It looks like the first listing has had the engine lifted and twisted which is never ideal.

I'd prefer to go with what I know and have my engine rebuilt. I've been ripped off with recycled parts off low mileage cars that come with an incredible amount of bearing play. If your own engine block is rebuilt you can then decide how far to take it. If you intend keeping it for a few years then I'd look at renewing the oil cooler, turbos and EGR at the same time. Then you should have your few years into the future trouble free and the cost can be amortised over a ppm or £/year to become a sensible figure.

So finally got around to looking at my poorly engine. Decided to pull it and see what damage has been done, hopefully as it was still running and the knock sounded like a big end as opposed to a main bearing it maybe salvageable.

Me and a good freind spent 5 hours over Sunday pulling the front end off, working on it outside on the drive as we decided the garage is needed for removed parts and maybe the engine stripdown.

So, 5 hours in and this is where we got to: -

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Watching with bated breath, Please keep us updated.  2017 SDV8 4.4 silicon silver AB
2012 TDV8 4.4 Stornaway Grey AB
2011 TDV8 4.4 Buckingham Blue
2012 VW V6 3.0 Tougreg

For the reason that Craig mentioned earlier, I’d strip and clean it and put it back together to have peace of mind of no bits of metal lying about.

But it’d be a case of remove and refit with new gaskets etc. if it’s not showing any signs of being of line then I’d be happy to work on that basis. V8 or else ...

If I get a bit of time tomorrow, I'm going to pull the crank out, inlet manifolds, cams & followers etc. and give it a good wash through in the cleaner and see what it looks like. Ultimately if I need to take the heads off to be happy that's what I'll do.

My mates workshop in Telford where I'm going to take the block to faces cylinder heads for a living and says he's very sceptical of pulling the heads without any warpage. He's saying that if we do and they are warped he can face it and drop the valve seats etc. to allow for a standard gasket (as no thicker items are available).

All other parts can go in the hot wash, obviously new genuine LR pump & re-worked turbos for the rebuild.

Got a local guy who does a lot of crank grinding for Matt Lewis Motorsport and he's happy we can grind the crank & go with oversize shells, which are available upto 50 thou o/s.

I guess time will tell! L405 SV Autobiography LWB SDV8, finished in Aston Martin China Grey by ETO division.

Sounds like a plan. Good luck . V8 or else ...

You might want to see if bearing sets are available with 1 side notched to then have the caps notched. I understand they're available for the TDV6.

That's a good idea, the ones I've managed to find so far are however as per standard design. I'll keep looking  L405 SV Autobiography LWB SDV8, finished in Aston Martin China Grey by ETO division.

So, it's been a while.... some good and some bad news!

Turned out the crank was 4 thou outside of tolerance to grind and therefore I had the dilema of whether to source a secondhand genuine crank or go with an aftermarket item. Speaking to a few people the consensus was the Chinese cranks (Apex and the likes) are to be avoided as they have been known to have balancing issues. The Turkish manufactured cranks (Rotweiss) are much better, but still not OEM by a long way.

So mind made up, I managed to source a secondhand shortblock (block, crank, rods & pistons). The crank was perfect and measured up as Std size so it had never been ground. The block was much better than mine wear-wise so decided to use the donor block. I went for my good 7 rods and used one from the donor short block as I didn't want to use my No.3 rod as this is the one that spun the bearing and whilst it measured ok with a bore gauge for ovality, I didn't want to risk it, even though there were no signs of over heating.

Took the block & crank to Hayden at Gee Engineering (top man) and his opinion was even though the bores had minimal wear, which he could hone, he would reccomend boring to first oversize and he could source oversize OEM pistons. In for a penny and all that, so that's where I ended up!

Got the short block back last Monday (half term skiing got in the way) and started the build. Put everything through Dave's (Head Technique, Telford) hot wash and the heads through the acid bath, first (lots of carbon build up in the inlet tracts) Dave then skimmed 4 thou off the heads (and sunk the valves by the same amount) to ensure a mirror finish, ready for the new gaskets.

Here we go at last!

Lefthand bank

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Wow, hat off to you sir, looking good.

Thanks DrF, I'm kinda enjoying the project, not so much the wallet drain however! L405 SV Autobiography LWB SDV8, finished in Aston Martin China Grey by ETO division.

Just in case any unfortunate person ever treads this path again, here's a list of parts I've replaced, all as per Topix assembly guidlines. I'm sure some parts could be skipped, but I'm going by the book and hoping for a problem free future!

