Things To Look for - Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Original 2006 Range Rover Sport  (C) JE Robison Service

2011 Range Rover Sport HSE (C) JE Robison Service

All in all, the 2006-2013 Sport is probably the most reliable Land Rover product to date.  That said, it is not problem free.  Poor maintenance is always a concern, and a high percentage of these vehicles were leased when new.  In my experience, leased vehicles are less likely to receive proper care than privately owned vehicles.  They tend to get somewhat less than the manufacturer service schedule calls for.  Trucks that are above 50,000 miles with marginal care are much more at risk for major failures or premature demise.

Sports come in two versions - standard (with HSE trim option) and supercharged (higher level trim standard.)  Reliability of the two versions is about the same but maintenance costs for the Supercharged trucks are higher.  Brakes are double the cost of standard.  Tires (20 inch in most cases) are quite a bit more.  And the Supercharged trucks can burn through brakes, tires, and full faster.

That said, if you drive a standard and a supercharged truck identically, they will return about the same fuel economy.  2006-2009 trucks have the original Jaguar/Land Rover DOHC V8; 2010 and newer trucks have the upgraded engine with significantly more power.  The exterior,  dashboards, and interiors were facelifted for 2010 also.

The 2006-2009 trucks are virtually identical, as are the 2010-2012 models.  

Original Range Rover Sport interior (C) JE Robison Service

Facelifted 2011 Range Rover Sport interior (C) JE Robison Service

Most late model Sports will be dealer serviced, and you should always look for a car with service records.  There’s no easy way to check service status otherwise.  Gaining access to a spark plug to evaluate freshness used to be a 2 minute job on the first Range Rover.  Now it’s an hour-plus task. The transmission fluid can’t be checked with a dipstick on these trucks.  To service it, you replace the integral pan/filter and fill with fresh fluid from below. 

If you buy a truck with 50k on the clock, and there is no record of recent undercar fluid services I would advise doing them all right away just to be safe.  Newer Range Rovers require special synthetic oil, and we urge you to follow their recommendation with respect to oil and grade.  The late model trucks have gone to an extended oil change interval and we’re not so comfortable with that.  We recommend a more conservative 7,500 miles as an oil change interval and synthetic oil in all years of Sport.  For older Sports we use Mobil 1 0-40.

We also recommend changing the front and rear differential lubes, and the transfer case lube.  Land Rover fluid is used in all three.  We suggest a change interval of 4 years or 60k miles.

If the vehicle has been driven in the city don’t be surprised if brake pads and rotors are worn out at 25,000 miles.  That is common.  Tires are often worn out at about that mileage too, though some of the replacements (Michelin for example) have proven longer-lived.

All of these trucks have air suspension, which is generally reliable.  Compressors tend to wear out near 100k miles and they make a $1,200 repair more or less (2015 $)  Struts can develop leaks and that will wear the compressors out faster.  Sensors are valves are generally rugged.

Pay attention to any warning lights or messages.

Other things to look at:

•  We suggest a scan of all computer systems with a factory-level test system.   These vehicles have many computers (like climate control and security) that do not talk to generic OBD scanners, and they may alert you to significant issues.
•  Have your nearest dealer check the VIN for open recalls and warranty status.  Checking for open recalls is a no-brainer but warranty status is not so obvious.  If a car is flooded it may not have a salvage title, but Land Rover will have been notified if insurance was involved and they will void the warranty.  A voided warranty status and a good title would be a “run-don’t-walk” flag for me in an inspection.
•  Tire pressure monitor sensors have a service life of about 8 years, so you should expect to be replacing them soon or now on older trucks.
•  Alternator failure is common, especially when batteries are allowed to age and overstress the system
•  Check the cooling system for leaks, level, and correct fluid (orange in color.)  Water pumps and expansion tanks are two common leak areas.  Non-original fluid is a red flag.
•  Front and rear wheel bearings are weaker than you’d hope on these trucks.  Failure before 100,000 miles is fairly common.
•  The electric parking brake has been problematic on older vehicles.  The mechanism can corrode and jam, making for a $1,000+ repair and possibly tearing up the parking brake and rotors too.
•  If the vehicle is in an area where they salt the roads chassis corrosion can be a problem.  Brake and fuel pipes tend to rust out before the frame.
•  Lower control arms usually wear out between 60-90k miles.  The first thing to go is the bushings, but the joints often fail 30,000 miles later.  Some shops do bushings only as a cost savings but the whole arm will be needed when the ball joint wears out.  Most of the time we recommend changing whole arms for that reason.
• Sway bars are a problem on these vehicles.  The bars wear where they pass through the chassis bushings, and they develop a heavy thumping vibration.  Replacement is a fair bit of labor as the body must be lifted partway off the frame.

