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.
$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.