Range Rover

[countryman]

Hi

I am thinking of buying a Range Rover 02 to 05, it will only be for occasional use probably less than 4000 miles a year. i think that was when they had the BMW Diesel engine in them , a bit marmite so I have been told. What about the V8 petrol is that considered a better engine. I do all ready have a Defender so yes i do like to punish my self a bit. Any one running one and your thoughts please.

Thanks

Chris

[BrowningDJC]

A friend of mine has had both a td6 and a v8 of that era, the petrol was the more reliable of the two.

[Walker570]

George, the Land Rover Guru almost went ballistic when I suggested I would buy one but yes the V8 is in my view the better choice, BUT I am a V8 nutter.

[countryman]

So who's engine is the V8 from in that era .

Chris

[JohnfromUK]

I think the big worry is all the electronics and air suspension etc. These weren't very reliable when new - and are now getting old ...........

 

I had an 05 X5 BMW - and whilst mechanically reliable and a lovely motorway cruiser, it had electronic everything (shared with RangeRover) and when any electrical gremlim struck - it was an expensive game getting it sorted. It also ate expensive tyres quickly.

[countryman]

I have read some owners have converted them back to coil springs and do away with the air suspension . The kits are not to expensive and it looks like a diy job.

Chris

[ips]

I too am toying with similar decision, as a tow car and a shooting / dog vehicle. Petrol v8 are cheap as chips but one assumes hideous mpg.??

[Medic1281]

You can afford a lot of petrol with the amount saved on purchase price compared to more popular engined models!

[ips]

You can afford a lot of petrol with the amount saved on purchase price compared to more popular engined models!

That's a good point.

Would the running costs ie service and repair be any less for petrol over diesel ??

[countryman]

If I do get one I will service it my self. Have you noticed that dealers seem to be cheaper selling them than private people.

[Twistedsanity]

I would get the v8, but not sure either could live with sub 10mpg

[cuffy]

If I do get one I will service it my self. Have you noticed that dealers seem to be cheaper selling them than private people.

If your going to service it yourself get a nanocom or similar , about £400 .

Same as most older cars , you look after them and they'll look after you .

There are a lot of horror stories about but the warning signs were probably ignored till it all went Pete tong .

[four-wheel-drive]

I would get the v8, but not sure either could live with sub 10mpg

 

LPG is your friend and only 60p per ltr loved it on my 4ltr Jeep.

 

As for replacing the air suspension with springs they say that it is simple to do and not that expensive about £500 I think the only problem is I think you need to get someone to change the settings on the computer if you are not using air.

[rob-d]

I had a 1998 v8 discovery which had been on lpg for most of its life. it made it as economical as a diesel to run because of the low cost of gas and you benefited from an engine that was in better condition inside. the oil was like honey all the time with no black sludge! A couple of things regarding lpg, i can only speak from my own experience but i was going through a set of plugs a year as they burn hotter. it would give you plenty of notice as it would start to run rough. Mine was a single point kit that mixed the gas through the air intake these are known to have problems like backfiring and blowing up the air box. the newer kits are multi point that inject the gas into each cylinder which are much better. Also be aware that the gas tank has to go somewhere and sometimes they are put in the boot! Better conversions will have the old petrol tank removed and a smaller 5 gal petrol tank put back in with the gas tank along side it.

i got to be honest i wish i never sold mine it was only down to the fact the gearbox was noisy and the door opening mech was worn out that i did.

I also had a stainless janspeed exhaust on mine and it sounded great!!!

Edited August 12, 2017 by rob-d

[four-wheel-drive]

I had a 1998 v8 discovery which had been on lpg for most of its life. it made it as economical as a diesel to run because of the low cost of gas and you benefited from an engine that was in better condition inside. the oil was like honey all the time with no black sludge! A couple of things regarding lpg, i can only speak from my own experience but i was going through a set of plugs a year as they burn hotter. it would give you plenty of notice as it would start to run rough. Mine was a single point kit that mixed the gas through the air intake these are known to have problems like backfiring and blowing up the air box. the newer kits are multi point that inject the gas into each cylinder which are much better. Also be aware that the gas tank has to go somewhere and sometimes they are put in the boot! Better conversions will have the old petrol tank removed and a smaller 5 gal petrol tank put back in with the gas tank along side it.

i got to be honest i wish i never sold mine it was only down to the fact the gearbox was noisy and the door opening mech was worn out that i did.

I also had a stainless janspeed exhaust on mine and it sounded great!!!

