166K miles. No obvious problems. Oil level and coolant temp were good during operation.

While traveling on highway (65mph) on slight uphill incline, the engine light started flashing. Very rough idle when I slowed down. Codes indicated misfires on cyls 2 and 6 (I have an OBD2 app on my cell phone). No fluid leaks or overheating.

Took it to my local independent LR shop. Quick compression check determined low compression on cyl 2. Wet compression check indicated that leaking/burnt valve was likely the problem.

Tear Down: Removed head and found burnt exhaust valve on cyl 2. A piece broke off and scarred the cylinder wall. An outside machinist who does valve jobs as a full time business visited the shop to inspect and advise. He determined that the scar in the cylinder wall was too deep to attempt a repair by boring and using an enlarged piston. Engine was condemned.

I reflected on the possibility that this was my fault due to neglect or abuse. But I pampered this car, and there were no early warnings of trouble. The shop said that with age, miles, and heat, the valves can become burnt. I might have avoided the severe cylinder scar if I would have stopped the car and had it towed immediately, but I was out of town in a remote highway location with passengers and I kept driving until I reached a populated area.

I found a used engine (72K miles) at a local recycler that I am having put in. The donor vehicle is the exact same year and model as mine (even the same color, kinda funny) and was salvaged due to rear/side collision damage. I had to take a hard stop-and-think if it was worth replacing the engine, or just junk the car and buy another. But in this market I can't find another SUV with 72K miles for the cost of replacing the engine.

I'll post an update when this job is complete during the next few weeks. Never a dull moment.

 

Dang. Sorry to hear that, but glad you found a replacement engine. You're right, it's tough to find these trucks with 72k miles. Keep us updated.

 

Glad you found a low-time motor, I've invested enough in my LR2 lately (including paint) that'd probably do the same.

Out of curiosity, what type and weight of oil did you run, and how often did you change?

Also what brand and octane of gas?

 

Dang!! Sorry to hear and glad you found a suitable donor power plant. Keep us posted.

 

It's not hard to find an LR2 used (salvage) engine. Prices typically range from a few hundred dollars to $2K. To justify the cost of replacement, you want one with low miles. It's a bit subjective what "low mileage" is these days, but the shop advised less than 85K miles to make it worthwhile (the engine I purchased has 72K miles).

When you find a low mileage engine, the next challenge is verifying the mileage advertised is accurate. I paid $2,450 + $100 shipping + CA sales tax for my engine, which is well above the high end of the range (I live in the SF Bay Area where everything costs more). But it was the only engine I could confidently verify that the mileage was accurate. It's from a local recycler who does business in my county, the engine was still in the vehicle before he removed it for me, and I had the VIN so I could run a CarFax to verify the donor vehicle, the mileage was honest, and also see that the engine was regularly serviced over it's life. Other recyclers I spoke to did not have the VIN for the donor vehicle, or offered a VIN that I had no way to verify if it was actually the donor vehicle for the engine. You really need to be sure the mileage is accurate because you don't want to pay the significant cost of labor to install a high mileage engine with the same risks as what you just removed.

It comes with a six month warranty (parts only). I asked about a warranty that includes labor to replace the engine if it's bad, but they only offer labor warranties for engines with less than 50K miles. So that's a risk.

Motor Oil: I've used different oil brands over the years (Castrol, Amsoil). The last few oil changes were Mobil 1 Adv Full Synth High Mileage 5W-30.
Fuel: Chevron midgrade 89 gasoline. I also used a fuel cleaner additive (Berryman B12) every 3 months.

 

Why? Land Rover calls for high octane fuel (91 or better). Use of lower octane fuel can cause knocking and damage to the engine, valves, etc.

 

The salesperson at the LR dealership who I purchased the vehicle from, told me that mid-grade 89 was fine to use, as she used it herself in her own LR2. I believed her. I never experienced any knocking or pinging that would be symptomatic of too low octane fuel. But like the boiling frog, perhaps the damage occurred slowly and silently over time?

 

It could very well be. The gas engine on these cars has a compression ratio of 10.8 to 1. Anything above 10.5 is considered high compression, and using lower octane fuel over long periods of time increases the possibility of engine damage.

 

Yeah I'd pay $2K for a 70K engine with verified mileage, cheap insurance. Obviously lower is better but I'd also be happy with 80K or less since I've had zero engine core problems up to and over 150K so far (and that's with some severe-duty towing).

Any engine I'm going to keep longer than about three years gets quality synthetic oil (usually mobile 1 since it's readily available on road trips). I have a 04 Acura and an 08 LR2, both closer to 200K than not, and no engine mechanical issues on either. Both ran dino oil with the PO's, but switched to M1 well before 100K. Synthetic oil, in addition to better lube properties, also keeps the mechanicals pretty clean and shiny compared to dino oil.

Like flybd5 said... if the mfg spec calls for premium gas I use that religiously. Modern cars can *sort of* get away with using a lower spec because they have knock sensors which will retard the timing if they sense knock. But the problem there is that in order for the sensor to work, the engine actually has to experience knock first. If you drive like a total granny, you might never trip the knock sensor, but if you're bouncing off that protection on a regular basis it seems to me that's not good for the engine. I also use top tier brands, since they have better/more cleaning additives than no-name. Mid-tier is probably just fine in that regard also.

 

And BTW, when it comes to critical issues like type of fuel, lubrication, etc., the salesperson is usually the most ignorant person in the food chain.