JT’s fleet: Range Rover’s burst it’s bag

[J-T]

For some reason, the interior looks like it's made from an umpa lumpa in that pic, it's not quite as 'sudden' in real life!

Spec list is pretty long and mostly carried out by the previous owner in his 7 year run. It really is a credit to him. Here we go..

Q2 limited slip diff

Cat-less manifolds from a GTV (ceramic coated)

Wizard downpipes & Scorpion cat-back exhaust

Ferrari 360 throttle body

Alfatune remap

Silicon water pipes

Oil cooler replacement kit

New radiator

Eibach pro springs

Koni FSD shocks

Whiteline rear ARB

Polybushed throughout

Powder coated subframe

Powder coated brake calipers

Tarox front discs

Goodridge brake lines

Powder coated wheels

Clutch & cambelt done last year

Partial respray

Floopan & arches treated & waxoiled

Engine bay detailed...

Honestly, I could go on and on. He has put some serious time, effort and money into this and it shows. I took the wheels off the other week to see what it looked like with the dark teledials I had on the diesel and was met with this

It makes me feel guilty to drive it. Other than a brand newie, it's the cleanest car I've ever owned. I do intend to do my best to keep it that way so Ive bought some XCP anti corrosion spray usually used on motorbikes. My intention is to give everything a good blast, and repeat every 6 weeks or so with the wheels off throughout winter. It didn't have an undertray fitted either as the standard one hangs low anyway so they're not really usuable on a lowered car. I've just fitted an aluminium one which gives a lot more clearance than the standard one whilst giving the engine bay some protection.

It isn't totally without fault. I noticed that an inner CV boot was torn so booked it in to have that replaced. When I collected the car, they said it had just come off, so they charged me minimal labour and just put it back on, but I noticed it had come off again the other day. On closer inspection, there is a tear in the lip that seals over the edge of the joint. However I'm getting a bit of a clunk on/off power and on lock from this side so I think the joint is on the way out. I drove up the other day to my Alfa guy for him to have a listen. He didn't think it sounded like the driveshalft but couldn't find play in any suspension bush or ARB link. He just advised to let it get a bit worse and more obvious rather than start chasing it by changing parts.

Parts are another issue with these now, but I shall leave that for another time (I've already started hoarding). Overall, I'm still in slight disbelief that I own it. I just hope that I'll be in a position to keep it come the time in a year or so when I've finished my degree course and have to get a proper job again. For now I just intend to enjoy it as much as possible!

 

 

[paulplom]

Loads of preventative maintenance has been done by the look of it. With it being an alfa it should last you for weeks to come. Serious though, stunning.

[stripped fred]

15 hours ago, J-T said:

For some reason, the interior looks like it's made from an umpa lumpa in that pic, it's not quite as 'sudden' in real life!

Spec list is pretty long and mostly carried out by the previous owner in his 7 year run. It really is a credit to him. Here we go..

Q2 limited slip diff

Cat-less manifolds from a GTV (ceramic coated)

Wizard downpipes & Scorpion cat-back exhaust

Ferrari 360 throttle body

Alfatune remap

Silicon water pipes

Oil cooler replacement kit

New radiator

Eibach pro springs

Koni FSD shocks

Whiteline rear ARB

Polybushed throughout

Powder coated subframe

Powder coated brake calipers

Tarox front discs

Goodridge brake lines

Powder coated wheels

Clutch & cambelt done last year

Partial respray

Floopan & arches treated & waxoiled

Engine bay detailed...

Honestly, I could go on and on. He has put some serious time, effort and money into this and it shows. I took the wheels off the other week to see what it looked like with the dark teledials I had on the diesel and was met with this

It makes me feel guilty to drive it. Other than a brand newie, it's the cleanest car I've ever owned. I do intend to do my best to keep it that way so Ive bought some XCP anti corrosion spray usually used on motorbikes. My intention is to give everything a good blast, and repeat every 6 weeks or so with the wheels off throughout winter. It didn't have an undertray fitted either as the standard one hangs low anyway so they're not really usuable on a lowered car. I've just fitted an aluminium one which gives a lot more clearance than the standard one whilst giving the engine bay some protection.

