Well its been awhile since logging on here. Work has been unreal for the past few months and I realize I left this thread hanging.
Heres a link to my original post:
2004 Disco lasted 9.3 miles...up shits creek...
When I last spoke to this forum, I wan in the process of deciding what to do with my AFU 2004 D2.
Through numerous phone calls and emails back and forth with Rover Cannibal I decided to purchase one of thier "cannibal V8 ressurection" motors that come with top hats and a stage 2 crower cam. The plan was to buy it and have it shipped to me and put in myself.
I am not a mechanic, so this seemed risky to me. After speaking with Steven Johnson at RC, we came up with a plan to get this disco back in the game. Our plan was simple, as long as I could get all of my engine components to him minus the block, he and his mechanics would check everything for serviceability and make sure I wasnt going to assemble an engine just to have it detonate again.
So... I emptied out my largest pelican case and loaded up the heads, oil pump, sump, water pump and a few other odds and ends and sent them on thier way. Took the Radiator out as well to have it gone through at a local shop. A few days later they were in OKC and undergoing inspection. Needless to say much of what I sent them was replaced with remaned parts so I could essentially start fresh with every aspect of this motor being fresh. Long story short, a few weeks later my engine was built and crated up with my old/new parts and shipped off to me here in ABQ. I removed the old block and installed the new long block into my D2 in my driveway with the help of a hoist and a rent a friend. I took me a couple hours a night for three or four nights to get it all buttoned up but I did it. Then at approximately 1030 on a Monday night I ventured inside my house and summoned my wife. I brought her outside and gave here a flashlight and a fire extinguisher and gave here the fire/loud noises brief. I then hooked back up the battery and went to the cab to turn the key. After crossing every finger I could spare I turned the key.....
Fired right up. Not even a thought of hesitation. Purred right to life. Pure joy. I then proceeded to follow the very specific break in procedure for the motor and etc etc.
Now here we are, 4-ish month later with almost 3k miles on the motor under its belt and still running as well as possible. I have kept a very keen eye on this motor and installed a scan guage 2 as well to run on the fly diag's with it. Even in the hottest of ABQ's days, it has never been over 184 deg F.
So heres the summary. Before I did this I had numerous members of both this board and Dweb send me PM's essentially telling me to stay away from RC at all costs. When probed about the details, all I got from every one of them was the normal "I once knew a guy" or "I rememeber hearing about a guy" that had his money taken by "the shop in OKC".
I cannot emphasize how far from the truth all of that was. The crew at Rover Cannibal, specifically Steven Johnson was tremendously helpful in every aspect of this transaction. The did everything possible to make sure that when I turned that key for the first time it was met with success.
I ran into some problems with the removal of the old block, the bell housing bolts. When I called Steven, he walked across his shop and handed his phone to one of his mechanics who then proceeded to walk me through the hiccup over the phone. Everytime I had a question they were there to help. They also kept me in the loop as to where my motor was, what was happening to it and especially when I could expect to see it. This allowed me to best schedule around its arrival and get it back to life.
So moral of the story is that they have my vote. Replacing one of these engines is a time consuming and expesive endeavour. Please do not forget this. Things will break and it will always cost more than expected but do not hesitate to atleast explore them as an option if you find yourself with a smoking black hole under the hood of your discovery and need help.
Take care-
*Update*: Rover ups shits creek... and Rover Cannibal
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