Early L322 vs later. Any good?

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Henrik97

Active Member
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301
Hi all,
I'm currently on a '97 P38 4.6 and I'm getting itchy to replace it with an L322. There is a vast price difference here between the early BMW-engined versions and the later Jag powered ones. Does anyone have a shortlist of improvements between for instance a 2004 4.4 and a 2006 S/C, apart from the engine?

On diesels, which one is the best (disregarding the V8 and anything post 2007)? There seems to be 2.9's, 3.0's, 2.7's - straight 6 and V6 versions. Do any of them provide "enough" power?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Henrik
Norway
 
2006 onwards are meant to have the better electronics and gearboxes as compared to the early models

Although is say the later v8 diesel is better than the td6 if you want more power

If you don't want to race around, then the TD6 Is very reliable and pretty good on fuel

What's your budget ?
 
Thanks guys,
I'm in Norway, where second hand prices are vastly different to the UK. I am in earnest a petrol-geek, but there is no doubt that diesel makes a lot more sense. However, if we disregard the (too expensive) TDV8, they seem (on paper) a bit too sluggish for me. I'd want one that would at least be able to keep up with my P38, and I can't see that happening with only 180-ish bhp in a car that's even heavier than the P38. Does the BMW TDI engine respond well to chip-tuning?

Looking at the second hand cars available in Norway right now, there seems to be some confusion on behalf of the sellers. I can find two 2004 cars listed as TDV6's, but from what I can tell, a V6 diesel engine was never offered in the L322. So are all diesel L322's either V8s or BMW straight 6?

How does the non-supercharged Jag V8 powered version hold up? I'd probably struggle to find one, but if I could - is it a proper improvement over the BMW 4.4 engine? To me, this appears on paper to be the best buy here, because I'm thinking it would be a better drive than the 6-cylinder diesels and probably no more expensive. The supercharged cars are still a wee bit too pricey, even if they have lost about 80% of their value since 2006...

The BMW V8 - is it any better than the Rover V8? There seems to be a lot of coolant leaks, hot running and other problems described.

I know it will go wrong, whichever model I choose, but I've grown a thick skin from P38 ownership...

Henrik
 
Henrik97 said:
How does the non-supercharged Jag V8 powered version hold up? I'd probably struggle to find one, but if I could - is it a proper improvement over the BMW 4.4 engine? To me, this appears on paper to be the best buy here, because I'm thinking it would be a better drive than the 6-cylinder diesels and probably no more expensive. The supercharged cars are still a wee bit too pricey, even if they have lost about 80% of their value since 2006...

The BMW V8 - is it any better than the Rover V8? There seems to be a lot of coolant leaks, hot running and other problems described.
Click to expand...

The only people who can really give an informed opinion are those that have lived or work with more than one of the L322 variants. :)

The BMW engines have a longer history and there are no doubt more of them about so more problems will be reported. That doesn't make it a worse or better engine. though.

I have a BMW V8 and it has had cooling issues but they seem to be 'well known', which I think is a good thing from a repair point of view. Here is a thread for high mileage M62 engines:

E39/M62 engine life, high mile record? - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

The BMW support network is, I am finding, rather vast!

I know very little of the Jag engine however I do know it can not be used for LPG as it does not have hardened valve seats - this may be irrelevant to you.

It also has a fibre optic network for component communication instead of a copper wire based one - I don't know if that is good or bad, ref:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_Rover_(L322)

Personally I don't think there is going to be a definitive answer to your question but whatever route you do down, change the liquids more often than the servicing manual demands, especially the transmission oil whatever the model.

Charlie
 
Last edited:
Henrik97 said:
Thanks guys,
I'm in Norway, where second hand prices are vastly different to the UK. I am in earnest a petrol-geek, but there is no doubt that diesel makes a lot more sense. However, if we disregard the (too expensive) TDV8, they seem (on paper) a bit too sluggish for me. I'd want one that would at least be able to keep up with my P38, and I can't see that happening with only 180-ish bhp in a car that's even heavier than the P38. Does the BMW TDI engine respond well to chip-tuning?

Looking at the second hand cars available in Norway right now, there seems to be some confusion on behalf of the sellers. I can find two 2004 cars listed as TDV6's, but from what I can tell, a V6 diesel engine was never offered in the L322. So are all diesel L322's either V8s or BMW straight 6?
How does the non-supercharged Jag V8 powered version hold up? I'd probably struggle to find one, but if I could - is it a proper improvement over the BMW 4.4 engine? To me, this appears on paper to be the best buy here, because I'm thinking it would be a better drive than the 6-cylinder diesels and probably no more expensive. The supercharged cars are still a wee bit too pricey, even if they have lost about 80% of their value since 2006...

The BMW V8 - is it any better than the Rover V8? There seems to be a lot of coolant leaks, hot running and other problems described.

I know it will go wrong, whichever model I choose, but I've grown a thick skin from P38 ownership...

Henrik
Click to expand...
The M57 in the L322 is considerably quicker than the M51 in the P38.
Remap at your peril as the GM gearbox is made of cream cheese.
Little direct experience of the AJ Jag engine (made by Ford) but they are not trouble free especially the early ones.
 
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