Our 2008 LR3 2.7L TDV6 SE's engine is stuffed. The main bearings got damaged due to, it seems, oil starvation. The vehichle has done approximately 140,000kms. The car was serviced as required by Land Rover or accredited LR Service Centres. Getting it fixed is extremely expensive, apparently Land Rover follows a black box approach - if it is broken they replace it. Thus, Land Rover can replace the broken engine with either a reconditioned or new unit at a COST! LR is not very willing to open the engine to determine what’s wrong!

A friend and I decided to open the engine ourselves to determine the damage. By removing the ladder frame carefully from underneath the engine we stripped of all the big end bearings and found signs of excessive heat on the top halves of three of the bearings. Some of the bottom big end bearings were slightly pitted. (due to dirt in the oil?????).

So, the condition of the big end bearings did not account for the initial heavy knock we experienced when the engine broke or the small metal pieces found in the sump thereafter.

However, the No.4 main bearing was damaged badly and one of the thrust washers is completely demolished and was found in pieces in the sump.
We suspect that the oil pump partially failed causing the damage and we will have it checked out. If the pump is ok I guess it could have been caused by either a blocked or leaking oil channel.

I am willing to recondition the engine myself with the help of very knowledgeable friends. In getting this done some challenges we found are:
1. We can’t get big end and main bearings from Land Rover or any other supplier in South Africa.
2. We have to remove the engine block and crankshaft to have it checked out for possible damage caused by the damaged main bearing and thrust washer. To get this done it seems we have to lift the body from the chassis.
So, I have to pose these questions:
1. Any idea where I can source main bearings and big end bearings from?
2. The Land Rover workshop manual explains how to disconnect the body from the chassis but how do one lift it? Are special chassis mounting brackets needed to lift it and where are the lifting points located on the body itself? I have the facilities to do the job but do I need a special lifting frame for the body?
I will appreciate any advice and tips.
Kind regards.
Marthinus.

 

to lift the body off the frame you dont need any special frame
2 poster lift will do the job
just lift it by the sills

lack of availability of the bearings is not only problem in your area
land rover doesnt supply them at all
the dealer can only supply the short block
(check the price might not be that bad at the end of the day)

 

PM sent regarding parts.

 

Hello,
I have a 2008 Range Rover Sport with 120.000km and I have the same problem : the bearings got damaged. I cannot find them anywere as parts. Land Rover are selling only the short engine and it's very expensive (about 12.000 eur). Now the question is,mjbez, did you manage to repair your engine?? And if you do, how??

 

check with the Peugot guys. You might find an answer there. They use the same engines.

 

I know. The engines are build by PSA in asociation with Ford and are used also on jaguars. But the only spare part for them is the short engine!

 

Hi, the cost of the 2.7 TDI short block was approximately, 1700 Euro. I know the price doubled shortly after my transaction. 12,000 Euro for the short block is a bit stiff. Where are you situated? I have confirmed with our local (South African) Land Rover dealer, the price for the 2.7 TDI short block is now 54,120.28 ZAR (4,220 Euro) including 14% vat
Yes, my kid, a friend and I have rebuilt the engine ourselves. The car has done 20,000 hassle free km’s since then. You can get current workshop manuals for your model at http://topix.landrover.jlrext.com/topix/i18n/index. These manuals are comprehensive and will assist you in doing the job yourselves if you feel like it. One challenge thou, I am not sure if this is true for the Range Rover, the body has to be lifted to get the engine out. Feel free to contact me should you require assistance or info of any sort.

 

Herewith the part numbers:
Short block only: Lr010297
Short block with sump and heads: Lr006701 (7,652 Euro including 14% VAT)

 

We have got many requests for bearings for TDV6 engine. We would like to start production of these parts, and now looking around for technical details to complete development. Does anyone has an engine open, and can give me details on housing diameter, crankshaft diameter, oil clearance, how many main bearing pairs are in the engine and if the axial bearing pair has 4 washer or only 3? Many thanks in advance!!

 

I have rebuild my engine with other parts. If I help you I would ask at the workshop for more details. They now the exact diameter and all stuff. All I know is they used perkins bearings, toyota bearings for crankshaft, and some audi rings. So now my engine is not PSA anymore, it's PTA(Perkins Toyota Audi) . But it works just fine.