Had a bad Range Rover day today

[glideman]

I went to the supermarket today with my three kids to get some stuff & on the way home the power steering felt a bit funny. Having owned a Range Rover for a few months I didn't think "oh well" I just started to look for somewhere to dump it before it blew up again! Then I got the "pong" & looked down to see "coolant too hot" or something like that and then "pong" "check coolant level" then a nasty twang noise. Dumped it in a bus lane and got out to check the latest disaster under the bonnet just in time to get the contents of the radiator on my shoes.
Steam everywhere & the fan belt looked like it had been eaten by the radiator cowl. As I reached down the water pump fell away from the engine. Ah well I thought & got on the phone to a nice man from the AA who I now know by name. I explained to him I was an ex-mechanic & my water pump had fallen off. He sent out a very nice man in a van who told me my water pump had fallen off & sent for a big truck to take it to the dealers again.
I got it to the dealers & wrote a note to let anyone who got in it not to start the engine as the engine had no water or water pump etc. The "Land Rover technician" who mistook me for the recovery driver said to me they would "just f%$ing drive it in anyway" as the customer wont know. I did of course put him right.
I'm now waiting for them to ring me with my next telephone number bill. Anyone any idea what would be a fair price for this job and if it could have oh joy, scrapped the engine?

I don't like this car anymore

[03rangiemark]

Since you didn't let us know what year your RR is, let me guess...

From the exploding water pump that you described, I'd bet you have one of the amazing German engineered BMW powered model years ('02-04 in english years).
I guess that because BMW engineers managed to over-engineer the complexity, and yet under-engineer reliability of at least the product that you and I now own.
That said, on this side of the pond, a replacement water pump can be had for about $270, a gasket for $7, an over-complicated thermostat for $100, and a belt (if only the main one was destroyed) for $38.
In case you haven't guessed, the exact thing happened to me once a couple years ago on my '03.

That's assuming your radiator and no hoses need to be replaced. I would recommend replacement of your hoses while you're in there though.

[brad s1]

In the states you can get the water pump for $47 at any local autoparts store. It's re-manufactured but that's all you want/need anyway, new internals. OE gasket is best. So between the gasket and pump it set me back less than $60 and 2-3 hours to do the job. I was quoted 3 hours by the local land rover shop to do it, and they're getting $95/hour. The dealer on the other hand right around $1000 for parts and labor, unless of-course they tell you it needs work beyond the pump, which is totally possible. Without seeing the damage by your description they'll probably need/want to do belts/tensioners, maybe a radiator and all the hoses, who knows... They could quote you 5k easily.

[ZUNDFOLGE!]

I'm gearing up to do just this very job on my '05 (BMW) FFRR this weekend. I have a new, OEM German-made pump, both new serp belts and some other cooling hoses which I did not change the last time 'round because they weren't available right away through my parts supplier (fortunately, they are the smaller, expansion tank hoses). When I had my rig into the dealer in Cleveland a few weeks ago for the NAV firmware update, the tech there noticed the water pump bearing was starting to get loose (kudos to Westside LR/Jaguar for having techs that give the truck a full inspection when not even asked to do so!) so I want to nip it in the bud since I travel a lot for my job and would prefer not to find myself stuck in the middle of nowhere with a scenario as you have described (there's an awful lot of nothing in-between cities here in the US). Anyhow, good luck. Tell them to replace all of the cooling hoses as well as they WILL burst in time.

[glideman]

The car is a RR 2003 4.4 M62

Just got a call from the dealers & it's going to cost £620! That's for a new pulley, belt & pump + anti freeze. I said could you not run the engine & the main agent said they would just run the engine to get it on a ramp. I pointed out that this would damage the engine, he replied that it may have blown the head gasket anyway. I stopped the car within a few seconds of the battery light coming on & the coolant came out AFTER I stopped (on my shoes). Can't see how the head gasket could go if the engine was stopped before losing the coolant so just hope they don't blow it running it about with no coolant in it.

Suppose they know they have you over a barrel. They also mentioned the pump may have sent pieces of the impeller into the coolant system & it MAY go again within a few days / weeks. When we used to do a water pump we used to flush all the bits out but the main agents don't bother. They do fill you with confidence which is why I don't mind paying so much. It's still got a knock on the front passenger side after paying out over £1,000 to various garages including the main agents.

