Rover 75, V8 lumpy after 50 miles

We have a 2005 Rover 75.260 V8. After 50 miles the engine runs lumpy. We think it is misfiring on number five.

Also, when the car has been standing in the sun and the body heats up, the engine management light comes on and the car cannot be started until the body cools down.

Reply to
john hamilton
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you have a rover 75, what is your question? The original Rover 75 (1950 something) was one of the most awful cars ever, and the newer incarnation is much the same. Cut your losses and get rid of it.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Utter nonsense. The Rover 75 is a superb car. It came 7th out of 100 in the 'Driver Power Survey' in this week's Auto Express (and 2nd in the 'Family Car' category). For a car that ceased production 5 years ago this is an excellent result.

It got such a terrific result because owners love their 75s.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

"Ret." gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Six places behind the Hyundai i30.

Reply to
Adrian

"john hamilton" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

If you're going to have a 75, that's the one to have. Lovely.

If it's just that pot, and consistently that one pot, then it can really only be ignition or injector for that pot. What's the ignition? Coil-pack- per-cylinder? That'd be first suspect.

Something's heat-soaking, by the sound of it. Whether the two are related or not is a different question - I'd be surprised if the coil pack for the missing pot is causing a complete non-start on a v8. If the management light is coming on, I'd expect a fault code to be logged.

Reply to
Adrian

Dont talk out of your cockend. The 75 is a very good car, you donkey.

Reply to
Nige

You obviously know little of early post WW2 cars if you consider that 75 'awful'. Come to that little about '90s cars too.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

And 7 places ahead of the Mercedes 'C' class...

(and way ahead of Saabs and Froggie cars!)

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

Motoring journalists like them &, bizarre as it seems, people actually buy cars without test driving them.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Actually, no.

He has the V8 one, which is one of the best cars I've ever driven and pretty much bombproof. Other than dashboard faults, I've not heard of a

75 V8 having an issue with _anything mechanical_ before.

It will quite probably have the Mustang engine management ecu in there somewhere, so the fault codes should be easy enough to read with any old OBDII reader, unless Rover cocked that up. I've dealt with the 4.6 Mustang / Lincoln Towncar engine in the past and about the only consumable part that shouldn't be is the coil packs - which are around £35 each.

Don't get rid of it, it's the only 75 worth having, and the only reliable one of the lot. It's also the only one that is likely to hold any kind of value whatsoever, and the only one that's a guaranteed future classic.

I'd love a 75 V8, but I'd prefer a ZT-T 260.

Reply to
Pete M

You were doing so well - but why spoil it by saying that the V8 'is the only

75 worth having'? My 75 CDTi Connoisseur SE auto estate is superb. It's quiet, it's smooth, it's frugal, and it's very comfortable. I have owned it from new and it will be six years old in June. So far the only replacements that have been required have been the battery and the alternator. Other than that it has been 100% reliable - and I love it. I have yet to come across a 75 owner who is not effusive in his praise of the car - which is no doubt why it came 7th out of 100 in this year's Driver Power Survey - despite having been out of production for five years.

I regularly test-drive new cars when they come out - and invariably I am glad to get back into my 75. The main problem with current cars is that they are all trying to be BMW clones and consequently have over-firm seats, over-firm suspension, and consequently abysmal ride quality (and very often plenty of road noise).

I found it significant when reading owner comments about various cars in the above survey that so many cars got poor ratings for ride quality. It seems apparent that owners don't like firm suspension that gives a harsh and unforgiving ride - so why are so many manufacturers churning out cars like this?

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

Because it improves road handling

Reply to
steve robinson

We've been through this, Kev. I've also done a load of miles in a 75 CDTi and in a ZT-T 260, I'd pick the ZT-T 260 every day of the week, and then use it at the weekends for fun. The V8 ones are a totally different beastie from the run of the mill 75. The V8s are fantastic.

The 75 CDTi is a nice car for going on long trips, but they are very unreliable. The one I was using was one of the facelifted jobs, had 30k f.s.h mollycuddled miles on the clock and it had impending issues.

