Which Range Rover sport?

Which Range Rover sport?

Author
Discussion

Mark8815

Original Poster:

205 posts

87 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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Hi all, looking at getting my first Range Rover sport, will be around a 2011ish version. Is there a specific engine to avoid or go for? Hoping to hear from experience. Thankyou

DrDeAtH

3,612 posts

237 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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Go for the TDV8 it's a much nicer engine than the tdv6 and doesn't suffer crank failure.

Mark8815

Original Poster:

205 posts

87 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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Thanks for your reply, funnily enough that's the engine that I've been thinking of. Is there any other common issues with them. I'll be coming from a MK2 Focus ST so used to things going wrong!

Mikebentley

6,459 posts

145 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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Don’t believe all the V6 crank failure nonsense. Get the best condition vehicle you can with the best history. Check everything works. This will take a lot of time as there is lots of stuff to check.

SmithCorona

712 posts

34 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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What's the budget? And what will you be using it for? TDV8 is a nicer engine, but if the 6 was that chocolate it would have shown it by now on most 10+ year old models.

I'd rather a motorway miles 6 than a local journeys 8.

Equus

16,980 posts

106 months

Monday 18th April 2022
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Mark8815 said:
...Is there any other common issues with them?
Turbos

Mark8815

Original Poster:

205 posts

87 months

Monday 18th April 2022
quotequote all
SmithCorona said:
What's the budget? And what will you be using it for? TDV8 is a nicer engine, but if the 6 was that chocolate it would have shown it by now on most 10+ year old models.

I'd rather a motorway miles 6 than a local journeys 8.
Not massive, around £10k. Just commuting, <10 miles a day, trips out at the weekend, no towing.

Edited by Mark8815 on Monday 18th April 23:09

SmithCorona

712 posts

34 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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In that case I'd go petrol. 4.2 SC

bakerstreet

4,811 posts

170 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Mark8815 said:
Thanks for your reply, funnily enough that's the engine that I've been thinking of. Is there any other common issues with them. I'll be coming from a MK2 Focus ST so used to things going wrong!
a Land Rover will be a completely new level of things going wrong compared to your ST.

Off the top of my head:

- Air suspension. Check it works and the suspension goes up and down as it should. Fixing suspension issues can be expensive.
- Drive it over some rough surfaces including a speed bump and listen out for any bumps. Suspension arms are common. Budget £500 per axel per set of arms
- 2011 still has the 6Sp gearbox, so check for any fluctuations in the revs at motorways speeds or any vibration under lead. Torque Converter is £1200 drive in drive out and a new gearbox is £2.5k
- Turbos. They go and its £3k
- Inlet manifolds. £1500-2k
- EGR Valves. Like any diesel, they can cause issues, so get them blanked.
- injectors. Same as above
- Leaks. It a Land Rover
- Infotainment. Decent sound, but no bluetooth streaming until 2012 MY I think, so you might just scrape that.


Battery voltage can cause all kinds of issues, so worth having a multimeter in the car.

It will be an amazing car...until it goes wrong, but many cars do go wrong


bakerstreet

4,811 posts

170 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Mikebentley said:
Don’t believe all the V6 crank failure nonsense. Get the best condition vehicle you can with the best history. Check everything works. This will take a lot of time as there is lots of stuff to check.
Its not nonsense. Ask some of the bigger independents how many new engines they fit a month. Its an alarming number.

Mark8815

Original Poster:

205 posts

87 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Ok so on the 4.2 s/c what shall I look out for? As mentioned earlier the car is for commuting (3 miles each way 5 times a week) then random trips out with the kids at a weekend. No offloading, no towing.

bakerstreet

4,811 posts

170 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Mark8815 said:
Ok so on the 4.2 s/c what shall I look out for? As mentioned earlier the car is for commuting (3 miles each way 5 times a week) then random trips out with the kids at a weekend. No offloading, no towing.
Same gearbox issues mentioned above. Superchargers can need re-builds and the servicing on them often gets overlooked too.

