LR4 5.0 Chain Guides actual problem?

[Quijote]

I will say that while my oil looks dark, it doesn't seem any more viscous than when new. It just darkens but flows like new.

 

[BeemerNut]

If you want the oil to come out like new or only a light tan is to run straight non detergent oil but then without detergents scrubbing and eating away sludge, varnish and combustion acids, it's a failure oil.
Black or dirty dark oil drains has me thinking the engine for one is running way too rich like the problem D1's had with over fueling on cold starts a big issue with LR that took an aftermarket perforfance chip to correct, must add a big kick in the butt performance increase also including better fuel mileage.
Dark oil with these so called "high tech roller OHC" engines, (a 1906 fishing boat engine manufacture came out with a roller rocker OHC engine so not a new design) running high detergent quality oil say from day one there shouldn't be sludge and varnish buildup beside the small normal amount after 50K miles.
Carbon particles from combustion an excessive amount causing dark to almost black oil (running quality detergent oil) leads me to believe bad, tired or a bad designed compression rings with possibly the wrong type of cylinder bore finish before assembly. I'm not leaving out the wrong material cylinders and rings combinations. Made in India or China LR's, go figure.
A well sealed engine, rings to cylinder bores even at high mileage will still have dark tan oil at worst not this almost to black oil mentioned above.
Anyone ever run a differential compression check on their dark brown to black oil producing engines? Tight efficiently sealing rings to bore reduces the amount of carbon wearing particles blown past the rings into the oil now increasing internal engine wear.

Hell my "antique push rod engine", built up with 64, 66 & 69 parts of 379K miles the oil drains out light to medium tan highway vs in town driving at 4,500 miles oil changes. This 454 cu/in holds 13 1/2 quarts oil. Total Seal gapless rings. A Ford engine not a POS chubbie 454.....~~=o&o>.....

 

[BeemerNut]

I will say that while my oil looks dark, it doesn't seem any more viscous than when new. It just darkens but flows like new.

Good observation.
Multi weight oils especially those with a wider viscosity separation, 10/50 vs a 10/30 they slowly break down with use by heat. Wider the separation the faster the breakdown vs single wt oils maintaining their viscosity numbers rather well. Cold climate starts with single wt a bit of a concern with starving a bearing. Pre-oiler, no revving cold period.
Add the carbon particles the oil depending on how long it's being used will actually thicken and not by oil manufactures design. A never changed but added oil only engine all sludged up oil becomes thicker. This thicker cushioned effect by sludge, drain and add thinner but the recommended wt oil resulting in an engine now rattling rods louder as well an oil burner.
Those that insist on running manufactures spec wt oils like 5/20 in a 150K mile engine will have lower oil pressure to the now wider clearances of the bearings. A good time to up the wt to 10/30 and regain oil pressure, your rods and mains will thank you. So what losing 1/3 mpg running thicker oil. Manufactures with tighter tolerance engines also run the thinnest wt oils to achieve the highest mpg numbers not the best idea in protecting the engine's internals. Never lost an engine due to a oil lubrication breakdown failure. Kicking rods at 7,800 rpm's yes my fault......~~=o&o>......

 

[Quijote]

Great info. Thanks!

 

[gsxr]

Dark brown is normal for used oil, and it's opaque enough to appear nearly black when draining. You want to see really dark oil? Indirect injection diesels (i.e., all MB/VW through the 90's) turn their oil jet black within a few hundred miles. Not dark, not brown, black. It's from the soot particulate, a tiny percentage of soot makes turns honey gold oil jet black within a few hundred miles... also totally normal for those engines. Freaks out a lot of new owners though.

Bottom line, don't worry about the oil color. If you have any concerns about your engine and/or the oil or OCI, get an analysis done. I just changed the oil for the 2nd time on our LR4 and should have the analysis results in a few weeks, I'll post them on my old thread with the first analysis results when I receive the report.

Link to oil analysis thread: https://www.landroverworld.org/threads/engine-oil-analysis-results-on-2010-lr4-v8.29533/

 

[avslash]

I guess I just follow the path of least resistance. I just poured 8.5 quarts of fresh Mobil one into mine yesterday. Just like last time....

89ish thousand, and no chain noise yet.

(Knocks on wood fervently)

 

[ttforcefed]

I guess I just follow the path of least resistance. I just poured 8.5 quarts of fresh Mobil one into mine yesterday. Just like last time....

89ish thousand, and no chain noise yet.

(Knocks on wood fervently)

you have a 2012 which shld be in the safe zone, no?

 

[avslash]

you have a 2012 which shld be in the safe zone, no?

Nope. If you read the TSB, my VIN falls into the range.

Now who knows when they actually rolled out the redesigned part. Mine is closer to the end of the range, so it's possible it has them, but I'm not about to break it down to check.

I just filed it away in the back of my brain that dealing with them is a distinct possibility at some point, change the oil and filter, and hope for the best.

 

[ryanjl]

I think the very tail end of the 2012 production got the updated part. 2013 model years are the only V8 models that are more or less guaranteed to have them.

But then you've got discussion I posted here a few days ago from facebook where a few guys are claiming they still see 2013+ models in for timing chain jobs regularly.

Two things, though: first, I have no idea who these guys are. They sound like they are either Land Rover techs or work at a Land Rover mechanic shop, but I don't know. And second, when I pressed them and asked whether the updated timing guides with the steel buttons are still experiencing failures, none of them answered me.

So who knows. I personally find it really hard to believe that the tensioners are wearing through a steel button, but then again Land Rover has decades of experience finding innovative ways of making things fail. Nonetheless, I'm guessing that any 2013+ in for a timing chain job had the factory recommended 15k oil change intervals stretched out.

 

[ttforcefed]

Isnt it fair to say we are making a big deal out of something that can be evaluated through sight and sound?


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