Paddi wrote:

Observe all the usual precautions such as using the correct oil and OE filter and changing them more often than LR recommend. Plus all the other precautions you can find on any specialist turbo website: wait for the oil to get round before you move off, don't use hard acceleration until the engine is warm, never just switch off after you've been towing or running at high speeds - drive the last few miles to your destination like Miss Daisy and then let it idle for a couple of minutes before shutting off, use an OE air filter and be wary about fitting free flowing exhausts.

Think we can add an extra precaution for diesel variable vane turbos with EGR - and that's try to avoid short runs and always use the super premium fuels like BP Ultimate or Shell nitro and possibly even use a fuel additive like Millers or two-stroke oil. There is a growing body of evidence that short runs and cheap fuels leads to a massive build-up of carbon deposits internally on the variable vane mechanism which eventually jams so the turbo over or under boosts depending which mode it is stuck in. There is some evidence that using better fuel and additives cleans up the engine and turbo. So get out there with a full tank of expensive fuel and additives and give it a good workout at regular intervals.

jack.bauer wrote:

ive had mine for a couple of months, given the problems ive seen so far, which all point to previous owners not being careful with maintenance, im wondering if it's worth having my turbos inspected for any signs of obvious "damage in development stage". obviously the downside is of turning up at the mechanic's and asking "can you check if my turbos are in need to a pre-emptive repair" is that he'll already be thinking of the route he's going to take to the bank laughing with my money.

Very good question and probably one that a lot of worried TDV8 owners have wondered about.

Unfortunately there isn't much that can easily be done apart from maybe cleaning and lubricating the actuating arms and having the fault codes read with a decent tool that can pick up Land Rover specific codes.

The problem seems to be that (unless someone can tell us differently!) the turbos can't be removed or inspected without first removing the body from the chassis. A seven or 10 hour job; depending who you talk to. So not really a good economic proposition.

Of course if the body has to come off for some other reason then there might be a case for inspecting and cleaning/or replacing the turbo oil feed pipes to clear any partial blockage or collapsing flexible sections. You could also perhaps remove the turbos and clean them with a special cleaning system from Innotec: http://innotecturboclean.co.uk/ . The system is said to be good for removing carbon deposits from the variable vane geometry turbos like the TDV8's. But you'd want to be sure the turbos are re-installed properly.

Simply observing all the usual 'turbo-preserving' advice available might just mean you won't have problems - unless you are one of the unlucky ones. 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

Hi guys,

I am getting my 2007 TDV8 this week.
It has 79.000 km on the clock, and seems to be in good shape.
My plan was to remap it as soon as I got it, but now I am not sure anymore.
I have not been able to find a tread that points out if the problems With the TDV8 are related to remap or not.
What do you guys think, is the remap relevant to the problems or not?

Best regards from Norway

I have owned 2 TDV6 cars (albeit D3s) and both were remapped. I have just bought my first TDV8 and in standard trim it is more than a match for the remapped V6 .So I am planning on getting it remapped ASAP . As for MPG, i dont find a big difference between the V6 and V8 (got 26-28 average with the V6s and am getting 24-27 upto now with the standard v8 ) but the extra grunt and noise make up for the missing mpg

From what i can tell there doesn't seem to be a pattern to breakdowns, just bad individual cars? Guess it just depends how lucky you are. I have covered well over 250000 miles in my 2 TDV6s and my TDV8 and (touch wood) upto now have had no major problems

A friend of mine has a low miles (36k) supercharged RRS and that has just s**t itself spectacularly after a long list of problems

Dont let the tinternet put you off with reports of breakages, because as has been said before- People wont come on a forum to ask for advice if there is nothing wrong, only when it goes t*ts up!
Out of all the RRS out there i dont think they are a problem car. If you go on any make car forum it will be 90% breakdowns and failures
Paul

my 2007 TDV8 has done 105K miles, has a remap and is still going strong, all services done on time etc. maybe tempting fate bit hey ho, cars are cars ......

Paul, I i think you have a point. It is the worst stories that gets the attention.
I acutally have a D3 TDV6 also myself and I am considering remapping it as well
You have to apologise my poor English; Do you mean that the TDV8 is faster than the remapped TDV6 or not?
A colleague of mine bought a SC in 2005 when it came. The car was a pure nightmare full of faults...
And the car was serviced and by no means tuned or anything like that.

Rosc, for how long (many miles) have you had the remap installed by now?

Br,

Stugaard

Stugaard, remap was done at 95K miles, big difference, all servicing done on time before and since, I am a sympathetic driver, wait till up to temp before using power etc. Have had a FF TD6 for 8 years and this is night and day, very enjoyable drive, I think as mentioned before, only issues get onto the forum

once you drive the tdv8 you wont want a tdv6, i drive a fair few off them in my job and they are no where near a match for the tdv8

Stugaard wrote:

Do you mean that the TDV8 is faster than the remapped TDV6 or not?
Stugaard

Oh yes, my TDV8 is considerably quicker than either of my remapped D3s (both of which were far quicker than standard cars!) so i cannot wait to see what the TDV8 is like after a remap
Paul

my tdv8 is mapped and its got loads off grunt

cool, can see the remap coming sooner rather than later

Picking up our TDV8 tomorrow afternoon, it's getting a remap 9am tomorrow morning

Let us know your views

Car goes like a rocket, a lad in his D4 fancied his chances near Harrogate, no chance we have quite a few hills around here, and the car just doesn't seem to notice almost like driving on the flat...

Love it !!!