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[Crazycarzowner]

Just finished re-building the Disco suspension & steering and am now pondering starting the next part of the project - the Engine.
Its got a slight rattle on start up which goes after 30  seconds or so. I know its the cam (made of soft cheese). Also the front cover is leaking oil + the cam covers & the breathers are gooey. I was thinking of completely stripping rockers, cam, timing chain & re-building. whilst there would it be advisable to do the heads? they ain't leaking, or at least I can't see any leaks but with it being 20 ish years old would it be advisable whilst everything 'was off'

Thoughts please

[rikki_essex]

I don't know the answer to your question but the website below i found it very helpful when i had my disco

http://www.discovery2.co.uk/

[Crazycarzowner]

Thanks Rikki, but mine is an elderly Disco 1 v8 

[T.m.f]

If your going to strip it down to do camshaft,for what its worth do both head gaskets,you will know they will be ok,even if just for peace of mind 

[Lazydocker]

Extra cost is minimal... Think I would

[Crazycarzowner]

IF, if I do the heads, would you have em skimmed??? I'll have them pressure tested but I'm a bit wary of skimming especially if they are straight & true??? I know it'll end up with me having to recalculate the timing & add shims to the rockers etc. if the heads are skimmed.

[Rods2]

IF, if I do the heads, would you have em skimmed??? I'll have them pressure tested but I'm a bit wary of skimming especially if they are straight & true??? I know it'll end up with me having to recalculate the timing & add shims to the rockers etc. if the heads are skimmed.

I wouldn't unless you discover a specific problem.

[Andy H]

If you do change the camshaft then you should change the followers as well.
To get the best out of the followers it is worth shimming the rocker shafts to make sure that each follower is operating within its effective range. The shims are not expensive but the process off measuring the preload on each follower will alert you to problems that you might never notice otherwise (eg valve recession or worn pushrods).

[Kevin Wood]

I think I'd certainly check the head gaskets if rebuilding a Rover V8, especially if it's got the extra row of head bolts on the exhaust side that cause the gaskets to fail into the valley.

With the heads off you can also lap the valves in and make sure they are sealing effectively.

[Marks DTM Calib]

So, things to change on a Rover V8 when giving it a spruce up.

Cam and followers - a must do as they are crap, try to push the budget a bit if you can to get a Hurricane cam (or similar) and remember to get a shim kit to set the pre-load of the followers.
Timing chain and sprockets - also a must do as they are also crap, the chains stretch badly and the gears wear badly, you can get strengthened ones if the budget can stretch to it.
Heads - Clean them up and replace the stem seals, they don't need much else, if you are bored you can match the inlets to the valley gasket (they are a crap casting and there is always a step there, makes quite a difference!). Certainly no need to skim and yours will be the later composite head gasket (lower cc combustion chamber to compensate for the thicker head gasket, some fit the tin gaskets to raise compression slightly) engine without the extra row of bolts (which was the primary cause of head gaskets blowing into the valley)
Rocker shafts - check them carefully for wear and make a judgement, slide the rockers to one side and look on the under side for serious scoring
Bottom end - usually ok and its the later cross bolted block so the 'walking mains' associated with the early units is not such an issue, leave alone.
Bores - they don't tend to wear but just do a quick measurement on the liners to make sure none have dropped.

But clean everything well, its 50's tech and they goo up inside pretty easily.

[the alarming man]

hurricane cam no no no...in the past very good but for some reason quality has suffered in the past year.the piper high torque is the way to go as recommended by RPI, and as well all know what RPI don't know about tuning V8 is not worth knowing

[05omegav6]

Give these guys a shout too

http://turner-engineering.co.uk/

[Andy H]

hurricane cam no no no...in the past very good but for some reason quality has suffered in the past year.the piper high torque is the way to go as recommended by RPI, and as well all know what RPI don't know about tuning V8 is not worth knowing

RPi at http://www.v8engines.com/

[aaronjb]

And this fella is very active on kit car forums (and seems helpful and honest): http://www.jrv8.co.uk

[Crazycarzowner]

I like the idea of the Piper Cam kit, but wanted to keep it original, I know it would be a part to last but at nearly £500 for the kit  . The normal stuff from a reputable parts dealer (should) keep it going for at least another 10 or so years I'm thinking???