Until you have properly broken in the engine A trip like that could be not only embarassing but could greatly shorten the life of the monies you have sank into the engine rebuild. Is it really worth it?

 

Can you tell me how to brake in the engine properly? When I have to change the oil?

 

Thought this got covered this week?
I break the camshaft in, then drive at varying RPM's for @500miles. If not done already, oil will get changed at that point, then again at 1000miles, then again at 2000miles. Then every 3k miles after that.
During that first 500 miles, it is important to gradually put more load on the motor at higher RPM's, and NOT keep a steady throttle during that time. Lugging the motor down on cruise control, and keeping within a 200RPM band will not do you any favors for the first @500 miles.

Martin

 

Camshaft break-in will be done tomorrow, then I will get her.. I will change oil exactly as you suggested..

But I could not understand "put more load on the motor at higher RPM's" part, what do you mean exactly? Since it is automatic, should I press it down to lower gears, than release to shift up? I use her on daily traffic and it sometimes gets stuck. Is this a problem?

 

Over thinking it mate.
I meant to give it a little more gas and load the motor up as time and miles go on. No lugging it down trying to pull up a hill at 800rpm's etc though.
Nice gradual driving, with progressively more throttle etc. is the way to go. No excessive idling, no heavy foot from a standing start, no steady rpm's, and so on.
If you go on a long drive, vary the rpm's either by speed or going out of overdrive etc.

Martin

 

Since I had many problems, I want to behave her very carefully I feel it is very fragile..

 

I got her back today.. Its been 3 weeks, and I used different cars during this time.

I drove her 50miles to home and I realized that I am in love with her!

 

Great ... but don't forget eek55 that, in this context, this kind of 'Love' is just a way for us to describe/explain/excuse temporary insanity !?...

 

I went for a small ride in the evening and just got home back. Since I use her on fuel, and got used to LPG prices, it really hurts to full the tank And also I did not know it did have such a huge tank and fuel prices are so high

Dave, my wife also says I do not love her ( P38 ), this is an addiction/obsession, and she is a clinical psychologist

 

Well, eek55 [and I really don't say this very often at all but] heed your wife's good advice, she is correct !!

It looks like you have already taken the other good advice here .....to break the car in very gently ??.....

Yes, petrol is even more expensive in Turkey than the EU (!), what excuses do they give you all for this ?

 

"Yes, petrol is even more expensive in Turkey than the EU (!), what excuses do they give you all for this ?"

last i heard (while ago) highest in the world hence the prevalence of LPG, even on tiny cars. It's the only/easiest way for the government to collect some form of tax, why don't the Greeks adopt that if no one wants to cough up.

That said i don't know what quality control they have on it (or petrol)

 

This is a very popular topic here, but no one knows the answer. Compared to GDP per capita, we are the champions of the fuel!

Its been 300kms with the new engine, I am not revving it higher than 3000rpms but do not let it down for a long time, or use cruise control. I try to feel the power, which happens after 2000rpms.. And also I am trying not to think about it, to fight with the obsession, as my wife suggests

Chris X, I will tell her about this, and let her talk to your wife You are a lucky guy, a woman excepting another money consuming headache source in the house

 

(Here we go again, yet another unnecessary interjection ?!..) .....

Well, Larry, maybe because 'the Greeks' already pay the highest petrol prices in the EU ??

I am obviously already well aware that Governments use 'fuel taxes' to generate revenue, again I am just interested in what (particular) excuses they give in Turkey...... which is why I asked eek55 !

Anyway.... somewhere better for such remarks :-

http://www.rangerovers.net/forum/13-general-chatter/39149-world-gas-prices.html?

 

If you followed Martin's break in advice, or even most of it, then you've done well and your fears should be lessened to a large degree. The motor should give you many years of solid service if you look after it reasonably well.

My wife is also a clinical psychologist. She's in love with the Rover herself (with me - it's love/hate/kinda like/hate/love/more love/hate hate hate/love/hate...but that's how women are. As for the Rover, I like it. ) Maybe there should be a Rovers and Psychologists Global Conference or something.

 

(with me - it's love/hate/kinda like/hate/love/more love/hate hate hate/love/hate...but that's how women are. As for the Rover, I like it. ) Maybe there should be a Rovers and Psychologists Global Conference or something.

I just drink beer, it's simpler, cheaper, less confusing and i swear blind it solves more problems, sort of!

 

There is definitely 'a connection' somewhere here Chris X as many of us have (probably) been driven to psychologists (and/or insanity) by our P38s... ?!

 

It may be too late, but this guy knows how to break in an engine: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Summary: load it, change the oil

 

There are so many threads on the internerd regards this subject, it isn't funny.
Having rebuilt engines that were not broken in the right way (used too hard too soon), I will stick with my personal experiences. Camshafts, pistons, bearings, etc are a little too expensive for me to recommend hard driving from the get go. Yes the rings need bedding in, thus my suggestion of running it gradually harder and harder, and with higher rpm's etc.
This is the exact reason I give a detailed sheet with break in procedures, with the motors I build for folks. I know if one came back with an issue, I could tell right away if it was hammered from the get go, although luckily this is yet to happen. There are also other considerations to take into account. Using it hard builds heat a lot quicker, and thus if there are any weak spots with the cooling system, it would be too late to stop it before the damage is done.
Just my .02 from experience, and not the internet.....

Martin

 

Trying new things is good, but not for me and not for my beloved P38 I stick to standard way of breaking in, as a described above. Its been 500kms, after another 500kms I will make an oil change.

Thank you guys for all your help!

 

Hi all, again!

