2025 deleted member
Well-known member
Piston slap on new gm v8's?I am a Toyota fan, but there has never been a more reliable gasser IMO that a chevy small block. Including the current ls generation.
Is the design of the 3.9/4.0/4.2/4.6 inherently bad?
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proper4wd
Expedition Leader
GM V8's are pretty famous for piston slap actually... http://www.pistonslap.com/index.html
David Harris
Expedition Leader
I had a 2000 Trans Am with an LS3 and that had pretty noticeable piston slap at times.
Oilburner
Adventurer
"The wings are not on fire!" :sombrero:
Do you include vaseline as a basic hand tool? Because you'll need it to prime the oil pump. And I guess you'd need a fancy allen head socket since that's what holds the starter on, and you'd need to pull it to get to the oil pan and bearing cap bolts? Sounds like a pretty well stocked toolkit to me.
Frontier Phreak
New member
And a full gasket set to put it back together. I always carry that.
Maybe if I didn't have so many tools and spare parts weighing me down I wouldn't get stuck so much?
Maybe if I didn't have so many tools and spare parts weighing me down I wouldn't get stuck so much?
I'm not sure how to respond to this other than: re-read my post. I neither said nor suggested they leaned the fuel mixture. That would be as ridiculous as.....well...spending all that time responding to a post you didn't read properly.
Frontier Phreak
New member
Guess, I should have double-quoted you and EvilFij, who made the statement about running lean, you appeared to agree with since you quoted him and said it was fact. Also, you don't melt pistons from running hot. You melt pistons from running lean. 
So if you don't agree with EvilFij about it running lean, why did you make a statement about melting pistons?
So if you don't agree with EvilFij about it running lean, why did you make a statement about melting pistons?2025 deleted member
Well-known member
A website made by ambulance chasing lawyers? With the sheer volume of gm v8's produced there are pretty darn reliable. Personally and thru my business I probably have owned more gm v8 than about anyone on this site. Knock on wood, they never had piston slap.
proper4wd
Expedition Leader
If you want to split hairs... the oil pump only needs to be primed with vaseline on distributor-driven oil pump engines (pre-serpentine belt). The starter does not have to be removed to remove the oil pan. It does have to be removed to access the cross bolts at the rearmost main bearing caps (4.0/4.6 engines only).
I've logged lots of hours working on these things, that probably also contributes to the comfort level I have with them. I stand by my opinion that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Rover V8.
getlost4x4
Expedition Leader
Me too! It may not be get the best gas mileage but it works fine.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
GaAlpinaowner
Adventurer
Sounds like a bunch on denial to me .... all of these motors are excellerated timebombs!
here are the facts...get a TopHat lined Rebuild
Why?
Land Rover UK introduced the aluminum V8 engine in the late 60’s after falling in love with General Motors Buick 215. It was the perfect engine given the vehicles weight distribution, which was somewhat on the heavy side and the 215 offered the balance, coupled with performance they so desired, or did it?
Over the years the engine has gone through minor design changes in an effort to resolve overheating, premature wear, subtle noises and yes, outright failure. The flaws have cost the company and those who have been driven to own this brand. But the who’s who of the automotive universe still could not keep their hands off it, including BMW, Ford Motor Company and now Tata automotive manufacturers of India.
Porosity in the casting, engine management glitches, and poor steel liner design have been present from the start. Then the little engine is put into a 2045 kilo truck and introduced to inherent heat and you have the perfect storm for failure. Aluminum does not like heat and instinctively reacts adversely. The engine could not help but be put in this service environment as the discerning owner used their vehicle like it was intended.
It has been practically speaking, like a gremlin living in these engines that kept the owner hostage to a temperature gauge among other things. Soon the V8 would experience a make-over that has long been overdue.
The Brits had already been working on a top hat liner system going back to 2001, but the supply of cheap, new short blocks kept the discovery and adaptation at bay in the USA until lately. Why? because the failure rate increased substantially! Installation of a stronger machined top hat liner or cylinder sleeve would bring resolve to this genesis challenge, by allowing more even heat transfer, perfect fit to piston and then a hot seal process to the water jackets to close intrinsic porosity and fatigue issues in the aluminum blocks.
here are the facts...get a TopHat lined Rebuild
Why?
Land Rover UK introduced the aluminum V8 engine in the late 60’s after falling in love with General Motors Buick 215. It was the perfect engine given the vehicles weight distribution, which was somewhat on the heavy side and the 215 offered the balance, coupled with performance they so desired, or did it?
Over the years the engine has gone through minor design changes in an effort to resolve overheating, premature wear, subtle noises and yes, outright failure. The flaws have cost the company and those who have been driven to own this brand. But the who’s who of the automotive universe still could not keep their hands off it, including BMW, Ford Motor Company and now Tata automotive manufacturers of India.
Porosity in the casting, engine management glitches, and poor steel liner design have been present from the start. Then the little engine is put into a 2045 kilo truck and introduced to inherent heat and you have the perfect storm for failure. Aluminum does not like heat and instinctively reacts adversely. The engine could not help but be put in this service environment as the discerning owner used their vehicle like it was intended.
It has been practically speaking, like a gremlin living in these engines that kept the owner hostage to a temperature gauge among other things. Soon the V8 would experience a make-over that has long been overdue.
The Brits had already been working on a top hat liner system going back to 2001, but the supply of cheap, new short blocks kept the discovery and adaptation at bay in the USA until lately. Why? because the failure rate increased substantially! Installation of a stronger machined top hat liner or cylinder sleeve would bring resolve to this genesis challenge, by allowing more even heat transfer, perfect fit to piston and then a hot seal process to the water jackets to close intrinsic porosity and fatigue issues in the aluminum blocks.
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Simply not true. Unfortunately your experience is with a D2, and those engines are in a whole other league of problems. The earlier Rover V8's have a much lower incidence of block issues. I've owned five Land Rovers and the only one to have a block problem was my 1999 D2. The others are still going strong, some of them with mileage approaching 200K. Head gaskets are more frequent on all of them, but I really think that's from lack of cooling maintenance on old trucks coupled with fastener problems. Keep the cooling system in good shape, install good head gaskets with studs, not bolts and they will hold for the life of the engine. The last two engines I did head gaskets on went to 160K and 170K respectively before needing them. There are plenty of Rover V8's with 200-300K on them and doing fine.
Green96D1
Explorer
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
Needing head gaskets at 160k is terrible IMO.
