2005 LR3, 4.0L V6, family driven, 82K miles, serviced normally. I drove it home from NY and about 1000 miles down the road, a Check Engine light came on. Code read, "Camshaft Position sensor too far retarded".

Those sensors are hard to find, according to the shop. Not a problem, I'm thinking, because the truck ran fine and got good MPG. Before a road trip, I had the shop replace spark plugs. We drove the 300 miles up to Birmingham for a wedding, and yesterday I took the truck to a local shop where they found a sensor (being delivered today).

We sent the truck to the local LR dealer for a system software update (was that necessary, anybody?) and the truck came back without the update because the dealer said it had thrown time; the timing chain had slipped...engine is toast. WTH??

Anybody ever heard of a V6 throwing timing chain? Anybody ever hear of a truck that threw a chain still running after hundreds of miles?

The only symptom (that began after the plugs got changed) is that there seems to be a stumbling when we let off the gas.

The shop should be able to R&R the sensor today. Their opinion is that the dealer couldn't have diagnosed the timing fault before the camshaft sensor was replaced.

What say you?

 

If you threw a timing chain you would most likely bend valves and it would not run. The Sensor seems like it pops up more on the V6 than the V8, but they go bad from time to time. Don't know much else about the V6, other than I would not want one.

 

In the LR3 V6, each bank has a separate timing chain. Here's shop manual pages on camshaft timing.

 

and the rest of it

 

If I understand it correctly, the petrol V6 is a common Ford engine that is very reliable. The worst thing one can say about the variation that is in the 3 is that the 3 is too heavy for that engine. One can also say that about my 4.4L V8, (including Land Rover), and that is why the LR4 now has the larger 5L engine.

The odds are the problem relates to the timing sensor referred to. The only other thought I would have relates to spark plugs. If the new plugs are not the exact LR part number plug, consider replacing them and buying exact ones from the LR dealer. What one cannot be certain of is what the engine computer is doing or more correctly, what sort of a software twist that the Land Rover engineers wrote in that makes an excellent Ford engine with slightly off spec plugs behave like something that should be in a go cart.

Land Rover seems to have the ability to complicate everything and while an equivalent plug or whatever should be OK, somehow LR can make it otherwise.

 

The part arrived late Friday, so it's wait until Monday because they will have to remove the intake in order to install the sensor on Bank2. After that, they can check to see whether it's running right or not.

What specific plugs are used in LR3? The ones replaced were Motorcraft, and I don't know yet what brand was installed.

 

The first question re plugs is what type construction should they be, then what brand, and then which plug number.

Land Rover appears to use iridium NGK brand plugs on the petrol V8 and are part number LR005253 which are probably NGK 7866 plugs.

Re the V6, the part number is LR000604 and are probably platinum Motorcraft SP-498 but may also be iridium NGK 7316 plugs.

In other words, the Ford Motorcraft plugs that came out were probably platinum SP-498 plugs and would be good ones to put back in. Sometimes going to higher class plugs can be worse than going to lower grade plugs. I presume the removed Motorcraft are long gone now however.

 

You don't have to pull the upper intake on the cam sensor. its on top of the motor and pops out really easy. but it could be seized in, if that;s the case then its a pain.

But throwing a timing chain means alot worse noise and really bad power.