The Range Rover Sport quickly became Land Rover's most successful model.  The Full Size Range Rover (the L322) is bigger and plusher, but also significantly more expensive. And the Sport has the advantage of being a newer design, and somewhat more nimble.

We are now seeing Sports coming through our service department with 200,000+ miles on the odometer and no major failures.  It takes good maintenance to get to that point but the Rovers we've cared for right along to that mileage seem to have plenty of life left in them.

The Terrain Response system made its debut in these models and it provides impressive off-road and bad-road traction.  We have not seen any significant service issues with terrain response; indeed most of the gadgets on these trucks have proven trouble free.

The only disappointment is that there is not a thriving off-road community building around these trucks, as developed around the original Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender.  These are fully worthy vehicles.

(c) 2015 John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, celebrating 30 years of independent Land Rover restoration and repair in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the Land Rover clubs, and he’s owned and restored many fine Rovers.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Reading this article will make you smarter, especially when it comes to car stuff.  So it's good for you.  But don't take that too far - printing and eating it will probably make you sick.

An Index to John Robison's Land Rover Service Thoughts

The Supercharged Range Rover (c) J E Robison Service

The ex-Buick V8 that Land Rover sold in America from 1987-2004 was never known for its reliability.  However, things took a sharp turn for the worse in 2002, and the last Discovery engines appear to have been doomed from the start.  Here are three articles about internal problems in the V8s:

V8 engine failures - slipped liners and more - from 2009

Should you rebuild a failed Land Rover motor? I have an article about that situation here that covers the decision process

What's the latest on top hat or flanged liners? This article tells all you want to know about the flanged liner overhaul

Discovery II models also have a problem with frame rust.  We first began to see this in the spring of 2014, when we saw several trucks whose rear frames rusted right through over the winter.  These vehicles seemed more vulnerable to rust than the earlier models.  Read this article to find out why, and what you can do about it.

Are you thinking of restoring a Land Rover?  This article shows some of what's involved.  This article explains the difference between repair and restoration, two very different processes.

If you drive a Range Rover Sport or LR3, read this story on differential failures

And if your supercharged Rover is losing power - read this

Programming keys for your Land Rover is here

(c) J E Robison Service

John Elder Robison is the founder of J E Robison Service, independent Land Rover specialists in Springfield, MA.  John's shop has supported Land Rover owners since 1987. They are experienced at all aspects of service, repair, overhaul and restoration.  Find Robison Service online at www.robisonservice.com or on the phone at 413-785-1665.

Long Life Spark Plugs don't always last forever

Not too long ago spark plugs were replaced every 30,000 miles.  Then 60k became standard and now it's 100k.  30 years ago spark plugs fouled from deposition.  New engines run cleaner, which means wear has become the limiting factor.

The spark plug manufacturers went to exotic metals to reduce wear, and for the most part those materials work.  However, wear of the carbon steel electrodes is still an issue, and a tired engine can actually foul the exotic metal spark plugs more easily than before, because the exotic metal contact area is smaller.

These images clearly illustrate wear in a modern high performance spark plug, from a car that just arrived for service.  The top photo shows how the electrode wore at an angle, and the top-on view of the plug shows how the deposition pattern (left side only) reflects this pattern.

