Possible ‘13 LR4 Purchase (Also posted in Intro)

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Sonshine

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Front crossover being replaced is great because those failures can lead to catastrophic engine failure. Front crossovers can burst open and leak out all the coolant in seconds on the highway and before you see you are overheating it's too late. Rear crossover typically leaks and should be replaced preventatively. I just did mine. An indy quoted me $1,000 for the front and rear pipes. Problem is that you can't use your warranty for preemptive maintenance. Water pumps and thermostats are basically considered maintenance items as well. I feel the problem with warranties for Land Rover is that there are many items you don't really want to wait until they break and preventative maintenance is can be costly on Rovers.

Agreed. The dealer made to explain to me that LRs are considered high maintenance vehicles and as long as I’m good with it, I will love this vehicle. If not, get a Toyota; they are very reliable... *Insert chuckle*

Regarding the rear crossover pipe. Is their leak more prevalent but not as a serious? The reason I ask, is I can still smell residual coolant, and am afraid it may be the rear... considering the front was just replaced. I continuing to monitor because I want to ensure it’s not just burn off that’s pooled under the manifold. I’ve only put about 100 miles on it since I got it. Given the pressure test came back good I’m at a loss for what it could be.

Any info is helpful.
 

Rob Pittman

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Agreed. The dealer made to explain to me that LRs are considered high maintenance vehicles and as long as I’m good with it, I will love this vehicle. If not, get a Toyota; they are very reliable... *Insert chuckle*

Regarding the rear crossover pipe. Is their leak more prevalent but not as a serious? The reason I ask, is I can still smell residual coolant, and am afraid it may be the rear... considering the front was just replaced. I continuing to monitor because I want to ensure it’s not just burn off that’s pooled under the manifold. I’ve only put about 100 miles on it since I got it. Given the pressure test came back good I’m at a loss for what it could be.

Any info is helpful.
 

Rob Pittman

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I'm pretty big on keeping my engine clean, so you might try hosing it down gently and then driving it to see if the smell goes away. If not, I would suspect the rear coolant pipe or possibly even a leaking heater core.
 

Sonshine

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I'm pretty big on keeping my engine clean, so you might try hosing it down gently and then driving it to see if the smell goes away. If not, I would suspect the rear coolant pipe or possibly even a leaking heater core.

I’ll give, gentle hosing down of the engine a shot... I doubt it’s the heater core because I can only smell it on the outside. I would figure if it was the heater core I would smell it through the vents.
 

jlglr4

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Anyone know if the crossover on the ‘13 is a two piece pipe like on the supercharged models - a top pipe that is oriented horizontally and a second Y-shaped that goes down into the valley of the motor? If so, I’m just wondering if the dealer might have replaced one pipe but not both. At 100K, I would make absolutely sure all those crossovers have been replaced, or just replace them preventatively to be safe, as probably a lot of people already recommended on here. Without a supercharger, it shouldn’t be that big a job.

Even if your warranty covers the coolant pipes (which is surprising), I would be shocked if it covers consequential damages. These engines seem to burn up pretty quickly once that coolant pipe bursts, and the warranty very likely will not pay out on an engine that overheated as a consequence of a coolant pipe failing.

In my experience, the pressure test just doesn’t cut it for those plastic coolant pipes. I had three pressure tests - all negative, but still had coolant smell. It was the front crossover where it meets the block just slowly disintegrating.

Besides the front/rear crossovers, I think the next most likely causes of coolant odor is the water pump. They’ll sometimes leak out the front, but it seems they often leak out the back. There is a hard plastic tube that connects the back of the water pump to the oil cooler behind the water pump. It’s actually a little tricky to get this pipe seated correctly. In any case, the pumps are known to go bad well before 100K, and it if it hasn’t been changed already, that’s another preventative maintenance item I’d recommend.

Finally, I’ve heard the caps on the expansion tanks can go bad after a while, and that also could cause the odor.

Good luck with it. Let us know when you find the source.
 

f1racer328

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Anyone know if the crossover on the ‘13 is a two piece pipe like on the supercharged models - a top pipe that is oriented horizontally and a second Y-shaped that goes down into the valley of the motor? If so, I’m just wondering if the dealer might have replaced one pipe but not both. At 100K, I would make absolutely sure all those crossovers have been replaced, or just replace them preventatively to be safe, as probably a lot of people already recommended on here. Without a supercharger, it shouldn’t be that big a job.

Even if your warranty covers the coolant pipes (which is surprising), I would be shocked if it covers consequential damages. These engines seem to burn up pretty quickly once that coolant pipe bursts, and the warranty very likely will not pay out on an engine that overheated as a consequence of a coolant pipe failing.

In my experience, the pressure test just doesn’t cut it for those plastic coolant pipes. I had three pressure tests - all negative, but still had coolant smell. It was the front crossover where it meets the block just slowly disintegrating.

Besides the front/rear crossovers, I think the next most likely causes of coolant odor is the water pump. They’ll sometimes leak out the front, but it seems they often leak out the back. There is a hard plastic tube that connects the back of the water pump to the oil cooler behind the water pump. It’s actually a little tricky to get this pipe seated correctly. In any case, the pumps are known to go bad well before 100K, and it if it hasn’t been changed already, that’s another preventative maintenance item I’d recommend.

Finally, I’ve heard the caps on the expansion tanks can go bad after a while, and that also could cause the odor.

Good luck with it. Let us know when you find the source.

When my waterpump started leaking I had my dealer replace both the front/rear crossover pipes on my '13 while it was still under warranty. So I believe its the same as the other 5.0's.
 

jlglr4

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I should have said “I wonder if the front crossover is a two piece pipe.”

I don’t have a 5.0 - I have a 3.0 supercharged. On our cars, that front crossover is actually two pieces - the top that’s pretty easy to get to, and the bottom that requires removal of the supercharger and intake manifold. If it’s the same on the 5.0 and only the top pipe burst, I can see a dealer just replacing that top pipe and leaving the old lower pipe in place. But maybe on the 5.0 its a one-piece design because it doesn’t have to be up so high to clear the supercharger.

For sure, both the 5.0 and 3.0 have front and rear crossovers, and both should be replaced.
 

f1racer328

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I should have said “I wonder if the front crossover is a two piece pipe.”

I don’t have a 5.0 - I have a 3.0 supercharged. On our cars, that front crossover is actually two pieces - the top that’s pretty easy to get to, and the bottom that requires removal of the supercharger and intake manifold. If it’s the same on the 5.0 and only the top pipe burst, I can see a dealer just replacing that top pipe and leaving the old lower pipe in place. But maybe on the 5.0 its a one-piece design because it doesn’t have to be up so high to clear the supercharger.

For sure, both the 5.0 and 3.0 have front and rear crossovers, and both should be replaced.
Oh sorry, I see what you mean now.

I'm pretty sure it's a single piece pipe. I'm sure someone else on here can confirm.
 

portlandlife

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I have the 5.0 non-supercharged. Front and rear crossover pipes are both 1-piece plastic pieces. I replaced mine a few weeks ago. It's a 2010 that I picked up a year ago from my cousin. It only has 54k miles. But I replaced them because it's been 10 years and the cost of $200 in parts is well worth the peace of mind of not blowing up the motor. Water pump was changed at 49k miles last year by previous owner.
 

Seabassjfr

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Is this the crossover pipe that everyones always talking about?

Screen Shot 2020-11-09 at 11.12.19 AM.png
 

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