Hi all, not been around for a while due to other projects taking my time! Anyway hope you are all well and still driving bm's ?!

Basicly story is ive been offered an l322 range rover 4.4 v8 which is the m60 i believe as fitted to e53 x5 e60 545. However it makes a noise at idle it sounds like tappets apparently.

I havent heard it myself yet as cant get there until weekend. But the seller describes it as a tappety knock from top end at the front and he suspects a vanos issue. In the history it has already had all hydraulic lifters replaced but still the same.

Ive googled it over and over and watched youtube vids with all kinds of unhelpful info. Some say oil change with 10/60 will almost cure it others say it will need 3.5 grand in parts alone(chains vanos sprockets guides and tensioners) while some say perfectly normal for it to make various nasty sounding noises but wont effect reliability or performance.

Being a range rover it has other issues aswell, goes into limp home mode sometimes, suspension inactive comes up randomly but works ok, battery drain issue and heater resister faulty, doesnt run well on lpg and it needs a tyre (22 overfinch rims) its got no tax or mot might need front and rear discs and pads, its been stood few years. Done under 120k on an 02 plate with fsh loads of invoices its had recon box about 15k miles ago.

Any views? Everyone i have spoken to has said wouldnt bother unless i can get it for 500 or less with a view to putting an engine in it. What would you guys offer for it?

 

Fuck all, not worth the headache.

 

If you can get it for £500 then even if you break it your going to make money. Sounds like a big headache to me though and probably a lot of specialist tools required.

 

Could well be a vanos issue, not exactly uncommon
Seen a couple like that, but never actualy fixed 1 myself so can't help any on that side
Never had a customer want to spend the money on 1,
It's expensive for parts, I know that much, might be a real money pit with the other probs

 

Worked for a lr dealer 10 years and that sounds very expensive to me I would stay clear as said above more headache than its worth. Gutless engine in the range rover compared to the td6 imo of course.

 

Thanks for the advice lads ive spent a few hours on youtube and google tonight looking at x5, l322, 740 and even e39 m5 vids and some of the noises they make is shocking!!!!

As far as i can suss out most likely failure is chain guides and there is a guy on ebay selling chains guides tensioners and all gaskets and seals required for 1400 which assuming i can get it at the right price i.e. a grand or less could make it a cheap l322.

I will have a look sunday and maybe even record and post up a video. I will keep you posted....

 

So your guessing at what's wrong with it?
I don't think you realise how shit RR's are. Things are cheap for a reason.

 

Depends how cheap you can get it, for example a chain tensioner is only £70 it may just be that, but then again I always assume that cars with a known problem are 'worst case' otherwise the owner would fix it and sell for the right book price, all this crap of, "I'm not a mechanic, I haven't had time, I work abroad....." Zzzzzzz

Having said that, vanos issues as VASTLY exaggerated, they pretty much all rattle, simple things like changing the o'rings and oil can cure that, and even if they don't it doesn't mean it's going to explode, the noise of a vanos is the large tolerances in the gear set.

Rangeys are 10 a penny to pick up mate, don't buy a fucked one unless you get it for a song. I've got a diesel one, each to their own but they're slow, so didn't see the point in spending extra money on fuel for the slight increase in performance.

I absolutely hated the idea of a diesel one until I test drove a few, there is no way I'd buy a 4.4 V8 one now.

 

Stephen, pretty much yeah! Until i can hear it for myself i am just guessing. But every video that comes up on youtube after typing in bmw v8 sounds the same. It sounds like either someone under the bonnet firing an ak47 or a old 4.2 diesel land crusier.

Which makes me think a fairly common failure item is most likely. And from reading alot it seem guides break regularly tensioners go weak and of course the famed vanos noise.

Obviously i must listen to it first and go with my judgement it may just be a noisey aux belt and the guy selling dont have a clue.

Ive been driving land rovers both petrol and diesel from old 90's to my current p38 and know all about how shit they are as a manufacturer but think i'd rather deal with a propper rover v8 that uses a litre of water every ten miles than this over complicated bmw engine!!!!

Anyway, back to the subject in hand, assuming the noise sounds awful im planning on bidding him a grand. If all it needs is a tensioner for 70quid then happy days. If it needs 1300 worth of parts then it will still be a cheap car. Worse case scanario i strip it down find nothing wrong and it ends up being bottom end then i can break it and still make some cash.

 

I wouldn't fuck about pulling an old e39 540 motor apart to do the chain guides especially on a rangey, just buy a used replacement engine.
It's easier to swap them over than it is to faff about rebuilding one. Engines can be found for 5-600 quid.

 

Only trouble buying a replacement engine is a) it could have the same problem, b) it could have other problems, c) it will be unknown mileage/history & d) the block in the l322 is specific to the l322 & possibly the x5. So it's not "just" an old 740 lump which means second hand prices are simply double what i have paid for the car.

Anyway, i went and seen it sunday, had a listen, reasonably sure it's rh bank vanos pulley thats making the noise, not sure if im going to run it as it is, or strip it down and spend the £1500 in parts/tools.

I've had it recovered to the workshop and given it a wash so its not covered in mould & cobwebs, got to the bottom of a few of the small issues, but still a long road ahead but im in no rush, anyone got some m62 4.4 timing tools i can borrow.....