Hi Gang - I'm posting alot, because I'm trying to do a lot. I just finished out the radiator flush yesterday. Put lift rods on today, and have been driving it around for at least the past week. Take her out tonight after the rods, and then notice coolant on the garage floor. Small puddle. The leak appears to be on the front of the engine, and then dripping below. I don't see anything up top around the thermostat housing, but I only removed the cover and used a flashlight. This is a slow drip while the car is running. My guess is a water pump replacement is in my future?

 

It's certainly possible, but you do have to accept that you're driving an aging, British-made automobile. That said, other than some water intrusion early on, and some annoying issues like the rear hatch needing a new actuator, my LR3 has always been reliable, never left me stranded, and been a good rig for the past 2+years. It has close to 160k miles. Once I get my shop heated in a month or two I plan to reward it by doing a major preventative overhaul on the steering, cooling, etc.

Ultimately it's still an older vehicle, but no reason it can't give you many years of mostly trouble-free driving. You just have to stay ahead of stuff so you can do it on your own terms, not the vehicle's.

 

Thanks for the support. I bought it knowing what I got into. I've only had it for a month, 50% of it down with me working on it. I'm doing ALL the maintenance so that when we take it it out, it won't leave us hanging. This is just another parts replacement on my journey. I already ordered the water pump and fan tools. So far, I love the vehicle. I was trying to figure out more so if it was the water pump however ...

 

If you can't readily find the leak you can use a UV dye and black light you help. But chances are once you're a little deeper in there you'll see it.

 

Definitely the water pump. I'd say the replacement difficulty was 3 or 4 out of 10. Not too bad at all.

 

Define reliable…my d2 is reliable with 260k and my lr3 is also reliable with 280k sooooo….. What that means to me: Lr3 has lean codes I haven’t fixed in a year. Also has noisey and leaking center diff. Trans has been replaced once. Air suspension issues just recently fixed.

the D2, needs a new iac valve, has random cyl 4 misfire, has all four amigos. Is clunky af when driving. (Lifted 4in) etc….

these aren’t Hondas and no matter how much you spend on it, It won’t ever be. But that LR3 engine and trans is really solid! Better than any Honda trans in fact.

 

I plan to overland it. I just don’t want it to leave me and the fam stranded on a trail. These destinations will take miles to get there. That’s really all I’m looking at. I somewhat made the post in jest as I was fixing one thing and then another would break. For example, after I fixed the water pump this past weekend, I take it lightly off roading, and now the transfer case is leaking at the front shaft, things like that. I am driving it harder than the previous old lady, so there is some amount of this to be expected, but I’m taking it all in stride. It was extremely capable off-road, which is 1/2 the reason I got it.

 

That looks more like water than coolant. A sure way to trash this engine and heater core, so I hope I am just not seeing it right.

They are pretty reliable. Generally the issues stem from not knowing that the previous owner did, if anything. You have to go over it, head to toe and fix known issues of your D3. Then you have to go over it again and replace the known issues that plague all D3s. For example at the bottom of the engine near your dripping is a $10 "8" shaped seal for the oil. Easy to replace, I think just two bolts and a sensor unplugged. Anyway, things like that are nice to sometimes just do anyway before it is a problem. Not a fan of throwing parts on things myself, but cheap and easy stuff I will.

Now, as for rods. Great way to destroy your suspension system. So I hope to plan to replace it all soon AND torque it to proper height AND get an alignment. If all your suspension bushings are old the rods, or a lift by any other means, will put them into an always twisted position and they will never rest at their home orientation. The result is they start to fail much quicker than normal. And if they are old, well it will happen quick. Not all will go, but the one taking the blunt amount of abuse will. Like the front lower arm bushings to frame and rear upper control arm bushings at frame. This is why I always say it is vital to start with a good solid baseline before modifying things. Also rods flat out suck anyway, can leave you stranded on the trail on your bump stops. They are for mall crawlers, not overlanders.

 

Mmm, think this is the second time you have suggested this now ... we're not trashing the engine so you're seeing it incorrectly, it is 50/50 OAT water/coolant my friend.

If you would be so kind, please go into more detail about why you believe that rods will destroy the suspension system. I'd like to get additional opinions beyond the countless videos I've watched of other "experts" and how they manage their rovers. Secondly, your prerogative of course, but you seem to come off as more "judgy" about this way or the highway. I'm sure that is from your decades of ownership, just, rough around the edges ... which is by all means, your entitlement. For some of the reasons you mention, it is the reason why I don't put spacers on the car due to the additional stress on the wheel bearings. Even LR Time installed wheel spacers on their LR3 for mall-crawling - and that dude seems to be about as smart as they come.

By experts: Lucky8 Off-Road (business prerogative of course), Military Mobility, Lost Cause Ranch (Rover Specialty Shop, I believe), Jay Tee

 

....rods make it such that your suspension is always in a lifted setting, thus putting added stress on the other components (think CV joints and such). Also, rods can cause the suspension to go out of range.

Do you not have a GAP tool?