Thread: D3 - engine jammed on a highway

Very sad for you. I know the feeling but not with a car out of warranty.

You could see what TR Spares have available Triumph Rover Spares - The World's Largest Land Rover Dismantler

Where in Sydney are you? If sounds like you need to see one of the non-dealer repairers.

Thanks for the link. Would you have a clue as how much new/second hand engine would cost? Also, based on this report, does it still make sense to go ahead and pull the engine apart to investigate the root cause?

I could hardly believe what happened that day.

My D4 is awsome, but one day the same thing happened (26,000km) and have heard it on a brand spanker RRS not getting home from the dealer on day 1.

Unfortunately the dealer crated up my engine and sent it back to LRA so I don't know the diagnosis.

Going to a specialist repairer will be cheaper than a dealer and will give you various options.

I have used Graeme Cooper Automotive on Princes Highway St Peters for 25 years, (the D4 is currently still in warranty and dealer serviced) there are other specialists around the metro area depending on where you live.

The engines are made by Ford at Dagenham in the UK so don't necessarily blame LR for the problem.

I would not waste one more cent pulling the engine apart, if the crank has failed then chances are other major damage has happened as well. So if its stuffed its stuffed knowing which bearing failed won't make it any better.

Workshops advise you to pull them apart because then the vehicle is in a million parts and you have no choice other than to pay them to fix it there and then.

History usually shows that it is easier and cheaper to get another engine than trying to fix them when they have these kind of issues, personally I would price up a new long engine before buying something second hand with unknown history. The later model 2.7's have a pretty good record in not having bottom end failures from about 2009 on once they fitted the new 3.0 litre bearings in them.

On the other side I would be wanting the workshop to take back the alternator, they wrongly diagnosed the problem so why should you pay for parts that weren't required?

The fact that they missed a small thing like the engine was seized and started replaced parts around it to me says you should consider taking it somewhere else for the repairs.

The earlier 2.7's have a bit of history of failed bottom ends, resulting in throw away engines, there is no warning when it happens so unfortunately you have had some very bad luck this time round.

Could not have has worse luck.
Not the start you were hoping for.
You could check with the servicing dealer? But sounds like the big end shim failure.

Firstly let me offer my condolences... This is basically the worst thing that could've happened to a new TDV6 owner and what every pre-2009 TDV6 owner dreads on some level. I'd still get a second opinion, because you're not going to want to hear what a new engine is worth... I would get a nice big bar on the front bolt of the engine myself and try to turn it. Check the oil level. See if in fact the starter motor has fused and that is why you've blown that fuse.

Why was the battery flat?

You've got a large fuse blown, flat battery, starter won't operate (I don't buy that bit about the starter blowing the fuse by not being able to turn the engine... it'd burn itself out before that happened!) Something doesn't smell right here!! This reeks of an electrical problem!! Most people experience increased engine effort and greatly increased engine NOISE prior to the engine finally seizing.

If the engine truly is seized from bearing failure I'd be interested to see the vehicle's service history and in particular, what type of oil has been used, what filters have been used and whether they've been installed properly (the filter has a return boss that must be located in the housing prior to the filter cover being screwed on. It is completely possible for the filter to be pushed into the filter cover and screwed down WITHOUT locating the return boss in the housing - saw this happen on disco3.co.uk about 2 months ago - the plastic boss just jams up into the filter. The other thing is that these engines are FICKLE with what oil is used. LR specify fully synthetic 5w30 and say there is to be no deviation from this. Again I've seen failed engines where the oil was later analysed and found to be 20w50! This was in South Africa. An oil analysis may prove beneficial for you in the case that the engine is indeed toast insofar as you may have a comeback on whoever did the last service. If I were to tally it up from the big end failures I've seen, and trust me owning an RRS TDV6 myself I've been paying very close attention to this, a very significant percentage (over 50%) could be attributed to:
-incorrect oil specification
-poor quality aftermarket filters (low initial oil pressure)
-incorrect filter installation
-on earlier 04-06 models, the crank bolts could sometimes come loose
-one workshop drained the oil and forgot to put new oil in and ran for 20+ minutes with no oil

Knowledge is power my friend, make enquiries and don't write your engine off just yet. This is a very well designed engine and generally very reliable with few failures considering the amount of them out there.

Good luck!

Oh ****.

Sorry to hear mate.

Here's hoping for a positive result!

If our compassion for our new Land Rover colleague would help I'm sure technoplague's D3 would be fixed yesterday.

Just one question, if a Land Rover dealer fits a new crated long engine to an out of warranty vehicle, what is the warranty on the new engine?

I know another of our mates on here had an engine failure on a just out of warranty truck. The manufacturer didn't cover the repairs but there was a 12 month warranty on the engine or two years if it was fitted by a dealer.

It is something that technoplague should consider.