The replacement M62 shaped headache

[Benji]

Looking at pictures again, this machine looks very well taken care off, i looked at these before buying the prado and a decent example was still 200k with the headache of still to do the preventive maintenance.

Yes, it is in fantastic condition, even for the mileage. It has had a bit of paintwork on the passenger side, but other than that, it is pretty clean. Newish brakes and tyres, no dents and minimal scratches on the paint. Cant wait to polish it...but that would need to wait until it is mechanically sorted

 

[Benji]

Nice dude. It's always nice to see a guy who likes getting his hands dirty and isn't afraid of the inevitable jokes his friends will make about how he never drives his new car anywhere and it must surely have grown roots by now.

My work colleagues are making jokes about how I am driving my new car to work even tho it is broken. My bravery has been brought into question that I am going to a site meeting today in the RR, my fingers are crossed that the car will behave itself when it is started when it is warmer in the afternoon

 

[///M Individual]

Yes, it is in fantastic condition, even for the mileage. It has had a bit of paintwork on the passenger side, but other than that, it is pretty clean. Newish brakes and tyres, no dents and minimal scratches on the paint. Cant wait to polish it...but that would need to wait until it is mechanically sorted

That's incredible.....You can't even get a decent Toyota Tazz for 50k these days!

 

[Benji]

That's incredible.....You can't even get a decent Toyota Tazz for 50k these days!

This is the logic I kept coming back to, you literally cant go wrong. 50k hardly gets you a set of headlights in a new BMW these days... Even if I need a full gearbox and suspension refurb, I would still be in for under 100k for a clean, low mileage L322...I would estimate once it is sorted, this should fetch 150k all day long

 

[Nukleuz]

Welcome to the Range Rover club.

 

[individj]

I wont lie, I chose my wife well, she doesnt understand it, but she supports it and loves the range rover...this is the one impulse she has been the happiest about. I think she has a sneaky suspicion that this car is actually for her once it is reliable...

Anyway, I believe I have just the right combination of ignorance, bravery, skill, fearlessness and poor memory which allows me the privilege of these experiences... So far, when it works, I am loving the Range Rover!

I tried plugging INPA into the RR but it refused to work while the internet insists INPA should work on these early L322s...bummer. Since I cant actually fix the car, I may as well clean it...

Before
View attachment 32662

After what felt like 4 hours with a toothbrush and engine degreaser, I was left with a wankers cramp and this
View attachment 32663

Lovely, still original paint on the wheels. Also had a dig in the boot and found this
View attachment 32664

I need to do some voltage checks, but I am fairly confident that "all" my problems are caused by a weak battery. These cars HATE weak batteries and will throw all sorts of CAN related errors with low voltage.

• Car was completely dead and needed to be jump started twice at WBC
• Battery dated 2023 and with this low mileage, probably has not driven much in that time
• Has a bit of a long crank in the morning
• Clock resets itself once the car has started (indicating voltage drops below 10V)
• Gearbox seems to be fine when I start the car in the afternoon when things are warmer.

These symptoms all point to a weak battery or possibly a bad ground strap. Less likely could be a starter pulling too much power or the alternator not "catching up" fast enough...but will start with a new battery first

lets do it!

 

[Gordvisr]

congrats

 

[AshG108]

Congrats Benji!

You are one dangerous contact to have LOL!
For the price and condition, this is definitely a no brainer!

 

[boost3d]

@Benji i am now saying this on an open forum and not just a private message! Boet i have no idea how you still have so much hair left after all these headaches and stresses you take on in your automotive life!

Kudo's though for living the dream!

 

[Peter@AEW]

I wont lie, I chose my wife well, she doesnt understand it, but she supports it and loves the range rover...this is the one impulse she has been the happiest about. I think she has a sneaky suspicion that this car is actually for her once it is reliable...

Anyway, I believe I have just the right combination of ignorance, bravery, skill, fearlessness and poor memory which allows me the privilege of these experiences... So far, when it works, I am loving the Range Rover!

I tried plugging INPA into the RR but it refused to work while the internet insists INPA should work on these early L322s...bummer. Since I cant actually fix the car, I may as well clean it...

Before
View attachment 32662

After what felt like 4 hours with a toothbrush and engine degreaser, I was left with a wankers cramp and this
View attachment 32663

Lovely, still original paint on the wheels. Also had a dig in the boot and found this
View attachment 32664

I need to do some voltage checks, but I am fairly confident that "all" my problems are caused by a weak battery. These cars HATE weak batteries and will throw all sorts of CAN related errors with low voltage.

• Car was completely dead and needed to be jump started twice at WBC
• Battery dated 2023 and with this low mileage, probably has not driven much in that time
• Has a bit of a long crank in the morning
• Clock resets itself once the car has started (indicating voltage drops below 10V)
• Gearbox seems to be fine when I start the car in the afternoon when things are warmer.

