Hey guys,

wanted to pick your brain regarding something.

If you had the choice would you opt for a reconditioned engine or used engine as replacement?

3.0 TDV6???

yeah the 3.0

Bottom end?

Given the amount of work involved in removal and refitting I would always go down the reconditioned route. Especially so on a FFRR where it's all rather crammed in. You really do want to know what you're putting in is going to be good, or at least minimise the risks of fitting a duffer.

Besides, scrapyards (Reclaim centres as they call themselves now) charge too much for used parts and won't cover fitting costs if the part they sell you turns out to be no good. And definitely avoid those online parts finding services, Jeez what a rip off. 2 grand for a VW 1.9 TDI engine Sir? Erm, no ta.

The reason i asked if it was bottom end is there is a well known issue with 3.0 TDV6 or SDV8 engine self destructing!

As the OP has posted this in the L405 section, i presume he has one? Which should be still under manufacturers warranty? If not, just out... So would be better kicking up a fuss with JLR as IMHO they must take a percentage of the responsibility for this/these failures!

Unless this is not the full story

Maybe he could start with a little introduction of himself as he joined us only 3 days ago! It would be nice to get to know you, your car and the exact problem you are encountering. Isn't a forum about sharing?
I would be surprised of an L405 engine blowing, I haven't heard of any yet.

Not heard of L405 3.0 engines failing sir!

My local MD’s have them & D4’s lined up awaiting them sir... Have a search about main crankshaft bearings!!!

i suspect this is for a L322 so i've moved it, if i'm wrong can someone tell me please... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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It depends on how you come by the second hand engine. If you can buy the complete scrap (presumably accident damaged car) then you'll be able to test the engine yourself and probably be able to find something about the service history.
But just buying a second hand engine on a pallet you could fit it and find it's just as bad as your original one.

There are pitfalls with recon engines too, but so long as you get one from a reputable firm, it should be fine. Obviously there have been places in the past that sell and fit 'reconditioned' engines, that are just second hand ones, which have been washed and blown over with matt black paint.

Stan - did an L322 ever have a 3.0 TDV6 fitted or are you thinking he means the TD6?

Surely, the TD6 will be pretty old by now and any 2nd hand units will be high-milers or at least very well aged. In which case go reconditioned

Why would anyone fit a secondhand unknown engine instead of recon unless there was a serious price difference but to get a big price difference it must be a bag of crap!!

wow, thank you so much for all the responses guys.

The question was really a hypothetical. We currently run a small outfit that supplies engines and are potentially considering the idea of opening up a reconditioning workshop but wanted to get opinions on what people preferred in general. You'll be surprised about the mix or responses ive been getting.

There seems to be a lot of bad feedback regarding the quality of reconditioned engines out there.

Well I can understand the feedback you're getting. The bulk reconditioning places are very much "Pile 'em high & Sell 'em cheap" with the expected levels of quality. When the guys bolting them back together are on piecework rates you do find a lot of poor workmanship.

Personally I have always used engineering shops who have half a dozen blokes and a wealth of experience. I'm capable of stripping and rebuilding myself so I go for the decent machining places but even if I wasn't I would still avoid the bucket places.

If you check out the big ads in the likes of Autotrader, full pages with prices etc. Those prices are less than I can buy the (OE or OE quality) parts for. They simply must be using the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to bearings, rings, gaskets etc and I dread to think of the quality of the machining.

Agreed mzplcg. We've had some pretty shocking experiences ourselves. Worst one we had was an engine we ordered for a customer which upon installation had no compression. And when the customer opened the engine up, he found that it was a used engine that was simply sprayed from the outside to make it look like a recon. Subsequently the company went into liquidation and we were left with the entire repair bill.

We are only a small setup and will start small but we want to ensure we do things the right way without taking shortcuts. Yesterday I called the Federation of Engine Remanufacturing so we can work together to get things done right. Wish us luck, its going to be a challenging period ahead!