Blew my engine...

[rockcity]

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.

 

[joey]

2 questions for you...

1. Were you towing anything?

2. How much money are you willing to spend?

 

[rockcity]

I wasn't towing anything, but my Rover was packed to the gills internally with a good many of my belongings I was bringing to Florida.

I suppose I'd be willing to spend about $2kUSD. At that number, I'd be about $5k into this thing, and I think I'd barely be able to get that out of it in a private sale or trade. What are you alluding to?

 

[Disco Mike]

First, it is 14 plus year old, did you even think to inspect and do a full service on it prior to jumping out on the road trip.
Whoever sold it knew there were problems and you didn't get inspected to know aht you were getting into, that is a hard lesson.
Now what is actually wrong with the truck and where is it?

 

[rockcity]

First, it is 14 plus year old, did you even think to inspect and do a full service on it prior to jumping out on the road trip.
Whoever sold it knew there were problems and you didn't get inspected to know aht you were getting into, that is a hard lesson.
Now what is actually wrong with the truck and where is it?

Your tone is very rude and condescending. In case you DIDN'T read my post, I DID do a tune up on the vehicle prior to embarking on my trip. And in case you DIDN'T notice, I think I said what the problem was with the vehicle. The engine is dead, and the truck is in Phoenix. But what does that do for you? Are you going to fix it now? Since you know what's wrong and where it is?

 

[joey]

The odds are you may also need to look at getting a radiator and possible water pump added to the cost of the engine rebuild or replacement... the reason it may have overheated, that is unless it had been overheated before you got it.

For 2g's you can rebuild it yourself if the engine is salvagable, or replace with another engine.

Wish I had my conversion kits ready, but still working on it or I would say buy the conversion kit and drop in a Chevy 350 for way less than you 2g requirement.

 

[Disco Mike]

Your tone is very rude and condescending. In case you DIDN'T read my post, I DID do a tune up on the vehicle prior to embarking on my trip. And in case you DIDN'T notice, I think I said what the problem was with the vehicle. The engine is dead, and the truck is in Phoenix. But what does that do for you? Are you going to fix it now? Since you know what's wrong and where it is?

I was not being rude to you but speaking out a little reality. You bought a vehicle without knowing a thing about it. A full inspection should have been done to protect you and your purchase, you screwed up and then past it off on the truck.
A tune up, a set of plugs and maybe an air filter does not give anyone assurance of a vehicle that will give them many miles of service.
As for my questions. If you had bothered to answer them either I or someone else on this forum might have been able to recommend a shop, maybe the location of a engine if needed and any other information that might have helped you.
Some day, when you grow up and can except the fact that you screwed up in this purchase, then maybe you can ask and receive help, in the mean time, you better find some other wheels.

 

[rockcity]

I was not being rude to you but speaking out a little reality. You bought a vehicle without knowing a thing about it. A full inspection should have been done to protect you and your purchase, you screwed up and then past it off on the truck.
A tune up, a set of plugs and maybe an air filter does not give anyone assurance of a vehicle that will give them many miles of service.
As for my questions. If you had bothered to answer them either I or someone else on this forum might have been able to recommend a shop, maybe the location of a engine if needed and any other information that might have helped you.
Some day, when you grow up and can except the fact that you screwed up in this purchase, then maybe you can ask and receive help, in the mean time, you better find some other wheels.

Thanks for your little dose of "reality" DiscoMike, but I didn't ask for it, so next time, keep it to yourself. Usually when people buy cars they don't follow the previous owner around for a year or two to "get to know the car". You can pull a carfax, but that doesn't tell you anything about maintenance. Get real man. When you drive off a car lot in your new bucket of bolts you have NO assurance that the car will last until you get to the corner, the only difference is that you maybe have a warranty, or a the very least, someone to go back to should the worst come to pass. I didn't make any mistakes in this purchase. This was a freak occurrence, or in P38 cases, common. The engine ran fine the previous 830+ miles I drove it. There were no signs that the head gaskets or the engine would fail until I was climbing a hill and it began to lose power and then overheated. I didn't know it was necessary to ACCEPT the fact that I'd screwed up before I got help with an issue. I suppose when people walked into your shop you retired from, you'd ream them and make them agree that they'd made a mistake before their car broke before you would agree to fix it. I'd say you should just shut the **** up with your opinion, solve their problems and take their money. But that's just me.

 

[rockcity]

The odds are you may also need to look at getting a radiator and possible water pump added to the cost of the engine rebuild or replacement... the reason it may have overheated, that is unless it had been overheated before you got it.

For 2g's you can rebuild it yourself if the engine is salvagable, or replace with another engine.

Wish I had my conversion kits ready, but still working on it or I would say buy the conversion kit and drop in a Chevy 350 for way less than you 2g requirement.

How far off are you from the completion of your kit? I'd say a 350 conversion would be far more reliable, it's not like my gas mileage is stellar anyway, and this thing is terrible for power. You think a full conversion like that would cost less than $2k though? I looked into it a little and the kits at Marks 4WD are like 8 hundred plus, plus the engine mount kit for another 200, and then getting an engine and ECM... sounds expensive to me...

I checked on the 4.0L in the Disco and it looks like that one is identical to the RR save for some little nuances. Those go for as little as $650 from what I've seen and with $600 for the cost of the swap, I could be motoring again for a solid $1200. Not so bad in my opinion. What do you think? is my logic wrong? Please steer me in the right direction if you believe I am.

 

[joey]

The disco and RR engines are the same, with a few exceptions... 4.0 to 4.0 are interchangeable, 4.0 and 4.6 can be interchangeable with some modifications. I wouldn't even consider going back to the 3.5 or 3.9.... of course you can find a 4.2 out there, but not much point there either.