My wife's LR3 has had some engine knock for a few weeks (99k miles on it). I checked the oil and it was below minimum.
Refilled the oil and took to the mechanic.
Looks like a bearing inside the engine is starting to give up.

The LR3 still runs and could run for another few thousand miles according to the mech.

The mech has quoted $7000 to replace the engine, but the LR3 is only worth about $10k.

Last year I spent $3k on new brakes and front wheel bearings (6k miles since this last work).

My current options:
1) Replace the engine and a few other items (2 tires) for about $7800
2) Sell the LR3 for someone who needs parts. Anyone interested?

 

Yeah, that's a difficult decision to make when the value becomes as low as our trucks are right now.


The way I look at it, if the rest of the truck is good and you are happy with it, spending that money may not be a bad investment if you get a good low mileage motor and can successfully transplant it with no surprises. $7800 is the amount of vehicle payments you'd make in a year and a half on something else. Sometimes better he devil you know with upgrades than the unknown one you don't.

 

That being said, if you were near me, I would ****** it from you in a heartbeat for $3000.

 

@EastCoast,

$3k would be a bit too low.
My 3rd option would be to patch the issues and trade in for about $6k!

 

I would guess that you could probably save $1500-2000 buying a used engine instead of a remanufactured/overhauled engine. I'm sure it's "riskier", but despite your experiences, these engines seem to stand the test of time very well. Most I've seen run around $3000 for an engine with 100-120k miles on it. Guess it depends on how long you expect to keep the car though. Just one more option to consider.

 

in my neck of the woods 3k would be in the middle to high side of the spectrum

 

Last engine I bought (was for an '06 RRS) was $2500 from LKQ. I actually have a good bottom end at the shop if you want to try your hand and repairing head bolt threads LOL

 

I recently replaced the engine in my LR3, for approximately the same reasons. The PCV went bad and caused the engine to ingest a serious amount of oil. Shortly after, it knocked and threw a rod through the block.

I ended up getting a used 45k mile engine for $4700 plus shipping from Roverland Parts, and it was another $4000 and change to get it installed and fix the PCV, new spark plugs, belts, pulleys, towing, etc. ($1000+ of that was replacing belts and pulleys on the old engine trying to track down a whine/whir before it threw the rod). The mechanic had found a used engine with 70k miles for $8k, so I think the price varies quite a bit.

I love the truck and it's been trouble free for me otherwise, so I decided to go forward with swapping the engine. I now I have a younger engine and should be good for a long time.

I wouldn't keep driving it, as it's a ticking time bomb now. It'll most likely leave you stranded and dumping out oil at some point.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback.
I decided to invest the money in replacing the engine and get the LR3 running again.
Any recommendation where to get a good used / semi new engine?

New V8 4.4L from Land Rover $21000
British Atlantic: $8500
Ebay: $2k to $4k (but can you trust them?)

 

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

This is a database of auto recyclers across North America... they usually offer a 30 day warranty, at least the ones I've dealt with.