As the plug wears in a sloped pattern the flame front becomes more and more one-sided which leads to knock and misfires.  The worse it gets the more this particular cylinder's timing will be backed off to compensate, with lower efficiency, more heating, and less power as a result. Uneven plug fouling will raise the necessary firing voltage, which will over stress coil packs.

This particular plug came from a 2009 Range Rover with 80,000 miles.  It's clearly due for replacement even with 20% life remaining by the schedule.  The moral of this story - manufacturer service schedules are a guide, not an absolute.  Some cars will benefit from earlier plug changes.

Remember - as a carmaker their goal is to sell new cars, and part of that plan rides on wearing out the old car while another part rests on low advertised cost of ownership (defer it all till the last possible moment!)

As an owner, your goals may be rather different, especially if you plan to keep your car a long time or pass it on to a friend or family member.

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, independent restoration and Bosch Authorized Car Service specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the Land Rover, Porsche, and Rolls Royce Owner's Clubs, and he’s owned and restored many of these fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Frame Rust in Land Rover Discovery II models - an Achilles' heel?

NOTE:  I have an update to this essay describing a repair technique we are using successfully on many trucks beginning in the summer of 2015.  Read more here

The 2003-4 Discovery was one of Land Rover’s most successful models.  Unfortunately, significant problems have begun cropping up as the trucks have aged.  I’ve written quite a bit about the engine block problems, which got a great deal worse in the late 4.6 models.

 

2003 Discovery fording a stream in Western Massachusetts

Now we are seeing a new problem – frame deterioration.  This is a particular concern in trucks that are driven off road in mud and then on road in winter New England. The frames of these “affordable” Land Rovers are suddenly rotting out.  My investigation of frames was precipitated by one truck that came here with rust after we’d looked at it and seen nothing at all the summer before.  The rust that came through this winter was so severe that the owners (and myself, frankly) had a hard time understanding how it could appear so quickly.

I looked into what went wrong with that truck, and compared it to six other Discovery II models at Robison Service last week.  What I found is, to say the least, troubling.

Take a look at this photo of the rear underside of a typical Discovery II.  You can see some surface rust in this photo, but it’s nothing alarming.  Yet a closer inspection reveals cause for concern.  If you look at the frame rails you see they have a weld running down the bottom centerline. This weld is rough on the inside, so it can trap debris if it gets into the frame.  The next problem is the braces for the trailer hitch.  The points where they bolt to the frame rails act as barriers, also trapping dirt inside the rails.

Underside of a 2004 Discovery showing beginnings of chassis rust

Now we get to the hidden part of the problem . . . I took this situation to our Land Rover tech support contacts, who told me something pretty surprising. It turns out Land Rover reduced the frame thickness of Discovery II models by more than 30% as compared to the Defender and earlier models.  So the frame in these vehicles is significantly lighter than the frames of earlier Rovers, which were themselves no paragons of corrosion resistance.  This was done to save weight and gas but it has had the result of making them weaker and less durable.

To add insult to injury, it turns out Land Rover decided not to galvanize these frames so there is little to prevent them from dissolving if corrosives get inside.

Corrosion inside a Land Rover frame, see with an inspection camera

Another unpleasant result of this weight reduction is that the thinner frame rail walls are now fracturing from metal fatigue up front where they are exposed to heat cycling from the catalytic converters.  The shock towers are another weak point.  The truck we got in last week announced its problems by breaking a rear shock mount.  But an examination of six other DII examples at our shop showed stress cracks in the same location is three more vehicles – this is a problem that will rear its head for lots more people soon.

Note the vertical line of fatigued metal to the left of the upper shock bolt.  A breakage waiting to happen

Off road enthusiasts have long known that mud can accumulate in frame rails, and they should be washed clear after driving in mud.  In fact, Land Rover frames have holes in the low spots to allow mud to drain.  Unfortunately, the DII frames don’t drain fully because of the rough welds on the bottom, and the passage of some bolts that act as barriers.  When a frame gets filled with mud, and the truck is then driven on salted winter roads, the salts get concentrated in the mud and they destroy the frame from inside faster than I would have believed possible.