Petrol will at least avoid glow plug cold starting issues on older diesels. Personally I would actually go for a Full Fat RR as your money will go further there.

Mikebentley

6,459 posts

145 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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bakerstreet said:
Mikebentley said:
Don’t believe all the V6 crank failure nonsense. Get the best condition vehicle you can with the best history. Check everything works. This will take a lot of time as there is lots of stuff to check.
Its not nonsense. Ask some of the bigger independents how many new engines they fit a month. Its an alarming number.
No it’s not. The numbers of actual cases just doesn’t stack up. I looked long and hard for actual cases of SDV6 crank failures before choosing my 2014 RRS. I found about 4 cases online. 1 UK, 2 USA and 1 in Australia. All were fixed out of warranty with huge contributions by JLR. I think over 1 million have been sold now. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Crumpet

4,004 posts

185 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Mikebentley said:
No it’s not. The numbers of actual cases just doesn’t stack up. I looked long and hard for actual cases of SDV6 crank failures before choosing my 2014 RRS. I found about 4 cases online. 1 UK, 2 USA and 1 in Australia. All were fixed out of warranty with huge contributions by JLR. I think over 1 million have been sold now. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Are you joking!? I follow a handful of Discovery and LR groups on Facebook and the number of crank failures is staggering. My Disco 5 was forever back at Guy Salmon having warranty work done and I always used to jokingly ask how many 3.0 diesels were in for snapped cranks. There was always at least one in and on one occasion my planned courtesy D5 snapped its crank when it was being returned the previous day!

Mikebentley

6,459 posts

145 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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Nope not joking. My opinion based on what I’ve read and found. Other opinions are also available.
It’s an issue that has affected only a minuscule percentage of the cars they have sold. If it was such a massive issue wouldn’t there be thousands of cars in the classifieds with duff engines?

Cold

15,477 posts

95 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
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I went with a friend of mine to collect his new (to them) L320 RRS recently which replaces an ancient (2005) BMW X5 family bus.

It's a very late 12 plate SDV6, so is the 8 speed with many luxury goodies on board such as surround cameras, Freeview telly, powered tailgate, rear heated seats and a plug-in wotsit to control an iPhone via both the infotainment and the steering wheel buttons.

It's a lovely thing to look at (Santorini black with cream leather) and to drive. Enough torque to churn along with the traffic easily, light steering and powerful brakes. You just sit back and look out of the windscreen watching the world go by.

It was slightly over your budget at just over £13k, but he initially looked at many L320s around the £10k mark and rejected every one as a potential purchase. They all just seemed, well, tatty.

So he upped his budget a touch (with the blessing of his wife - she loves her new car, thankfully!) and started to search the last of the line L320s which seem to be in a much better state of repair and cosmetically smarter.

Oh and if there's no evidence of the belts being done recently, negotiate this to be included as part of the sale or make it the first thing you do when you get home.
Make sure there are two keys - replacement spares are expensive.

Crumpet

4,004 posts

185 months

Tuesday 19th April 2022
quotequote all
Mikebentley said:
Nope not joking. My opinion based on what I’ve read and found. Other opinions are also available.
It’s an issue that has affected only a minuscule percentage of the cars they have sold. If it was such a massive issue wouldn’t there be thousands of cars in the classifieds with duff engines?
I literally just opened up FB on one of the Disco pages and this was there….



I’ve even seen it on the UK Jag F-Pace pages, although it’s much rarer on the lighter, less stressed cars. On Disco 4s it’s literally a daily feed of people posting pictures of snapped cranks and knackered bearings. I mean, there’s even a note to dealers about the issue….

“Reference SSM71816
Models
Discovery 4 / L319
Discovery 3 / L319
Range Rover / L405
Range Rover Sport / L494
Range Rover Sport / L320

Title Crankshaft/Crankshaft Bearing Concerns - TDv6 Diesel Engine
Category Engine
Last modified 06-May-2014 00:00:00
Symptom 499000 Basic Engine

Content

Issue:
Crankshaft/crankshaft bearing failure - TDv6 Diesel Engine.

