Twin Turbo 2.7 Disco

[Journeytower]

Hi Guys, I've looked at a 2011 Discovery 4, the salesman tells me that it is a twin turbo unit but I can't find any info on these. Is there such a beast ? If so does it have worthwhile ( for the added complication) more torque & power, also fuel economy if used correctly. Are there any issues with the twin turbo re reliability. This vehicle has 105k on it with a good service history, except the auto service. I'm thinking that it should be a better tow vehicle than the 2.7 single turbo. I know the 3.0 litre is the bees knees but finances are the stinger. Thanks in advance as always useful info here.

[BobD]

The twin turbo is 3 litre. There is no 2.7 l twin turbo.

If it is twin turbo it will have two inlet pipes exiting the air filter on the drivers side of the engine bay. If that is the case it is a 3.0 litre.

It should be marked on the back as SDV6 or 3.0 TDV6. SDV6 replaced the 3.0 TDV6 but is the same engine.

What model is it? S, SE or HSE?

[Lukeis]

Are you sure of that bob? Mine is a 2.7L and I think it is twin turbo (think being a key word)

[Eric SDV6SE]

Bob is right, there is no 2.7 twin turbo model. The TDV6 is a single turbo 2.7, the SDV6 is a 3.0L twin (primary and secondary) turboed engine.

Best to cross check the vehicles VIN with LandRover Australia.

The 3.0l has more bottom end torque and hence more power than the 2.7. I love my SE for that fact, cant even tell its towing our van most the time, however the 2.7 is also a great tow vehicle, I doubt you'd notice the difference on the long runs.

Issues are sticking turbo actuators, air control valve (between the primary and secondary, intake hose and intercooler ducting.

No different to the single turbo 2.7 (or any modern TD vehicle)

Transmission flush at 120,000 km or earlier is recommended, especially if it has done lots of towing. Log book service is ok, but the intervals are too long, most of us are changing oil every 10,000km or 6 months, not the Log book 24,000km or 12 months.

Suspension especially front lower control arm (bushes) wear and the electronic air suspension air bags can develop leaks.

Cheers

[BobD]

Are you sure of that bob? Mine is a 2.7L and I think it is twin turbo (think being a key word)

If it has the twin intake pipes it is a twin turbo and if that is the case it is a 3.0l.

I had this argument with my son's friend who reckoned he had a twin turbo 2.7. It was a twin turbo but not a 2.7. He finally found out that it was a 3.0l but swore black and blue it was a 2.7. I think the S model if optioned with the SDV6 might not have an identifying badge, which perhaps tricks people.

[PerthDisco]

If it has the twin intake pipes it is a twin turbo and if that is the case it is a 3.0l.

I had this argument with my son's friend who reckoned he had a twin turbo 2.7. It was a twin turbo but not a 2.7. He finally found out that it was a 3.0l but swore black and blue it was a 2.7. I think the S model if optioned with the SDV6 might not have an identifying badge, which perhaps tricks people.

The TDV6 reference that hung around for a bit is the reason for confusion I believe

[Graeme]

To add to the possible confusion, the 2.7L was twin turbo in Jaguars but as already stated, not in Land Rovers. The 3.0L isn't a true twin turbo arrangement but the 2.7L in the Jags was, in the same way that the 3.6L TDV8 is twin turbo but the turbos on the 4.4L TDV8/SDV8 are sequential like the 3.0.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Luckily I said "primary and secondary". Agreed it's not a true "twin", but a "sequential" turbo diesel

[loanrangie]

No matter how you put it , twin =2.

[Journeytower]

The twin turbo is 3 litre. There is no 2.7 l twin turbo.

If it is twin turbo it will have two inlet pipes exiting the air filter on the drivers side of the engine bay. If that is the case it is a 3.0 litre.

It should be marked on the back as SDV6 or 3.0 TDV6. SDV6 replaced the 3.0 TDV6 but is the same engine.

What model is it? S, SE or HSE?


Thanks guys, as usual helpful information. It is labelled on the rear boot TDV6, no 3.0 . I've looked at the photo on carpoint & it appears to have only 1 outlet at the air cleaner, same as my current 2006 Disco 3. So unless the second outlet is obscured it's only got one outlet. I got the VIN off the advertisement SALLAAA13BA588898. Looks like the salesman may not be quite up to speed.
Selling mine as I wouldn't feel right to sell it privately.

[IndusD4]

Unless it had an engine transplant, it is a 2.7 TDV6. This is from TOPIx :

148237

Ron

[Eric SDV6SE]

Mines marked "SDV6SE", I'll try and find the link where the VIN decodes exactly what vehicle spec is.

[IndusD4]

It's got a locking rear e-diff too.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Here's a tip:
Get them to put it in writing that it's a twin turbo, buy the vehicle, then claim from them that you've been misled as the car has only one turbo, they then have to make good and fit a MY16 3.0SDV6 engine into it...

(Tongue in cheek)

[Lukeis]

For what it’s worth incase anyone is considering a 2.7L to tow with..

I just dragged a 3.2T caravan through Sydney in slow bumper to bumper peak hour traffic on a 42C day last week and had no issues whatsoever, those type of conditions are tough on a car.

On the return trip I came up from Wollongong through the royal national
park which can be very steep with lots of slow twists and turns, never felt sluggish or under powered.

Given how good the 2.7 is The 3.0 must be great!

[Eric SDV6SE]

Just read the specs for that 2.7TDV6 on car point. The quoted 140kW and 440Nm is not too bad at all and very respectable.

