Our 2008 LR3 2.7L TDV6 SE's engine is stuffed. The main bearings got damaged due to, it seems, oil starvation. The vehichle has done approximately 140,000kms. The car was serviced as required by Land Rover or accredited LR Service Centres. Getting it fixed is extremely expensive, apparently Land Rover follows a black box approach - if it is broken they replace it. Thus, Land Rover can replace the broken engine with either a reconditioned or new unit at a COST! LR is not very willing to open the engine to determine what’s wrong!

A friend and I decided to open the engine ourselves to determine the damage. By removing the ladder frame carefully from underneath the engine we stripped of all the big end bearings and found signs of excessive heat on the top halves of three of the bearings. Some of the bottom big end bearings were slightly pitted. (due to dirt in the oil?????).

So, the condition of the big end bearings did not account for the initial heavy knock we experienced when the engine broke or the small metal pieces found in the sump thereafter.

However, the No.4 main bearing was damaged badly and one of the thrust washers is completely demolished and was found in pieces in the sump.

We suspect that the oil pump partially failed causing the damage and we will have it checked out. If the pump is ok I guess it could have been caused by either a blocked or leaking oil channel.

I am willing to recondition the engine myself with the help of very knowledgeable friends. In getting this done some challenges we found are:

1. We can’t get big end and main bearings from Land Rover or any other supplier in South Africa.

2. We have to remove the engine block and crankshaft to have it checked out for possible damage caused by the damaged main bearing and thrust washer. To get this done it seems we have to lift the body from the chassis.
So, I have to pose these questions:

1. Any idea where I can source main bearings and big end bearings from?

2. The Land Rover workshop manual explains how to disconnect the body from the chassis but how do one lift it? Are special chassis mounting brackets needed to lift it and where are the lifting points located on the body itself? I have the facilities to do the job but do I need a special lifting frame for the body?

I will appreciate any advice and tips.

Kind regards.
Marthinus.

I went to see the C6 in question this morning, deep breath here we go,,,,

The seller claims he's selling it on behalf of a mate who bought it cheaply then was driving it home on the motorway when the engine "Stop light" illuminated followed by the engine cutting out, having waited for a while the engine restarted but then stopped and cannot been started since. He said he thinks it might need a head gasket sorting out, more info in that later. The original owner was Citroën UK with the present one on the V5 having owned it since 2008, it looks as if it was sold via Sportif in Chalfont to the person shown on the V5.

The last MOT was done in March 2010 @ 80k miles, the present mileage is 86k, there is just one receipt for a service @ 22k, no other history available apart from a sticker at the top of the windscreen from a minicab company stating "No Smoking", there are also additional wires hanging off the battery to substantiate the Minicab theory.

The car has obviously been sat around outside for a considerable length of time as the brake disc's are quite rusty, there is a large amount of bird droppings all over the car and,,,,,,,,,loads of chewed acorns under the bonnet right next to the ECU and on top of what looks like the MAF sensor showing evidence of a rodent infestation which is very worrying especially when you read further down this post!

The four tyres are very low on tread with both front one's showing wear on their inside edges looking as if they need immediate replacement, several of the wheels are scuffed with the O/S/F one having a chunk out of the rim presumably due to kerbing.

Exterior, paintwork generally looks good but the N/S/F window needs replacing as it has a large clouded area due to water ingress between the laminates, engine undertray missing as in lost, not simply just not fitted.

Interior is cream leather generally good but oily boots marks on the mats, seat leather generally good, drivers seatbelt quite dirty and the cloth covering the 'B' pillar has loads of ripples in it where the glue has failed, drivers window is partially open, car not under cover.

Battery is as flat as a pancake as even after connecting it up to my car with professional jump leads and leaving the engine running for 1/2 an hour it still couldn't light up an interior light.

I connected up my Lexia which was quite interesting, firstly there are literally loads of ECU's on C6's but rather worryingly the fault log was over filled several times over (unable to record any more) with the 359 faults it had logged

Loads of the faults related to every issue you could ever think of to do with the front and rear electric seats but more worrying were the permanent faults relating to various ECU's such as the ABS, BSI and several others not being unable to communicate with the Injection (engine) ECU especially bearing in mind the rodent infestation. I went through every ECU and recorded fault (took an hour!) but none of them looked obvious to me as being easy to spot as the cause for non starting, i.e no low fuel pressure faults.

The engine oil level is too high and looks very black, there is evidence of coolant under the radiator/front cross member with the header tank being dry of coolant, no obvious signs that I could see of a substantial oil leak due to say a hole in the crankcase.

Having left the car connected to mine on jump leads for some considerable time attempting to start the car merely causes a click of relays followed by the electrics shutting down completely, whether this is due to the completely flat battery or a seized engine causing the starter to stall I don't know without replacing the battery.

Someone has had a dabble at the engine as a few vacuum pipes have been taken off the engine and are thrown in the boot which is where the engine cover has been left.

I've spoken to a close friend in the trade who informs me that CAP trade on a good condition/working C6 of that age and mileage is £5k but bearing in mind that a new engine needs to be budgeted for in addition to a set of tyres, N/S/F window, battery, maybe disc's and pads plus replacement or repairs to engine looms due to rodents, so a huge money pit means the car must be worth,,,,,,,,,,,,