Land Rover TDV6 crankshaft failure

The TDV6 diesel was fitted to the Discovery 3, Discovery 4 and Range Rover Sport from 2004, first as a 2.7 litre and later as a 3.0 litre. It is a smooth, strong engine for towing and long journeys, but it has a well-known weakness: crankshaft and big-end bearing failure, most often on the 2.7.

The usual story is that a bearing shell loses its oil film, spins in its housing and wears the crankshaft. In the worst cases the crankshaft breaks. Long service intervals, oil that has been left in too long, low oil levels and hard use such as towing all raise the risk. The first sign is often a deep knock from the bottom of the engine, a low oil pressure warning or a drop in performance, and sometimes the engine simply stops.

Once the crankshaft or bearings have failed, the repair is major. Because of the way the engine sits in these vehicles, it has to come out, and the choice is usually between a rebuild with a new crankshaft and bearings or a good replacement engine. We explain both honestly, including when the value of the vehicle makes one option more sensible than the other.

Prevention is far cheaper. We recommend shorter oil change intervals than the original schedule on these engines, always with oil to the correct Land Rover specification, and we check the oil pressure and listen for early bearing noise when your vehicle is in. If you have just bought a TDV6 with patchy history, an engine health check is money well spent.