From memory the SDV6 3.0 has a quoted 180-188kW and 600Nm,

After my tune I'm at 195kW and 650Nm...with standard exhaust and mufflers.

IMHO, If you can stretch the budget, get the SDV6 3.0...

[Lukeis]

Is there any way to find out the NM of torque at different rev ranges for both the 2.7 and 3.0?

the one area move power would be nice is sitting on 100km hr on the freeway, 90km hr is easy but 100 feels like a push. I expect at this speed the revs are not necessarily as low as the 2000rpm that the 600nm is hitting on the 3.0 l

[scarry]

For what it’s worth incase anyone is considering a 2.7L to tow with..

I just dragged a 3.2T caravan through Sydney in slow bumper to bumper peak hour traffic on a 42C day last week and had no issues whatsoever, those type of conditions are tough on a car.

On the return trip I came up from Wollongong through the royal national
park which can be very steep with lots of slow twists and turns, never felt sluggish or under powered.

Given how good the 2.7 is The 3.0 must be great!

Exactly,the 2.7 is no slouch.

Easy to get it enhanced,and it pulls even better,with no difference to fuel economy.

Just to confuse things,MY12 was the last of the 2.7TDV6,and the 6 speed auto.So the last were built 2012.

MY13,and onwards, was also TDV6,but was lower output 3.0l,with the 8 speed auto.

FWIW,the D4 2.7 had quite a few changes,from the D3 2.7,to improve reliability.

[orville]

I found this when looking for something else The TDV6 diesel gave essentialsophistication to the Discovery 3 and early Range Rover Sport. And it’s stillgood today
For decades the only Land Rover diesel engine was a modest four cylinder unit, thencame the BMW era with Land Rover’s own Td5 and the BMW straight-sixes. But when BMW sold Land Rover to Ford, it wasn’t commercially viable for Ford to buy BMW engines, plus BMW development support ended, yet the existing engines needed updating urgently. So a new diesel engine had to be found for new LandRovers.
Ford had been working with PSA Peugeot Citroën on a series of smaller diesels for Peugeot and Ford cars, so it made sense to build on this expertise to produce a bigger unit to suit Land Rover’s and Peugeot’s large car needs.PSA had been among the first manufacturers to produce modern high-powered diesels using four camshafts, four valves per cylinder, with high pressure(1650 bar) fuel injection, and closed loop boost control with variable geometry turbos to improve response and efficiency. Initially, this caused some difficulty as Peugeot wanted a 2.5-litre engine and Land Rover wanted a3.0-litre unit.
A compromise was found at 2.7-litres and work commenced at the PSA engineering centre in Paris. All through the design process, engineers from Land Rover were involved to ensure the engine could cope with the particular demands of a Land Rover application. The immediate need at Land Rover for this engine was in the forthcoming Discovery 3, and the later Range Rover Sport. Compared to many similar, and older, engines the TDV6 is of relatively lightweight. Its compacted graphite iron block achieved thin walls without loosing any strength. At 205kg dry weight, it is slightly lighter than the BMW V8petrol engine of that era, and significantly lighter than older Land Rover diesels, including the Range Rover’s 3.0-litre BMW engine.

The Land Rover variant differed from the PSA and Jaguar applications(the engine was used in the S-type Jag) in a number of ways. Crucially, the sump and oil pick up are deeper, designed to cope with steep inclines found in extreme off-road situations. Additionally, the boost system uses a revised intake and single turbocharger, rather than the twin turbo system used in Jaguars and PSA applications.
For Land Rover models this had the effect of improving low speed torque at the expense of top end power – 190 PS in a Land Rover compared to 204 PS ina Jaguar. Land Rover applications were expected to drive an engine harder than a saloon car might, hauling heavy trailers slowly up steep hills for instance.So the Land Rover V6 had an engine-driven viscous coupled cooling fan to ensure good air flow through the radiator at low vehicle speed.

[PerthDisco]

FWIW,the D4 2.7 had quite a few changes,from the D3 2.7,to improve reliability.

Like?
Oil pump housing changed after MY08
Anything else?

[IndusD4]

Crankshaft bearings

[Journeytower]

Thanks again guys. So much useful & helpful information out there. The TOPIx site looks useful, what is it & how do you get on it. I like the idea of getting it in writing that it is twin turbo & then having them update, but I've already got enough problems from stress & don't think I need any more .
[B]
Apart from the appearance, which is really nice, it appears that the year 2011 update from my 2006 could be worthwhile from the improvement relating to reliability. Is this a correct thought ?

My 2006 has a computer upgrade performed by TR Spares South Aus. I suppose it would be out of the question that the ECU would swap between vehicles.

Thanks again.

[Graeme]

The ecus will not swap for at least the reason that a new high-speed can-bus protocol was introduced for MY10, but other incompatibilities too.

I don't think that upgrading from a MY05 2.7 to a MY10 2.7 would be worthwhile for improved engine performance only but may be worthwhile for a later, lower km vehicle overall.

[PerthDisco]

Crankshaft bearings

Think not - least the 3.0 is not less problematic than the 2.7 in that department and later 2.7s detonated just as happily.

Other minor changes to the D3 2.7 included a change in fuel filter and emissions regs but these don’t affect reliability.

[scarry]

Like?
Oil pump housing changed after MY08
Anything else?

Different crank and bearings.
Uprated cables in the engine bay,starter and alternater areas.