The Range Rover is a fancy SUV made by Land Rover. The 2013 version has a lot of luxury features and is good for driving on rough roads as well as smooth ones.
A diagnostic is a way to find out what's wrong with a car. Mechanics use special tools to check the car's computer for error messages that tell them about problems.
An engine misfire happens when the engine doesn't run smoothly because one part isn't working right. This can make the car feel like it's shaking or losing power.
Crank correlation is about how the engine's parts work together to make it run. If they don't match up correctly, the engine can have problems, like not starting or running roughly.
The timing chain helps keep the engine parts moving in sync. If it breaks or gets out of place, it can lead to major engine problems, like parts hitting each other.
Pistons are parts that move up and down in the engine, and valves are like doors that let air and fuel in and exhaust out. If they hit each other, it can break the engine.
A seized engine means the engine can't move anymore, often because something inside is broken or there's not enough oil. It usually needs a lot of work to fix or may need to be replaced.
A full framed vehicle is a type of car where the body is built on a strong frame. This makes it easier to work on and repair, especially for things like engine replacements.
The guide rail helps hold the timing chain in the right position so that everything in the engine works together correctly. If it's not there, the chain could move around too much.
An interference motor is a type of engine where the parts can hit each other if the timing is wrong. This can lead to serious damage, so everything needs to be timed just right.
A supercharged engine is one that has a device called a supercharger, which helps it get more air into the engine. This makes the car go faster when you press the gas pedal.
The engine block is the big piece of metal that makes up the main part of an engine. It holds everything together and is where the engine's cylinders are located.
A long block is a type of engine that comes mostly complete, including important parts like the pistons and crankshaft. It's often used when replacing an engine in a car.
Valve covers are the parts that cover the top of the engine's cylinder heads. They help keep oil inside and protect the engine parts from getting dirty.
A supercharger helps an engine produce more power by forcing more air into it, which lets it burn more fuel. It's like giving the engine a boost to make it stronger.
The valve train is responsible for letting air and fuel into the engine and allowing exhaust to escape. It's important for the engine to work properly.
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Hi, it's Mark Bossard.
I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Vancouver's best
auto service experience.
Dozens of times voted by their customers as the best auto repair in Vancouver, and we're
talking cars.
How you doing, Bernie?
Doing very well.
So, today's guest is a 2013 Range Rover.
What was happening with this vehicle?
So this vehicle was towed to our shop.
The engine wouldn't run.
It was making some pretty bad noises.
We proceeded to do a diagnostic on it, which we determined pretty quickly the engine was
done.
But nonetheless, we go through the procedure.
We scanned the vehicle, had a wrap sheet of codes, big long list of codes for crank
correlation, engine misfires, a number of other items.
Not worth talking about.
There's so many.
But the key noted, of course, is when we went to crank the engine over, it
cranked over in a rather odd manner, made a lot of clacking noises and attempted to start
but never start.
So we knew the engine was bad, suspected the timing chain had probably skipped teeth or
broken, damaged about pistons and valves collide at that point in the engines.
Terminally ill.
Seased, actually.
Yeah.
We've talked about Range Rovers and timing chains a fair amount.
This is a fairly common problem.
Yeah.
The timing chain problems are common on these engines.
And the owner had not, obviously, heeded the rattling noises that were present in the engine
at some point.
Because the timing chain, it'll always start off with a rattling sound.
Sometimes it'll just be a little rattling you start the car up when it's cold.
If it does that and then goes away after a second, you can kind of monitor it.
But if it starts getting more consistent, it's time to replace it.
This person left it to the end.
Yeah.
And the difference in bill is many tens of thousands of dollars.
Yeah.
I never like to talk about prices because, you know, if you watch this video in five
years, the prices will probably be higher.
But it's a difference of probably $14,000, $15,000 in $25 to replace the engine versus
doing the timing chain.
There's a beautiful Range Rover autobiography model too.
So it's top of the line, very fine vehicle.
It's in pretty good shape for the 2013 for that's 11 years old.
Yeah.
Uh-oh.
What's happening here?
Yeah.
So in order to replace the engine, you have to remove the body of the vehicle off of
the frame.
So this is like a pickup truck.
It's a full framed vehicle and the body can be removed.
It's a fair bit of work to take the body off.
But once it's done, then the engine replacement is actually somewhat simple to get in there
with the engine crane and work on things.
And it's like having the engine on a stand.
So it's pretty good.
So of course the old engine, we dismantled some things to have a look at what was inside.
And here we have a view of one of the timing chains, which is right off of the guide rail.
It should be over here.
It's over here.
Yeah.
It should be over there.
And the guide.
The guide is gone.
Yeah.
