Range Rover L322 4.4 V8 - Am I mad?
Discussion
Hi All,
I am in the process of searching for a nice clean RR of the L322 V8 flavour and am wondering if the PH Massive can give me any pointers on what to look out for or share their ownership experiences?
I'm looking for a manual (I know, rocking horse s
t, and all that 
) with LPG already fitted.
It will be used for towing and for some greenlaning / 4x4 Response work. Nowt too taxing, but a bit of fun.
TIA
C.
I am in the process of searching for a nice clean RR of the L322 V8 flavour and am wondering if the PH Massive can give me any pointers on what to look out for or share their ownership experiences?
I'm looking for a manual (I know, rocking horse s
t, and all that ) with LPG already fitted.It will be used for towing and for some greenlaning / 4x4 Response work. Nowt too taxing, but a bit of fun.
TIA
C.
The bad news is that if you're looking for a manual L322, you'll be looking for a while. There aren't any (unless there were any "specials" that weren't publicised).
Otherwise check out FullFatRR.com (on an iPhone so can't be bothered to do a link) for handy hints and tips. Lots on PH as well.
Things to watch out for include mullahed gearboxes (less of a problem on the V8 than the diesel), alternators and radiators. Generally, the engines (and other German bits) are fairly bombproof.
If you get a good one, they're superb but remember you're not buying a £10k car, you're buying a £60k car for £10k. The bills can be steep.
Otherwise check out FullFatRR.com (on an iPhone so can't be bothered to do a link) for handy hints and tips. Lots on PH as well.
Things to watch out for include mullahed gearboxes (less of a problem on the V8 than the diesel), alternators and radiators. Generally, the engines (and other German bits) are fairly bombproof.
If you get a good one, they're superb but remember you're not buying a £10k car, you're buying a £60k car for £10k. The bills can be steep.
Edited by JW911 on Saturday 18th August 20:32
We have always had a range rover / defender / sport / series 3 as a 4th car for towing / bikes / tip runs.m
We had our l322 v8 to about 140k sold it about 6/7 months ago, the gearbox went at about 130k and was rebuilt twice at a cost of about 2/3 k each time, the boot leaked ( we found out when new buyer collected)
It also used to eat batteries and every time one expired we had a nightmare with electrics having to be re set. We were always terrifiied of the bongs going off and it letting us down.
We swapped it for a 4.4 tdv8 which was ok but we didn't gell with, so we sold that and now have a restored series 3. Ideally we should have a defender but that's another story.
The 4.4 petrol was ok but i wouldn't have another purely down to too many old electronics that go wrong and can leave you stranded
Phib
We had our l322 v8 to about 140k sold it about 6/7 months ago, the gearbox went at about 130k and was rebuilt twice at a cost of about 2/3 k each time, the boot leaked ( we found out when new buyer collected)
It also used to eat batteries and every time one expired we had a nightmare with electrics having to be re set. We were always terrifiied of the bongs going off and it letting us down.
We swapped it for a 4.4 tdv8 which was ok but we didn't gell with, so we sold that and now have a restored series 3. Ideally we should have a defender but that's another story.
The 4.4 petrol was ok but i wouldn't have another purely down to too many old electronics that go wrong and can leave you stranded
Phib
If its anything like my 4.2 touareg you'll love it.
The air suspension and extra bulk make a huge difference to towing
http://pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&...
Custard
The air suspension and extra bulk make a huge difference to towing
http://pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&...
Custard
We have an 02 4.4 V8. It does relatively few miles and hasn't thrown any unknown surprises or faults. It hasn't been anywhere near off road with us but has a well used towbar. A couple of pixels are out on the dash and there is a broken clip for a front indicator light but it seems to be wearing its miles well. A lot of car for £6.5k.
Caractacus said:
Hi All,
I am in the process of searching for a nice clean RR of the L322 V8 flavour and am wondering if the PH Massive can give me any pointers on what to look out for or share their ownership experiences?
I'm looking for a manual (I know, rocking horse st, and all that ) with LPG already fitted.
It will be used for towing and for some greenlaning / 4x4 Response work. Nowt too taxing, but a bit of fun.
TIA
C.
It sounds like you are trying to get the cheapest running costs possible. The L322 is not car that is car that strikes me something thats cheap to run!! I am in the process of searching for a nice clean RR of the L322 V8 flavour and am wondering if the PH Massive can give me any pointers on what to look out for or share their ownership experiences?
I'm looking for a manual (I know, rocking horse s
t, and all that ) with LPG already fitted.It will be used for towing and for some greenlaning / 4x4 Response work. Nowt too taxing, but a bit of fun.
TIA
C.
I just paid out nearly £500 for new tyres on my Series 3. God knows what a set of tyres for a L322 is.
JW911 said:
The bad news is that if you're looking for a manual L322, you'll be looking for a while. There aren't any (unless there were any "specials" that weren't publicised).
Otherwise check out FullFatRR.com (on an iPhone so can't be bothered to do a link) for handy hints and tips. Lots on PH as well.
Things to watch out for include mullahed gearboxes (less of a problem on the V8 than the diesel), alternators and radiators. Generally, the engines (and other German bits) are fairly bombproof.
If you get a good one, they're superb but remember you're not buying a £10k car, you're buying a £60k car for £10k. The bills can be steep.
This kind of thing really does frustrate me. I really hope that they get it right with the new one! Otherwise check out FullFatRR.com (on an iPhone so can't be bothered to do a link) for handy hints and tips. Lots on PH as well.
Things to watch out for include mullahed gearboxes (less of a problem on the V8 than the diesel), alternators and radiators. Generally, the engines (and other German bits) are fairly bombproof.
If you get a good one, they're superb but remember you're not buying a £10k car, you're buying a £60k car for £10k. The bills can be steep.
