No problem. Part of the reason of the issues with the early L322 is about its birth. It was born out of a BMW and potential X7 platform, which LR engineers had significant issues with in terms of philosophy, from everything from steering, to interior, to suspension. So the great vision of what could have been quickly was dashed and led a divorce. There were grand visions of a V12 powered L322 with fully finished back, fully leather door panes, and rear torsen. None of these were realized and eventually the "English patient" as BMW engineers described LR/RR turned to how to divorce. So at some point it was rumored that the development basically shifted from "let's make a great car" to "let's get this done." This translated into an engine and transmission that were already obsolete and not used on BMW's by the time the L322 made it to market. Unfortunately they weren't some sort of "bullet proof" old designs the ZF 5 speed and transmission used in early Diesel L322s were basically "Swiss cheese" or "time bombs." The 4.4 BMW engine couldn't pass USA emissions without being run at a very high temperature. And neither was really tested the way they should have been for the extreme conditions facing RRs, for example the 4.4 PCVs have issues in sub freezing temperatures unless they are modified. What BMW did do was build a very advanced chassis for the later versions to be built upon.

Once Ford got ahold of RR/LR they immediately started to address some issues that were serious and began planning for the future. The Jaguar sourced 4.2L AJv8 was very reliable at the time it made it into the RR. The ZF six speed was also extremely reliable especially if you changed the oil every 70k miles. The running gear was then upgraded to e locking differentials units. The transfer case is more reliable Imo. As 2009 came, it was clear Ford fully realized the original vision of the L322 with the autobiography package which was now a specification level and not just a demarkation of a certain number of options/accessories.

I go into this a much more fully in the book, but its clear from interviews conducted and internet owners reporting the early 5.0L engines were not reliable and had huge issues with timing. The fact the cam sprocket tension was part of the timing was a critical error that is both difficult to fix and causes issues. Even extending into 2013 engines my former mechanic had many clients who brought in 5.0s for timing issues, about 3-4 per week. It can be argued I believe that Ford actually was interested in reliability but Tata pushed the boundaries and perhaps focused on deliverables over reliability. OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

Last edited by cliff5.0sc on 25th May 2017 6:24pm. Edited 3 times in total

When people are happy they never complain or post how great things are, the core reason why people post is to find help or solutions.

That being said, I am very impressed with the reliability on my Td6. It has done just shy of 170k miles and the only major work it needed was a new gearbox at 137k. All other work is standard suspension or brake related maintenance which is of no surprise on any car over 10 years old. Compared to my old Classic the L322 is incredibly well built and reliable, although I still miss the grandfather of luxury off roaders even with its build quirks.

With any car it will always be a bit of pot luck if you get a reliable one, but even with issues there is a wealth of info on here, some incredibly helpful forum members and a mountain of easy to obtain spare parts (used and new) on the web. Don't let the scare stories put you off, the L322 is a true King among road vehicles...... Tom

Current Drive
2011 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography - Santorini Black - Ivory Leather

Previous Drives
2004 Model Vogue Td6 (Touchscreen) - Java Black - Parchment Leather
1994 RR Classic 3.9 V8 Soft dash - Niagara Grey - Grey Leather
1972 Series III SWB Safari - Green (Hand Painted) - Black Plastic

Geeezeeee I have a 2007 vogue had it for two years with no issues ...... now having nightmares 😰😰😰

Looks like I need to find one with good history, recent gearbox change and been well looked after

daz62 wrote:

Ask if the timing guides have been replaced, from my research they can go as early as 90k miles or last almost twice that. It is a £2k to £3k job if you cannot do it yourself.

Mine went at 145k miles, I found it so hard to find someone to actually quote for the job let alone actually do it, I did the job myself. I did a thorough job, camshaft chains, sprockets and tensioners, main chain, guides, tensioners , water pump, new belts, gaskets etc.

Early days yet but it is quiet as a sewing machine and runs beautifully, time will tell if I get any oil or water leaks. Fingers crossed.

Front struts seem to go at about 100k miles, mine both went within a couple of weeks of each other at about 110k miles. Easy enough diy job.

Having had mercedes for many years,I can tell you that this forum is very quiet regards problems compared to a big Mercedes forum I am on.

I would say that the Mercs are easier to fix when things do go wrong and the diagnostic software is easy to use,but there are more owners reporting problems.

Well there are a less ff l322 owners then mercedes:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_M-Class



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_Rover OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

To be honest they all come with a few niggles any vehicle from a polo upwards needs at least 500 quid a year for maintenance if you don't spend it the cost will be greater and the bigger the car the more it costs - I have a p38 that is now 20 years old still runs and when the fault reader is put on no faults found but it has cost a lot over those years to keep it like that
There is no cheap way to run a Range Rover and they are all good if you look after them ( mine is in now for all new belts tensioners and water pump - all working ok but there is a dry bearing somewhere and its done 144k and 10 years old this month so to me makes sense to change the lot better than a failure ,

Quote:

No problem. Part of the reason of the issues with the early L322 is about its birth. It was born out of a BMW and potential X7 platform, which LR engineers had significant issues with in terms of philosophy, from everything from steering, to interior, to suspension. So the great vision of what could have been quickly was dashed and led a divorce. There were grand visions of a V12 powered L322 with fully finished back, fully leather door panes, and rear torsen. None of these were realized and eventually the "English patient" as BMW engineers described LR/RR turned to how to divorce. So at some point it was rumored that the development basically shifted from "let's make a great car" to "let's get this done." This translated into an engine and transmission that were already obsolete and not used on BMW's by the time the L322 made it to market. Unfortunately they weren't some sort of "bullet proof" old designs the ZF 5 speed and transmission used in early Diesel L322s were basically "Swiss cheese" or "time bombs." The 4.4 BMW engine couldn't pass USA emissions without being run at a very high temperature. And neither was really tested the way they should have been for the extreme conditions facing RRs, for example the 4.4 PCVs have issues in sub freezing temperatures unless they are modified. What BMW did do was build a very advanced chassis for the later versions to be built upon.




Your first statement is I'm afraid inaccurate, the "English patient" was Rover cars a separate entity entirely and BMW in fact were desperate to keep Land Rover and the future profits they could see on the horizon once they had updated the range but the UK government wanted to keep them together to represent a "UK car industry" and told BMW they had to sell them both off not realising that any potential buyer (Ford) would only be interested in the same thing, faced with the loss of a reported 1 billion dollars in development BMW then lost interest in the L322 project .

Sandyt wrote:

To be honest they all come with a few niggles any vehicle from a polo upwards needs at least 500 quid a year for maintenance if you don't spend it the cost will be greater and the bigger the car the more it costs - I have a p38 that is now 20 years old still runs and when the fault reader is put on no faults found but it has cost a lot over those years to keep it like that
There is no cheap way to run a Range Rover and they are all good if you look after them ( mine is in now for all new belts tensioners and water pump - all working ok but there is a dry bearing somewhere and its done 144k and 10 years old this month so to me makes sense to change the lot better than a failure ,

axle wrote:

Quote:

Your first statement is I'm afraid inaccurate, the "English patient" was Rover cars a separate entity entirely and BMW in fact were desperate to keep Land Rover and the future profits they could see on the horizon once they had updated the range but the UK government wanted to keep them together to represent a "UK car industry" and told BMW they had to sell them both off not realising that any potential buyer (Ford) would only be interested in the same thing, faced with the loss of a reported 1 billion dollars in development BMW then lost interest in the L322 project .