These symptoms all point to a weak battery or possibly a bad ground strap. Less likely could be a starter pulling too much power or the alternator not "catching up" fast enough...but will start with a new battery first

Long crank is vanos induced.
Do the seals and make ure the vanos gearbox does not rotate 360 degrees .
If you not sure what I am talking bout come past the shop and I shall show uou

 

[Benji]

Long crank is vanos induced.
Do the seals and make ure the vanos gearbox does not rotate 360 degrees .
If you not sure what I am talking bout come past the shop and I shall show uou

Thank you, I believe the vanos is tired as I do have the startup vanos rattle, will pop past you sometime. The crank is significantly shorter now that Ive fitted a new battery, but I think it is still a bit longer than it should be...

These are the lower of my worries on the RR at this moment tho

 

[Benji]

So, an update on L322 ownership. On Friday, I drove to site about 40km away, the gearbox was perfect all the way there, but when I drove back, the transmission fault was back immidiately even after numerous "resets". I stopped at the battery shop and asked them to test my battery, it was at 11V and the car was too dead to crank. What?? I know the battery was weak, but it always started the car, but now after about 40min of driving, it is at 11V. Weird.

Battery duly changed, the transmission fault came back immidiately. It probably needed to relearn itself...so I reset it a few times and on the 4th try, it worked, no error at all! For the first time, I could use the tiptronic function. I stopped to activate low range (LR) and that worked perfectly as well...not allowing optimism to rush over me, I disengaged LR which disengaged, but the flashing LR light on the dash remained on, so the car is not getting feedback that the transmission is out of LR. Transmission error immidiately back when driving. I tried resetting it and activating LR a few more times but the same issue always occurred. Just when I was ready to throw myself to the drink, I thought one last try would not make me a madman. My persistence was rewarded with a LR that deactivated successfully! I tried it 4 more times and it worked perfectly. Could it be? I drove home with a fully functioning RR and opened a celebratory Friday afternoon beer.



Saturday morning I drove to the shops with a still-functioning RR. I shopped with confidence but was met with the dreaded "bing!" transmission error and a RR stuck in 4th...again! I appologise to the car guards who had the misfortune of hearing my colourful language.

I had a trip planned on Sunday to Castle Gorge and I was taking the RR, come hell or high water! I checked the voltages, alternator and ground connections, checked the gear position switch connector for corrosion but all seemed OK. A cheapie OBD scanner revealed P1709 - Transmission range sensor signal out of range.

On Sunday, we drove all the way there in limp mode even after numerous resets. I know, I probably shouldnt abuse her like this. On the way back, I started the car and was met with the dreaded but now familiar "bing!" BUT ALSO a flashing LR light! I reset the car and she drove perfectly and as my hopes were coming up, I did a spirited acceleration run which brought back our old friend, the "bing!" and its accompanying limp mode.

Monday morning she drove perfectly again... So I probably have more than one issue, but I shall start with the LR actuator which is a known weakness for intermittent transmission issues where the position feedback potentiometer wears out and returns implausible readings to the TCM, triggering a limp mode. This is especially common on cars that dont use LR often...mine by the state of the underside.

As a bit of a cautionary side note. I found a workshop who previously worked on the car. The previous owner spent R35k in 3 months with them in 2023. This was mostly for bad alternator, bad battery and an electric drain.

 

[TBP88]

So, an update on L322 ownership. On Friday, I drove to site about 40km away, the gearbox was perfect all the way there, but when I drove back, the transmission fault was back immidiately even after numerous "resets". I stopped at the battery shop and asked them to test my battery, it was at 11V and the car was too dead to crank. What?? I know the battery was weak, but it always started the car, but now after about 40min of driving, it is at 11V. Weird.

Battery duly changed, the transmission fault came back immidiately. It probably needed to relearn itself...so I reset it a few times and on the 4th try, it worked, no error at all! For the first time, I could use the tiptronic function. I stopped to activate low range (LR) and that worked perfectly as well...not allowing optimism to rush over me, I disengaged LR which disengaged, but the flashing LR light on the dash remained on, so the car is not getting feedback that the transmission is out of LR. Transmission error immidiately back when driving. I tried resetting it and activating LR a few more times but the same issue always occurred. Just when I was ready to throw myself to the drink, I thought one last try would not make me a madman. My persistence was rewarded with a LR that deactivated successfully! I tried it 4 more times and it worked perfectly. Could it be? I drove home with a fully functioning RR and opened a celebratory Friday afternoon beer.

View attachment 32690

Saturday morning I drove to the shops with a still-functioning RR. I shopped with confidence but was met with the dreaded "bing!" transmission error and a RR stuck in 4th...again! I appologise to the car guards who had the misfortune of hearing my colourful language.

