DIY Oil Change for LR4

[catman]

I do not know about the LR4 specs, but my LR3 is at 145,000 miles and so far it has had 8 oil changes in its liftetime. I am the 3rd owner since 96k, but records provided show 14k, 33k, 52k, 73k, 96k, 107k, 119k, and 139k. 14k, 33k, and 96k were with dino oil as that was the spec in 08 and that is what the dealer uses in those cases. The rest were Mobil 1 full synthetic 5W30. I am not aware of any issues related to the oil changes. The previous owner claimed he had a good friend in the oil business who said the modern synthetics would all easily do 20k+ anymore, but that making that claim would hurt sales, so they dont.

I just change the oil every time I am in a shop. For my old DII, that was every few months! The LR3 and RR once or twice a year depending on how lucky we are with problems that year. The RR only goes about 7500 miles a year anyway, so it is not a major issue. Our Saab which gets used under 2k per year I change every year regardless. Now if I had the LR4 I would likely do it more often with a Mityvac just because I could. Time, space, and conveninece are limiting factors with the vehicles we have.

There is just too much mixed info on the topic for me to buy into any one theory and I do not have the time or desire to study motor oils to the point where I am satisfied with my knowledge of them. I would end up like GSXR with lots of facts, but still no clear answer. It's less frustrating this way

 

[ktm525]

Good points. The 4.4L is a durable engine. The 5.0L with the added complexity of DI has made me err on the side of caution. Any oil entering the intake track via the PCV had better be somewhat clean oil. With no fuel spray to clean the back side of valves. Add in the issue with timing chain tensioners and fresh oil = good.

 

[gsxr]

I agree the 15kmi (24kkm) interval is really pushing the limits of most any oil, and of course if your driving habits could even remotely be considered 'severe service' (short trips, extended idling, frequent traffic jams) then the oil should be changed more frequently anyway. My intention is to change more often than 15k, first change will be around 7kmi and I might bump to 10kmi at most depending on the oil analysis results.

I mentioned the dealer Castrol only because if you can obtain the dealer juice easily and at a reasonable price, why even bother using some other oil that has questionable specs / ratings? I understand some people may not have a dealer close by and that means finding an alternative oil. As I noted before, I think the risk is when people think they can use any old oil AND still change it at 15kmi / 24kkm.

At the risk of sparking an oil war... if you don't know the base stock of the synthetic oil you are using (Group III, vs IV/V) it would be safest to change at shorter intervals. I've had extensive personal experience on other (Mercedes) engines and Group III oils simply do not like extended drain intervals. In my experience, 5-7kmi (8-10kkm) is the reasonable limit for typical Group III oils even in normal service. I'm assuming the LR/Jag dealer 925A oil must have a healthy percentage of Group IV/V base stocks if the factory pushes it to 15kmi/24kkm, but that is pure speculation.


I'm aware of the intake valve deposit issue, btw... yeah, that will be fun when the time comes. And the 'lifetime' trans fill... my owner's manual says the trans service is due at something like 12 years / 150kmi? Can't remember exactly, I need to look that up. Lifetime fill is ridiculous of course, Mercedes tried that in the late 90's and a decade later quietly changed their tune. Dealer quoted me ~$1000 USD (about $500 in parts and 5 hours labor) to change the trans fluid and integrated pan+filter. I need to search the forum and see if anyone has attempted this as DIY yet.


Side note: I thought the AJ133 5.0L "Gen III" engine was introduced in 2009 time frame, making it about 8 years old, not 12? The development may have been 12 years ago but I don't think it was used in any vehicle prior to 2009?
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a3865/4299169/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_AJ-V8_engine

 

[gsxr]

... I do not have the time or desire to study motor oils to the point where I am satisfied with my knowledge of them. I would end up like GSXR with lots of facts, but still no clear answer. It's less frustrating this way

LOL. Good point! The topic is much less complicated on older engines. As a new owner I like to do my homework once, up front, and then not worry about it again. There is enough potential risk involved with using the wrong oil (chain tensioner issue, PCV causing buildup on the intake valves, etc) that IMO it's a necessary evil to either use the dealer oil, or do the research to make sure your oil + change interval will not cause problems.