It isn't totally without fault. I noticed that an inner CV boot was torn so booked it in to have that replaced. When I collected the car, they said it had just come off, so they charged me minimal labour and just put it back on, but I noticed it had come off again the other day. On closer inspection, there is a tear in the lip that seals over the edge of the joint. However I'm getting a bit of a clunk on/off power and on lock from this side so I think the joint is on the way out. I drove up the other day to my Alfa guy for him to have a listen. He didn't think it sounded like the driveshalft but couldn't find play in any suspension bush or ARB link. He just advised to let it get a bit worse and more obvious rather than start chasing it by changing parts.

Parts are another issue with these now, but I shall leave that for another time (I've already started hoarding). Overall, I'm still in slight disbelief that I own it. I just hope that I'll be in a position to keep it come the time in a year or so when I've finished my degree course and have to get a proper job again. For now I just intend to enjoy it as much as possible!

 

 

Well bought! So, how does it drive? Do these like to scrabble the front wheels a bit? Can you tell that there is a big lump up front? I am jealous so please tell me it is terrible so I feel better...

[J-T]

The overwhelming sensation is torque in any gear at pretty much any speed. It'll trundle along at 30mph in 6th. You put your foot down properly and initially it doesn't feel particularly special in the mid-range but above about 5000rpm it just gets savage. I don't remember the 3.0 version of this engine being so aggressive at high revs.

Apparently as standard they are quite scrabbly and will light up the inside wheel for fun, which is why the Q2 diff is considered such a worthwhile upgrade. It's rare you see one without it now, as the standard diff isn't very strong (this one suffered diff failure about 10 years ago). As it stands, it isn't really scrabbly at all.

You are aware of the weight up front but you sort of end up driving to compensate. It just feels planted rather than wanting to push on. The steering is quite a bit heavier than the other one and the lock is even worse, I think it's restricted to something like 1.7 turns lock to lock to accomodate the engine.

I was quite impressed with the fuel economy as well - like I said, you can have it in a high gear at very low speeds, so it did 28mpg on the way home. However the second you start booting it, you can virtually watch the dial drop! Gotta spend your money on something though haven't you! I very rarely drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, so fuck it ?

[Dave_Q]

The condition under the arches is amazing, it's clearly been loved. Every other 147 or 156 I've seen has been well Titanic under there.

 

Living the dream mate, keep on top of it and it will probably be worth $$$ when the rest have rusted away!

 

 

[J-T]

3 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

The condition under the arches is amazing, it's clearly been loved. Every other 147 or 156 I've seen has been well Titanic under there.

 

Living the dream mate, keep on top of it and it will probably be worth $$$ when the rest have rusted away!

 

 

The diesel was 5 years newer and was made to look like it had lived a very very hard life! It was somewhat embarassing ?

[cort16]

That looks great I love these gtas. You’ve got to worry about someone who paints their brake pipes though. ?

[Aston Martin]

I bet 99% were red. It's interesting to see it in a different colour.

[J-T]

I had all the wheels off today in the rare break from non-stop rain and blathered everything in this stuff

Seems to get a good write up so I'll see how it performs. It's loads easier to use than clear waxoyl that I've used years ago. No messing about heating it up, it just sprays out nicely. Covered all the suspension parts, ARBs etc and the subframes and other vulnerable bits underneath. I'll leave it for about 6 weeks and see how it's getting on.

[w00dy]

Awesome car with an incredible spec. It has definitely been loved.

Interested to see how you get on with that rust blocker, I need something similar for the Probe.

[nacho man]

That is mega, I can remember driving a 156gta back when they was realised and being smitten. Would.

[davehedgehog31]

Jesus, that is beautiful.

