Thread: Purchase a D4 with replaced engine

Originally Posted by stewraz

Hi folks,

So once upon a time, i sold a discovery, I learnt a head lesson - LC200s are horrible. Not only was it terrible to drive (day to day), it was expensive on fuel, used oil, lacked many creature comforts that made it a nice place to be, and generally proved to be no cheaper to service than a D4.

Fastforward a year, and I am hanging out to get back into a Discovery (4). Looking at 2014-2016 models only, and have a few extras I am looking to be on the car. I have found one, but it has recently had the engine replaced (crankshaft failure victim). And I wonder if any one has any experience of owning one after the engine has ben replaced?

There are heaps of D4s around with low ks - why not simply look at one without a reco engine?

Edit: and heaps with their original motors - why buy one with a reco engine?

Originally Posted by Arapiles

There are heaps of D4s around with low ks - why not simply look at one without a reco engine?

Edit: and heaps with their original motors - why buy one with a reco engine?

Because one might think it’s less of a ticking time bomb than a factory original

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Because one might think it’s less of a ticking time bomb than a factory original

It's the first I think I have heard that there is a new and improved crank design...if there is and if the entity rebuilding has a solid reputation I would likely go that way than trust a low k LR version of any modern TD. Cheers

The new and improved crank would be the one Ford US designed for the F150 which the last of the 3.0 diesel Discos received as well.

Sourcing it seems to be the challenge as all reports are you have to buy it with a short motor if you can find someone stocking it.

Every so often a claimed genuine new crank does come up for sale on eBay in the UK - some seem legit.

Fabsky seems to have been able to get one.

Had a TDV8 in RRS replaced with reconditioned unit in Dec2019 by automotive skills. VERY bodgy work. Nuts, bolts, clips missing all over, cables routed incorrectly, turbo leaked oil, replacement turbo failed after 30,000km (the not leaking one). They were the cheapest option for a replacement engine, I can see why.

Originally Posted by peterjj

Had a TDV8 in RRS replaced with reconditioned unit in Dec2019 by automotive skills. VERY bodgy work. Nuts, bolts, clips missing all over, cables routed incorrectly, turbo leaked oil, replacement turbo failed after 30,000km (the not leaking one). They were the cheapest option for a replacement engine, I can see why.

Wow, ok, this is what i was worried about, There are soooo many touch points, and to say they do it in 10 days either means that have a big team working on it, or they are VERY efficient. Either way, it kinda feels like it would be very hard to "triple check" every nut and bolt in that timeframe, no matter how hard they work.

Well, a little kore information, the mob that did the work (only about 2 months ago), have refuse to transfer the warranty upon sale of the car. I cant understand for a second why it matters who drives the car, the warranty should be on the workmanship and the car itself. As a result, I am backing out of the sale, too many risks. Spoke to the owner who was a total legend, and he is gutted.

I may still give the shop a call to clarify (for other here) what the deal is with the crankshaft itself (is it an upgraded version, and how do they source them)

Thank you everyone for your input, without AULRO i doubt i would have ever purchased my first Disco

Just spoke to them. As you have all being suggesting, there is no such thing as an official "v2" crank. He went on to suggest that Landrover "acknowledged the issue" and fixed it in later models, which i didn't bother to correct him on (they never did acknowledge it, else there would be a class action almost immediately).

When asked about the warranty not transferring, he just flat our said no, its not, and its even on the invoice they sent the car owner.

Hope this helps any future lotto losers when it comes to things to check if you ever need to go down this path. Overall, I was not super impressed with the way the mechanical crew spoke about the issue, very dismissive and unapologetic. I get they have a business to run, but i simply cant understand why the owner of the vehicle must be attached to the warranty.