Put it this way, I'm not planning on ever selling my SD1 V8, but if someone were to offer me a £6000 ZT-T 260 for it I'd do the deal. If they offered me a perfect 75 CDTi for it + £6,000 cash I'd keep the SD1. I've seen too many dead 75s to want one.

I was looking at a top spec 75 V6 the other day, the engine had gone so it'd been left to rot around the back of the garage it had been towed to. Been there for about 2 years. Nobody wants 'em. Search ebay and you'll find hundreds of 75s for a few hundred quid.

I just did exactly that and there was an 81k mile, MOT'd until September, 2000 "W" reg, CONNOISSEUR SE that had had no bids and the auction had run to the end. That was a petrol one, but it had had the head gasket replaced and wasn't expensive, yet it hadn't even fetched the £300 starting price with no reserve. The only ones fetching more than a grand are appearing to be shill bids, as the majority of them are under a grand and unsold.

As for the "over firm" suspension, I find the fwd 75s too soft, the fwd MG 75s a bit too stiff, and the ZT 260 about perfect - but you'd find it too stiff.

Reply to
Pete M

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Mrcheerful" saying something like:

Not so. Lovely old brute, in its day. I fondly recall the freewheel device and the fly-off handbrake. My old man had an R80 iirc - maybe the original 75 was a bit worse.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

"Ret." gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Yes, and?

If you're trying to make some point about cars I might own, then I'm afraid I don't quite understand it. Perhaps it'd help me to do so if you'd be so kind as to spend a few minutes to tell me where any of the specific car models I've ever bought came in this survey?

Citroen - 2cv, Dyane, Ami, GSA, Acadiane, AKS400, AK350, Mehari, CX, XM Saab - 900 (pre-93) Alfa - 75 Hillman - Imp Peugeot - 205

Or are you one of these strange people who think that there's some kind of inherent link between completely different models of the same marque which share no more than a badge?

Would you say your R75 was somehow more or less affected by attitudes towards Rover P4s or CityRovers?

Reply to
Adrian

The 80 had a four cylinder engine so not so refined.

Later 75s had the option of an overdrive which replaced the freewheel.

They were known as the 'poor man's Rolls-Royce' - and rightly so. Refinement and quality was well ahead of the BMC etc offerings. Although you paid for that.

Of course you could get similar sized cars that 'performed' better - but that's not eveyone's main priority.

The 'BMW' 75 is very similar in concept.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

This particular survey, because it relies on the opinions of people who actually own the cars, is an excellent indicator of whether these owners

*like* their cars - and what aspects about the cars they like - and what aspects they don't like.

It is clear that more 75 owners are happy with the different aspects of their car than owners of Mercedes and Saabs etc.

I've already pointed out that in numerous different surveys, French cars in general come out very poorly for ownership satisfaction/reliability. This particular survey was no exception. There are, of course, certain 'brands' of car that are renowned for poor owner satisfaction.

See above.

I would say that a lot of ignorant people slam the 75 simply because it is a Rover, yes.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

And in what way is that relevant to everyday driving on UK roads? Many drivers are having to put up with harsh bumpy rides in order to gain a handling advantage that they will never use. The Rover 75 favours ride comfort over handling and that is why owners are so effusive in their praise of the ride quality. I haven't read many reports of 75's leaving the road because of poor handling - have you? How many everyday UK motorists want to throw their cars around corners at speed? What they want is a comfortable and compliant ride quality - and they are not getting it. The new Mini is one car that is slated for its 'harsh and unforgiving' ride quality - that's because it was developed by BMW rather than MG/Rover.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

"Ret." gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Whether or not they know the first thing about cars, whether or not the car is actually any good. Have you considered that a very likely explanation is that it tells us nothing more than that the owners of some cars have low expectations and are easily satisfied?

And?

The members of the Austin Allegro Owners Club are undoubtedly very pleased with and enthusiastic about their cars. Does that mean an Allegro is actually any good?

Lovely, an' all. But not what I asked.

Quite.

Three questions asked, three questions dodged. You're consistent, if nothing else.

Reply to
Adrian

Most one make classic car clubs will obviously be enthusiastic about their cars - but not blind to their faults. Indeed recently one member of the SD1 club was trying to stop members mentioning their faults and got little support. Of course if an outsider criticises them - different matter.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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