[J-T]

Seems to be getting on ok so far. It’ll definitely need re-application in a few weeks though. I suppose the real test will come when the gritters come out.

 

[spartacus]

That's lovely, that looks a sensible list of mods too. I would imagine the noise is sublime.

[J-T]

Car is dirrrty

 

Gritters are clearly out in force. I'm not too bothered how it'll fare up top because I've waxed it about once every 2 weeks since buying it so any salt soon blasts off with the pressure washer. I thought it was about time to see how it was doing underneath and how that rust blocker is performing (and then give it a good clean off of all the salt).

Well..

Colour me impressed. It didn't even seem as though it needs re-applying, but I'll get all the wheels off and re-do it over xmas. It seems to repel water really well,  I was a bit concerend it would all be full of grit and shite as it stays quite soft, and it does pick up a bit of grit but nothing like I was expecting it to. So thumbs up from me!

And clean again.

I've not had much to say about it because unlike the other one, it's just getting on with being a car. The clutch has gone heavy, so it needs the same bushes lubricating as the last one, so I'll get that done over xmas. It's only issue is an intermittent drivetrain-related clunk that sometimes happens coming on/off power or on full lock (I actually felt this when I test drove it but frankly the fucking lump could have fallen out and I'd probably have still driven it home). I've had it jacked up and can't feel any play in anything that you'd expect, I've had it in to a specialist and neither can he, so his advice was to let it get worse before playing parts lottery. It doesn't seem to get worse, just more random as to when it happens so I'll keep an eye on that.

I've been building up a small parts stash. These have an issue with ECUs failing. They are located in the engine bay on the back of the intake, sat above the rear manifold. As you do. The thinking is that over time, the heat from the manifold cooks them and combined with vibration from the engine, it causes the components to fall off the board. These are glued on and covered in a silicon jelly. People claim to be able to repair them, but they rarely work or last very long, so when this happens, they are scrap. This is quite an issue, as Alfa (well, Bosch) no longer make them. Used ECUs change hands for in excess of £1000 and are 3.2 busso specific. I managed to source one of the last 'new' (2015 manufactured) ECUs. I shan't tell you what I paid, but I didn't want to be wondering if it would start every time I put the key in. Needless to say it was a lot, but you literally cannot get them now, so it should add a bit of value if I ever sell it. I also have the old one as a spare which I'll sell should the opportunity present itself.

A browse on ebay also unearthed some NOS driveshafts including CV joints. Outer CV joints are GTA specific and NLA, so I now have 2 genuine Alfa driveshafts sat in the hall. I'm probably going a bit overkill, but when you can't get this stuff I'll be cursing that I didn't buy.

I've also just managed to sell those dark teledials I bought for the same as I paid for them, which is good considering I'd had nearly 12 months use out of the tyres. So at least that's put a bit of money back my way!

The exhaust is a bit too loud for every day use and is starting to grate on me. A standard aftermarket cat back system is about £350 so I may swap it if I every stop buying parts it doesn't need. It also likes to throw up a traction control fault every blue moon but it goes away when re-started, so I just see that as it letting me know that it is quite prepared to royally shit itself should it wish.

[Dave_Q]

Is it worth sending the old ECU to our Cobblers?

If anyone can fix it he can, and if they are truly unobtanium and he can develop a robust fix, could be a lucrative bit of business for him?

[J-T]

The old one didn't actually fail. I just took it off before it did so that I'd have the chance of selling it to recoup some of the cost of the new one should I wish.

People have made repairs to them, but they just never seem to work for long. It's all a bit over my head but it's something to do with it being a hybrid ECU, the fact that components are glued rather than soldered, the delicacy of the gold tracks surrounding the board and compromising the jelly covering. There's a massive thread on the Alfa forum with people variously concluding that they 100% can be repaired successfully and they 100% can't be and that those that have managed it only do 5 miles a year in the car so it just hasn't manifested yet.

There's plenty of broken ones knocking about though if he wants to give it a go!

[J-T]

Looked into a couple of niggles today...

