I was following an old bloke out of East Kilbride earlier today and he was in a 56 plate TDV8 HSE.

He put his foot down to accelerate onto the dual carriageway and started to pull away from me, then there was an almighty cloud of black smoke and a streak of oil on the road. I pulled in behind him to make sure he was OK, and he said all of a sudden it lost power.

He started it very briefly and it sounded very knocky/bearingy. Whilst we were stood beside the car there was a big pool of oil that appeared under the drivers side step.

We stood talking for a bit and he's a Land Rover enthusiast and has driven Range Rovers for the last 20 years. He gave me his phone number and I said I'd ask on the owners club to see if anyone had any ideas what could be wrong.

He said the car had stood for 8 or 9 months as he has another RR as well and that he'd only just started using it again.

My gut says turbo oil seals and possibly hydraulic'd a cylinder but I just wondered what others thought.

Thanks guys

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

Mine did similar but it was white smoke and a turbo impeller shaft had snapped , hope it's not too serious for him 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

sounds like turbo failure, maybe ingested a bit.

hope its not to serious. but it does sound fairly bad..... There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

What mileage should I start saving for a new pair of turbos. This is one thing I keep wondering whether I should replace while the car is under lease. ______________________________
Vogue tdv8 08MY poverty pack - wow

I have replaced turbos as low as 60k miles, and as high as 140k miles

Seems to be down to how the car has been treated in the past, or sheer bad luck...

Mine went at my just over 140k miles 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

I'm at 265,000km so about 165, 000 miles. ______________________________
Vogue tdv8 08MY poverty pack - wow

Mikey - you are the resident turbo expert and I know I am likely asking questions that other 3.6 owners either have heard answers to before or are too afraid to ask. I also know it's a topic that's been done to death so I'll apologies up front

1. Is there anything owners can do to prevent turbo failure?
2. Are there any early signs?
3. Is prevention better than cure (given any early signs)
4. Should we replace as a pair


Any feedback and help is appreciated. Mine is approaching 80k. Has had OTT levels of TLC and is a towcar for 1800kg caravan. It had a full transmission service at 70k and has oil and filter at every 5k.

Also...and this is the biggie....how much is it to replace the necessary should the worst happen.

thanks in advance,

From all 3.6 owners  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Last edited by n1cktdv8 on 10th Jun 2017 2:29pm. Edited 1 time in total

Good questions. Except Q5 probably only applies to the 4.4 tdv8.

I'm similar in servicing. My tdv8 has been serviced every 6000miles, and the EGR has been disabled. ______________________________
Vogue tdv8 08MY poverty pack - wow

As said above,

The 4.4 has 2 sequential turbos, where the 2nd comes in after 2700 rpm, the 3.6 has 2 variable vane turbos, which run all the time.  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

Looking at others threads prevention is better than cure. I was lucky that when mine went the bits fell into the exhaust and not the inlet. When to replace is a big and expensive question. I'm a believer in non genuine parts for many reasons other than cost. Mainly because LR don't own a turbo manufacturing plant so they buy from a third party. As regards new turbos , again I'm not a fan , this time due to money. As reconditioned turbo , using correct quality seals etc is tested and balanced on the same machine as the manufacturer, so why pay over the odds ? The 3.6 turbos are quite small maybe that's why they don't last ?? 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

n1cktdv8 wrote:

Mikey - you are the resident turbo expert and I know I am likely asking questions that other 3.6 owners either have heard answers to before or are too afraid to ask. I also know it's a topic that's been done to death so I'll apologies up front

1. Is there anything owners can do to prevent turbo failure?
2. Are there any early signs?
3. Is prevention better than cure (given any early signs)
4. Should we replace as a pair


Any feedback and help is appreciated. Mine is approaching 80k. Has had OTT levels of TLC and is a towcar for 1800kg caravan. It had a full transmission service at 70k and has oil and filter at every 5k.

Also...and this is the biggie....how much is it to replace the necessary should the worst happen.
thanks in advance,
From all 3.6 owners

1. Drive gently until fully warm. Not just until the coolant is up to temp, it takes much longer for the engine oil to warm up. Change the oil and filter every 10k MAX. Use only good quality oil and filters. After a drive, allow to cool before switching off, to prevent heatsoak within the bearings. Consider replacing the oil feed pipe at 80k miles...

2. Not really. They just go pop

3. Prevention is always better than the cure. A few quid spent on oil + filters is always going to be cheaper than a pair of turbos...

4. Always advisable. If ones turbo has gone pop, it's likely the other is not far behind it...

Price to repair is dependant on the repairing garage. A brand new OEM turbo is best part of £1000 + VAT each, and I wouldn't use anything else. Recon turbos are very hit and miss, as calibration can only be done at the BW factory (unless things have changed recently)

Anyone know part numbers for the FFRR 3.6 turbos, and where to buy them? ______________________________
Vogue tdv8 08MY poverty pack - wow

RH - LR004526/LR008829
LH - LR004527/LR008830

Open number is new, the other factory Remanufactured