Thread: TDV8 3.6 longevity

Gday Phil

You have a long life experience with Range Rover. I think you will be impressed with the 3.6 L322.

I have owned one for 4 years. I transitioned from 110 Isuzu ownership so the L322 was a big change. 2 or 3 years before I would not have considered such a vehicle. Now I rarely drive the 110 which I still have.

Anyway some comments from my experience. Mine has 281,000km.

The 3.6 motor:
- developed and built by Ford with PSA, as a possible power plant for the F150. Released just before the GFC. Technically known as the Lion DT17.
- intercooler hoses, intake manifold cracks/holes, turbo and EGR failure seem to be the main failure points.
- OEM intercooler hoses seem to fail after a few years and are really a consumable. I have changed to silicone hoses (thanks Roverlord Offroad spares)
- intake manifold failure seems to be a fatigue issue, not very common so hard to know.
- Turbo compressor fans going out of balance, hitting housing and sending bits into the motor (cause possible build up of junk on fins, or wear combined with oil starvation from oil feed partial blockage).
- EGR failure ie the valve face cracking and dropping bits into the motor or staying partially open and dropping in excessive exhaust into the motor, another is EGR coolant failure resulting in coolant being fed into the motor.
- excess oil vapour being fed into the motor due to CCV filter being under spec. Not sure about this.

That seems to be mostly it. These motors were originally advised to have 10 or 11k service intervals. That was doubled at some stage. My car has always had services around 10k km. I think that’s important.

Other things. I have done the following to help ensure appropriate engine life:
- disable the EGRs. This stops exhaust particulates combining with oil vapour to coat and gunk up the motor. (Not unique to this motor - see problems in Toyota/MMC diesels). This makes the motor run smoother and quieter (not that it’s noisy).
- use induction cleaner - not so important now the EGRs are disabled. This also helped my motor - more power, smoother.
- use engine oil flush. This helps keep oil feeds clear. I just used some CEM product. This has helped keep the oil cleaner.
- fuel additive. Not sure if it’s had an effect. I have tried a few different ones.

Overall I think this is an excellent motor. However, everyone says the 4.4 is better.

I like the 3.6 as it is a bit less complex, it has a dip stick, it takes 18” wheels and it’s way cheaper.

In saying that I could see myself in a L405 tdv8 sometime down the track.

Good list. Add alternator failures. My first one lasted ~90k / 8 years. Consumable.

My RH intake lasted 115k (split). Replaced both. Silicone I/C hoses are a must IMHO.

Turbo drain hoses need to be checked/cleared out periodically, and BOTH engine oil sump plugs dropped at each service.

Original service interval was 12.5k / 6 months. Got doubled later in life to 25k / 12 months (somewhere around 2010 I think). Way too long.

Only 18" wheels that'll fit are the Compomotives (at least for L320 pre-update). Not huge choice but at least there is those...

Ta.

If going broader than short motor then yes I replaced my alternator at about 240,000km. When it fails it really fails. Tow truck home. The alternator literally sucks voltage out of the battery. I set up a multimeter on a cig lighter and watched the voltage drop. After a few minutes the Xmas tree dash appeared and car shut down. This was after recharging the battery for days.

I replaced my trans/transfer case at about the same km. Both parts were good other than output shaft and input gear. No grease/lubrication meant both wore away until the spline gave way. Tow truck home. I picked up a complete combo very cheap, ensured lubrication and now all good. It’s the facelift model box so will need to ensure trans service done soon.

I also replaced the front struts at 10 years as the risk of failure seems to increase around this age. I was going on a road trip to Victoria so didn’t want a failure. Both shocks were well worn. So happy I did that.

Thanks for the your experiences. I have read that front struts can be a problem in older 3.6 cars. What about the transmission, is it up to the output of the engine? Not as bad as the GM in the TD6? Are the electrics problematic?

No issues with the trans in these unless services were never performed.

The torque capacity of the trans has been mentioned a few times. Mainly I think because the listed ZF specs are close to the engine outputs. But I’ve never heard of one letting go for that reason.

The trans has a much better reputation than the GM 5 speed. The 6HP26 variants have been used in many cars from Falcons to Bentley’s. Also used in the D3/4/L320.

As JC mentioned, trans servicing is recommended.

Graeme from here identified ZF started fitting a lead free stator bush to this trans from about 2009 (VIN cut off is somewhere on here). This also affected the D4 and RRS. So up to that point the general consensus is service every 100,000km approx. And newer trans every 50-60,000km.

From my observations of reported front strut failure, the risk increases from about 10 years of age. Which is why I changed at this time.

The rear air springs seem to rarely fail. The rear suspension is a better design IMHO than D3/4/RRS as struts sit outside the spring so heat isn’t trapped inside the spring. The rear struts have normal life expectancy. Mine have been replaced once.

My front airbags were leaking when I became the second owner. 10 years and 112k. Rears were still OK but I replaced the lot. Now I can ignore them for the next decade...

Drained all fluids at 112k. Only the transfer case oil was halfway reasonable. Trans was truly awful, diffs not much better. Second engine sump plug not touched at previous service, but engine oil not bad. Trans got a flush and steel sump conversion. Then all adaptions reset.

I've got a front left wheel bearing just making the slightest hint of noise so that'll be next job... front left is common failure by all reports.