• the lower control arms/bushings (hard acceleration/braking?)
• Ive seen fuel rail/injector and roof drain clogs, but I can’t really check those. Look under the carpeting at the doorsill?
• Front and rear bearings/hubs?
• How to check airbags for small leaks/soon to be leaks?

 

for the bushings, drive with the windows down. when you go over a bump, listen for any banging or clunks from underneath.

for the airbags, there's a couple things to do.

1. note how its sitting when you walk up to it. is 1 side lower? does it look low overall? should see roughly the same space between the tires and fender as on most cars.

2. put it in extended mode (push the button on the center console up). leave it there while your doing all of your other inspections and see if it droops at all.

3. when you 1st start it up, listen for how long the air pump runs. more than a minute is too long. also pay attention to see if you feel any of the corners rise up on start.

for the drains, check the carpets. feel for any moisture and look for any staining from previous wetness

hubs are like on any other car, listen for a grinding sound or metal on metal type of sound. and you may feel a vibration in the pedals


also, either way I'd suggest you do the following to it when you get it:

- fluid change on the front diff, transfer case, rear diff...can be done in the driveway, cost ~$75 in fluids and an hour or 2 of time.

- fluid change on the transmission and upgraded pan. kind of a pain to do at home, but not tough for a mechanic. $400-$1000 but more than worth it in piece of mind. especially if the fluid in there now has never been touched.

 

Thanks blackngold.

So with feeling for the vehicle to rise up unevenly if the front driver side seems to go up first youd suspect the rear passenger bag has a problem?
Also I can't really find a service interval for the LCAs. People seem to have to swap them out at 60-70k miles. Does that mean at 120-140 they should/would need to be done again? Or did Land Rover improve the control arms to make that less of an issue?

 

realistically you could feel some small adjustment from a specific corner. thats not a really a concern though, more just everthing getting leveled out.

With the air bags 9 times out of 10 you'll see a noticeable sag at the corner when they have an issue. As long as the truck isn't noticeably uneven, I wouldnt worry about them.

 

Cool thanks. Just got the carfax service history sent over too, shows the lower control arm bushings replaced at 70k, and the sway bar bushings, lower ball joints, and stabilizer bar bushings replaced at 83k. Nothing about the actual control arms themselves, which from what I understand is just easier and more cost effective anyway but would you be concerned about the control arms needing replacement soon at this point since its been 60k miles since the bushings have been done?

 

abran can answer that one better than I can.

But overall, it would depend on the quality of the new bushings they used. I would think they could need changing soon, but soon being around a year from now (10-20k miles from now)

 

I could probably live with that if they're solid right now, as long as I don't have to do anything major over the first winter.

 

Its hard to say on Bushings.

It all depends on braking style, offroad, onroad, etc.

Ive seen an LR3 with over 110K miles that still had good bushings. Needless to say the driver was frugal with the gas pedal.

 

Arms dont have to be replaced its just more economical to replace a complete unit rather than remove the arm then fit new bushes and ball joint, a LR indy garage is likely to have the equipment to do this so its not an issue.
I'd be more concerned at the engine and trans condition as everything else is a wear item.