This is a serious weakness that is made very apparent with the increased use of liquid snow melter on snow country roads.  When that stuff gets into the mud inside a frame it stays damp and its incredibly corrosive.  And the inside of the frame typically has no protection.

 

This frame rotted at the weak points I describe after filling with mud and winter salts

The ultimate cure for these trucks is going to be the fitment of heavier galvanized frames, like we to with Defenders today.  However the lower value of the Discovery II models is going to make that decision a tough one for many owners.  I suspect frame rust will send quite a few of these trucks to the scrap yard.  But there will be enthusiasts who fix them, just as there are enthusiasts who pay us to rebuild engines, transmissions, and everything else on these trucks.

With restored Defenders costing over $100,000 and scruffy examples selling in the $40s a Discovery II with a rebuilt motor and galvanized frame starts to look like a more comfortable and good performing alternative that's almost as trail worthy and a lot more road worthy.  Doing a frame in that context, along with a top hat or flange liner engine makes a lot of sense.  Add some trail mods and you are still under $40 with both usability and a lot of capability.

Rovers North has just started selling galvanized DiscoveryII frames.  It will be interesting to see how the changeover works out.  These trucks have more “Stuff” underneath than a Defender.  I would not be surprised if a frame change takes 100 hours and a pile of bushings, mounts, lines and pipes.  Frame replacement is likely the most expensive repair one could undertake on these vehicles, potentially exceeding the cost of a flange liner 4.6 engine job.

(c) 2014 John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, independent Land Rover restoration and repair specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the Land Rover, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Rolls Royce Owner's Clubs, and he’s owned and restored many of these fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Land Rover electrics and the people who fix them

Land Rover electrics have come a long way since the first Range Rovers made their way to North America in 1987.  I was one of the first to be working on those rigs, and I marveled at what an improvement they were in civility and function from the Series trucks they (sort of) replaced.

Those first trucks didn't have anything you couldn't fix with a test light and a meter, but that changed pretty quickly.

By 1995 we had SRS (airbags), traction control, and electronic ride control.  Then we got the P38 Range Rover, and a whole new test system - the Testbook - based on an HP computer.

The successor to that series - the L322 Range Rover - came with CAN Bus technology, and a host of electronics from then-parent BMW.  That came with another test system - T4.

Then Ford took over, and brought us the IDS test system.

Now it's Tata and more complexity than anyone could have imagined, back in 1987.

We've seen four corporate owners, but Bosch technology has remained a constant.  As one of the top-ranked Bosch Car Service shops in North America we've built a reputation as the shop of last resort when Rover troubles seem insoluble.

Through all those changes one thing has stayed the same - it still breaks, and we fix it all!  That includes all the new stuff - iPhone integration, software updates, key programming, and more.

J E Robison Service
Springfield, MA, USA
413-785-1665
www.robisonservice.com


In our 27th year of providing independent Land Rover service.  Pickup and delivery, and long distance transport available.  Tune ups to show winning restorations.  Call or email John Robison - robison@robisonservice.com

Land Rover Defender restorations at Robison Service

As we near the end of another extensive Defender restoration, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on what makes a quality restoration, and what it takes to achieve that result.

Looking at the photo of the near-finished truck, it does not look very different from any other new Defender.  Except that this Defender is 19 years old!  And the fact is, with the work we did, it would not matter if the Land Rover we started with was 20, 30, or 40 years old.  The end result would look essentially the same, with the exception of period details.

You can go to any car show and see beautiful paint jobs.  But a paint job does not make a restoration.   Sometimes, all it makes is a mess.

When you paint a modern car, you are repairing damage on a vehicle that’s basically complete and serviceable.  So you can paint a scratch or repair a dent, blend the repair to the existing paint, and you’re fine. 

You can’t do that on an older vehicle like this.  In most cases, vehicles that are 20 years old have started to corrode on the seals and joints.  That’s usually where corrosion begins – there, and the places water is trapped under or inside.

