?mark on 3.9V8

Rooster

I had a 96 Disco V8 for about 7 years + 150000 km any never heard of that problem. Seems to be another of those urban myths. The 3.9 is based on the original 3.5 with slightly increased capacity. That setup has been around for donkeys years so I hardly think a head bolt problem is going to arrive out of the blue. I had to replace the valley gasket on mine, but that's a typical issue with any V8. Don't know about the dual fuel issue as I wasn't interested in going there.
They're probably no more thirsty than the big sixes .... 16-20 L per 100 km, depending on conditions and driving style.

Cheers

I've owned both the 3.5 and the 3.9 in Range Rovers. Still own a 3.9. No such issue has ever come to my attention. I am an avid reader of all Rangie forums and this issue if it exists ( and I doubt it does) has never been mentioned.

Head gasket problems were real, especially in badly maintained V8s as they have metal shim gaskets which can corrode if the cooling sytem is not treated with respect.

Having said all of that, if I had the choice of Td vs petrol, there would want to be a huge difference in price before I would choose a petrol landrover again. Why? better economy, better range (important for touring), better reliability, less little quirks. Just my opinion though.

i have a 1995 V8 on dual fuel with no problems whatsoever. never had any dramas with the motor. it currently has 126,000kms on it and it's been totally trouble free.

the gas is great - i use the disco as my daily driver and going up and down the freeway in peak traffic is sure thirsty on the V8, but on gas it only costs me $16 a week to run (not bad at all.)

the gas is less economical around the city than the petrol, but on open runs they're pretty similar. i have the original 80l petrol tank and a 70l gas setup, so combined i get close to 1000kms on one fuelling, good for heading up north.

the only issue i've had with the gas (and it's just happened now) is if it's out of tune, running rough or needing a service, unburnt gas builds up then backfires through the air-intake - possibly what you're referring to. you simply just need to book the car in for a tune-up when that happens. you also need to replace the original clamps on the air-filter box with spring clips. this way, if the gas does backfire the top of the intake box simply lifts up and expels the charge without causing any damage.

if not, you get an almight bang from the front left end, similar to hitting a roo or a huge pothole, when it's simply the gas backfiring.

i'd recommend the dual fuel setup anytime. great, cheap driving around the city, plus the grunt and power of the 3.9l petrol motor when off-road. be mindful to run the motor for about a half tank of petrol every 3-5 gas tankfuls to help motor lubrication and reduce wear.

nathan