I have Pilots on my wife's Infiniti Q50....they seem solid.

My wife is intimated by the Rover as well...although she used to drive it fairly regularly.

 

Welcome to the life of a family Rover.

Great write up. You should feel comfortable knowing we have all been there too. (as they say- the names have changed, but the story remains the same)

This all seems familiar but with one exception: My wife loved my LR3 so much that she bought an LR4 (twice actually since the first one was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey last year)

Keep the stories coming, It is a nice to read about other peoples adventures.

Jeff

 

I have a few updates and purchases, and maybe even a story to tell since I've updated last. It's been a long winter...

Very proud to say my LR started every day this winter no matter -40C. The snow is nearly gone and it's time to have some fun in the bush!

It's now been 2 years of LR ownership for me...so...Let's get to the repairs:
LR3 purchase #7 - Fan belt, main drive belt, and drive belt tensioner - I heard some squealing sound coming from my belt. I could not see anything physically wrong with belts, but had no idea when they'd last been changed. Squeal noise was getting to me, I ordered a Dayco belt kit that came with tensioner and high grade belts.
Cost = $110 CAD

Luckily, I didn't have time to replace my new belts for a week or so after they arrived. On my drive home from work one day my temperature gauge started rising my fan was loud/running hard as well. I turned on the heat full blast to combat the rising temps and got nothing but cold air. All of the sudden...click...everything started working fine. Squealing sound was even gone. Upon inspection I seen my coolant level was down and could smell some coolant burning. Water pump was leaking
Seems the water pump was starting to work intermittently since it was leaking.

Purchase # 8 - AC Delco water pump - Cost $76 CAD
Now, I could change everything all at once while it was all off. Glad I procrastinated, otherwise I may had to do 2 separate repairs of the same nature.
Look...I took a pic:

Original water pump. You can see the leaking coolant. There was also a plastic impeller in the original. The AC Delco replacement had a metal impeller.

With my father-in-laws help (he's got better tools than me) the whole operation took about 3hrs. Yes, I'm a rookie.
In the end there was nothing really wrong with my belts. I still replaced them with brand new...I mean...it was all off and I had brand new...why not? The original tensioner that was on had a squeal and a wobble, so, I'm very glad that I replaced that. The water pump was making most of the squeal noise though.
She's smooth and quiet now! I kept the belts for back up, they are still in good shape. The same belts fit the GM 3.8 apparently.
Funny part about my procrastinating the job was the cold. I didn't want to crack any of the plastic clips while removing the fan shroud/electric connectors during job. I wanted to wait till it was above freezing. Sigh....even in 6C, one plastic clip out of 3 still broke. They are 14yo plastic

Besides more windshield wiper blade replacement, fluid top-offs, bulb changes, and oil changes, which are considered regular maintenance and not what I consider vehicle cost, my Rover is running well. Oh, wait...I did also change the front differential fluids. I plan on doing the rear with my next oil change and the transfer case fluids with the following.

I'd like to say after 2 years of ownership of a well used LR3 and a document (this thread) of the money I have spent and work I have put in, in the long run (thus far) LR3 ownership has been well worth the money. Otherwise I'd just be another guy in a Ram, Sierra, or F150...or worse...I could be a jeep guy!

Bonus story time...
I just purchased 80 acres of recreational property! we're talking ATVing, Snowmobiling, and LR utility fun!. My property also abuts to 1000's of hectares of Crown Land (general use resident public land free for use) I'm going to have to start picture/video recording some great LR adventures for you all. I still have LR off-road adventure videos/pics still from past un-posted.
A hunter's paradise!

Thanks to those who enjoy my LR story or have learned anything from this about purchasing and maintaining and old LR3. I've never claimed to know anything about vehicles. This vehicle has taught me a lot.

 

agreed, glad your loving it.

Im on my 2nd Rover. 1st was an 04 D2, bought it with 85k, died at 161k with head gaskets being the only big repair. The driveshaft gremlins got me, front one snapped and punched holes on its way around. Replaced it with an LR3, bought with 82k and now at 108k with no real repairs needed. Like you just had a couple minor ones that are more "comes with age" things...1 coil pack and the thermostat housing cracked.

I've found that while not as easy as the D2 was, the LR3 is easier to work on than expected. Especially with a GAP tool

and just a friendly heads up, be careful with the transfer case plugs. the t-case is all aluminum with no sleeves for the plugs, so very easy to strip the threads. dont go wild trying to break them loose or tighten the s**t out of them putting them back

 

When I look at all these "mini" LR, RR versions nowadays ie: "All New Discovery", Evoque, etc...where did the ground clearance go? why are they so small? 3rd row passengers?
I think we should keep our D2's and LR3,4's as long as possible...dying breed of LR was meant to be...with the small luxuries.
I got a friendly Rover honk from a rare seen, in these parts, D1 the other day...I'm certain he doesn't honk at Evoque's too
I'm not the bashing type...I admit...I've never driven a mini Evoque before, nor a mini All New Discovery. I know nothing! besides they're tiny next to my LR3.

Thanks for the heads up on the T-Case. I actually don't change my own oil, because there's only a $15 dif between doing it myself and paying someone else to do it. Removing skid plates seems like a young man with air tools job My guy that did it got bonked in the noggin with a leftover rock last time. Oops...glad it wasn't me for $15. I have same guy change out all my fluids. I'll pass along your tip to him, hoping he already knows. He's good.

 

also, go Bruins! haha

 

Ouch!
I had to listen to the game on the radio at work.

 

Very refreshing and glance back at some of my early days with my LR3. I had been a long time DISCOII owner, and had vowed to never abandon the rugged off road readiness, by upgrading to an LR3.......and when I did get into my LR3, I was instantly in love. Still love my DISCO's, but glad I made the transition. Just as you experienced, I had a host of random repair moments. I attached a tracker that may help you track and stay current with your repair efforts. There are some things that you can actually get in front of, and preemptively address, instead of getting the surprise while out on the road. I have gotten in the habit of doing quarterly automotive check ups, and challenged my kids to get involved to see if they can identify anything that needs to be repaired/replaced (they get 50% matching dollars for every issue discovered).
Thank you for sharing your experience, and I hope this excel tracker is handy for you or anyone who wants to get an idea of how much they have invested over the years in their truck....Oh, and yes a GAP IID TOOL or something similar is a must have. I haven't been to a dealership in years.