Is the design of the 3.9/4.0/4.2/4.6 inherently bad?

[David Harris]

A major flaw I am aware of is the fragile and insufficient cooling system. It makes these trucks very easy to overheat which leads to many of the headgasket issues

The cooling system on these trucks is way more than sufficient. It's poor maintenance of the cooling system over time that causes the problem. When the cooling system is in good shape, one can idle these trucks at 120 with the A/C on and they will run at normal temperature. I have done that more than once in Las Vegas during the summer. The cooling system on the pre-99 trucks is better than the later by virtue of the brass radiator which is higher capacity as well.

 

[David Harris]

After lots of work, it's holding up great. Personally I'm happy I went with the 02, seems like the 4.0s have less issues with liners than the 4.6s. I also upgraded the front grille/headlights and put in a locking center diff to get everything I wanted from an 04. I was actually looking for a D1 when I got this D2.

The 4.0 with a good cam like the Crower 229 puts out as much power as a stock 4.6 as well. Having owned both, I think the 4.0's are smoother motors than the 4.6.

 

[proper4wd]

Most modern engines use steel liners in an aluminum block. Aluminum Chevy LS series for one. Most German engines as well. The Rover V8 liner design may not be as resilient to abuse as some of these others, but it is certainly not a bad design. Look here for Rover V8 upgrades (including "top hat" or "flanged" liners).

http://www.automotivecomp.com/

http://www.roverv8engine.co.uk/index2.htm

http://aluminumv8.com/

There are many more. Your Range Rover is "exotic" compared to what most shops see. Change your mechanical mindset if you must. If you owned a 1960's Jaguar E-Type, where would you have it repaired? A 1980's Ferrari Testarossa? An early 90's Mercedes S-class? These are the shops that will "understand" your Rover in a broader sense. Bringing it to the Toyota guy is going to lead to issues... he probably doesn't want to fix it anyways. Sounds like he's already blaming the design of the machine for his inability and/or lack of competence to fix it properly.

 

[Daryl]

I have also heard that tooling quality degraded over time although this is unsubstantiated.

I absolutely agree with everything you said before this. The 2003 dowel pin drilling fiasco coupled with the numerous 4.0 and 4.6es I've seen with multiple loose liners (literally able to pull them out by hand when torn down to the block and the block heated to near operating temp) is all the substance I need to firmly believe their tolerances were little more than luck after the early 2000s or so.

Also, the bulk of the liner issues have been proven to be worked around with top hat liners. Which should have been installed from the factory.

 

[m3 bavaria]

Most modern engines use steel liners in an aluminum block. Aluminum Chevy LS series for one. Most German engines as well. The Rover V8 liner design may not be as resilient to abuse as some of these others, but it is certainly not a bad design. Look here for Rover V8 upgrades (including "top hat" or "flanged" liners).

http://www.automotivecomp.com/

http://www.roverv8engine.co.uk/index2.htm

http://aluminumv8.com/

There are many more. Your Range Rover is "exotic" compared to what most shops see. Change your mechanical mindset if you must. If you owned a 1960's Jaguar E-Type, where would you have it repaired? A 1980's Ferrari Testarossa? An early 90's Mercedes S-class? These are the shops that will "understand" your Rover in a broader sense. Bringing it to the Toyota guy is going to lead to issues... he probably doesn't want to fix it anyways. Sounds like he's already blaming the design of the machine for his inability and/or lack of competence to fix it properly.

I hear what you're saying. I'm in the middle of no where, with only 3 garages to choose from. Plus, I have a few M Cars (e24,e30) and other Bimmers (e34's) that they have zero issue wrenching on, so I assumed that they're fairly competent.

Ideally, a specialist would be great, but that's a 2 hour drive that's over 100 miles away.

 

[I Leak Oil]

To answer the question, yes, these are inherently poor engines. To argue otherwise is looking through rose colored glasses. I admire a lot of qualities about many different rover models but lets face it, Land Rover has a tendancy hold on to a part or a design well past it's prime. You could still buy a brand new series III rover (basic design and many parts from the early 50's) in 1983. The rover V8 should have stayed in the 60's....To continue using it into 2004 has cost Land Rover much in negative publicity and deservedly so.

