L322 Madness. 4.4V8 or 3.6TDV8?

Ruthlessgk said:

Hey Up Everyone,

Was having a discussion with the missus last night. Thinking about selling the P38 and getting an L322.
How bad are the Autoboxes on the above?
I have heard them plague the TDV6 unit but not too much about the TDV8 or is that just because the TDV8 is relatively new?
I have also heard about TDV8 Turbo munching ability is this true or down to bad servicing etc?
What else do i need to worry about on these?
Budget is Around £10k max

Over to you guys,

Cheerz in Advance,

Zaff

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reggieroo said:

A supercharged one will put the biggest smile on your face and the TDV8 might keep the misses happy with better MPG

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Ruthlessgk said:

Missus is in agreement MPG isnt an issue. Reliability (I Know its a RR) is the main concern. If we were to get one i would much rather get a petrol with hopefully less headaches than the diesels.

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• Died on the dual carriageway - dodgy lift pump in the tank which didn't deliver enough fuel. Fixed with the warranty and was a simple job for the garage given I had an empty tank, full ones are a pain to lift apparently
• Two replacement screens - peach stone thrown by car in front cracked windscreen on the M4 and another car kicked up a stone, just bad luck. But if it happens force them to put a genuine LR windscreen not the so called "same manufacturer but different supplier" as I noticed a difference in noise levels (the second LR branded one being quieter).
• Replaced the battery - 7 year old original was on it when I bought it.
• Sticking rear calipers - expected due to age and they were original, simple DIY job if you are so inclined.
• Front air suspension leak - worn out suspension bag, kind of expected with age but keeping the struts clean helps prevent premature wear.
• O-ring leak on power steering pump, 50p part and couple of hours labour.
• Replacement alternator - did this myself, glad I did, but was a pain of job but saved ~£800 worth of labour in the process.

• Written off three tyres (one burst, one with a tear on the sidewall and one with a punctured sidewall) but I do take my L322 laning and it is phenomenal what it can do but being a 3.6TDV8 it has the 6-pot Brembo's on the front which means 19" wheel is the smallest unless I go Compomotive Dakar Spec wheels. To be honest the first two write-offs were bad luck having sliced a piece of slate down the sidewall. Last time changed from General Grabber ATs to Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and so far been more impressed than I was with the Grabbers.
• Current issue - suspect damaged ABS sensor causing HDC fault due to a recent jaunt down Strata Florida.

Ruthlessgk said:

Went out in a TDV8 Sport which was very nice. We have decided to go on the hunt for an L322 Supercharged.
We have found a few. One has good history is very very very clean but 2 issues reverse camera is not working and the steering column doesn't move up and down i think.Its a 2006 model from Ireland thats been imported to the UK.

I have researched on the forum for both of these issues but couldnt find much in the way of pricing.

I am looking at another one tomorrow. It doesnt have too much details regarding it but as its close by I can find everything out.

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300bhp/ton said:

There is no such thing as an L322 TDV6. The TD6 used a BMW Straight 6 engine and a GM gearbox. Those are the ones that suffer the most gearbox failures.

The same era L322 with the BMW 4.4 V8 uses a stronger gearbox, it's not immune from needing a rebuild, but much rarer, so much so I certainly wouldn't worry about it.

Latter models got the Jaguar based AJV8 4.4 V8 (4.2 in supercharged form) and the TDV8 3.6

These are quite different machines in terms of running gear and electronics. They use a completely different gearbox and transfer box and propshaft setup. The electronics are also all Jaguar based rather than BMW.

Both generations of the L322 are good cars, but read up on them, so as to know what to look for.

I haven't driven the 3.6 TD V8, although I hear good things about it. And it probably is the perfect mix of performance and economy.

But modern diesel engines do tend to be more complex and more prone to issues than engines of old like the 300Tdi.

So I would seriously consider looking at petrol V8's too. They will be smoother, quieter and more refined. And they do make more HP than the 3.6 diesel, so while I'm sure the diesel can give a great sensation of speed, due to the low torque. I'm yet to be convinced that they can match the petrols in performance.

Chances are you'll be able to buy more petrol Range Rover for your money however, so bear this in mind.

As for mpg, I suspect real world there is probably 5-7mpg difference from a 3.6 diesel to a 4.4 petrol. So if you are doing approx 5000 miles a year, that's not really a huge saving IMO.

If you are doing more like 12,000 miles a year, then the saving is probably worth it.


While you are looking about, you might want to check the prices of the supercharged models too. As in reality they probably offer the same mpg at the n/a V8, or at least within 1-2mpg of them. And supercharged models are nearly always top spec with plenty of options added. That and the performance is another league higher.

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