My V8 needs a refresh..

"I've actually never even been in or driven a Rover so once I can, if I fall in love, I have a spare engine I can consider doing a full build on (still stock)..."
Surely someone in Victoria Australia could take the OP out for a ride in their Rover and let him have a drive of it? Come on fellas. I know that Vic is vast compared to UK but it's small compared to rest of Aus. P6bornot is trying to get a dead Rover back on the road; he's going to need some motivation and inspiration....

Happy Motoring - Munro
 
Gents thank you for the sentiment and the offer.
Parts have arrived so hopefully I'll have the engine back together soon.
I need to check the heads to ensure no warping, but that aside, the rest should be pretty straightforward.
 
Here's a bit of show n tell ..
Camshaft out.. look at the wear!
There are two lobes that are half the height of the others!
 

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The gritty black coating suggests that your engine prior to your ownership had not received oil changes as frequently as it should. Rover camshafts tend to wear rather more rapidly when compared to aftermarket brands, so the camshaft wear is nothing unusual. Rover camshafts made during the late 1980s were even softer, wearing out in barely 50,000 miles (80,000 km).

Ron.
 
All the information I have suggests that it is the original camshaft so has 290,000km on it. Probably can't complain . Unsurprisingly, the lifters were equally bad, heavy cupping.
I do know that for the majority of its life, it was well cared for, but the last 50,000 miles is not well documented and seems to have undone all the care taken prior.
Having said that, other components such as the oil pump (also original) are in pretty good shape.
The timing chain, although badly stretched, has left chain marks on the crankshaft sprocket.
I ordered one from Rimmers with all the other parts and was surprised to find they have sent me a used one (not mentioned on their site).
 
My Rover's original engine came out in 2007 with 327,000 km on it. Like yours it was very heavily worn. The camshaft had lobes that were all but gone, the lifters concave, the nylon toothed timing wheel with just two teeth left and a morse chain that was extremely loose. I had posted lots of photos on here back in 2007.

They sent you a used timing chain? I'd be sending that back. If the assumption from their website is everything is new, anything less is unacceptable.

Ron.
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
My Rover's original engine came out in 2007 with 327,000 km on it. Like yours it was very heavily worn. The camshaft had lobes that were all but gone, the lifters concave, the nylon toothed timing wheel with just two teeth left and a morse chain that was extremely loose. I had posted lots of photos on here back in 2007.

They sent you a used timing chain? I'd be sending that back. If the assumption from their website is everything is new, anything less is unacceptable.

Ron.
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Hi Ron,
No the crankshaft sprocket is the used item. The camshaft sprocket and chain are both new.
I assumed the crank sprocket would also be. It's sold as an OEM part, not NOS or used on the site.
Overall it is in better shape than my original, but definitely not new..
 
I saw the marks on the tip of one of the teeth and did not pay much heed to them, could have been dropped, or otherwise marked.
I was looking at the sides of the teeth that show casting grain, no shiny wear marks at all. IIRC the stock timing chains due to their design run on these areas.

I cannot believe Rimmer Bros would sell a used crank sprocket, who in their right mind would spend money on such a thing.

But I've been wrong before.....
 
Here are two more images showing the 'quality' of the casting.
The third one in the brown paper is another they offered me as an alternative (overnight) after I complained that this couldn't be considered a 'new' part. The faces of that one appear even worse.
I concur that the marks on the top of one tooth look like vice marks. That tooth is also very slightly flattened on top.
Unfortunately my original has too much wear on the faces, with indents from the contact with the chain over the years.
It looks like I may have to just use this one supplied..
 

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I will look at my used one (scrapped 3.9) and see if its marked and report back. You might take the suspect part to a local supplier who stocks them and compare condition?
 
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I would add that this is the response I got when I asked about the 'made in China's tag on the box, labeled as made by 'AllMakes4x4'...

"Thank you for your feedback and information, this is an OEM item, please bear in mind we do not purchase directly from the manufacturer, however can assure you the quality of the item is comparable to that of the Genuine."
 
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