The actual plastic pieces that the chain rides against were gone, found inside the
engine.
Busted.
Yeah.
Busted apart.
It's hard to know whether that all happened in one thing or whether, you know, probably
a couple pieces broke off and then it just got worse.
We removed one cylinder head on the cylinder where the chain had basically jumped off its
gears, which would indicate, of course, where the pistons and valves hit.
This is what happens when the timing chain goes out of whack.
These valves, the exhaust valves are, sorry, the intakes are on the top, the exhausts
are on the bottom, but you can see all the valves are bent.
They should be closer.
This one is still even a little bit bent.
They're very tight when they come out.
The spring pushes them tight in, correct?
Yeah.
And so the one on the right bottom corner is actually, it's probably bent because
you can see a scuff mark on the bottom.
But it looks like a valve would normally sit, but the other ones, they won't see
properly.
There shouldn't be shade.
There should not be shade.
That's right.
You should not see that.
Then when we look at the pistons, oh, that's not good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's the top of the piston.
You can see scuff marks on the edges of the piston.
The piston is the black.
That's the top of the piston.
The black thing scuff marks on everything.
So they've been hit.
And so what happens when the valves and the pistons meet in this kind of case?
What happens?
The interference motor and what that means is that everything has to be timed perfectly
because if things go out of time, the valves interfere with the movement of the pistons
or vice versa.
In a non-interference motor, this kind of thing can occur and the pistons and valves
won't hit each other because the clearances are too large.
But most precision engines have tight clearances.
So I would just count on any engine in any car being an interference motor.
So what are we looking at here?
And here we're looking at the engine.
This is a replacement engine.
We got a used engine for this vehicle.
We actually put new timing guides, tensioners and everything in this vehicle.
So it's a used engine, but the important thing that fails, which is the timing chain
has been replaced.
So there's timing chains that run to most cylinder banks?
Two separate ones.
Two chains, two guides, actually four guides, two tensioners, basically two of everything.
Very complicated setup.
It is very complicated, yeah.
And unfortunately, these chains are really, I'd say, too small for this engine.
They're dinky little chains.
It's not a robust setup for an engine that's 500 horsepower.
They should be thicker chains.
They're better than bicycle chains, but not a lot.
So this is a really, people don't necessarily consider it, but it's a very high performance
engine in terms of it's moving this big vehicle at ridiculous speeds, honestly.
Oh yeah.
These things are fun to drive.
When you put the pedal down and they move fast and anything supercharged is quick.
And of course, a supercharged engine, because of the speed of acceleration inside the engine,
it's harder on the timing chains.
The timing chains do fail on the non-supercharged engines as well, but not as often as these
do, because they're just under more of a load.
So you just change the engine block and put whatever you could remove from the
old engine onto the new engine?
Yeah, exactly.
We're basically replacing, it's called a long block, and the long block is the
bottom end of the engine pistons, crankshaft, that assembly, as well as the cylinder heads.
And when we get the used engine, I mean, it comes complete with the valve covers on, the
oil pan on and everything.
And we might have actually installed it like that, but when they shipped it or stored
it somewhere, they cracked one of the valve covers, which are made of plastic.
So we had to swap those over.
And we almost count on swapping things over.
We swapped the supercharger.
It actually had the supercharger on it too, but we found the existing one was
in better shape than the used one.
So we swapped that over and we decided that while we had the valve covers off, just do
the timing chain.
It did cost a little extra money, but not a lot while everything's apart.
And that guarantees with proper maintenance that this vehicle is going to run for probably
until the customer wants to say goodbye to the vehicle.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
I mean, in all fairness, it did last for 12 years with someone neglecting the timing
chain.
So had they taken care of the timing chain, you know, the engine would have kept
on going for a long time.
The bottom end of the engine and the valve train is generally pretty good quality on these
engines.
Bottom line, if you're looking for service for your Range Rover in Vancouver, the people
to see are at Pawlik Automotive.
You can reach them online at pawlikautomotive.com.
You can book your appointment there.
Or you can call them at 604-327-7112 to book your appointment.
You have to book ahead.
They're always busy.
Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Thanks so much for watching and listening.
Thanks, Bernie.
Thank you, Mark.
And thanks for watching.
About this episode
A 2013 Range Rover Autobiography faced a catastrophic engine failure due to timing chain issues, leading to severe internal damage. The episode details the diagnostic process, revealing a long list of error codes and the eventual conclusion that the engine was terminally damaged. Bernie Pawlik explains the commonality of timing chain problems in these vehicles, the costly implications of neglecting early warning signs, and the intricate process of replacing the engine. The discussion also highlights the importance of proper maintenance to extend the life of high-performance engines.
