Give me the straight dope on LR4 maintenance and running costs.

You may or may not have seen some of my various threads asking questions and musings about new (to me) vehicles.  The problem is, no matter how hard I try and get the head to rule the heart, I keep coming back to Land Rover LR4’s.  Now, I know the ‘conventional’ wisdom is to shout ‘run away, run away’ in your best Monty Python accents (I will judge you being an ex pat Brit), but is that really the case?  Anecdotal info I get from talking to owners ranges from ‘surprisingly reliable’ to ‘totally reliable’. Asking a friend who used to work in a Land Rover parts department, he says the LR3’s were pretty much rock solid and the V8 in the LR4’s is close, but you need to keep an ear out for timing chain rattle.  Fix it on the first sound of a rattle and all is good, ignore it and you have a 2.5ton paper weight on your hands.  

From what I can find, the timing chain and cross over pipe on top of the engine seem to be the only major deals.  The cross over pipe is a circa $100 part and DIY replacement is feasible, in fact it should be done at the same time as a water pump replacement, but many don’t.

The timing chain job sounds massive.  I’ve found the part list for the recommended method below.  

Part: Qty| Unit Price | Price

Coolant: 3 |$18.60|$55.80

Timing Chain Tensioner (LR0 51008): 2|$168.00|$336.00

Timing Chain Tensioner (LR0 12111): 2|$45.60|$91.20

Rail (LR0 12110): 2|$12.50|$25.00

Rail (LR0 51012): 2|$41.30|$82.60

Timing Chain (LR0 32048): 1|$124.60|$ 124.60

Timing Chain Sprocket (LR0 61551): 2|$ 297.30|$ 594.60

Valve Cover/Gasket (LR0411458): 2|$ 249.00 |$ 498.00

Timing Cover (LR0 11995): 1 |$ 138.00 |$ 138.00

Timing Cover (LR0 11216): 1 |$ 122.00 |$ 122.00

Sealer/Cleaner 41-+9: 1 |$ 48.00 |$ 48.00

Timing Chain (01218952): 1 |$ 98.60 |$ 98.60

Timing Cover (LR0 32086)L 1 |$ 132.00 |$ 132.00

Total Price: $ 2,346.40

Now, I assume that’s dealer pricing so I’m sure I can save 40-60% with careful sourcing, ut that could still be $1,000 in parts alone, plus something like 18 hours labour for a dealer who’s used to doing it and has the special tools required.  To counter this though I’ve heard it’s possible to do it without removing the valve covers and in fact that’s the better way to do it.

Does anyone here have actual, real world experience of working on these things, better yet is there anyone here who’s worked at a LR dealer or shop that specializes or does a lot of LR’s?

What’s the truth about reliability and ownership costs?  My issue is according to the internet every car built is a POS with a litany of issues a mile long.  It seems to me a 1 in10,000 issue gets represented as a fatal flaw these days. Examples. According to internet lore it’s a two day job with a lift to change the alternator on an SVT Contour.  Nope, I could do it in three hours start to finish in my driveway with just a jack, stands and hand tools. Same car, it’s impossible to replace the O2 sensor on the rear bank without undoing engine mounts and rocking the engine eforward.  Again nope. 25 min job from above with hand tools.

Someone give me the straight dope and remember, you are all meant to be enablers!

You just need to buy a good one and stop worrying. And expect there will be stuff that goes wrong from time to time and that you'll probably want to either do repairs and upkeep yourself of have a good relationship with a trusted independent.

Every time you ask someone will provide an obligatory horror story. I have an LR3 which gets no mention because it doesn't break.

In reply to bearmtnmartin :

Thanks.  Tell me of your LR3 ownership please?

I'm thinking of a 10-13 for the V8.  I don't' want the added complexity and maintenance of the later SC V6's combined with less power, torque and barely any better fuel econ.  I hear that 2013 is the best year as they have the improved metal /plastic chain tensioners rather than the just plastic ones.  Still not a 100% guarantee.  I'm thinking circa $20K with 70-80K ish miles.  

I bought it with 140,000k and now it has about 180,000. I have the V6 which is the Ford Explorer motor, and the transmission is a ZF six speed which shifts beautifully. It's underpowered but I only notice when I am driving into the interior up a lot of long six and eight per cent grades. I drove the V6 and several V8's and decided in typical driving there was no discernable difference. They are both fairly....stately.

Mine came with a suspension fault and a leaking sunroof. Sunroof still leaks and the suspension fault was a leveling sensor, easily diagnosed with my GAP tool (should be regarded as essential) and it was a $150.00 part. 

That's it. It drives beautifully and I wish I had bought it sooner. 

They're great. I had a 2010 L322 Range Rover with the 5.0 V8 and no issues when I sold it at 105k miles. Only sold it because it didn't tow my enclosed trailer well, otherwise it's one of my favorite cars I've owned.

Electronics are Bosch, transmissions are ZF 6HP, air suspension bits can be replaced by Arnott for cheaper than OEM. Get the "IIDTool" and you can do a lot of the electronics diagnostics yourself, similar to INPA on a BMW or whatever.

