Rover Kv6 Engine
History
First introduced into the Rover 800 series with the 1996 facelift, including the flagship Rover Sterling Saloon and Coupe models, it has since also powered the Rover 75 and its sister car, the MG ZT, as well as the Rover 45 and the MG ZS.
The engine was designed and developed by Rover at Longbridge to replace the Honda 2.7l V6 engine which was about to become non-compliant with tightening emissions legislation.The original unit was designed for low volume production but was later redesigned to fit into the smaller Rover 75’s bonnet, although performance remained similar.
In 1994 the engine was licenced to Kia Motors who invested in a new plant at the Assan Bay complex to build the engine. This engine was used in several KIA vehicles. Its introduction in Korea shortly followed its use by Rover in the Sterling.
Other customers
Land Rover Freelanders (first generation), also used the KV6 engine.
Kia Sedona (first generation), otherwise known as Kia Carnival outside the UK and North America, was offered with their own slightly modified version of the KV6 engine in some markets.
Gibbs Aquada, a high speed amphibious vehicle.
Naza Ria, a rebadge KIA Carnival in Malaysia.
Technology
At introduction, the engine enjoyed considerable technological advancement compared with its competition, most notably being the lightest and shortest v6 in its class. Fully automatically tensioned drive belts and adaptive Siemens EMS2000 engine management,.The fuelling and ignition timing are constantly varied to match the load on the engine for improve refinement. The engine boasts Variable Geometry Induction, whereby air induction pipe lengths vary to optimise engine torque in response to different engine and road speeds, aiding refinement and efficiency. Although it bears the name of K Series, the engine has almost no components in common with the 4 cylinder version.
In its Rover setup, the unit delivers peak engine power of 175 PS (129 kW) at 6,500 rpm, and maximum torque of 240 Nm (177 lbft) at 4000 rpm, prompting the late 1990s ‘most powerful in its class’ sales tag used to sell Rover 800 V6 models. The automatic gearbox in V6 800s is also able to communicate with the engine, briefly easing torque to allow smoother changes.
One of the most immediately noticeable features of the first V form engine to be designed by Rover for decades is its distinctive, quietly growling engine note .
Cam Drive
The V6 engine is fitted with four overhead camshafts driven by synchronous tooth belts. It has a single, long, serpentine belt at the front driving the inlet cams and also the coolant pump. The exhaust cams are driven by short link belts driven from the ends of the inlet cams at the rear of the engine. The system was a joint development between Dayco (belt supplier) and Rover. The rear, link belts do not incorporate any tensioning device. Belt tension is maintained by very careful control of belt length and the pulley pair is pre-tensioned during fitting. The front belt drive is tensioned by a spring loaded tensioner pulley incorporating a hydraulic damping element.
An unusual feature of this system is that it incorporates “floating” inlet cam drive pulleys that are not directly keyed to the shafts. This means that special setting tools are required to establish the cam timing before the pulley fixings are tightened. This requirement is the result of the complexity of the cam drive train. In addition to the length and thickness tolerance of the belts, the accuracy of the cam timing is also affected by the positional and diameter tolerance of each pulley and the thickness of each major engine casting. The result is that the required degree of timing accuracy could not otherwise be maintained.
Problems
A number of early units were seen off by head gasket failure brought about by poorly maintained production tolerances. This caused the height of the cylinder liners to vary resulting in over compression or under compression of the head gaskets. However, the redesign of the engine and its production facility, prior to the introduction of the Rover 75, cured this problem and it became one of the company’s most reliable units. Problems remaining through until the end of production were largely confined to the inlet manifold mechanism (particularly the VIS valve motors) and leaking thermostat housings.
A Kia manufactured variant of the engine was also fitted to the Kia Carnival (people mover) with some problems on early model engines. A large percentage of early model (2000 -> 2003) Kia Carnivals sold in Australia required a new engine some multiple engines. In most cases KIA provided a reconditioned short (without transmission) engine free of charge and with no questions asked, providing the vehicle was under warranty. For those outside warranty, Kia “covered costs proportional to what should have been the full expected life of components” and charged for labour and consumables.
References
^ http://www.caradvice.com.au/5247/2003-kia-carnival-warranty-complaint/
^ http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/744313B237CA9808CA2570280009D8B9
External links
Rover 800 Enthusiasts forum!
Owning and Maintaining a Rover 800 825 KV6 Sterling Coupe!
Categories: Rover engines
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