshaft
4.2l eprom
have a crank spacer made to line up timing gears
hammer your oilpan to clear the new crank
your front cover and ancillaries
you may want to pay some attention to your timing chain and gears, replace if needed
presto chango-
this way, you can still get parts at any parts dealer, and the only machining is the crank spacer
also, your 3.9 does not have a knock sensor harness fill it with nothing but premium