Forgot to mention my LR4 currently has 113kmi (181kkm) on it. I'd like to keep that timing chain job as far in the future as possible...

:****:

 

[umbertob]

My regimen: oil and filter change religiously every 7500 miles - that's about every 3 months for me - using "cheap" 5W-20 Mobil 1 EP from Walmart, and a BG fuel and air induction service every 30K, so once a year (about $120 locally.) 135K miles / 217K km so far, and the engine is as smooth as new.

 

[ktm525]

My regimen: oil and filter change religiously every 7500 miles - that's about every 3 months for me - using "cheap" 5W-20 Mobil 1 EP from Walmart, and a BG fuel and air induction service every 30K, so once a year (about $120 locally.) 135K miles / 217K km so far, and the engine is as smooth as new.

Wow. How many mile do you have so far? At that rate you will be the mileage king soon.

 

[94speedster]

Nice to see this thread is still alive!

I wanted to report out that we still drive our LR4 as a our primary family car, and we just hit 187,000 miles this week. I've been religious about oil changes at 7500 miles, and the engine is still strong. We've had a few electrical gremlins which has cost some cash to replace (video console failure, rear deck lid latch failure, failed compressor pump for suspension). Apart from those, the LR4 has been solid.

 

[gsxr]

We purchased our LR4 about 8 months ago with ~111kmi and the last oil change was at the local dealership, at 104k. I really dislike the lack of a dipstick, shortly after purchase the electronic display was showing the level as "below minimum" but did not specify how much to add. The dealer service advisor recommended to add 1 quart and re-check, which I did, and the level went to MAX after adding 1 quart. Over the next ~3kmi the level remained at the MAX level, although on rare occasions it would show a level below MAX. (!?)

I changed the oil myself at 114k (10kmi interval) using an OE/dealer filter and OE/dealer engine oil. I drained out the bottom since I don't own a Vac-U-Suck, and measured the quantity of oil drained, which was almost exactly 7 quarts. I refilled with 8 quarts, checked the level, and it was showing MAX again. That seemed odd to me, there should be 1 additional quart in the sump, yet the display was showing the same level?

I followed the FSM procedure to re-set the electronic level, just to see if it would change anything. After the reset, the level changed from MAX to right in the middle between MIN and MAX. Again, the lack of a physicaly dipstick is a real nuisance because it appears the reset procedure assumes the oil level is correct and sets that level as median in the display. But you have no way to know for sure except monitoring the amount poured back in after draining and hoping the sensor system is working correctly. The FMS is NOT clear about what exactly is going on with the reset procedure, or if it should be done at every change, etc.

Oh, and I had to shell out $500 for the GAP IIDTool to reset the stupid service reminder, since apparently there's no other way to do it on the 2010-2013 LR4. I saw lots of people asking this question in various forums and threads, but very few answers. AFAIK there is no other way to reset besides the IIDTool, or having the dealer do it.

On a side note, I also had an oil analysis performed on the 10kmi Land Rover dealer/Castrol oil drained out, but I created a separate thread on that topic:
http://www.landroverworld.org/threads/engine-oil-analysis-results-on-2010-lr4-v8.29533/

 

[Quijote]

Nice to see this thread is still alive!

I wanted to report out that we still drive our LR4 as a our primary family car, and we just hit 187,000 miles this week. I've been religious about oil changes at 7500 miles, and the engine is still strong. We've had a few electrical gremlins which has cost some cash to replace (video console failure, rear deck lid latch failure, failed compressor pump for suspension). Apart from those, the LR4 has been solid.

That's great to hear. I'm hoping to keep mine forever. I put very few miles, so hopefully that helps make it a reality.

 

[ncburch22]

I just rolled over to 105k. Zero problems to report over the last 20k miles other than a hood latch sensor and MAP sensor. I do my oil fluid changes at home. Oil every 5k. Takes all of 20min with the Mityvac.