Cooked V8?

[Disco-tastic]

Hi everyone,

I'm probably going to look at a 4.4L V8 D3 this weekend. I talked to the owner last night and he said it's currently in getting a new water pump, thermostat and thermostat housing. Apparently the water pump died, and he didn't notice until the motor got hot enough to crack the thermostat housing. As soon as he saw the steam from under the bonnet he stopped and had the car towed to a mechanic.

Obviously ringing warning bells but I thought I'd check on here to see if it's as bad as I think. I'm guessing if it got hot enough to crack the thermostat housing it probably got hot enough to do damage elsewhere, but I know little about these motors.

Cheers

Dan

[lewy]

I dont know these motors either but why is he selling???If the re4st of the vehicle is spot on and you really want it offer him the price of a new motor less than what he wants,Put that motor money away somewere you cant spend it.

[Disco-tastic]

He's selling to move overseas (he's from america).

How much is a motor rebuild on these? Its a bargain if everythings tip top so not sure if ill be able to offer him much less than he's asking. Happy to walk away tho if it doesn't check out!

Cheers

Dan

[Disco-tastic]

I should probably add its a 2005 model (pretty sure its MY05). I thought these had the AJ41 Jag motor but im reading elsewhere it may have the BMW v8? I will try and find out.

Cheers

Dan

[Geedublya]

It's the Jag/Ford 4.4l V8 AJ41. The BMW was only used in the Range Rover.

[PeterOZ]

It's the Jag/Ford 4.4l V8 AJ41. The BMW was only used in the Range Rover.



heat and aluminium heads . . .


Or are they iron?


My money would stay in my pocket.

[Marmoset]

Just to add balance, I'd go have a look. If the guy stopped it as soon as the the steam appeared it could be okay. Start it up, see what it goes like and factor in a new motor. I love mine, sounds great and doesn't actually drink that much on a long run.

[letherm]

As Marmoset said it could be ok. I had a Pajero before the Disco and it blew a top hose and steam was spewing everywhere. A couple of months later the bottom went with the same result. It was checked out by our mechanic and they reckoned it was ok and I didn't have any problem with the engine afterwards. They were using heat detectors to make sure the engine temperature was within specs across the whole of the engine as part of the check. I'd talk to the seller and raise your hesitation about the engine being suspect and see if he'll agree to split the cost of an independent mechanical inspection of the engine with no obligation to buy. Either that, or as others have said, factor in the cost of replacing the engine.


Martin

[lewy]

It got hot enough to crack the thermostat housing that is pretty hot,I presume they are an alloy

[Melbourne Park]

I was offered to buy a late D3, the top model petrol ... 70 odd K, for $15000, from the receiver of the bankrupt. But he was a crook, so I would not profit from a crook. But IMO D3 petrols should be good buying. This one was perfect, and IMO very cheap. So ... there should be lots to look for IMO.

[Nomad9]

Hi Geedublya,
Was the BMW engine used in all the RRS TDV8's or was it in a specific date range? I have a 07 -2007 RRS and I thought I had the Jag engine..............maybe not!! Can I tell be the VIN number?

Cheers Marty

[LandyAndy]

The TD V8 is a Land Rover engine.
The early L322s had either a 4.4l BMW V8 petrol or a 3.0l BMW inline 6 turbo diesel.
The D3 V8 petrol,no V8 diesels in Discovery unfortunately,is a Land Rover motor.
Andrew

[rar110]

Hi Geedublya, Was the BMW engine used in all the RRS TDV8's or was it in a specific date range? I have a 07 -2007 RRS and I thought I had the Jag engine..............maybe not!! Can I tell be the VIN number? Cheers Marty

The tdv8 a Ford Jag PSA motor, as is the tdv6.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_AJD-V6/PSA_DT17

[Disco-tastic]

Its a plastic thermostat housing, or at least a plastic pipe to the housing. I do know that it was plastic that cracked.

Took it for a drive today and the engine seems to run sweetly however the transmission had a whine and was a little hesitant. It hadn't been serviced after 150k km so I figure its on its way out.

Thanks for your input everyone.

Cheers

Dan

[Nomad9]

Hi Dan,
Mate that wasn't gearbox whine it was the twin turbos kicking in.............enjoy when you find the right one.

Cheers Marty.

[LandyAndy]

Its a petrol D3 V8;);););)
Andrew

[Nomad9]

DOH.............!!!!!

[Disco-tastic]

Haha I wish it had twin turbos! Though it probably wouldnt get much worse than the 32L/100km (average!) the readout was telling me!

Cheers

Dan

[TerryO]

When I first looked at buying a V8 D3 I decided the best place to get info about them was from North America where they are all just about V8 petrol's so I contacted aCanadian Aulro member with the tag BByer. Below is part of a pm he sent to me, it addresses the major issues the 4.4 V8's in D3's suffer from and what I should look for when considering a V8 D3 for sale.

"Re the spark plugs, I would try to get proof that the plugs have been changed and that they are not original.

I have changed out the plugs twice now, (3 sets including the originals), and I do that as apparently the plugs if not replaced at least at 100,000 km, can freeze into the head. What this means is that when the plugs are changed, the threads within the head spin out instead of the spark plug. This is bad. As such, my thoughts would be that if you purchase the unit and there is no proof of a previous spark plug change, I would offer to pay a real LR dealer to install new plugs conditional on the purchase.

Re the plastic cooling system parts, about a month ago, I had a complete new thermostat housing installed. Nothing was wrong with the original plastic, however there are stories of the housings cracking due to old age ?€“ heat and time. There is also a plastic air bleeder tee that should also be replaced. A new housing gives you a new thermostat. At least here in Canada, the cost of a thermostat and labour to replace is not much less than the whole housing replaced so it is an easy decision. I still have the original water pump but had to install a new electro viscous fan unit ?€“ expensive.

My own thoughts re petrol vs diesel, is that the petrol engines do not seem to require much maintenance, yes the fuel cost is higher, but with no turbocharger to burn up, maintenance is cheap compared to the diesel.

Here in Canada, the fleets tend now to be purchasing pickups with petrol engines rather than diesel and first cost is less and so is maintenance; fuel cost differences do not amount to much."

I found the above information very helpful and in part that made my decision to buy a V8 D4 even easier.