Also have friends with a 5.0L LR4 - we bought about the same time - and they love it. The husband does all his own work to it and IIDTool has been instrumental in that effort, but otherwise it's not been bad to own so far.

I love and loath our our LR3 (same as bearmtnmartin, 4.0 V6 with the 6spd ZF).  Whilst a lot of our issues have been due to the poor maintenance down here, I see a lot of the same issues reported in the UK too..

We got ours with 160k kms, now with over 220k kms.  In that time (aside from fluids and brakes) off the top of my head I've had to do, all wheel bearings, both front half shafts, front air struts, all bushes and ball joints, EPB module, tailgate actuator, alternator, aux belt tensioner and pulleys, and front diff bearings.   Rear dampers are pending as is chasing down an air leak (I'd guess front valve block), front propshaft has quite a bit of play in the joints, I suspect the brake servo needs looking at soon, and the EPB is intermittent, it looks like a wiring issue...

The GAP IID tool is essential.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/daily-drivers-in-peru-mazda-3-and-discovery-3-lr3/134498/page1/

OK, no more negativity! Clearly, Adrian is going to keep posting these threads until he feels justified in buying one of these heaps, so for the sake of less forum clutter, everybody say nice things from now on! 

Not the LR4 I was hoping/Expecting. 

Ooops enabling, sorry.  They're great, buy one!  

the LR4 is what I steer people towards when they say they like my Disco2. It's an all around better truck

In reply to paul_s0 :

You reminded me I did do the tailgate actuator but when I pulled it apart I found it was already updated and the little L shaped pin had popped out. So I put a zip tie on it and all is good. Not much fun getting the litigate open though to do the fix.

Generally reliable as far as Land Rovers go, but they're heavy, so they go through consumables like gas, brakes, and tires quicker than most.  the early LR4s had issues with the air suspension compressor taking a dump but that is easy to replace with an upgraded version from a later model.  

a buddy of mine's wife drives one which they purchased as a CPO with around 40k on it, and the only things that have gone wrong have been the typical things and were covered under the cpo extended warranty.  

They are starting to get pretty dang cheap these days, and i've been eyeing them as well, but for similar money a whiskers grille GX460 will do basically the same thing and be much more reliable.  

OK, OK you guys have talked me into it I think.  Even my wife is now saying 'One more question.  How does the LR4 stack up against the L320/322 (Range Rover Sport and Range Rover) respectively year for year?  Specifically, those years with the 5.0L JLR V8 engine  2009-2013?  Is there anything particularly good or bad about any of them compared to each other.  IT's the LR4 that I dig, but the similarities are close enough that a good deal on any of them could sway me.  I'll be looking in the $20K +/- range.

TIA

They are the same. One is tiny inside but faster and the other is heavier and slower but seats seven. Take your pick. 

OK, another Q for those in the know.  I understand that the 13 engine got better timing chain guides than the 10-12 engines.  Is this worth seeking out? 

We were in Chicago for the weekend and as there are far more there than Detroit I went and test drove a couple, a 12 and a 13.  The 13 is the one I was interested in as it was a perfect color, but there was just too much wrong (poor accident repair, some badly worn interior bit, a trans warring message and some damp in the passenger footwell)  I then drove the 12, silver which is my least favorite color, but nothing was basically wrong with it.  Both felt to drive the same.  Is it worth holding out for a 13 over a 10-12 vehicle all else being equal?  

My shopping realm is circa $20K 80-90k miles.

The 2013 is the first year of the 5.0 with better guides, yes. 

I had a L322 and LOVED it, LR4 would have been my second choice. I picked the L322 based on looks over the LR4, really. The L320 "Sport" is, to me, not a real Range Rover so why bother with it. A friend had one and it was tiny inside - at that point get an Escape or RAV4 or whatever. Get one of the big boys.

Nope, I want the LR4.  Usage will including hauling 6+ people and camper multiple thousands of miles at a time.  Third row requirement also rules out L322, no idea why they don't have a third row.  

How much better are those better guides? 

Adrian_Thompson said:

Nope, I want the LR4.  Usage will including hauling 6+ people and camper multiple thousands of miles at a time.  Third row requirement also rules out L322, no idea why they don't have a third row.  

How much better are those better guides? 

Better to where people don't seem to be replacing them nearly as much, if ever. The issue was too-long oil change intervals specified by JLR, combined with crappy guide design. I did 5k OCIs on my L322 and it sounded healthy when I sold it at 106k.

L322 is the six-figures-when-new SUV, you would never need seven seats to transport that much riffraff at once. Have the nanny carry the children in her Altima behind you.

In all seriousness, the LR4 got the taller roof to accommodate the third row. L322 roofline is lower and the truck itself is a hair shorter. I have no earthly idea how they'd stick a third row in that cargo space.

So, 13 it needs to be.  Once in my hands oil change interval won't be an issue, but I'll be buying a six year, eight thousand mile vehicle  There will have been plenty of opportunity for 'PO maintenance' issues!!