Hi All

I'm retired, and perhaps have a different perspective on things re the FL2 to you other contributing folk!

Engine oil, the engines "life blood" has always been close to my heart, and there is huge choice in terms of quality to choose from within the 5W-30 specified viscosity. The LR (Ford) original specification WSS-M2C913-B for the FL2 engine was a low cost product which degraded out of specification quite quickly dependent on use.

Why? This particular oil specification initially 5W-30, is designed to break down to a 5W-20 (approximately) product in order to achieve ultimate fuel economy. To make a higher quality 0W-30 product synthetic PAO oils must be used rather than mineral and hydrocracked oil blends. PAO high quality synthetic oils are highly stable with their long chain molecule formulations, so would not provide LR with attractive VED lowering fuel consumption figures, irrespective that the products lubricity and viscosity stability are light years better.

This earlier specification has now been revised to WSS-M2C914-B which I know very little about in terms of ACEA international oil specification values, and I would welcome your feedback, ideally with a JPG copy of the LR TIB. My MD customer service section seems not very helpful or perhaps just to busy. I get the LR reference but on its own that is decidedly unhelpful.

I mention all this with reference to Alex Pescaru's precise, detailed and helpful notes: Exhaust Camshaft Breakdown, dated 12/12/11.

Being an engineer, to my mind, this hugely expensive failure has as much to do with lubrication as it does with design. It is too simplistic to suggest crack propagation resulting from the lack of design radii would lead alone to catastrophic camshaft failure. The adjacent to failure camshaft driven intermediate fuel pump, is likely to be required to generate a significant pressure given the colossal 1200 plus bar final injection pressures used today on diesel engines. Engines of yore with camshaft driven diaphragm pumps had a duty to generate only a bar or so compared with todays technology. Given these assumptions the load generated on the camshaft by the intermediate fuel pump is almost certainly substantial, and probably catastrophic when used with poor quality oils and over extended (6000 miles max, I suggest) drain intervals. Add to this an older engine with its additional wear and a recipe for heartache looms large.

Alex's article gave me a shock. My vehicle is a 2007MY unit. and reading Alex's other contributions, I notice that the difference in time between my Main dealership (MD) Q106 recall and its LR Origination is 9 months. This is surely unacceptable as next Thursday my vehicle goes in for a "Lower Level Diff Repair" at 28.6 K miles. and an unwelcome bill.

I congratulate Alex on his hugely informative contributions, but all this is very disappointing news and I have reluctantly decided to immediately sell my almost "new to look at" wheels with all the pain in the neck hassle and costs that creates.

Best regards to you all. Toadshall

All,

I should of added the link for Alex Pescaru's original post - Exhaust Camshaft Breakdown which now follows:

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic10702.htm...t+camshaft

Regards Toadshall