I've been very much enjoying roasty warm heated seats in this car, so I was a bit gutted the other week when the driver's one stopped working. Apalled at the prospect of a cold arse, this could not continue. I seemed to have ham-fistedly broken the switch in that it was depressed in all the time and wouldn't pop back out.

From the look of the surround I think someone's been here before but I whipped it out to see if it could be fettled. Oh...that's not great...

Looks like it's melted. The other harness side wasn't great either

I swapped the switch off the passenger seat to see if it would work with a new switch and it does but I'm obviously going to have to keep an eye on that. It cleaned up a bit with contact cleaner but it wants replacing really. New switch is now on order.

As mentioned, the clutch has gone heavy so it needs the actuator arm bushes lubricating, same as the diesel did. I won't go into detail as it's exactly the same process as last time, but believe it or not is actually a bit easier on the V6 as the battery tray isn't as much of a faff to remove. I managed to get it all stripped down and the actuator arm off, ready to remove and lubricate the bush but that's as far as I got.

You can see the top of the bush surrounding the splined head of the fork sticking out of the gearbox. I was hoping someone would have either replaced this before or at least removed it and lubricated it before, given the majority of the car has been practically rebuilt over the last few years. Unfortunately it appears it's the original bush that's never been out so it's not for coming out without destruction. Naturally, Alfa use shitty plastic bushes so it's now brittle as fuck so I stopped before I ruined it. New bush now on order and I'll try again.

I also noticed I've got an oil leak from the rear rocker cover gasket. Of course it's the fucking rear one. The front one's nice and easy but the whole plenum etc has to come off to change the rear. Needs doing though, I don't want it all getting caked in oil, so I've ordered up a genuine gasket set and I'll hopefully get on with that after xmas. I forgot to take a pic of the leak so have one of the engine instead.

Also ordered up some oil and a genuine filter as Opie oils had an offer on so I got 6 litres of fully synth 10w/60 for £45 delivered.  After having a look at where the oil filter is, I'm not relishing doing that, but hey ho.

Oh, and I've ordered up a new exhaust rubber as it's sagged a bit at the back and it's touching the top of the subframe on startup.

[Ohdearme]

@J-T if I recall, the seats overheating is a common fault, check that someone hasn’t upped the fuse in the box as the fuse should* stop you toasting the switch but in heavy use, these switches are almost a consumable...

[J-T]

Thanks @Ohdearme I'll have a look.

I've had a right shitty day with this today. I was actually looking forward to some theraputic, mindful spannering time, but it was just one of those days when things seem to conspire against you and piss you off exponentially. The new bush had come for the clutch actuator fork so I got it all stripped down again. I remember extracting this bush on the diesel was a bit of a war and that was 5 years newer. To cut a long story short, all I've succeeded in doing is mullering/snapping the plastic 'face' that sits on top of the gearbox casing. I battled with it for about half an hour but there's no way that's coming out from above and pushing it out from below means dropping the gearbox so, err yeh I'll live with it.

The gasket for the rear cam cover had also arrived so I got on with getting the plenum off. On the 3.0 version of this engine, this is relatively simple - a few pipes and electrical plugs to disconnect, undo all the clips on the inlet pipes, undo two 5mm allen bolts and it's off. Unfortunately, as you may have predicted it's a bit more complicated on a 3.2 - the ECU hangs off the back, so there's a lot of wiring in the way, along with a junction box containing about 5 different electrical plugs. Beneath that is a coolant overflow pipe from around the thermostat area to the expansion tank that needs removing so the coolant in that head drains out. Then when you've finally got all that out the way, you've got the wiring for the coil plugs all over the top of the cam box.

I did eventually get the bloody cam cover off, the pic below shows a little better how crowded it is, which makes extracting the cam cover tricky. Most of this is attached to the plenum in some way.