Cause:
Low incidence of crankshaft failure are being encountered, caused mainly by incorrect location of the main bearing
shells during assembly, or through rotation of the shells during normal use.
A new procedure has been implemented to ensure:
- more rapid resolution of customer concerns, and
- greater visibility of failure modes in order to improve repair process and parts delivery.

Action:
For any suspected crankshaft/bearing failure, please contact your local Dealer Technical Supportor FRED team for details of the enhanced customer handling procedure.
The list below summarises typical symptoms of crankshaft/bearing failure, but please contact your DTS/FRED team if in any doubt as they will be pleased to offer assistance:
· Crankshaft is seized, engine cannot be turned either via starter motor or crankshaft pulley bolt.
· Oil sump or engine cylinder block is holed, with oil leakage and/or metallic debris found on engine under-tray.
· Engine makes a loud ‘rumbling/knocking’ sound when running which worsens as the engine is placed under load.
The engine oil pressure warning light may flash or be continuously illuminated, especially at low engine speeds.”


That being said, I don’t follow any RRS pages so it could just be happening on the Discos and I have no proof that it’s happening on the Sports. But it most certainly is an issue on Discos - and it’s the same engine in a similarly heavy car.

In any case, I’d recommend the OP goes for one of the V8 models - petrol or diesel. Although the TDV6 is a lovely engine, especially when coupled to the ZF 8 speed.

bakerstreet

4,811 posts

170 months

Wednesday 20th April 2022
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Mikebentley said:
Nope not joking. My opinion based on what I’ve read and found. Other opinions are also available.
It’s an issue that has affected only a minuscule percentage of the cars they have sold. If it was such a massive issue wouldn’t there be thousands of cars in the classifieds with duff engines?
The key words there is 'your opinion'. One of the larger independents fits about 5-6 engines a month and that is one garage. Another in Kent does even more than that and that is every single month. If you want to believe LR's 2% then you are well and truly wearing the LR Green tinted spectacles. Every single one of the admins on the D3/4 board on FB has had a new engine in the D4 and all of them were serviced as and when required, so its not like you can change the oil every 10 miles and it will be ok. It has no bearing on it at all.

The SDV6 is a nice lump and more powerful than then 2.7 it replaced in the D3, but D3 values are actually on the up and that is partly because of the 2.7s inherently more reliable engine.

bakerstreet

4,811 posts

170 months

Wednesday 20th April 2022
quotequote all
Crumpet said:
That being said, I don’t follow any RRS pages so it could just be happening on the Discos and I have no proof that it’s happening on the Sports. But it most certainly is an issue on Discos - and it’s the same engine in a similarly heavy car.

In any case, I’d recommend the OP goes for one of the V8 models - petrol or diesel. Although the TDV6 is a lovely engine, especially when coupled to the ZF 8 speed.
The sport is identical underneath as the d3/4. Same suspension, chassis, gearbox, cooling system. Just a different body and interior. You'd be taking the same risks with 3.0SDV6 Vs Sport with the same engine.

As we've said, the 3.6TDV8 is a good option and sounds pretty good for a diesel especially if you remove some silencers biggrin

A.J.M

7,993 posts

191 months

Wednesday 20th April 2022
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Given the low use of the car.

I would get a petrol model, a diesel will barely be luke warm after 3 miles each way.
Either the 4.2 supercharged or a 4.4 NA will be fine.
The 4.4 is rare though.

I would personally avoid anything that’s had some terrible body kit and massive wheels on. Nothing screams council louder than a chavved up Sport.

From a quick look on autotrader, petrols generally do less annual mileage so shouldn’t be knackered.
But check everything works, check mot history and service history.

On the glass crank of the sdv6.
JLR don’t cover crank failure on approved used warranty from the dealers. Make of that what you will….