Rover Sterling transmission fault???

Unlikely to be related to the transmission. Check all the sensors you had to disconnect to remove the heads - it's likely that you've either forgotten to connect one (such as the camshaft sensor), or there is a bad connection somewhere. Take your car to a Rover dealer and they will plug TestBook into the ECU which should then report which sensor(s) are causing the trouble.

Darren

Also, sometimes happens, check that the engine and transmission mounts are correctly secured and in good condition as they can cause this shuddering fault if worn or not secured correctly. A cheats way of changing the headgasket without removing the engine is to put a jack under the sump to raise or lower the engne as required, which puts a higher tan normal strain on the engine mount points.

PDH

Oops looks like i was using the wifes E-mail there! Thanks for your thoughts on that one.

Got to be honest i didnt change the head gaskets, i let the guys at Phoenix Rover in Hatfield do that job. I am 100% sure they didnt use the jacking up technique because i made a suprise visit while the car was being worked on after a confusing phone call about "rust on the cylinder head" hmmm! Just got new spark plugs and leads this morning to see if that helps (needed doing anyway).

Thanks again

While I'm thinking about it, had a similar electrical related symptom when the centre carbon pip in the distributor fell to pieces. Engine shook like hell up to 2000 rpm, then ran normally as the spark bridged the gap fully. Cost me a new cap and rotor arm in the end but well worth the effort.

PDH

Would you believe it, new spark plugs and leads and now its ok! Kind of annoying really because when the head gaskets were being done i asked the mechanic if it needed new plugs but he said they were ok. It must have been a weak spark causing the problem, the old ones were at

1.2mm so i gapped the new plugs at .85mm as-per the owners manual. I can rule out a distributor problem because when i removed the plastic cover i found a rail with 3 modules for the leads to plug into(new to me). Anyway, took it for a spin and booted it round to 4000rpm with no problem. Next is new discs and pads, my wife drove it and compared to her ZT the Sterlings brakes are naff!

Cheers, Dave Simmons

When you pulled the old leads out, were the ends oil fouled?

You get this fault a lot with T engines and leaky oil gaskets.

PDH

Its a 2.5kv6 not a T

Any engine with deep set plugs can suffer from this. I had a 1.4 with the same problem due to oil fouling.

PDH

No oil at all. Base of threads are black but dry, ceramic core still white and the tips are brown. Thats the same for all six, it seems to run smoother as the belt tensioner isnt moving as much as it did.

Just unlucky then, one or two leads breaking down under pressure.