Having had the head-gasket go on my Freelander I examined the options and decided that I would replace the engine with a reconditioned unit.
Looking on ebay I found a company who shall remain nameless offering recon units for £545.
OK, including carriage to the Isle of Man that's £700.
Estimate from a local garage to fit the engine £300 to £400.
I was promised the engine on a specific date, had the car towed to the garage for fitting (£60) and then waited. Two weeks went by and the engine eventually arrived. Filthy, covered in oil and road grime, rust everywhere and loose carbon in the exhaust ports.
The oil filter and filter housing were missing, the water pump was completely useless, the cam belt tensioner was also useless.
The suppliers got on their high horse and insisted the engine was a fully reconditioned unit. Despite their own info stating that the unit is completely stripped to its component parts, which are cleaned, inspected and replaced where necessary, they insist this does not include things like the water pump, cam belt tensioner etc.
The sump , they say in their info, is removed, shot blasted, cleaned, oilways etc inspected and cleaned and then reassembled. Presumably they then covered the sump in oil and grime, carefully covered the bolts in rust and grime and siezed them in place.
Despite all my emails they insist the engine was fully reconditioned and accept no responsibilty other than their standard parts only guarantee.
I could have returned the engine to them - at my own expense and for a 10% re-stocking fee. I would not have got the original carriage cost back either. That's about £350 to end up with nothing at all.
I've gone ahead and had the engine fitted (cost now about £700 including fixing the items found to be faulty) I have no idea what condition the internals of the engine are in - It was by far the easiest option and certainly better than throwing even more vast amounts of cash at it.
The moral of the story is that if a deal looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
I'm going to sell the vehicle and buy a diesel version.
p.s. The garage locally reckons the engine probably was reconditioned - some years ago, fitted to a vehicle which was later scrapped and the engine lifted out and sent to me. Without stripping it down there is no way of telling, and I simply can't afford to have that done.
PM me if you really want any further details.
Looking on ebay I found a company who shall remain nameless offering recon units for £545.
OK, including carriage to the Isle of Man that's £700.
Estimate from a local garage to fit the engine £300 to £400.
I was promised the engine on a specific date, had the car towed to the garage for fitting (£60) and then waited. Two weeks went by and the engine eventually arrived. Filthy, covered in oil and road grime, rust everywhere and loose carbon in the exhaust ports.
The oil filter and filter housing were missing, the water pump was completely useless, the cam belt tensioner was also useless.
The suppliers got on their high horse and insisted the engine was a fully reconditioned unit. Despite their own info stating that the unit is completely stripped to its component parts, which are cleaned, inspected and replaced where necessary, they insist this does not include things like the water pump, cam belt tensioner etc.
The sump , they say in their info, is removed, shot blasted, cleaned, oilways etc inspected and cleaned and then reassembled. Presumably they then covered the sump in oil and grime, carefully covered the bolts in rust and grime and siezed them in place.
Despite all my emails they insist the engine was fully reconditioned and accept no responsibilty other than their standard parts only guarantee.
I could have returned the engine to them - at my own expense and for a 10% re-stocking fee. I would not have got the original carriage cost back either. That's about £350 to end up with nothing at all.
I've gone ahead and had the engine fitted (cost now about £700 including fixing the items found to be faulty) I have no idea what condition the internals of the engine are in - It was by far the easiest option and certainly better than throwing even more vast amounts of cash at it.
The moral of the story is that if a deal looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
I'm going to sell the vehicle and buy a diesel version.
p.s. The garage locally reckons the engine probably was reconditioned - some years ago, fitted to a vehicle which was later scrapped and the engine lifted out and sent to me. Without stripping it down there is no way of telling, and I simply can't afford to have that done.
PM me if you really want any further details.