 

I have to agree with almost everything that you say although I did not have much of a problem with needing to renew the plugs but having said that I had a 4ltr jeep Cherokee and I mostly only used it locally doing about 3k a year.

 

As for the fuel tank it had the original one removed and replaced with a small 5 gal petrol tank and a 65ltr gas tank that was fine as a space saver but when the fuel pump died it was a big problem ether remove both tanks or do what we did in the end cut a hole in the flour of the boot to get at it.

 

If I got another one I would keep the original petrol tank and use the spare wheel hole in the boot flour I do not think that there is a lot of point in carrying a spare wheel you can always chuck it in the back if you are going on a long run or off road.

[R1nut]

LPG is your friend and only 60p per ltr loved it on my 4ltr Jeep.

 

As for replacing the air suspension with springs they say that it is simple to do and not that expensive about £500 I think the only problem is I think you need to get someone to change the settings on the computer if you are not using air.

£500 Jesus they must be gold plated

[SO3isme]

Get the Supercharger with Jag 4.2 V8 - lovely. Pre March 2006 gets lower road tax. Early gearbox is thought relatively reliable too.

Fuel consumption is high but worth it! Don't bother with LPG as you are planning lower than average miles per year.

[Lord O War]

I've got an XJR with the 4.2 supercharged engine in it. Luuuurvly

[Walker570]

I had a 1998 v8 discovery which had been on lpg for most of its life. it made it as economical as a diesel to run because of the low cost of gas and you benefited from an engine that was in better condition inside. the oil was like honey all the time with no black sludge! A couple of things regarding lpg, i can only speak from my own experience but i was going through a set of plugs a year as they burn hotter. it would give you plenty of notice as it would start to run rough. Mine was a single point kit that mixed the gas through the air intake these are known to have problems like backfiring and blowing up the air box. the newer kits are multi point that inject the gas into each cylinder which are much better. Also be aware that the gas tank has to go somewhere and sometimes they are put in the boot! Better conversions will have the old petrol tank removed and a smaller 5 gal petrol tank put back in with the gas tank along side it.

i got to be honest i wish i never sold mine it was only down to the fact the gearbox was noisy and the door opening mech was worn out that i did.

I also had a stainless janspeed exhaust on mine and it sounded great!!!

LPG does run very clean BUT just because your oil is not dirty do not assume it still has it's full protective properties. Regular servicing/oil changes are still required.

Set the gas up correctly and you will only get backfiring sometimes if you run the tank very low. The timing is critical and you should have someone who is willing to spend a few extra minutes getting it absolutely right and often it will not run as smooth when you change to petrol, but there again you will only be using the expensive stuff occasionally. As said I run mine for a gallon or so on petrol to put some carbon on the valve stems. Twelve years now on V8s and I would not go back to diesel or petrol. Money wise my 3.9 does 34mpg on average and doesn't differ greatly when hauling a large trailer.

[four-wheel-drive]

LPG does run very clean BUT just because your oil is not dirty do not assume it still has it's full protective properties. Regular servicing/oil changes are still required.

Set the gas up correctly and you will only get backfiring sometimes if you run the tank very low. The timing is critical and you should have someone who is willing to spend a few extra minutes getting it absolutely right and often it will not run as smooth when you change to petrol, but there again you will only be using the expensive stuff occasionally. As said I run mine for a gallon or so on petrol to put some carbon on the valve stems. Twelve years now on V8s and I would not go back to diesel or petrol. Money wise my 3.9 does 34mpg on average and doesn't differ greatly when hauling a large trailer.

 

I never really understood why the government did not do more to get people using LPG instead of dirty diesels ok the fuel is cheap but places to fill up and get services done it depends on where you live.

 

I found that to fill up it was a ten mile round trip and even then sometimes the filling nozzle on the gun was such a bad fit I gave up as it was leaking to much gas then I had problems finding a good garage to service the LPG one place did a lot of work that did not need doing and charged me £500 and still did not solve the problem.

 

I later found a guy that fitted LPG about ten miles away from me and he fixed the problem for about £80 later again I did find another guy who fitted LPG but mostly only to Land Rovers but he gave me some useful tips.

 

Having said all of this would I have another LPG truck/car the answer is yes a nice quiet 6 or 8 cylinder Petrol engine over a lowed clunky diesel any day do not get me wrong a diesel has its place but in a working truck or van my 2.8 diesel jeep is nice when you get going at at slow speeds its like driving a tractor compared to my old 4ltr petrol LPG one.