I have a horror story to tell... I bought my new-to-me 1997 Range Rover 4.0SE on Dec. 8th, for $2500. On Dec. 9th. I began to hear what I describe as knocking coming from the rear end. After thorough research on these vehicles, I was sure it was the differential. So I went and bought a used rear axle from my local junkyard out of a 96' wrecked unit.

$400 is what the axle cost me.

On Dec. 14th, I swapped the axle out and drove the truck about. All was well. On Dec. 15th, I commenced a move to Florida with the intention of bringing my new truck along. I lived in Las Vegas, I was moving 2300 miles away, and was confident that this truck would be able to handle the trip no sweat. I'd checked out all the fluids, did an oil change and all the regular tuning goodies, and I drove the car a solid 600 miles in the week I owned it just to get to know it better. All seemed fine.

Then disaster struck.

231 miles into my trip, the truck overheated going up a very small hill, where it was losing copious amounts of power on even the smallest of climbs. I was thinking that it was because this was a tremendously underpowered engine for the heft of this vehicle, so maybe it was normal to lose considerable power under heavy load, and at high speed in these trucks. But then I got to thinking... isn't this supposed to be the MOST capable off-road SUV out there? No way a little hill should cause THIS much trouble? Right?

Well, while looking away from the gauges, and keeping my eyes firmly planted on the dark Arizona road, and enjoying tunes from my lovely Harman-Kardon sound system, I glance down and see my temp gauge has completely redlined. I panic and pull off the road. I know this is an aluminum engine, head gaskets and aluminum engines don't fare well under heet stress. Warping and catastrophic failure are guaranteed.

So I sit for a couple hours, and I let her cool down, fire it back up, and proceed to climb said hill once again. No luck... she overheats again. This time with considerable smoke from under the hood and alarms from the Information Center. I got a battery light on, the oil light on, no CEL, but I got a "Gearbox Fault" message on the display. The engine isn't completely seized up, because when i turn the key, it still turns the engine, but there is massive damage to the block. I know there is no way it'll ever run again without a heart transplant.

At this point, I know my 4.0 mill is toast, but I'm now wondering, is my gearbox now an issue as well? Would it be in my best interests to just cut my losses and sell this beautiful machine, or should I pile more cash into the money pit that she's already become after only a week of ownership? Prior to this event, the engine purred like a baby kitten, and never showed ANY signs of giving up the ghost on me. I'm crushed... I've wanted a Range Rover since the P38 came out in 95, I don't want to let go of one of my dream cars, but taking an objective look at the situation, I'm not so sure that Johnnie Taylor was right. Would it really be Cheaper to Keep Her???

Any help, advice, or insight would be a tremendous help.

 

You'll be paying more to fix it than you did to buy it. Heck you might be paying more to fix it than to buy another, depends on your DIY ability I suppose.

Have you pinpointed the cause - head gasket failure?

 

I'm pretty sure it won't cost me more than $2kUSD to get her back on the road again. I found an engine in Phoenix for $1100, and I doubt it'll cost me more than $600 to swap it out.

I didn't have time to diagnose the cause of failure, as I had to get to Florida, so I left the truck in AZ with some trusted family, and I hopped a plane to FL the next day.

 

What kind of smoke/steam was it? Did you check the oil for shards of metal? What condition and levels are you fluids at? Coolant, transmission fluid, etc. Do you see anything burnt under the hood? I can almost guarantee you your engine ruined, but wouldn't hurt to find the root cause.

A burning fuse box can also cause smoke, a rough running engine, and random faults, including engine over temp

If it were me and I knew it was the engine.... IDK! lol I'd probably just sell my other car, and the RR as is and go buy an LR3. Unless, I found an engine reasonably close and reasonably priced, that had a good life. I'd make an attempt at rebuilding the whole rover. Transmission and all.... You might as well if the whole engine is out. I would do a lot of the work myself, so the cost would be reasonable.

 

I love mine, but that sounds like a major pain. You might get that much in parts.

 

Well I think you need to look more into it. Smoke can be from a bunch of things and without further investigation means you could be wasting your money.

I have had a number of engines fail on me and I have always noticed the knock or vibration first before actual failure. In one instance I toasted my alternator and it blew my fuel pump fuse. If your car will turn over and you do not hear major carnage then it may not be toast. The temp gauge could have been an electrical glitch when something else went. The other option is you could have accidentally put tranny fluid in the oil crank case. You really need to drain the fluid and then drop the pan and see what you see.

When I bought my Rover with a blown engine it was seized and there was no way it would turn over. Dropped the oil pan and checks of the piston fell out. That is when you know it is toast. I found one in Seattle for $700 and took me a day to do the swap. It has been great ever since.

Good Luck.