LR4 5.0 Chain Guides actual problem?
- Thread starter Tubthumper
- Start date
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DirtyHal
Full Access Member
What interval do you change your oil at?
I am picking up my first LR this week, 2011 LR4 with 62k miles, and the timing chain issue is for sure my biggest worry going into the purchase. I plan on Changing my oil every 7500mi with Mobil 1 and seafoam. I drive about 22k/year and plan to keep this car for the next 4-5 years so I will be pretty religious about maintenance, hopefully just keeping the motor clean will keep the issue at bay but maybe it would be proudent to just replace the tensioners preventatively? I saw Atlantic British offers a kit.
mrezo
Active Member
My vehicle has 78k miles. It does sound a little louder than other V8s than I've heard in the past. After the vehicle warms up, it sounds a little "diesel like" with a specific tapping sounds rather than chain slap. I'll also add that there's no chain slap on startup.
Dealer claims that timing chain needs to be replaced. Indie shop says that he's only had to do 2 replacement in the 8 years that the LR4 has been around and that my engine sounds fine, but should monitor in case it sounds like it's getting worse.
I'd still like to do a chain, guides, & tensioner replacement just for piece of mind and given that it's a known issue and I plan on keeping the beyond the 150k mark. Love this truck.
Most research indicates that frequent oil changes before the manufacturer recommended time interval is key to prolonging the life of this motor.
Dealer claims that timing chain needs to be replaced. Indie shop says that he's only had to do 2 replacement in the 8 years that the LR4 has been around and that my engine sounds fine, but should monitor in case it sounds like it's getting worse.
I'd still like to do a chain, guides, & tensioner replacement just for piece of mind and given that it's a known issue and I plan on keeping the beyond the 150k mark. Love this truck.
Most research indicates that frequent oil changes before the manufacturer recommended time interval is key to prolonging the life of this motor.
Tapping sounds is the DI and/or fuel pump. No worries. Why would you spend $$$ on a preemptive chain/guide replacement on an engine that sounds ok? Time value of money...If it gets bad then replace. You have a long list of things that can go BOOM on this rig (air susp, compressor, LCA front, LCA rear, transmission ..diffs). Chasing problems will not be good on the wallet.
After watching the video, I have a stupid question:
He states that the tensioners are driven by oil pressure. Over time, they are pressing hard enough to leave impressions (dents) in the guides, thus causing them to run outside their tolerance range and rattle.
Could this be caused by excessive oil pressure? I know that high oil pressure can be caused by oil residue clogging up the engine, and someone here mentioned that the only time they've seen these get replaced the engine had oil sludge in it..
The dealership is calling for 15k oil changes, could that be a contributing factor to sludge buildup?
I am in full agreement that this issue probably seems bigger than it really is, but if we can figure out if this is related to elevated oil pressure, it could be caused by oil buildup due to infrequent (but manufacturer recommended) change intervals.
Am I off in left field?
Mike
He states that the tensioners are driven by oil pressure. Over time, they are pressing hard enough to leave impressions (dents) in the guides, thus causing them to run outside their tolerance range and rattle.
Could this be caused by excessive oil pressure? I know that high oil pressure can be caused by oil residue clogging up the engine, and someone here mentioned that the only time they've seen these get replaced the engine had oil sludge in it..
The dealership is calling for 15k oil changes, could that be a contributing factor to sludge buildup?
I am in full agreement that this issue probably seems bigger than it really is, but if we can figure out if this is related to elevated oil pressure, it could be caused by oil buildup due to infrequent (but manufacturer recommended) change intervals.
Am I off in left field?
Mike
DirtyHal
Full Access Member
That seems like a logical assumption, here's another stupid idea: What if someone who had a slight ticking or other evidence of a wearing timing chain did a crankcase flush with seafoam or another additive and changed the oil with seafoam. If the ticking went away would that be evidence that the pressure was reduced to an acceptable level and the tension was correct?
The video clearly shows a wear area with the updated parts having a hardened bearing. Perhaps it would work. There is an outside chance my engine got the updated guides before I took ownership at 3 years at 50k miles.
mrezo
Active Member
Thanks for the info. I've actually read about this on another forum and my mechanic seems to believe this too might be the culprit re: engine noise. I haven't read of anyone having complete failure of either injectors or fuel pumps yet. Fingers crossed.
Agreed on this. Add water pump to the list.
Transmission is starting to slip pretty bad between 3rd and 4th gear. Already had the transmission fluid and filter service done but only showed slight improvement. I'll be taking her back to the shop this week to investigate further.I've gone back and forth on this, mostly just for peace of mind. I'll continue to monitor and make sure to report at 85k and 100k.
