Happy Holidays to everybody, and thank you in advance for answering or giving me any suggestions to my problem. I have a Lan Rover Discovery SD 2004, it has 34K miles. I had no problems with the car until now. At the end of November, my truck had all gaskets in the engine replaced as per the mechanic's recomendation. They had my car for 2 weeks in the repair shop, after I picked it up I noticed a rattling sound when I started the car, it stay for less than a minute and then disapear. I took the truck back to the dealer, where they told me that it was the heat shield that needed to be changed. I picked up the car and two days later I went to turn on the car and it would not start. On my second attemp to start the engine, smoke start coming out of from underneath the emergency brake lever, so I stop. When I open the hood, the battery looked all rusty, so I ssumed it was the battery. I bought a new battery and installed it to no avail. Now I don't know what to do. My warranty expired so I can't go back to the dealer. I can't afford $98/hour for labor only, but at the same token I don't trust my local mechanics which I have no idea if they know how to deal with Landrovers at all. I don't know if anybody can recomend a certify landrover mechanic in Nassau county, NY who has his own shop. ANY ADVICE WILL BE WELCOME!

Thanks,

Jessica

 

All new gaskets at 34k seems a little ridiculous. The gaskets should have lasted at least another 100k before needing replaced. Did they say why the needed replaced so early in the vehicle's life? Were the gaskets replaced under warranty? My 97 had 111,000 on it when the head gasket just started a minor leak so I had it replaced at the same time as the water pump. I'm not trying to say the mechanic took advantage of you but something isn't quite right.

A new battery never hurts anything but wait before you buy anything else. Just throwing parts and money at it is going to get expensive and probably not fix the problem. My first thought is that your starter died but I could be way off. When you tried to start, how long did you let the starter turn? Did you turn the key and hold it for a while or just crank for a short time then release the key? The heat shield is on your starter to protect it from exhaust heat so it could be the mechanic did not reinstall the starter properly when they tightened the heat shield. Have you tried to start the vehicle again since you saw the smoke? Does the engine turn at all when you turn the key to start? If you haven't tried, that's understandable.

I am just throwing out my first thought and trying to get a little more information about the history of the car. I could be way off so don't do anything until you hear from a few others. There are guys with much more experience and knowledge of Rovers than me who will chime in but as much information about the vehicle as possible will make it easier to find the source of the problem.

 

Jessica,
PM me your tele number so I can call you, you are being taken advantage of an I may be able to help you

 

Yeah, my sentiments exactly, but when you don't know about car mechanics, what can you do? just trust your mechanic. Specially when is from the dealer shop. I was told, that even thought I didn't see visible leaks, if I didn't change them they will soon start to leak. That work was done under warranty, now I am out and Im really wary of taking it back to the dealer, where they are probably going to tell me that the problem has nothing to do with what was done with the car and charge me anyway.
Now, to answer your question when I first started the car I turn the key forward once like I always do, when it didn't work I turned the key again, but this time I kept it turn for a couple of seconds and that's when I saw smoke, so I didn't try anymore. After that I went to buy a replacement battery. Once installed I try to turn on the car again, but nothing, so that is where I am now.
Hopefully, I can get the car fix without spending a bundle.
I just got off the phone with the service department at Landrover, and they said that the heat shield they replaced was where the muffler is, and that it was no where near the starter. Bottonline, I need to take it to them to diagnost the problem, which is not an option. Thank you for your reply.

 

Sorry about that. I wasn't even thinking of a heat shield on the muffler. Like I said, I could be way off. At least if they felt it necessary to do all that work is was under warranty.

Are you getting any dash lights when you turn on the key or just nothing? Definitely talk with Disco Mike, he'll steer you in the right direction.

Tom