Hey guys, I just bought a 2005 LR3 with 29000 miles, I LOVE IT!!! . has the v8 and air springs, everything else is just normal lr3 i think. my question is, what do i need to know? are there any known problems? what services should i be doing now or in the future?

Thanks for all the help!

Eddie

 

First, has it had the 30K, if not and you are mechanical, do it your self and stay away from the high priced dealers. Do you have the service records, how about the shop manual, if so read it cover to cover a couple of times.
Are you going to be wheeling any or is this going to be a daily driver? If you plan to hit the trails, find a Rover group that you can go with so you can learn how to drive off-road.

 

Hey Mike! Glad to see you're over in this forum also! I have no idea if it has had the 30k or not, i have no records of the maintenance, which is surprising considering I bought it from the local rover dealer. I don't have the shop manual, some directions to it would be great! I hit the local trails a couple times a year with my disco, I would like to hit the trails with this one also, but I live in Jackson MS and I cannot find any local rover clubs. I get weary driving the trails alone, I don't have any way to get myself unstuck. If anyone knows of any local rover clubs please let me know...

 

no one has any advice for me here?

 

Hey - dont regularly chk this forum. Anyway, I did same thing. 03 Disco II to an 05 LR3 HSE., mine had 31K on it when I bought it too.

Here's what I would say...

1) Water leaks water leaks water leaks. All over the forums. Two things you gotta check. #1. Take off (gently) the side windshield A pillar pieces. If there are black plastic posts on the trim piece that go thru the frame of the car to "position" the a pillar trim, BREAK THEM OFF and go to your dealer asap and get the fix kit. 05's had this problem. Its basically an adhesive patch that goes over the hole in the pillar where that post would poke thru. Water leaks in, and bad news bears cuz it leaks on the fusebox.

OTHER water leak - sunroof drain tubes. When I bought my 05, both front tubes were clogged. I fixed that easily. Cut the ends off the tubes. They are made with little pucker-ing valves that easily clog. You cut off the very tip of it so water drains more freely. But then mine was leaking again, this year. I pulled the entire headliner out of the car.This is not a job I would tackle unless you have a lot of experience w/ cars by the way and can keep things clean / precise (since it'll get dirty, etc) I was pissed. Guess what. One of my rear sunroof drain tubes was completely kinked FROM MANUFACTURE. It was screwed under a bracket so water never ever got thru it. Again, check this. Water leaks in the headliner cause rusted / corroded wiring harnesses under the passenger side door sill and first symptom is generally that your door locking goes wonky.

#2 -- air filter. Change it if its dirty. Dings you a couple MPG on mileage, its cheap and easy.

#3 -- Go to a dealer and have them pull the service / lr service history on the truck. this'll tell you if the recalls and TSBs have been done. The ones that you wanted to have addressed are the fuel tank (im sure that was done) and then some others with reprogramming software and what not. There was another recall for the "clockspring" in the steering wheel, its what makes sure the electrics in the steering wheel maintain contact in the wheel while you turn it. And most importantly, the airbag ! I am pretty darn sure this would have been done but you never know.

#4 -- Do you have rear air? If so, there is a risk that your freon lines to the rear can corrode at a couple of points. Dealers are seeing alot of this. Look under your truck on the drivers side. Do you see two silver colored metal lines near the drivers side door sills that run from front to back. The lines have foam covering on them by the way. Up near the driver wheel there is a clip. This can corrode causing holes in teh lines which cause your AC to leak out all refrigerant ! There's also another clip just forward of the rear wheel, same drill. If it looks uncorroded, its probably fine. Sometimes you have to remove the clip and look under it. This is something to watch.

#5 -- steering wheel. Is it gross "melty" and the black comes off on your hand? If so and under warranty (doubtful on an 05 now), have it replaced free. If not, do yourself a favor and pay 130 bucks from parts.com or somewhere and buy a new steering wheel. Mine was delaminnating and got black stuff on a 1500 jacket I had to wear to a wedding. It came out, but you get the idea.

#6 -- Parking brake. They suck when they start to go bad. Mine has been repaired / replaced 2x since I got the truck and its squealing and acting a ***** again. Just dont use it very much. They break easily.

Otherwise, I really encourage you to get it offroad and try out all the cool gizmos. These things are totally amazing offroad. Makes my 03 Disco pale in comparison. You would never think it by looking at the trucks !

 

#4 -- Do you have rear air? If so, there is a risk that your freon lines to the rear can corrode at a couple of points. Dealers are seeing alot of this. Look under your truck on the drivers side. Do you see two silver colored metal lines near the drivers side door sills that run from front to back. The lines have foam covering on them by the way. Up near the driver wheel there is a clip. This can corrode causing holes in teh lines which cause your AC to leak out all refrigerant ! There's also another clip just forward of the rear wheel, same drill. If it looks uncorroded, its probably fine. Sometimes you have to remove the clip and look under it. This is something to watch.


God that repair sucks. Had one so corroded the studs snapped off and had everything broke along with it.

oh and Disco Mike this is LR3 not a disco TWO. Maintenance is completely different. Most things dont' need to be replaced till after 60k which is just an air filter.

Basically every 7k its an oil change and reset maintenance light
15k is pollen filter and oil change and maintenance light, and rotate
22k is lof/ maintenance light
30k is same as 15k
37k is same as 22k and 7k
45k is 30k plus brake fluid swap
52k same as 7k
60k is 30k plug air filter
67k same as 7k
75k is 15k plus TC change and Rear diff if it has a locking differential
82k same as 7k
90k is same as 45k plus spark plugs
97k same as 7k
105 k is 15k
112k is 7k
120k is 60k
127 is 7k
135 is 15K
142 is 7k
150 is 15k plus TC, FRT AND REAR DIFF OIL, COOLANT, TRANSMISSION,

and yes I have done several 150k services on RR and LR3 and they look better then any other disco two I have seen.

 

Thank you Nash and Rovin! I was starting to think this site was dead....... I will get on the water leaks today! I dont have rear air, so I'm happy about that now, and I founf the Land Rover GTR site, signed up, thats a great site, everything you need to know about you're Rovers is there....

I'm in Jackson Mississippi, anyone else close by? I want to hit some trails, but don't want to get too far in without company...

Thanks again guys, I will let you know what I find out with those water leaks..
Eddie

 

Tires are what I've been thinking about lately. Seems like anyone not wanting to wear them prematurely rotates them every 6k miles. I'll probably do the same.