I had a trip planned on Sunday to Castle Gorge and I was taking the RR, come hell or high water! I checked the voltages, alternator and ground connections, checked the gear position switch connector for corrosion but all seemed OK. A cheapie OBD scanner revealed P1709 - Transmission range sensor signal out of range.

On Sunday, we drove all the way there in limp mode even after numerous resets. I know, I probably shouldnt abuse her like this. On the way back, I started the car and was met with the dreaded but now familiar "bing!" BUT ALSO a flashing LR light! I reset the car and she drove perfectly and as my hopes were coming up, I did a spirited acceleration run which brought back our old friend, the "bing!" and its accompanying limp mode.

Monday morning she drove perfectly again... So I probably have more than one issue, but I shall start with the LR actuator which is a known weakness for intermittent transmission issues where the position feedback potentiometer wears out and returns implausible readings to the TCM, triggering a limp mode. This is especially common on cars that dont use LR often...mine by the state of the underside.

As a bit of a cautionary side note. I found a workshop who previously worked on the car. The previous owner spent R35k in 3 months with them in 2023. This was mostly for bad alternator, bad battery and an electric drain.

Questionable choice of car, great choice of beer!!!

 

[Benji]

Simply had to take this pic of "my" biggest and smallest cars parked next to each other...

 

[TBP88]

Simply had to take this pic of "my" biggest and smallest cars parked next to each other...

View attachment 32691

The most insane thing is how the Z4M is big compared to the stuff that preceeded it (90s sportscars like a 993) and the Range is small compared to the stuff after (bigger elite SUVs like bentaygas and the like)...

 

[Benji]

The most insane thing is how the Z4M is big compared to the stuff that preceeded it (90s sportscars like a 993) and the Range is small compared to the stuff after (bigger elite SUVs like bentaygas and the like)...

Yeah it is crazy, the L322 does not feel as big and wallowy as I was expecting. In fact, the most pleasantly surprising thing about L322 ownership is how well the car handles. It is very planted and has amazing turn in. It is still very comfortable, but definetely rides a bit harder than I was expecting. I had a worry that it would handle similar to a similar generation Merc ML, but this is leagues better.

I was delaying making this post just to be sure, but I think I fixed my transmission fault...for free These cars have many "common problems" one of which is the transfer case encoder which goes bad, so the car does not know if it is in low range or high range. The "encoder" is just a potentiometer that sits on the transfer case actuator which gives feedback on its position.

Raise air suspension, climb under car and remove offending actuator


It is only broken because it is suffering from a case of confused identity... Open it up to reveal the potentiometer



At this point I got a bit carried away and forgot to take pics. I cut open the potentiometer to reveal 5 little pins running on the carbon track. Here are pics I stole online. Note how the carbon gets worn away in the high range position which then sends back a noisy message to the TCU. Mine was nowhere as bad as this, which was a bit deflating. Soldier on.

Bend the pins abut 1mm over so that they are on a fresh piece of carbon track as indicated in green below

Put it all back together and view the now customary transmission error with despair. Took it for a drive and tried the "fuse 37 trick" which puts the transfer case in neutral for towing and helps the actuator recalibrate. I needed to do it a few times and, on more than one occasion, thought I was stuck in low range or stuck in neutral, but as I am learning with this gearbox, you need to do everything about 10 times before it sticks. It took longer to recalibrate than it took to actually do the fix, but I seem to have a fully functional transmission now!

One must make use of the good luck, so thought I would try contacting the previous owner of the car. He turned out to be a very nice doctor in Sandton and mentioned that he still had the parcel tray and dog net with him. So we scheduled a meeting to collect the parts and ended up chatting for close to an hour. Very nice gentleman who bought the car new and used it mainly for roadtrip purposes. In 2023, the alternator stopped working while enroute back from a Northern Cape holiday. They had to get towed from Klerksdorp and spent 20k to repair it. He then passed it on to his daughter who took it to Ballito for a holiday where it decided to eat its own waterpump. They flew an OEM BMW pump down to rescue their holiday. This is probably also where the dodgy coolant pipe repair came from - I have a replacement on order:


No mention was made of the transmission errors, but I would assume as soon as that popped up, the daughter decided to get rid of the car, and fair enough. I found an invoice for changing a light bulb... If that is the extent of your mechanical abilities, maintaining something like this is prohibitively expensive.

Very pleased with my luck, I popped into a scrapyard to find the last missing piece of my interior...the rubber boot mat.


While I was there, I also picked up these from a later model L322 to jazz up the interior just a tad.


Immidiately installed the pedals (literally a 2min job)


I have now made the very unfortunate discovery of how customizable these cars are and how easy it is to "facelift" the L322. I will avoid going down that route, but I really wouldn't mind a set of extended leather doorcards and extended wood trim and aluminum sill plates and leather dashboard and and and This is going to get expensive...