The cam cover bolts were done up way too tight, they should only be 15lb/ft but I had to hang off them to undo them. One appeared to be quite a bit looser than the others and when I took it out, realised that they'd stripped the bloody thread and it had been held in with some kind of threadlock. Wierdly this wasn't where it was leaking (it was the bolt you can see above far left in between the cams), but I don't have a tap and I need the car back up and running so I've just had to do it up as well as I could with some thread lock again. So all this and its chances of staying leak free are probably somewhere between bob hope and no hope. Cams looked good though and it was nice and clean in there.

When putting it back together, other highlights included the spring clip off one of the coil plug wiring springing off straight down a spark plug well, 30 mins spent extracting. Getting the wiring crossing over in the wrong order, meaning I had to start again, 15mins spent rectifying. Two of the clik hose clips that Alfa put on every fucking hose refusing to 'clik' together again, 20 mins spent messing in vain. Then on startup, the fuel hose between both fuel rails deciding it would piss fuel everywhere when I hadn't touched the bastard.

How long before I'm doing this again...a very bloody long time.

I was hoping to do the oil & filter today but it was dark by the time I finished. When I do get round to it, I'll have to try and get a snap of the oil filter access, it really must be seen to be believed. I've already tried it and thankfully it's only on hand tight, as there's no hope of getting a wrench on it without removing (hard) power steering lines!

 

[J-T]

We’re off to the north coast of Scotland in this tomorrow. Wish me luck. Tools are in the boot just in case ?

[stripped fred]

Thanks for the write up on the engine work. Scary just looking at the photos...

Let us know how it goes on the trip. Some good roads around there I should think. The exhaust will sound good bouncing off the hills!

[J-T]

Well, we made it. What a bloody drive that was....450 miles ?

I kept it steady on the motorways/main roads, kept the cruise set at about 68mph (which it barely came off all the way) and it managed this...

I was fair gobsmacked! It got all the way to Inverness on one tank. The fuel light had been on for about 10 miles and it had done 366 miles when we stopped so I may have just about been able to eek out 400 miles from one tank. It usually does about 280! I can’t see me achieving that again in a hurry.

Fuck me, this is remote!! Believe it or not, this is a A road:

Single track and we were on it for about 60 miles. Too bumpy and too many blind spots to really hoon about so the challenge is keeping momentum in 4th/5th gear around 50/60mph. We passed about 4 cars in 90 mins. Some truly stunning scenery 

And here’s the view from the cottage

And here was the average for the whole trip

Touch wood, the car’s behaved so far, however when it’s 1st started from stone cold that fuel hose that I mentioned the other day drips for about a minute. I can’t tighten it any more and it’s braided hose so I can’t cut the end with what I have with me. It stops after a min or so, so I’ll just keep a close eye on it. It must either be the initial pressure build up or the fact that it expands slightly when it’s warmed up. I’ve also realised that the rear cam cover wasn’t even fucking leaking. If you look at the pic where the plenum is off, but the cam cover is still on, you can see a plastic breather elbow on the far right...it was that and the oil is tracking around from there. I’ll just try not to think about that. ???

Anyway, this is roughly where we are

I think we’re gonna go up to John o’Groats tomorrow and have a general explore. I’ll stick some photos on if there’s stuff to see

[face]

Nice pictures. It’s bloody lovely up there.

[motorpunk]

Great pics! 
 

I miss my GTV V6, but had the constant nagging feeling the bastard was going to go wrong somehow, and every little job seemed to be a PITA. But.... that engine!

happy travels!

[mrbenn]

Beautiful scenery, fantastic car. Thanks for the pics!

I really must have an Alfa before we're not allowed anything with an exhaust.

[J-T]

Couple from today (sorry, not that interesting!)

Happy new year everyone!

[stripped fred]

Amazing photo, happy new year!

[DodgyBastard]

John o groats and the East Coast is pretty dull in comparison with the west coast, Durness to Ullapool is stunning.

Sent from my G3121 using Tapatalk

[J-T]

Come and drive up and down the east lancs road everyday then tell me it’s dull up here!