Edited by JW911 on Thursday 16th August 20:40
bakerstreet said:
It sounds like you are trying to get the cheapest running costs possible. The L322 is not car that is car that strikes me something thats cheap to run!!
I just paid out nearly £500 for new tyres on my Series 3. God knows what a set of tyres for a L322 is.
That's a rather large assumption, fella.I just paid out nearly £500 for new tyres on my Series 3. God knows what a set of tyres for a L322 is.
Just because I'd like LPG fitted doesn't mean I am going to attempt to run the next motor on a shoe string budget. When going on trips or towing, why not have better mpg if it's on offer and performance is the same?
As for tyres? £500.00 is cheap, you tight arse.
Fitting a decent LPG kit will set you back £2500 or so. That's about 14000 miles to get your money back give or take (and your mpg is about 15% less but is offset by the price of gas). If you're not going to do the mileage, it's probably not worth doing a conversion. Try to find one that's been done already. Shame mine's not for sale unless you want to make a silly offer (by silly, I mean lots of zeros after the number!).
The last set of 18" tyres I bought for mine set me back about £600. I have a set of 19" wheels for the summer which I acquired from FleaBay with decent tyres for £300.
The last set of 18" tyres I bought for mine set me back about £600. I have a set of 19" wheels for the summer which I acquired from FleaBay with decent tyres for £300.
JW911 said:
Fitting a decent LPG kit will set you back £2500 or so. That's about 14000 miles to get your money back give or take (and your mpg is about 15% less but is offset by the price of gas). If you're not going to do the mileage, it's probably not worth doing a conversion. Try to find one that's been done already. Shame mine's not for sale unless you want to make a silly offer (by silly, I mean lots of zeros after the number!).
The last set of 18" tyres I bought for mine set me back about £600. I have a set of 19" wheels for the summer which I acquired from FleaBay with decent tyres for £300.
What tyres were those for £600? Just out of interest like The last set of 18" tyres I bought for mine set me back about £600. I have a set of 19" wheels for the summer which I acquired from FleaBay with decent tyres for £300.
The only thing apart from reliability issue of vehicles this age i have found is that the interiors dont tend to wear well. Little things like the rubberised finish around the window switches on the drivers door tend to peel. The finish of trim parts around the air vents wear along with the control dials. Its things like this that make the car look cheap.
If i was looking for a car this age then i would tend to go for one that has come from (old money) Where it has spent all its service life at a main dealers and ant problem that has come up has been dealt with. For this type of vehicle i would avoid multi owner cars.
If i was looking for a car this age then i would tend to go for one that has come from (old money) Where it has spent all its service life at a main dealers and ant problem that has come up has been dealt with. For this type of vehicle i would avoid multi owner cars.
why not the diesel?
And just how bad is the 4.4 on fuel? i used to have petrol RR Classics both 3.5 and 3.9 and at best 15mpg. is the 4.4 still just as bad?
I do quite fancy the l322 every now and then as a replacement for my p38 but unsure, it seems it's the same problematic vehicle just 5k more expensive.. Which makes me wonder, toureg/x5/land-cruiser...
And just how bad is the 4.4 on fuel? i used to have petrol RR Classics both 3.5 and 3.9 and at best 15mpg. is the 4.4 still just as bad?
I do quite fancy the l322 every now and then as a replacement for my p38 but unsure, it seems it's the same problematic vehicle just 5k more expensive.. Which makes me wonder, toureg/x5/land-cruiser...
The diesel is a slouch in the Range Rover. For this year it uses the 3.0ltr TD6 as used in the X5 and 5 series BMW. In both the later it gives almost sports car performance. But due to the weight of the Range Rover the performance is adequate.
The X5 in terms of reliability is far superior. But its not a true 4x4. And the harsh stiff ride lets it down badly.
The X5 in terms of reliability is far superior. But its not a true 4x4. And the harsh stiff ride lets it down badly.
hi court said:
why not the diesel?
And just how bad is the 4.4 on fuel? i used to have petrol RR Classics both 3.5 and 3.9 and at best 15mpg. is the 4.4 still just as bad?
I do quite fancy the l322 every now and then as a replacement for my p38 but unsure, it seems it's the same problematic vehicle just 5k more expensive.. Which makes me wonder, toureg/x5/land-cruiser...
I was looking RR classics but got frustrated at not being about to find a decent one for sensible money. I then considered a P38 but was warned off by a specialist as being trouble on wheels. I ended up with an early L322 4.4 V8 as being vastly more reliable than a P38 for not much more money. The 02-05 L322 is basically an X5 underneath anyway, they share a lot of kit. You may obviously get some dogs but that's the same for any car.And just how bad is the 4.4 on fuel? i used to have petrol RR Classics both 3.5 and 3.9 and at best 15mpg. is the 4.4 still just as bad?
I do quite fancy the l322 every now and then as a replacement for my p38 but unsure, it seems it's the same problematic vehicle just 5k more expensive.. Which makes me wonder, toureg/x5/land-cruiser...
The book average is 17mpg and it pretty much does that, mines sitting on 18.1mpg at the moment and should creep up a bit more (ignoring off roading). It'll easily go over 20mpg on the motorway unless you like cruising at naughty speeds. Mine has meaty A/T tyres on too which probably don't help...the extra weight of the winch and under body protection waiting to go on won't help that either!
I had to change the alternator on mine which is expensive but rebuilds are cheaper. I changed the radiator too but they aren't expensive if you shop around (£150ish) and in fact it wasn't leaking in the end (doh!). I also recently changed the autobox filter and oil and oil cooler as a preventative measure.
I think mines great, should have bought one ages ago!
Gassing Station | Land Rover | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff