PURCHASING A 2012 LR4 HSE OVERLAND BUILD

[fdbjorn]

Hi Rover Community,

I am currently in the process of purchasing my first used Land Rover 2012 LR4 HSE w/ 118,000 miles on it from CarMax Wholesale Auction for $5,700.
This vehicle will be used for adventures for my toddler and growing family.
I totally understand this model has its common issues (timing chain, coolant pipes, etc) and it will always be a risk.
I did pull the Carfax with no accidents & 2 owners.
We had a mechanic take a listen to the engine and do a quick inspection and he found no concerning sounds/chain slack.
We checked the undercarriage and seems dry w/o scratches to the skid plate.

My concern is "What seems to be the common timing chain and coolant pipe lifetime?"

I have reached out to some Landrover specialists and they seem they do not want to touch the timing chain or feel it's not worth their time.
My goal is to eventually make those replacements but what are the experiences of the community with their original parts?

I would love any thoughts, advice, or concerns about this LR4 purchase.
Btw, the vehicle is located in Pasadena, CA.

 

[BBLR3]

The answer is: It depends. Your going to find that replacement parts to mileage varies across the board.

Im at 178k and have done the front coolant pipes twice, water pump, thermostat, and the rear pipe once. Havent done chains yet as I have minimal noise and I checked for chain slack when I did my valve cover gaskets last year. Everything felt good so I'm still going. I change my oil 3k-4k and use 5w30 instead of JLR spec. Dont know if thats helped the chains or not, but so far so good and Im sticking with it.

If its me buying that, first thing I'm doing at a minimum is the water pump, thermostat, front and rear pipes, and go from there.

 

[ugmw177]

agree. If I were purchasing this, before driving it much, i would replace front coolant crossovers, rear heat manifold, thermostat housing and related pipes/hoses and water pump including plastic line to oil cooler. IF these items fail, you could be looking at a new engine. Timing chains usually become noisy or start showing you p0016,p0018 before failure.

 

[fdbjorn]

thank you both for sharing your experience and thoughts!

I am decent with the tools but i’ll probably look into different shops in SoCal. before getting quotes, any ballpark on how much coolant pipes would cost?

 

[f1racer328]

I have 137k on my 2013. Original timing chain with zero issues so far. You can open the oil fill cap and tug on the timing chain, however that isn’t really a scientific way to check it.

Keep up on the oil changes, and replace the cooling system parts that everyone has mentioned. I’ve been running Mobil 1 5W-20.

I just replaced the front and rear crossover pipes for the second time, along with another water pump, and accessory belt. I paid $2300 for that, and an additional $700 for an oil leak. This was in Arizona at Rov N Techs.

I off road mine a lot, and am actually going out on another overlanding trip later this month. LR4s are great if you can stomach the maintenance costs. Helps to DIY a lot too.

 

[RandyLove]

Everything mentioned above is good advice, although I'd add a transmission filter and oil replacement (and possibly the pan, but shocker, there's opinions on that) especially if your overlanding and the transmission runs at hotter temps. Inspect the rear drive shaft too. The bearing in the center tends to wear out around 100k miles. Lastly, I stick with 5k mile oil changes with JLR spec oil from Eurol Ecopower Fully Synthetic 5W20 Motor Oil 5L (Part# J1A1609-005) available online. They often have coupons for free shipping, etc.

I'm up in Reno and use my 2013 LR4 for similar purposes. Happy overlanding!

 

[San Moritz LR4]

All good advice. Just know that the timing chain WILL fail. It’s a matter of when, not if. I made it to 210,000 miles before I saw the first tell tale signs. I changed my oil every 10,000 miles FYI.

Crossover tubes. REPLACE them. They too will fail. Spend the extra money and get the metal ones.

Lastly, change ALL THE FLUIDS. Including the transmission fluid, filter and pan. It’s plastic and will eventually leak.

Enjoy the road less traveled.

 

[Jimmy Brooks]

seems like everything engine wise is covered already. Would check all tires for excessive tire wear on the outside. If it’s on the front expect lower arms even if they were replaced (many shops will pop the back fluid filled bushing out and replace it but leave the front.) if it’s on the rear expect rear upper control arms (found that they wear faster than the lowers and will cause tire wear on the outside as well)

if this car is in socal expect the trans to be a future possibility. The driving style and hills/mountains (going to arrowhead etc) with the high ambient temperatures, especially in the desert, will have their way with it. I’m on my second one.

Others notes from my personal experience: valve covers like to leak. When you do you’ll smell oil burning and see the manifold smoking. The left upper timing cover specifically (for whatever reason) likes to leak. Everyone that I’ve read that has a timing cover leak always says it’s the left. The rear main will like to leak but can get confused with oil dripping down the back of the engine from the valve covers. The battery will go bad every 4 years. Not sure why but it’s been consistent on my truck and most that I’ve read about behave the same. Exhaust manifolds like to sheer bolts and will create small leaks that like to make some noise when cold but I’ll go away when the car is hot. These are not worth thinking about unless the entire engine is coming out of the car. AC compressor (if original) is probably on its way out, especially if you’re in socal. Oil tents to leak from the Vacuum pump.

I’ve only does crossovers and my water pump once. I don’t think my thermostat housing has been replaced ever but maybe it’s just been too long.

 

[BBLR3]

The battery will go bad every 4 years. Not sure why but it’s been consistent on my truck and most that I’ve read about behave the same.

Will also happen at the most inconvenient time, guaranteed, and I can never get it to start by jumping it. New battery or **** (get the f out).

 

[f1racer328]

I've had good luck with the noco jump starters. .

https://amzn.to/4bElZY5 - these are the ones I have. $99 right now. Just leave it in the glovebox.