Hi - am looking at getting this truck with 200k KMS on it. Price is low ($3k Canadian)

There are some issues - how serious are these?

First and foremost - transmission. There is a transmission error that appears. Didn't appear in the scan I did, but basically it's on the screen on the dash. Seller says that the car will shift down, but shifting up from a light 2-3 is an issue. I suspect a rebuild, but could it be anything else.

Secondly - scanned codes include:

1. U0424-68
2. c1 A00-88
3. U0128-87

All of these are "intermittent"

So - I know that there are issues. Are any of these prohibitive enough to say "run"?

Also, when I drove it it has low coolant - I suspect that I may be from a hose top of the radiator as there was some leakage.

Biting off more than I can chew?

 

If you are prepared to work on it yourself and have the money for parts, go for it. Does the air suspension work? I have a similar transmission issue and I have been putting off buying a rebuilt and replacing it for ages, still runs okay in M/S mode. As far as the coolant thing, check the side of the reservoir for the cold fill lines. Generally if you are in range the material that once caused the sensor to float now causes it to sink, giving off a false low coolant warning. Another thing I've been putting off fixing. If you love Land Rovers and working on them, this is the vehicle for you.

 

Thanks - I think this is generally the sentiment from most LR owners who are in it for the Vehicle and know the quirks.

I was trying to ascertain the severity of the transmission issue vis a vis immediate attention vs. 6-8 months after I've saved enough

 

That could depend on a lot of things. For me only 2/3rd and sometimes 3rd into fourth is a little rough, and there will be all kinds of rev surging going on depending on where you are in acceleration/how you are driving. The worry is one day it will just go into fault mode and become almost undrivable though, so I wouldn't make this your sole means of transport.

Give it a good test drive, in varying driving situations, that's really the only way to know. As long as nothing kicks it into fault mode I'd say you might be good for a while.

 

Personally, I'd wait for another one, even if it is more $$$. Transmission uncertainty and the possibility that it was driven overheated are not things to mess with on the LR3.

 

I'm with Houm, why buy headaches you know a Land Rover is going to give them to you in the end anyways. Just starting behind the 8 ball on this one

 

I'll 3rd Houm and Army

Why buy someone else's headache.

Also, for me personally, the coolant being low is a huge red flag. That's a basic upkeep thing to fix, and not doing so could be a clue as to how well the truck was cared for. Plus as mentioned, slacking on that causes big issues with overheating, killing gaskets, etc.

 

I did some more digging and found that the code that it's throwing off is P080a - which I believe is a rear diff issue?

would this cause slipping?