Crazy to consider new engine in a 2016 LR4?

[scapistron]

You can't bore these motors. The cylinder liner is a nikasil coating.

 

[amstacey]

I may be too late with my advice - but if you determine the cylinder heads are warped, I'd recommend replacing the engine after confirming there are no other major problems. A similar thing happened to my 2011 LR4 HSE a few years ago driving home from vacation. We had it towed to the nearest Land Rover dealership and they made a diagnosis similar to your initial one. After spending $4,000+ on repairs, the problem reoccurred a week after getting it back home. We had it towed to our local Land Rover repair guy in Chantilly, VA (he is wonderful). He determined the cylinder heads were warped and the engine needed to be replaced. After confirming everything else about our LR4 (which had 130k miles on it) was in great shape, I decided to go ahead and spend the $19k to replace the engine with a new engine. Me, my mechanic, and one of my cousins were the only ones who thought it was a good idea; everyone else (including my husband) said I was crazy. Well - 4 years and 25k miles later, and she's still doing great.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

Me, my mechanic, and one of my cousins were the only ones who thought it was a good idea; everyone else (including my husband) said I was crazy. Well - 4 years and 25k miles later, and she's still doing great.

Great to hear a good news story!

Glad to hear this has worked out well @amstacey - I am trying to avoid this very issue with ridiculous attention to detail and care of the engine (i.e. fluids changes). But always good to find out about how something has worked out in the end - we see very few engine swaps (at least up to this point) in the forum.

You were right!

 

[DavidSG]

I may be too late with my advice - but if you determine the cylinder heads are warped, I'd recommend replacing the engine after confirming there are no other major problems. A similar thing happened to my 2011 LR4 HSE a few years ago driving home from vacation. We had it towed to the nearest Land Rover dealership and they made a diagnosis similar to your initial one. After spending $4,000+ on repairs, the problem reoccurred a week after getting it back home. We had it towed to our local Land Rover repair guy in Chantilly, VA (he is wonderful). He determined the cylinder heads were warped and the engine needed to be replaced. After confirming everything else about our LR4 (which had 130k miles on it) was in great shape, I decided to go ahead and spend the $19k to replace the engine with a new engine. Me, my mechanic, and one of my cousins were the only ones who thought it was a good idea; everyone else (including my husband) said I was crazy. Well - 4 years and 25k miles later, and she's still doing great.

Glad to hear - hopefully it lasts many more years for you! Any chance that mechanic you are referring to is Pierre from 4x4 land?

Haven't made a decision yet on what to do. Been driving it locally (my typical 20 mile daily commute) and coolant level hasn't gone down noticeably in a few weeks. I did just get a new daily driver (Rivian) so that gives me time to figure out if I'm going to do the engine replacement or sell to CarMax. Just detailed the LR4 over the weekend (he looked sad and under-appreciated with the shiny new car in the garage) and damn it looks almost as good as new. My wife would prefer to daily drive the LR4 over our minivan (we originally bought the LR4 for her but it wasn't all that practical with four small kids at that time) so I gladly took it over.

I do think I'm going to replace the engine at some point. Although it's a $35K opportunity cost ($10K I could get from CarMax on top of the $25K engine replacement). Doesn't make a lot of financial sense but I still think "buying" a 2016 LR4 with a new/reman engine for $35K (with recently replaced brakes and tires and control arms and CV axles and all that) isn't crazy. As you know, personal property taxes in VA are expensive so less of an issue with an older LR4.

In any event, I'm trying to encourage my wife to just start driving it and we'll keep an eye on the coolant levels and just replace the engine when and if it goes (who knows - might get another couple of years out of it before needing to replace the engine). But she is understandably fearful of being stranded on the highway and is pushing me to get it done sooner rather than later...

 

[BBLR3]

I feel that we are already at a point where we are starting to hit BOAT stage with the older LR's, which is fine as so far its still cheaper than buying something new. Mines been great and I do pretty much everything myself if I can, and intend to keep it as long as I can. If mine ever gets to that point of engine replacement, its going as IMO its not worth the money at a resale value to invest that much into it, and knowing whats in store maintenance wise in the future. At engine replacement prices + labor hours (unless you are doing it yourself), you can probably just buy another used LR in really great shape if you really want one. Also super happy I do not pay that VA property tax or drive around that NOVA beltway anymore

 

[TB1960]

My 2013 had a similiar head gasket issue. My mechanic recommended trying a product called "Blue Devil Head Gasket Sealer" and it worked like a charm. That was about 10 months ago. No more white smoke.

 

[JBelt01]

My 2013 had a similiar head gasket issue. My mechanic recommended trying a product called "Blue Devil Head Gasket Sealer" and it worked like a charm. That was about 10 months ago. No more white smoke.

I just trailered my LR4 about 200 miles home after stranding us out of state. Dealer said it has a combustion leak, pressurizing the coolant system, and needs a head gasket.

I thought about blue devil. Do you recall if it was the “pour n go” version that is a thin liquid? They make 2 versions, and the original version requires removal of the thermostat. No heater core clogs?

 

[DavidSG]

Yeah somebody earlier in this thread recommended trying to head gasket sealant. I guess to do it properly, sounds like you have to remove the thermostat so that doesn't clog and then reinstall once the sealant has done it's thing. One mechanic around here said they would do it. The other two shops I talked to thought it was snake oil or would lead to other problems. I figure it's worth a shot and can't really see the downside of trying (other than the expense of going through that process to do it properly). I assume anything it might clog up could be replaced when / if I eventually replace the engine?

 

[DavidSG]

I feel that we are already at a point where we are starting to hit BOAT stage with the older LR's, which is fine as so far its still cheaper than buying something new. Mines been great and I do pretty much everything myself if I can, and intend to keep it as long as I can. If mine ever gets to that point of engine replacement, its going as IMO its not worth the money at a resale value to invest that much into it, and knowing whats in store maintenance wise in the future. At engine replacement prices + labor hours (unless you are doing it yourself), you can probably just buy another used LR in really great shape if you really want one. Also super happy I do not pay that VA property tax or drive around that NOVA beltway anymore

That a rational perspective on engine replacement. I guess from my perspective - I know everything about my LR4 at this point - versus rolling the dice on another one that appears to be in great shape but could have all sorts of issues that need to be addressed. Not to mention it would be hard to find one with all the features I have now - HD pack, towing pack, rear seat entertainment, etc. And I assume if I did the engine replacement, the big maintenance stuff wouldn't creep up for many more years (recently did control arms, brakes, tires). But I know other stuff could creep up like air suspension and transmission, but no signs of any issues there. So I'd like to think it's just a matter of regular oil changes but the foreseeable future. But no reason to rationalize it - I just like my car and want to keep it around for the next 10+ years!

 

[powershift]

I just trailered my LR4 about 200 miles home after stranding us out of state. Dealer said it has a combustion leak, pressurizing the coolant system, and needs a head gasket.

I thought about blue devil. Do you recall if it was the “pour n go” version that is a thin liquid? They make 2 versions, and the original version requires removal of the thermostat. No heater core clogs?

What year and how many miles?