2012 Range Rover HSE Build/ Travel Write Up

[Colorofkris]

Hello everyone

I’m am kickstarting yet another thread. If you follow or have followed my forum with my supercharged Sport or my 200tdi disco, this is my latest installment.

Last Thursday I picked up a new (to me) Range Rover!
This is a 2012 Range Rover HSE, 169k miles and in pretty dang good shape. I picked it up for a whopping $5500. It is in no way perfect but it’s going to pick up a lot of the camping and traveling in the next year as I dig inito the disco. It will also be my daily (along with the motorcycle).

Over the next 2 weeks I will be swapping the roof top tent over to the range Rover and prepping it for longer distance trips. The discovery will start being geared more towards the off-roading side where as the Range is for creature comforts and well…traveling, which is where the disco most certainly does not shine. This morning I installed the proud rhino 2.5” lift rods as well as wheels and tires from a new gen defender. I’m waiting for the gap tool to come in and a new map sensor which brought up a fault code the day after I brought it home (typical Rover). I do fully intend to have to work out a few maintenance issues on the Range Rover but I’m hoping it will be a decent buy.

Anyways, here are some photos.

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[Colorofkris]

This is the new wheels and lift installed. Which I finished up 2 days ago. I can’t remember, all of the days are starting to blend together.

These are New Gen Defender Wheels with brand new Pirelli Scorpion tires. I know they are highway tires but they were on the rims and I do plan to pound a lot of pavement with this Rover. My next set of tires will be A/ts though. Lift rods are proud rhino 2.5” lift rods. I do understand the pros and cons of the lift rods. I also have the Gap tool on order and just waiting for it to show up.

I also went ahead and removed the front air dams in from for the wheels, 1 was missing already so I pulled the other. I also pulled the recovery point cover.

Don’t mind the custom biodegradable license plate..

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[Colorofkris]

I received my Gap tool yesterday and got it registered. The check engine light code is a P0106 which I was able to pull previously from a regular code reader. The engine light came on the day after I bought the Rover.

The code is for the MAP sensor, after hooking up the gap tool I was able to check the readings on the map sensor to make sure it was the sensor and not an issue in the wiring to the sensor. I found that the voltage is stuck at 3.5v which by my understanding is the mechanism that is supposed to raise and lower the voltage as pressure increases and decreases is stuck in one position. The voltage is supposed to fluctuate from .5v to 4.5v depending on the amount for throttle. If I start the truck up and apply throttle, all of the values change except the voltage reading and presume reading. They are sitting still. (Below is a picture of the screen watching the values and where they are stuck at.) the pressure is correct and the voltage is within range but since they are not fluctuating as they should it is 99% just a bad sensor. Weirdly there is not a whole lot of info on the map sensors for these rigs. Anyways a new one should be here Friday.

This weekend I plan on swapping the map sensor, air filters, and cleaning the maf’s. I will also be doing an oil change.

I hope this helps someone in a similar boat.

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[Colorofkris]

Today I got the s sling hitch extension in and mounts up. This serves a dual purpose. 1) Spare tire carrier that swings out in which I can also mount a trash bag and mud boards 2) to mount the bike rack so I can use this rig for hauling mountain bikes which the discovery is terrible at.

The second picture is atrocious…., it’s the mock up of the spare tire mount. I’m not 100% sold on it, I’m not even 5% sold, but I’m not giving up on it. I think I’m going to do some modifications to it to shorten the distance it sticks out, the tire can also sit higher which may also help it’s case. Worse comes to worse I will just deflate the spare and stick it in where the original spare goes. I also do believe the tire and wheel combo isn’t the most ideal for an off-road look so that doesn’t help it’s case lol.

Anyways, roof rails will be getting installed at some point over the next week and I’ll modify the tire set up as well.

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[Colorofkris]

Well the install of the new map sensor didn’t go well. The end of the sensor ended up snapping off and falling into the intake manifold. I ended up spending the better part of Sunday morning pulling the manifold off and digging around for the end piece. That being said I have a new one ordered through lucky8 and should be here by the end of the week. Another negative, while I was reading codes Saturday afternoon trying to log the MAP sensors voltage I got a suspension fault on the passenger front ride height sensor. Once it’s running again I will attempt to recalibrate the ride height, and if all else fails I will be ordering a new sensor. I lowered it to access mode since the front right corner was on the bump stops anyways.

Ona positive note I was able to install the new roof rails as well as the air filters. Waiting on the oil vacuum to come in and I will be doing an oil change as well. My goal this week is to keep messing with the spare tire carrier and see if I can fit it up in a way that I like it.

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[SkiWill]

Well the install of the new map sensor didn’t go well. The end of the sensor ended up snapping off and falling into the intake manifold. I ended up spending the better part of Sunday morning pulling the manifold off and digging around for the end piece.

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If the manifold is already off and you don't know when they were last done, I'd highly recommend doing the cross over pipes and water pump with oil cooler and possibly even thermostat. That will potentially save you considerable pain later. These engines may have timing chain and guide issues, but every single one of them needs to be diligent with the plastic cooling system parts.

 

[Colorofkris]

If the manifold is already off and you don't know when they were last done, I'd highly recommend doing the cross over pipes and water pump with oil cooler and possibly even thermostat. That will potentially save you considerable pain later. These engines may have timing chain and guide issues, but every single one of them needs to be diligent with the plastic cooling system parts.