I really wanted this car but this is my third time being stranded by the roadside with my children for hours waiting for the AA in the past 6 months. I would class myself as a fully paid up member of the petrol head brigade & more money than sense club but this thing has me beaten. It's not my first Land Rover but it'll be my last. When I took the car to be MOT'd at the garage I used to work at they all said what the f%$k are you doing buying one of them, maybe from experience I should have known better. Most of the work we used to do was Land Rover gearboxes.

I know some owners will say they have had no trouble from the car but if you ask me mine isn't a Friday afternoon car, Land Rover only make cars on Friday afternoon.

Not where did I put my Subaru dealers telephone number.

[ZUNDFOLGE!]

gliderman,

I do understand your sentiment. I think the FFRR (FullFatRangeRover) is one of those unique beasts. Many here will agree that there is a certain je ne sais quoi about the trucks which keeps us putting up with their finicky antics, as when they are right, they are a delight to drive. From what I have observed, some folks get a good 'un and some get a nightmare. Mine (knock on wood ) has been mostly a delight in 10K miles of use. I also think that if you find a well-cared for example at or around the 100K mark, you're making a safer bet because a lot of the things that will go wrong, already have. A Range Rover is like a Ferrari/Rolls/Bentley/Aston, etc...It won't go high mileage without maintenance. Just a shame that we have to exercise an "exotic" car maintenance regimen on something so mainstream as a Land Rover, and I think that's what gets many people off the brand.

I also think that having a good dealer (or indie) is key too. My truck was sold new and serviced at Land Rover Bedford (great dealer with good techs!!!!) in New Hampshire its entire life, until I bought it and brought it here to Cincinnati. As I was a mechanic at Mercedes-Benz for 12 years and then had my own indie shop, I am not afraid to turn a spanner on anything, so I maintain it myself unless it has to go to a dealer for something computer-related, although I'll soon be putting a Hawkeye or an All-Comms in my arsenal so the dealer visits will be a thing for the history books but for those who rely on a dealer, seeking out one with competent technicians is key since so many LR dealers seem to be hacks at best.

[glideman]

The dealer just rang & they say the job is a nightmare & they have destroyed the viscous fan trying to remove it. The new price for this job is £1,000+ for fu^&%$ water pump! That's up to now, oh and they say it also needs a new battery at £125 even though it's been fine all through the winter. Can't wait to get rid of this piece of junk

[PaulTyrer]

Hows about this then!

Bought an 03 4.4 V8 from a non Land-Rover dealer in March 2010 with 70K miles on. Before I bought it they had it checked over and it had an oil leak on the gearbox which they 'fixed' (gearbox recon at supposedly £2500).
3 months later no reverse gear, so back to the gearbox place where they repaired a supposed crack in the valve block.

Towards the end of 2010 there was a rumbling from the gearbox which resulted in another rebuild with a new torque converter, the initial gearbox rebuild had been done by a dyslexic chimp! of course it was out of warranty! Bill - £3500

All OK until its service in March 2011, then the fun started!
From memory..
New ride height sensors all round at 80 quid a pop
new disks / pads
new rear parking brake shoes
new suspension bushes all round
new water pump
water leak at back of engine

seems the car had not been serviced for over 2 years! Total bill for that was around £2200

Great, car fine now. Fast forward to June and a long weekend in Cornwall, car perfect all the way down but 'check coolant level' on the way back, then 5 miles from home it goes into 'limp home mode'.

Gearbox checked over - all fine. Fault was knackered radiator (there is a range of VIN numbers where there was a problem with the bottom 6 rows collapsing reducing the flow to the trans oil cooler), so replacement radiator (and new pump as that was knackered) I think that bill was around £1000, followed by a new Trans Oil Cooler (£500 or thereabouts) and a new expansion tank - cheap one this, only about £150 fitted!

Last one was end of January when the starter motor gave up and the battery was faulty - but that was replaced for free. Total cost this time - £1600 because it also needed 4 new tyres! So all in all I've spent around nine grand in just over 12 months!

Still love em though!!

[03rangiemark]

they have destroyed the viscous fan trying to remove it.

That sounds like something the mechanic should be responsible for.
They should know how to remove the fan without damaging the fan clutch. Most of us have figured it out, and we don't have the special tools that the dealer has.