A true restoration won’t hide corrosion.  It will remove it.  And a good restorer will take steps to reduce the chances of corrosion happening again, to the extent possible.

A proper restoration usually requires disassembly of the body.  Not just stripping the paint off – but actual disassembly.  On a job like this, we begin by taking the vehicle apart. We take photos every step of the way, and bag and tag the fasteners and hardware as we go.  Even when we use new hardware – often the case – having the original stuff tells us what sizes we need.

On a Defender we lift the body off the frame, and dismantle each section.  In this photo you can see the rolling chassis – rusted framing and all – in the process of teardown.  

A little while later, we begin the process of assembly – in this case, with a new galvanized frame.  We can use the old frames over – we can even galvanize them – but they are often weakened and building them back up will cost more than a brand new part.  Since the look is the same, we usually go new for this core component on 1990s trucks.  With an older vehicle we may go either way but a restored original frame will almost always end up costing a good bit more and that’s always a consideration.

As soon as the vehicle is apart we begin the process of stripping and overhauling the components.  This is a more extensive process than what we do when a vehicle comes in for component overhaul in our service department.  The difference:  In a restoration, we take everything apart, have the metal tank cleaned and blasted, and then we re-plate or powder coat every part before it goes back on.  The result is a subassembly that’s finished far better than it ever was new, and will hopefully outlast the original version as well.

The body sections are also broken into their component parts, and depending on the job, are liquid painted or powder painted after being cleaned up and repaired as needed.  On this truck we saved almost all the exterior sheet metal, though a good bit of repair was needed on some sections.

Disassembly and paint removal often reveals corrosion you never knew was there!

When the vehicle goes back together we replace or rebuild just about everything we handle under the car.  In many cases, we install upgraded or improved parts.  You can’t see this work unless you look close, but this kind of detail separates a paint job and cleanup from a true restoration.

Many of the parts we plate or powder coat were bare metal when these vehicles left the factory.  That may have been fine a few decades ago, but we cannot let them continue to corrode – in 20 more years there would be nothing left, and no replacement parts to be had.

Here are some examples, all of which are visible in the images of this truck

• -       We replace the steel fuel lines with stainless
• -       Rubber brake hoses are swapped for performance braid hoses
• -       All bushings and joints are new, as are springs and shocks
• -       Brakes are totally rebuilt with all wear items replaced
• -       Exhaust is new, and assembled with non-corroding copper fasteners
• -       Extensive use of stainless hardware to reduce corrosion on the body
• -       Everything under the car is finished with the same care as the top

We often make subtle improvements.  For example, this vehicle has a custom Badger top.  You can buy cheaper tops from a catalog, but I have never seen a better piece of work than what we get from The Badger.  He’s slow and he’s finicky but if you want the best . . .

This Defender also has the Exmoor premium seating, which looks fairly original but is light-years better than what was supplied in this truck new.

The wheels are another area of change.  In America, these trucks came with allow wheels and BF Goodrich general purpose tires.  For this fellow’s use we installed military Michelin XZL tires on NATO steel wheels – which were also powder coated.  They are very different from original, but they are what armies use on these rigs all over the world, for good reason.

It’s no surprise that we installed a better stereo.  For a beach truck “better” means water resistant.  For that, we turn to marine radio and speaker components.  The original Rover stereo would be ruined in the first rain shower.  This system will shrug that off, and it has Bluetooth, ipod control, and a host of other features.

We’ve also swapped the non-secure wood console for a lockable steel Tuffy Box.  The vehicle is open all the time, and some secure storage is needed, even on a small island. 

A job like this will eat up at least 1,000 hours and require the skills of a number of different craftsmen.  This particular truck employed:

-       general Land Rover mechanics

-       two body men

-       a painter (liquid)

-       a powder coat specialist

-       several metal platers

-       a fabricator/welder

-       several upholstery men

-       a good detailer

-       a stereo/electronics installer

The list goes on . . . this kind of project is far from a one-man task.

We’ll be sending this truck to its summer home in a few more days.  Stay tuned for the finish photos and description . . .