L322 v8 engine blown!

StuckAgainSteve said:

I feel sorry for you but crickey - how long does it take to check your oil? 30 seconds? I check every fill up - regardless of the age of the car. Oil coolers get damaged, unions can come undone, level sensors fail.

How accessible is the sump? Maybe you could try slapping a new set of big-end shells in.

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Surely if it's knocking the crank journals will be knackered and the mains will also need doing?

Land Ho! said:

i put 4 litres in which was easily enough. It's a tapping noise with the odd knocking sound now and then like lose bits of metal floating around inside. I'm off to the garage in a minute to get it checked but i'm sure it's nackered. It could be the VANOS unit or even a CAT but i'm not that lucky.

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If it took 4 litres of oil to bring it up to level, it's burning oil at a furious rate, 4 litres in 6K miles says your engine is clapped to me. That rate of burn can't have happened suddenly unless there is a leak, so the oil level would need checking at least every 1K miles at that rate of burn and I would expect some smoke from the exhaust.
You say the oil pressure light came on during heavy braking but went out again. That means there was still enough oil for the pump to maintain pressure, so although it's not good to run the oil so low, it seems unlikely to me that lack of oil is the cause of the problem.

Land Ho! said:

Big end shells?

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On the piston con rods are a small hole at the top which connects to the piston and at the bottom is a big hole which connects to the crank shaft....

Both ends (typically) can be split in half by undoing the bolts either side of the hole to access the bearing 'shells', these shells run on the crank journals and are lubricated by the oil system....no oil means the Big End Bearings (shells) are metal to metal contact with the Crank Shaft Journals which will grind them away - if you are lucky it only wears the Bearing 'Shells' but in extreme cases it can wear the journal face and although you can get the journals machined back to a mirror finish again and fit slightly thicker Big End 'Shells', this is costly....

Saint.V8 said:

On the piston con rods are a small hole at the top which connects to the piston and at the bottom is a big hole which connects to the crank shaft....

Both ends (typically) can be split in half by undoing the bolts either side of the hole to access the bearing 'shells', these shells run on the crank journals and are lubricated by the oil system....no oil means the Big End Bearings (shells) are metal to metal contact with the Crank Shaft Journals which will grind them away - if you are lucky it only wears the Bearing 'Shells' but in extreme cases it can wear the journal face and although you can get the journals machined back to a mirror finish again and fit slightly thicker Big End 'Shells', this is costly....

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Ain't seen a split little end in a long time Ant

Datatek said:

Ain't seen a split little end in a long time Ant

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Only time I've stripped a Piston Engine down to a point I could get the pistons out was a Lycoming Aircraft Engine from a Piper Twin Commanche at College....!!!!

That had split ends - I guess I should become more current on modern Piston Engines - the gas turbine components I get my hands on don't have pistons!!!!!!

Saint.V8 said:

Only time I've stripped a Piston Engine down to a point I could get the pistons out was a Lycoming Aircraft Engine from a Piper Twin Commanche at College....!!!!

That had split ends - I guess I should become more current on modern Piston Engines - the gas turbine components I get my hands on don't have pistons!!!!!!

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Split little ends are too heavy

Datatek said:

Surely if it's knocking the crank journals will be knackered and the mains will also need doing?

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Big ends usually go before mains in oil starvation situations, if it hasn't been driven too much you can sometimes get away with a reshell. You'll soon get an idea if it's doable when the sump's off and you've had a gander at the big-end journals. I'm not suggesting this is the right thing to do, just that it may buy you 10K miles while to save up for, or locate a replacement engine!

With Rover V8s if the big ends are knackered then everything else is usually knackered - mains and all - because the damage is usually caused by swarf from worn down cam lobes. I don't think the BMW engine suffers a similar swarf induced death, therefore there's a possibility that the rest of the engine may be sound(ish).

As for the rate of oil consumption, once you are low on oil, the oil temperature rises rapidly (less volume to act as a heat sink) thinning the oil further increasing oil burn, which increases the oil temp more increasing oil burn further. Once you get past a certain running temperature, oil can be consumed pretty quickly. Hot and thin oil will be flung out of the big-end journals by centrifugal forces which is why they are usually the first victim if there's no other cause for failure. The mains can get by on a dribble of oil with relatively little damage being inflicted.

Just got back from the garage and my mechanic took it for a spin and thinks the engine is ok. He said the low oil level indicator on the dash was working fine. He is going to strip it back this afternoon and he said he thinks it could just be the drive belt and/or some pulleys that are making the noise. God i hope so!
I've not noticed an oil leak. There is no eveidence under where i park my car every day. Also when i said 4 litres, it was more like 3 because i spilt most of it haha. I was at a petrol station with no funnel! lol Also it put it at just over max level so there was more than enough. Could've got away with a lot less oil to bring it back to the normal range.
I'll find out at the end of the day. Fingers crossed!

Good luck - and check your bloody oil more often!

