First mechanical(?) problem in 17 years.......

[Parksy]

I find that interesting as I have been having trouble for a little while now and it might be worth looking into??

It's worth checking. I found it by spraying wd40 around the gasket area. Was actually a fluke, because I was checking to see if the brake booster line was leaking, but inadvertently sprayed wd40 onto the gasket and it made the engine rpm rise so I thought it was the brake booster line. Played with that and was very disappointed that it didn't make a difference. So tried replicating what I did before with the wd40 and eventually found that it was around the number 5/6 cylinder gasket was letting air in. Took the majority of a day to replace but I also replaced the collector gasket while it was all apart and it made a world of difference to the performance. The 4.2 efi engine is very smooth and quiet. Starts within the first half second of turning the key. Idles very smoothly.

[Bloodyaussie]

No this has been an issue for sometime and I have changed leads plugs had valve clearances done and tried swapping sensors.

It is on petrol it bogs down at 2000rpm and the power below that is non existant.

[MQ MAD]

A couple of things..........1).two mechanics suggested I just drive it as it is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was "gobsmacked" to hear such inane comments.
2). On my 2000km trip I was towing my 5 metre caravan(1.2 tonnes) and the fuel consumption was the same as it's always been, (4.3km/litre).

Its not the mass weight of the van you have to consider,its the extra wind drag .........
Much higher than the patrol roof,itll be bad on wind
Considering they aren't super efficient on the juice just normal driving, around the 20L/100 K mark your not too far of it, id go maybe wind drag .....

[MQ MAD]

Can you still do it the old way?
Disconnect a plug lead one at a time. If one makes no difference its the one giving trouble.
Run the engine at night with no lighting around to see if any leads are showing sparks where they are tracking to the metal parts of the engine.

Electric ignition mite give you an instant perm, or a mighty jolt ....
But you could drop a lead, start listen for difference that way,dont need to run long to check
Running at night,yep still a simple easy check

Id go over the basics leads,dizzy cap, (if its cracked its shot),check plugs,maybe remove and check for some difference in colours that mite help pinpoint an issue
Make sure all the electrical clips are fully plugged in ,if not it could run ruff
We bumped the plug near airbox, ran ruff till we pushed it right in

[megsy]

Get the compression check done and if possible have the ignition system checked on an oscilloscope this will find most electrical faults with out guessing or changing parts unnecessarily

Hi pearcey.......I had the compression done this arvo'......cylinder number 3.....125 psi.....others...200psi
Estimated cost of labour $2,000 plus parts.......I suppose it's not too bad considering I've had 17 years trouble free running

[Bloodyaussie]

Not sure I want to hear that.

I have not done a compression test on my rig, have the gear just such a pain to get to all the plugs in these things.

Not like my wifes car or a motorbike!

[pearcey]

Hi pearcey.......I had the compression done this arvo'......cylinder number 3.....125 psi.....others...200psi
Estimated cost of labour $2,000 plus parts.......I suppose it's not too bad considering I've had 17 years trouble free running

Good to see you found the problem. I would expect that a total head recondition IE valves, guides,face and pressure test plus gaskets would set you back about $750 then the strip down and reassembly could be around $1000 to $1500 depending who does the job .
Even at $3000 in 17 years isn`t to bad. Best of luck with it mate.