Has anyone had the aluminum pipes fitted to an LR4 yet ?

 

Mine just alerted for low coolant level yesterday. I have a bad feeling about it given how much of an issue this seems to be for many owners of these things. My LR4 is a 2016 SCV6 which in the spring had ten hours of engine work done to fix an oil leak that manifested shortly after I purchased it, they had already done major engine work to it, chains etc just before I purchased it and apparently hadn't dotted their I's and crossed their T's. I've only put about 4000 miles on it myself and it's right at 120,000 miles now.

If I'm lucky it's nothing to be worried about but for a number of owners this seems to have been the tip of the iceberg leading into some bigger repairs.

 

@Chief65 How often do you open the hood and check the coolant? I know my SCV6 uses a bit of coolant, maybe shot glass or two worth every 1000 miles, nothing visible.

But if you any worries at all get some UV coolant dye and a UV light, avoid the ones the say they are not dexcool safe, they are a bad formulation. The small bottle is fine, start with 1/2 a bottle and check at night that stuff really glows

 

https://lucky8llc.com/collections/lr...n-supercharged

 

Well ... thanks to a warranty I purchased, I am having timing chains (they were chattering and found to be loose - this is the 3.0 SC too), a new water pump (small leak at the front) and whilst they are in there, I am having the aluminum 2 front pipes and the related soft hoses replaced (at my part cost) . The quote was eye watering, so the warranty has been a life , or car, saver. I will post some photos when done. ( They are checking the rear heater pipe at the same time. )

How LR took a decade to sort all of these nonsense issues out I do not know. OK it was a Ford unit , but their reputation has been burnt. Such a shame these issues abound, as the LR4 is still such a great truck.

 

I have a different opinion.
Its not your daddy's chevy. And the product was offered at a fair (low) price-point, originally.
Moreover, it's 10 years old and most swap out vehicles after the lease period these days.

And the modern vehicles (yes, all of them) just weren't made to endure the long haul. That would cost significantly more to build.
(Priced a new G550 lately? BTW, don't think there's no maintenan$e to that!!)
If you're in for the long haul, be prepared for maintenan$e.

 

@Billywedlock @guy is pretty close the mark, every manufacturer has issues just look at the sheer number of recalls. But the far bigger issue is maintance, with older cars they were easy to work on, and easy to see leaks and diagnose. Newer vehicles are highly computerized and everything is covered up.

 

Quick update, I had the new aluminum front coolant pipes fitted, all looking good. One area rarely discussed with the SCV6 is the timing chains, mine had become noisy and they were indeed worn. Despite lots of regular oil changes, so it is not just the V8 . I had noticed them getting noisier. My engine had 75k miles, so it might be worth checking the slack on yours. Oh and yet another water pump was needed, it has started leaking. It is a service item methinks. Crazy really. I had one injector that was seized/blocked (I had not noted any issues) .No issues with the SC rattle or the rear pipes.

 

@Billywedlock Slack in timing chains does happen over time, vehicles that are driven hard will develop slack sooner. So on the SCV6, flooring it to get that super charger whine and regularly running up to 4000+ rpm shifts will accelerate the wear. It is the guides and phazers that are the bigger issue.

Mine is right about 75000 miles, once it is warm it is nice and quiet, well as quiet as these get.

I just wish modern engines had chain inspection ports and not just LR