I should probably sell the Range Rover now while it still works, but I have really fallen in love with it and count myself incredibly lucky to have a fully functional, incredibly clean, low mileage, one "family" owner, nice spec L322 which cost me under 60k and has been a "dream" car for me for a while now. The fuel consumption has even come down to almost acceptable levels, hovering around 15L/100km 🥸

 

[TBP88]

Yeah it is crazy, the L322 does not feel as big and wallowy as I was expecting. In fact, the most pleasantly surprising thing about L322 ownership is how well the car handles. It is very planted and has amazing turn in. It is still very comfortable, but definetely rides a bit harder than I was expecting. I had a worry that it would handle similar to a similar generation Merc ML, but this is leagues better.

I was delaying making this post just to be sure, but I think I fixed my transmission fault...for free These cars have many "common problems" one of which is the transfer case encoder which goes bad, so the car does not know if it is in low range or high range. The "encoder" is just a potentiometer that sits on the transfer case actuator which gives feedback on its position.

Raise air suspension, climb under car and remove offending actuator
View attachment 32732

It is only broken because it is suffering from a case of confused identity... Open it up to reveal the potentiometer
View attachment 32733


At this point I got a bit carried away and forgot to take pics. I cut open the potentiometer to reveal 5 little pins running on the carbon track. Here are pics I stole online. Note how the carbon gets worn away in the high range position which then sends back a noisy message to the TCU. Mine was nowhere as bad as this, which was a bit deflating. Soldier on.

Bend the pins abut 1mm over so that they are on a fresh piece of carbon track as indicated in green below

Put it all back together and view the now customary transmission error with despair. Took it for a drive and tried the "fuse 37 trick" which puts the transfer case in neutral for towing and helps the actuator recalibrate. I needed to do it a few times and, on more than one occasion, thought I was stuck in low range or stuck in neutral, but as I am learning with this gearbox, you need to do everything about 10 times before it sticks. It took longer to recalibrate than it took to actually do the fix, but I seem to have a fully functional transmission now!

One must make use of the good luck, so thought I would try contacting the previous owner of the car. He turned out to be a very nice doctor in Sandton and mentioned that he still had the parcel tray and dog net with him. So we scheduled a meeting to collect the parts and ended up chatting for close to an hour. Very nice gentleman who bought the car new and used it mainly for roadtrip purposes. In 2023, the alternator stopped working while enroute back from a Northern Cape holiday. They had to get towed from Klerksdorp and spent 20k to repair it. He then passed it on to his daughter who took it to Ballito for a holiday where it decided to eat its own waterpump. They flew an OEM BMW pump down to rescue their holiday. This is probably also where the dodgy coolant pipe repair came from - I have a replacement on order:
View attachment 32734

No mention was made of the transmission errors, but I would assume as soon as that popped up, the daughter decided to get rid of the car, and fair enough. I found an invoice for changing a light bulb... If that is the extent of your mechanical abilities, maintaining something like this is prohibitively expensive.

Very pleased with my luck, I popped into a scrapyard to find the last missing piece of my interior...the rubber boot mat.
View attachment 32735

While I was there, I also picked up these from a later model L322 to jazz up the interior just a tad.
View attachment 32736

Immidiately installed the pedals (literally a 2min job)
View attachment 32737

I have now made the very unfortunate discovery of how customizable these cars are and how easy it is to "facelift" the L322. I will avoid going down that route, but I really wouldn't mind a set of extended leather doorcards and extended wood trim and aluminum sill plates and leather dashboard and and and This is going to get expensive...

I should probably sell the Range Rover now while it still works, but I have really fallen in love with it and count myself incredibly lucky to have a fully functional, incredibly clean, low mileage, one "family" owner, nice spec L322 which cost me under 60k and has been a "dream" car for me for a while now. The fuel consumption has even come down to almost acceptable levels, hovering around 15L/100km 🥸

AdiS needs to give you a lesson in letting go.

 

[Bugger]

I think this is you trying to convince US more than yourself...

"I will avoid going down that route, but I really wouldn't mind a set of extended leather doorcards and extended wood trim and aluminum sill plates and leather dashboard and and and"

We know what's coming, that slip in the shower is now a fully functioning addiction. We will be watching the RRA (Range Rover Anonymous) boards carefully....

On the plus side, you have a very cool truck there, I've always fancied these! My MiL has a 2011 Discovery 3.0 TDi and that thing is actually a dream to drive, so can only imagine what this must be like when operating at 100%

 

[gavsadler]

Phew! Congrats and what a read so far.

Is this the Auto-Bing-ography edition?

You are brave, brave man. My brother-in-law bought a similar one from WBC a few years back, for around R70k.

He spent R35k on one front shock and something else, then sold it back to WBC 3 months later for less than he initially bought it for

Glad you’re making remarkable, positive progress though, wishing you well on this venture.