 

[Holland]

I hear what you're saying. I'm in the middle of no where, with only 3 garages to choose from. Plus, I have a few M Cars (e24,e30) and other Bimmers (e34's) that they have zero issue wrenching on, so I assumed that they're fairly competent.

Ideally, a specialist would be great, but that's a 2 hour drive that's over 100 miles away.

I'm gonna say it, M10 swap.

My 3.9 is pretty awesome in my Discovery though. Slow as can be but tough as nails.

 

[m3 bavaria]

I'm gonna say it, M10 swap.

My 3.9 is pretty awesome in my Discovery though. Slow as can be but tough as nails.

I will have an extra m60b30 on hand in a few weeks...

 

[stolenheron]

poorly designed. I can't even begin to describe how anal I was with keeping up with maintenance and preventative maintenance, yet still major problems occurred regularly.

the disco was perfect except for its motor. despite my regular services and repairs performed by qualified rover mechanics it still had constant issues. if it wasnt for that 4.6L, I would have never sold my truck and bought this nissan :/

 

[getlost4x4]

i have over 127K on mine. it wasn't taken care of as good as i do. I run synthetic oil, keep everything in good shape and keep the cooling system in check. its never overheated and never had the head gaskets replaced.

if you don't take care of it it won't last. there are a lot of P38's running around on the original motor with 200K + miles.

This isn't an american vehicle that you can just run into the ground until the 100K mark and then toss in the junkyard. take care of it, or don't waste your time.

reliability is part of maintenance.

 

[David Harris]

poorly designed. I can't even begin to describe how anal I was with keeping up with maintenance and preventative maintenance, yet still major problems occurred regularly.

the disco was perfect except for its motor. despite my regular services and repairs performed by qualified rover mechanics it still had constant issues. if it wasnt for that 4.6L, I would have never sold my truck and bought this nissan :/

Most of the problems with Rover V8's are from D2's. This is where the bad reputation comes from. The engines in these are ticking time bombs, 4.6's maybe more so. Even then, I've seen a few with over 200K on them. It just depends on how lucky you are to get a good one. There are plenty of earlier Rover V8's pushing 300K. This tells me that it's a combination of quality control, maintenance and not overheating them. Get a good one and take care of it, and you can go far with these engines. As a design, I think it's pretty brilliant for its vintage (early 60's). Smooth, very light weight and excellent broad torque band for its size.

 

[stolenheron]

Most of the problems with Rover V8's are from D2's. This is where the bad reputation comes from. The engines in these are ticking time bombs, 4.6's maybe more so. Even then, I've seen a few with over 200K on them. It just depends on how lucky you are to get a good one. There are plenty of earlier Rover V8's pushing 300K. This tells me that it's a combination of quality control, maintenance and not overheating them. Get a good one and take care of it, and you can go far with these engines. As a design, I think it's pretty brilliant for its vintage (early 60's). Smooth, very light weight and excellent broad torque band for its size.

ticking time bomb is exactly what my 4.6L (2004) was. I had to get rid of it at 103k miles because it had become so damn unreliable, major breaks every 4-6 weeks for the last 10k miles....

 

[David Harris]

ticking time bomb is exactly what my 4.6L (2004) was. I had to get rid of it at 103k miles because it had become so damn unreliable, major breaks every 4-6 weeks for the last 10k miles....

What problems did you have?

 

[stolenheron]

other than head gaskets going again and a ticking that sounded like there was a midget swinging a ball pin hammer under my hood, the rest was non-block related breaks but all under the hood.

it sounded far too intense to be a lifter or a valve only. i would have to turn the truck off to talk to any drive through like a bank or fast food because the tapping was so damn loud. Head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, were all starting to go. well, the rear main seal was basically gone.

 

[David Harris]

other than head gaskets going again and a ticking that sounded like there was a midget swinging a ball pin hammer under my hood, the rest was non-block related breaks but all under the hood.

it sounded far too intense to be a lifter or a valve only. i would have to turn the truck off to talk to any drive through like a bank or fast food because the tapping was so damn loud. Head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, were all starting to go. well, the rear main seal was basically gone.

Ticking could have been a slipping liner if it was that loud.