LR025083 Pulley - Idler 80mm QTY 1 (Replaced as starting to run dry)
LR022953 Pulley - Idler 65mm QTY 1 (Replaced as starting to run dry)
LR025823 Bracket with Idler QTY 1 (Replaced as starting to run dry)

LR035564 CPS - Trigger Pulley QTY 1
LR089143 Pump - Oil QTY 1
1102415 Seal - Crankshaft Oil - Front QTY 1
LR029001 Retainer And Seal - Crankshaft - Rear QTY 1
LR094141 Gasket - Oil Pan QTY 1
LR082928 Gasket to Vacuum Pump QTY 1
LR113004 Gasket - From Oil Filter Housing To Oil Cooler QTY 1
LR023170 Seal - Fuel Injection Pump QTY 1
LR113004 Gasket - From Oil Filter Housing To Oil Cooler QTY 1
LR038661 Screw - Flywheel To Converter,M10 X 18 QTY 4
LR035029 Gasket - Intake Manifold - LH, Manifold To Cylinder Head QTY 1
LR035031 Gasket - Intake Manifold - RH, Manifold To Cylinder Head QTY 1
LR022802 Gasket - Exhaust Manifold QTY 2
LR106277 Nut M8 - Exhaust Manifold to Head QTY 16
LR022724 Gasket - Cross Over Pipe To Exhaust Manifold QTY 2
LR113358 Stud Cross Over Pipe LH, M8 X 16mm,M8 x 8mm QTY 1
LR023100 Gasket - Module - EGR System QTY 1
LR022777 Gasket - Exhaust Manifold To EGR Cooler QTY 1
LR023021 Gasket - Used Between EGR Valve And Intake QTY 1
LR022742 Gasket - Tube - Oil Return QTY 2
LR023098 Seal - Banjo Bolt QTY 2
1372726 Gasket - Banjo Washer QTY 1
LR079223 Gasket - Downpipe, RH QTY 1
LR079224 Gasket - Downpipe, LH QTY 1
LR022850 Bolt, Camshaft Front QTY 3
LR022963 Bolt, RH camshaft Front Hex. Head QTY 1
LR022752 Bolt - Flanged Hex, Pulley And Damper Assembly QTY 1
LR023153 Bolt, Flywheel To Crankshaft QTY 8
LR035122 Seal - Cover Scavenge Reservoir QTY 1
LR022897 Gasket-Cylinder Head, LH QTY 1
LR022899 Gasket-Cylinder Head, RH QTY 1
1331316 Bolt - Cylinder Head, M13 X 155 QTY 20
281419374 Bolt - 2 Per Head, Cylinder Head Chaincase To Block, M8 X 75MM QTY 4
LR022735 Bolt - Cylinder Head, Cylinder Head Chaincase To Block, M8 X 82MM QTY 2
LR022955 Arm - Timing Chain Tensioner RH QTY 1
LR022958 Guide RH, Timing Chain QTY 1
LR023102 Arm - Timing Chain Tensioner LH QTY 1
LR022961 Guide LH, Timing Chain QTY 1
LR022847 Chain - Timing LH QTY 1
LR022848 Chain - Timing RH QTY 1
1418838 Bolt - Special M22 QTY 2
LR022960 Tensioner - Timing Chain LH QTY 1
LR023004 Tensioner - Timing Chain RH QTY 1
LR022689 Gasket - Water Pump QTY 1


Non Genuine Parts (due to no availability from LR)

Big End Set - King Bearings CR8044SV QTY 1
Main Bearing Set - King Bearings MB5773SV QTY 1
Main Bolts - MBB75850 QTY 20 (4 per Cap)
Con Rod Bolts - S606 QTY 16

Quite a list from LR, with my discount it came in at just shy of £1,500, it's only money afterall! L405 SV Autobiography LWB SDV8, finished in Aston Martin China Grey by ETO division.

Have you considered fitting a sensor for an oil pressure gauge whilst easily fitted, even if you wouldn't normally have a gauge fitted?
I fitted one the my L322's 4.4 TDV8, installing a T in place of the switch which was then mounted on a 90 deg fitting to ensure that the switch didn't interfere with anything else. In the picture the switch is foremost with the pressure sensor behind. The pressure sensor is 0-150 psi in a kit with a 0-100 psi gauge. 0-100 psi sensors are available and would be more accurate but I couldn't find one in a kit with a gauge.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/gallery/albums/u...154329.jpg

Well done 4RRS 👏🏻 great work and thread 👍

Brilliant thread,
I hope I will never see this much of my engine..