Hi Folks,
Yet another newbie with some questions that I hope some of you can shed some light on.
I am looking for a LR D2 in the Richmond, VA area. Tonight I looked at a 2001 that has ~76000 miles on it. The owner is asking $7900, which I am not inclined to pay, but that is the way horse trading and buying cars is supposed to be.
Anyway the questions that I have will probably seem silly to the veterans, but hey I can't learn if I don't ask.
1. Do all LR's power steering reservoirs have what appears to be a small fountain of fluid swirling around in them? I hadn't seen a vehicle that does this before, but it appears to be simply fluid circulating through the system. The cap did have a damp area around it where fluid has seeped out.
2. On the firewall just under the cowling there is a seam that runs across the vehicle. There is a small amount of rust appearing there that seems unusual to me, but may be a characteristic of the trucks.
3. At some time in the past the right rear corner was bumped or hit and there is a small amount of corrosion on the seam that runs vertically just in front of the tail light assembly. It has been painted over at some point in time, but the current owner tells me that it was like that when he bought it off lease as a certified pre-owned 4 years ago.
4. Something at the right (passenger side) of the engine is growling. Sounds like a bearing going bad possibly in the alternator. Is there a know issue with anything else in that area? The owner is going to have the alternator checked tomorrow.
5. Looked under the truck, no visible signs of leakage. The driver side valve cover is seeping some oil. I understand that this is a common problem and not a biggie.
6. The owner says that he has been running mid-grade fuel and has had no problems. He says that the dealer told him that it was ok to do that. Now, I just registered tonight, but have been reading the forum for a couple of days and this could be a problem from what I have read. There was no apparent sign of pinging or any performance issues when I drove the truck. The owner leaves the transmission in sport mode to get the higher shift points, but I would probably use the regular mode. This really is a two part question. Is the mid grade a deal breaker? Is using the sport mode a common thing?
The owner has the service records and has serviced the truck regularly, but can you use the trick from the old days of mixing varsol and oil to flush out the engine. For those of you that are younger, yes it worked fine in old engines. You simply ran the engine at idle to warm up the engine then drained the oil mix, changed the filter, and put in the new oil. If you were concerned, you would change the oil again in a day or so.
The truck looks nice. There is some wear on the interior, but that is to be expected in a 7 year old truck.
Any thoughts or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Wayne

 

`Well Wayne, welcome to our humble little forum.
As for the engine flush we use transmission fluid, let it idle for 15 min, drain and change the filter and then change it again in 500 miles.
As for the power steering, yes it is supposed to be circulating like that, as long as it isint foaming you are fine. If you change the PS fluid it will feel alot better (steering response)and help the PS pump last longer.
Use premium, dont let it be a deal breaker but use it to your advantage that he was hurting the truck.
Normal mode will get you better MPG.
As for the growling, does the truck have ACE (active cornering enhancement)? Look on the PS resevoir and if it has two caps and one says ACE then you have it. Those pumps can act up and if that is the case walk away.
Also if the truck has secondary air injection the filter for that pump can get clogged and cause problems. And if that pump is bad I would walk away.
The body skins are aluminum except for the doors and the roof.
You sound like you have been doing your research, so you know about the front driveshaft then?
www.atlanticbritish.com has TONS of tech tips and you can play around looking for parts pricing and accessories.
Keep the questions comming, and remember this, there is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers.

 

Thanks Spike,

I don't think there was but one cap on the power steering fluid reservoir, but I can check it. I like the transmission fluid idea. Do you use it straight, or mix with oil?
How would I check to tell if it has secondary air injectors?
Sorry to say, I hadn't picked up on the front drive shafts. How does one check those?
Also, I saw several post about the three amigos. Haven't got a clue what that is unless it is a variation of the check engine light.
I did check to see the price of an alternator. A bit pricey, but I assume they can be rebuilt by a reputable shop. The owner thought that he could replace it for ~$150, but according to the price I saw the alternator itself in in the $225 range. It looks like something that should be simple enough to do, just getting the part.
I couldn't tell just looking under the truck, but can the oil pan be removed while in the truck? On most of the cars that I am familiar with there just isn't enough room between the pan and the frame. I thought that I saw a post on the forum about taking the pan off and cleaning it, but I may be mistaken. If it does come off easily, just the peace of mind of knowing that it is clean would be worth the hassle of doing it.
Even thought the truck was serviced a couple of hundred miles ago I am inclined to change all the fluids myself just to be on the safe side and establish a baseline for future maintenance. To me changing fluids is about the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Thanks for your help and I am sure I will think up more questions as this process goes along.

Wayne

 

I dont know anout a DII but on a DI the oil pan is fairly easy to remove.
The alternator can be had for under $200 at AutoZone.
To find out if you have secondary air look at the tech section on that address that I gave you, like I said, AB has TONS of tech tips on the home page.
Straight ATF in the crankcase. Personally I wont do it, but thats just me. I use full synthetic and it has more detergants than dino oil.
The three amigoes, just do a search on here, there is tons of info on them. BUt it is the Hill Decent Control, ABS and Traction Control lights all coming on at once. All three use the brakes and any problem with any of them and it will set the lights off. It is very common for them to come on and can be a real PIA to find the fault.
The front driveshaft comes from the factory with out grease zerks. The double cardon joint at the transfer case is close to the cats and the grease gets baked and when the double cardon fails the driveshaft flys apart and puts a fist sized hole in the side of your transmission.
It is a $300 pro-active move or a $7,000 re-active move, your call.
And a OEM alternator is $800 in case you were wondering. Its water resistant.
To replace the alternator is a 30 min DIY job.
I too change all the fluids after I buy a used car, not only to set the base line but also to set things up for my service schedule.
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a fluid hand pump, it will make it so much easier for putting the gear lube back into the transfer case and the transmission.
Also if the truck has air ride suspension that will be a problem around 100,000 miles.

 

Thanks again.
I was able to find the articles about identifying the secondary air engines. I am still cruising the sites looking for the info on the front drive shaft. The few that I have seen mention several brands of U-joints and mention of the fact that the best aren't available anymore. So, I guess that has to be bumped up on the priority list and done immediately after buying one.
If I can pull the pan, that would be the first thing to check for sludge. I agree with the thought of not flushing an engine, but I have seen some that really needed it. There again was the do it now, or do it when you are rebuilding the engine thing. I am definitely on the mindset of pro-active replacement rather than fixing it after it is broken.
As for the alternator, I have to ask exactly what the water resistant means? I have been messing with cars for a long time, but hadn't run across that one before. I had gotten the $225 from the land rover link, but now realize that is for a used one. Basically if one isn't planning on driving in water up to the alternator, do the one's from Autozone, NAPA, etc. work OK. I have always washed engines and had 4 wheel drives which have used in rain, mud, and snow without any problems with the alternator. I realize the LR's are meant to be driven in serious off road conditions, but in fact, that is most likely not what I will be doing. I will probably be on some muddy roads with puddles, the beach at the outer banks, and just generally driving around in a very rural county.
I will continue to read and be looking at the truck again next week.

Thanks again,
Wayne

 

Yes a AutoZonr alternator will work just fine, that is what I have on my truck and they come with a lifetime warrenty so even if it does go out prematurely for any reason who cares?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tQ2Tp3u_f8if I knew how to add my video to my sig I would, but this is my truck.
I too waould make the front driveshaft my first priority.