Perhaps it was just a hydraulic lifter or two bled down from reduced oil pressure making a racket.

tell him to check the spark plugs, mine made an awful noise, i though i had done a camshaft or a follower, it was just one spark plug slightly loose. as in a quater of a turn, and the engine was so quiet. m62 engine is fairly bullet proof but has its little tantrums. as for the oil use, who says the previous service had put the correct amount of oil in it. cant see it burning that much in 6k. mine doesnt use a drop, and ive only done 64k.

I had a duff radiator changed at a garage I used a few years ago and as an overkill I just asked him as I was leaving if the radiator had been refilled - luckily he checked with the lad who had done it and it turned out no water had been put in the radiator at all.

I do try my best to check the oil often. Learnt from mistakes in the past. Sometimes when life gets too much, checking the oil is the last thing on your mind. I've serviced her 4 times in 18 months. Thats twice as much as the average person would. Plus i've spents what i paid for the car fixing things on it. Most people would just sell it on to some poor unsuspecting person. Not me. I love cars and love looking after them. Cheers for the repies guys. I'll let you know how i get on later today hopefully.

Land Ho! said:

Just got back from the garage and my mechanic took it for a spin and thinks the engine is ok. He said the low oil level indicator on the dash was working fine. He is going to strip it back this afternoon and he said he thinks it could just be the drive belt and/or some pulleys that are making the noise. God i hope so!
I've not noticed an oil leak. There is no eveidence under where i park my car every day. Also when i said 4 litres, it was more like 3 because i spilt most of it haha. I was at a petrol station with no funnel! lol Also it put it at just over max level so there was more than enough. Could've got away with a lot less oil to bring it back to the normal range.
I'll find out at the end of the day. Fingers crossed!

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too much oil can be as bad as not enough oil!!!!

Oh well that small hope has been put out. He said it is indeed the engine
I found a few second hand engines for around the 3k mark. I also came accross a brand new engine passed down from LR for 4k. It has 0 miles, still in it's box and comes complete with everything.
Going to have a think as what to do.
If anyone wants me, i'll be in the loft with some rope.

What year is your car ?

2.0_hippo said:

what year is your car ?

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2002

I've managed to find a company in Heathrow who claim to be the UK's largest suppliers and fitters of re-manufactured engines and can do everything for 3k!!
They are picking it up in about an hour and i only rang them this morning so that's good. They are also able to provide a 5 year/60,000 miles parts & labour warrenty!! Everyone else i've tried can only offer 6 months or 12 months if they fit it and that's only for second hand engine with miles on the clock. This will be re-manufactured so zero miles. woo hoo
Here is their quote:

Thank you for your booking with us

Please find your estimate as follows for Landrover Rangerover 4.4 :-

Remove, remanufacture and re-fit your existing engine and change your oils, filters and gaskets for £ 2580+ vat!*

Why replace your engine when we can remanufacture it?

Have a remanufactured engine cheaper than a second hand one!

Break down as follows;

Labour (to remove and re-fit your existing engine): £ 500.00 +vat*

Re-manufacture your existing engine: £ 1995.00 + vat*

Engine oil, oil filter & fitting gaskets: £ 85.00 +vat*

Collection £ 50.00


What does the remanufacture consist of?

1) Your engine shall first be stripped to bare component and put into a high pressure cylindrical parts washer at high temperature with cleansing chemicals- this removes all carbon deposits and debris from previous failures and takes the component back to a “bright” metal.

2) The Cylinder Block is then re-honed and or re-bored.

3) Pistons and or Rings are then changed

4) Connecting Rods are then re-honed.

5) The Crankshaft is then polished and or reground.

6) The main and big end bearing shells are then replaced to suit the size of the journal.

7) Your Oil Pump is then reconditioned.

8) The Cylinder Head is then stripped down and checked for wear, cracks and for trueness then pressure tested and refaced as necessary.

9) Valve guides are then checked for wear and replaced as necessary, valve seats are then cut.

10) New/re-faced valve are then lapped into the Cylinder-head and vacuum tested.

11) The Camshaft is then checked for wear and re-polished if required.

12) The engine is then reassembled with new gaskets and seals.

The benefits of contracting our company to undertake your remanufacture-

a Warranty available (subject to conditions)

a Remanufactured engine means zero mileage

a No need to change engine numbers with the DVLA

a All engines fitted in our own workshops

a Low cost recovery can be arranged if required

a Our factory remanufacture is of a much better quality than a used engine

a Fast turn around

For a full estimate, please call on 0208 759 3437 and speak to Scott one of our friendly and helpful advisors.

Cant grumble with that really! My baby will live again!

http://www.reconditioned-engines.co.uk/

That sounds like a advert iv seen before and the company were scoundrels, have a good look on net for reviews on there company, may not be the one I'm thinking of but, better be safe than sorry, think I first read it on here

There's a company called Heathrow Engines - they respray old crap out of the scrappers and sell it as recon - they been going for years and are the biggest con-merchants on earth. They're also prone to overcharge then keep hold of the car 'til you pay up. (disclaimer bit) Of course the company you talk about may not by the same one even though it sounds remarkably similar!