I am aware of these issues. The manifold is already put back together. I did do a fairly good look over on all of the coolant lines and everything looked good. Previous owner purchased at about 130k miles with signs saying the chain job was done. No sign of bad cabins as of yet and no chain noise. I had it happen on my 2011 sport and it was a pain to deal with. So I plan to keep a good eye out for any signs. Most shops that are worth dealing with change coolant lines when they do the timing chains. Hopefully this is the case. Injectors are also another weak point that usually need to be replaced around the same time as the coolant lines.

I do plan to swap the coolant lines out at the 200k mark though. Right now I would like to get to a point where I can honestly just drive it to see if there are any other quirks to deal with before I go hard in the paint overhauling any of the larger projects. At my current total investment on the rig I’m not looking to jump into anything crazy just yet.


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[Colorofkris]

Finally after a week and a half I got the new map sensor in and installed. Now with an overly dead battery I had to go pick up an new battery tender. Should be able to crank it up tomorrow morning . Once that’s out of the way and I can get the suspension back up in the air I can check the code again on the front right corner for the fault. If all goes well I’ll be able to tackle the next couple of projects and it will be ready to roll.

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[Colorofkris]

After sitting all night on the battery tender the Rover cranked up this morning with no check engine light. (I did have to clear some suspension faults but those were most definitely tied to the dead battery.) So I did what any reasonable/ respectable Range Rover owner would do….I went to Starbucks. The doggo most certainly appreciated this stop.

Upon arriving home I went ahead and loaded up the mountain bike to test the hitch rack setup and it is everything I ever hoped and dreamed.

Here’s where the fun begins! When I went to go leave for my bike ride the check engine light came on again….who would have guessed….P0106 code is back on the table. I pulled up the gap tool and. Found that I am getting a slight fluctuation in voyage where as before it was stuck at 3.5v. Now I’m getting 3.6 with the occasional 3.5v dip.

Upon some further research in the matter I was able to find some info on GDI engines accumulating a lot of carbon build up on the valves, which in turn can cause a vacuum issue in the intake manifold due to an improper seal. So my next order of business will be doing a valve/ intake cleaning as well as the maf sensors, an oil change after all that is said in done, and to top it off I will run some injector cleaner in the next tank as well. I now have my work cut out for me this weekend. Super fun stuff, not excited, not even a little bit.

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[Colorofkris]

After doing some research I will be replacing the pcv valves. It looks like one might be leaking from the cap. There are some suggestions that this may trip the P0106 fault code. Im not 100% sold that it’s the issue but it’s worth replacing regardless. I still also plan to do a valve cleaning services this weekend as well since there would be no harm in that .


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[GSP]

After doing some research I will be replacing the pcv valves. It looks like one might be leaking from the cap. There are some suggestions that this may trip the P0106 fault code. Im not 100% sold that it’s the issue but it’s worth replacing regardless. I still also plan to do a valve cleaning services this weekend as well since there would be no harm in that .


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Hopefully the pcv valves fix it. That's super easy on the 5.0
I have 12 hse. I do all of my own work. Just replaced both water pumps and the front crossover pipe last week.
One tip... Change the oil yourself and use the oil pan drain plug not the evacuation tube in the oil filler neck. The evacuation tube doesn't get all the oil out. Add that to the fact that theses cars don't have a dipstick, it always gets overfilled after and oil change using the evac tube. Then oil gets pushed up into the intake, pcv,ect.

 

[Colorofkris]

Hopefully the pcv valves fix it. That's super easy on the 5.0
I have 12 hse. I do all of my own work. Just replaced both water pumps and the front crossover pipe last week.
One tip... Change the oil yourself and use the oil pan drain plug not the evacuation tube in the oil filler neck. The evacuation tube doesn't get all the oil out. Add that to the fact that theses cars don't have a dipstick, it always gets overfilled after and oil change using the evac tube. Then oil gets pushed up into the intake, pcv,ect.

Good to know! I used to change my oil from the pan on my 11 sport. I was planning to do my first change on the range through the pan to get anything that’s been sitting down there.

I plan to do all the work myself on this one, only job I prob won’t touch is the chains and that’s just due to the price of the tooling.


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[Colorofkris]

While waiting in the pcv valves to come in I went ahead and did a throttle body cleaning and cleaned the mafs as well. I picked up the cleaner for the valves which I will do this weekend when the wife is home for an extra set of hands. I also threw the battery on the tender charger again and grounded out the positive connector to do a hard rest on the Rover. I know this will sometime clear up some lingering codes. My tpms fault is also coming up so I’m curious if I’m having a battery issue now as well. I’m going to give it a full charge and plug it all back in after I get the pcv’s installed. Was hoping to have it alive and kicking this weekend so we could take it on its first camp trip but that’s looking like a pipe dream at this point.


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[Colorofkris]

This just keeps getting better and better. Went to put the battery back in and realized the coolant was a little low. Look under the Rover and there is a steady drip of coolant leaking. No obvious sign aside from that it’s leaking out to the driver wheel well. I removed the covers from the underside of the Rover to get a better look but can’t really tell where it’s leaking from. There is a sign of some residual coolant from the water pump connector to the throttle body but no continuous leak. I’m guessing it’s either the coolant tree from the intake manifold or the water pump is leaking.

That being said I will keep digging. I will most likely remove the intake manifold again and the throttle body since that’s what I have messed with prior too the leak, hopefully I can find some answers there and it’s not some new issue rising.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I have been taking video of the process so I will try to snag some stills.


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[GSP]

Look in the engine bay. One the drivers side, inboard of the shock tower you'll see a heat shield. Behind that heat shield is the auxiliary water pump. It is an electric water pump that runs coolant through the heater core. The housing of that pump cracks. 3 nuts hold the heat shield on. Remove it and check that area.