I do not have any bad news, my P38 is doing very well with her tiny, expensive, new engine.. But now I am about to reach ~550 miles, and will change the oil next week. I used her as you described, pushing but not exceeding 3000rpms (actually it was between 1500-2500 rpms)..

Now, my question is about the LPG system.. Since it costs less than half price of petrol here, and I have a sequential Tartarini LPG kit, I want to use it. But the shop says it is out of guarantee if I use it on LPG, of course except of obvious mistakes if they made any.. How can I be sure that there is no labor mistakes they made while rebuilding? I am not loosing coolant or oil now, or experiencing different noises, misfires, vibrations etc. She is like pretty new.. In addition, when I should get back to LPG, after 2000miles, 5000 miles etc., and how can LPG damage the engine?

 

Sounds good, eek55... and if you respect your car like this it will respect you back (- at least that is the theory !...) LPG will not 'damage your engine' - or at least it should not.... but obviously your garage are [again] just trying to limit their guarantee.... but if you are going to re-instate your LPG system then in order to protect your interests I would also involve an LPG specialist (and have them talk to your first garage, first ?)

 

I hope that theory works in real life

I have a LPG specialist, since my garage does not do LPG work.. And yes, they are trying to limit their responsibility, and also they have a negtive attitude for LPG conversion, so I may not be able to make them (LPG shop and my garage) communicate for the installment. When do you think I may be sure my garage did its job well on my engine?

 

The decision for you eek55 is a 'time vs. km vs. $$' issue.... ie. do you risk losing that '1 year - unlimited km. guarantee' .... or save money by reverting to LPG ?... so it mainly depends on your expected mileage and associated expenditure (of course).... yes, a 'tough call' !! For what it is worth, based on what you have said so far, I would probably see how things are in [say] 6 months, and make the decision then... whilst complaining about the cost of petrol there the whole time... ?!

I would still consider getting the two garages to talk about LPG.... as you know the problem is it has a bad reputation from lots of early problems and faulty installations... perhaps your specialist can change this by talking to your first garage ? {I doubt it but what is there to lose ?}

It is not particularly easy to 'check' just how good the garage rebuild was... 'time will tell'.... and analysing the oil may not help much, either...

 

Every km costs 80kr with petrol, 40kr with LPG. And the repair cost was around 10K TL, so break even level of LPG-Petrol difference and the rebuild cost is 25.000kms, ~15.000 miles (I used local currency since it does not make difference). I drive about 600 miles / month (under normal circumstances). But in this scenario I assume LPG will destroy the engine after 15.000 miles and I will have to rebuild it again, which is not likely to occur I guess. Tough decision again, I will talk to both garages next week and decide what to do..

 

Ah.... so you expect to need a 10K TL re-build in about 2 years ?... Ouch !! Well I would expect much better than the engine being 'destroyed' like that (but again it partly depends on how good your garage work was !).

Seriously... sometimes LPG causes higher combustion temperatures - with resultant valve/seating damage... but it depends on the engine (and the installation): Perhaps this is what your first garage expects/fears ?

- It may help to read about 'valve seat recession' (which can be a problem with 'newer cars + inferior materials' + LPG), eg. - but for the UK :-

http://www.amrautos.co.uk/index.php/lpg-systems

& Note they state: ' Pre 2006 L322 Range Rovers with BMW engines and Older P38 4.0 and 4.6 V8 Rover engines are fine and will easily cover large mileages '

 

Interesting article in that link, thanks. Of note was the point about real cost fo LPG and the point regarding the reduced efficiency/power loss. It makes quite a strong argument for not bothering with the LPG

 

Yes, there is quite a lot of rationale to ‘discourage’ LPG conversion; Some power loss, possible engine & new warranty issues, etc, but the primary motivation remains the relative cost of LPG itself of course…. and which has been consistently ~ 50%/l less than 'conventional' fuels (petrol/diesel).... but subject again to all those associated 'pay-back period/mileage' calculations ... also the particular engine/car to be converted...(& personal choice)...etc

On the more positive side only around 1% of EU cars have been converted…. and so the LPG price should remain low...although I wonder what ‘they’ would do with the price of LPG if this % became more significant…! (Yes, I know..)

One of the main concerns as far as existing LPG P38s are concerned however is that it seems that often very little installation details are passed onto new owners ... ?

Don't really want to start a big debate here [about the relative merits of LPG] but bearing in mind the number of P38 conversions on here it may be best for someone with an LPG rig to start a 'special'/dedicated LPG thread which may be helpful for others (and maybe develop into a 'sticky' ) ?

 

it makes little difference other than to make the point but they've got their unit's/terms mixed up and consequently their maths.

LPG fuel consumption will increase by 25% compared to petrol (for the same work) this is not the same as saying your mpg decreases by the same. Using their example of a car on 20mpg on petrol, this would be 16mpg on lpg, not 15mpg. in reality (in terms of the units used) 25% increase is the same as a 20% decrease.

 

Maths ? Units ? ....

Not sure you noted their words 'economy / almost / around /etc' Larry ! :-

" Whilst running on LPG performance is almost identical to petrol but economy is reduced by almost 25%. This is common to all LPG Systems regardless of the make, quality or type. For example a car returning 20mpg whilst running on Petrol will only return around 15mpg when converted to run on LPG. This is because the... {& etc} .... "

- Their main point is clearly that, be it ~20% or ~25%, you will get less mpg with LPG as compared to petrol.... [=>Let's all just agree on ~22.5%, OK ?!]

- So, overall an 'interesting article' indeed.... with lots of insights into the potential downside of LPG conversions ?.... Oh, well, never mind .....

How about my suggestion about originating a dedicated LPG thread, Larry ?