Thermostat housing and bleeder T are the two biggest things

All of my LR3's are over 170k

 

I have a few notes. I worked at an indy shop for a few years and we did about 15 PPIs a week. Here's what we did (at half the cost of the local JLR dealer btw)
1. Test Drive- bumps, rattles, alignment, vibration etc
2. Full vehicle scan with printout- all modules for obvious reasons
3. Lift and check pull the heatshields etc. Most common items have been discussed but the ones we typically looked for because they almost always went bad:

i Hood and Lift gate struts- They're not a big deal but it's annoying. And even the cheap aftermarket ones that last like a year are almost 35$ per set so even these are getting pricey

ii coolant tank- low coolant message but coolant level good? Can't just do a sensor. Whole tank. And if it's a new tank make sure it's put in correctly. Shops somehow fail to get the front notch in and it sits funny and vibrates breaking the new sensors

iii cooling system- thermostat approx every 100k. Plastic housing metal engine. Bleeder valves honestly are useless. Get a metal connector or just plan on replacing that every couple of years (we would write the dates on ours when we did them) radiators occasionally but very rarely and only in cases of overheating

iv Trans pan/connector sleeve- now for the fun stuff. Realistically 100k on the trans service. Filter is part if the pan unless you want to upgrade to a metal one. Labor intensive in that you have to drop the RH downpipe and disconnect the mounts to jack up the trans high enough to clear the pickup tube above the cross member that DOESNT unbolt (thank you LR) and may god have mercy on your soul if you have an 05 with those soft brass T15 pan screws or a bolt breaks off in the manifold. So provided you get all that done do the sleeve as well (like 10$ from LR) for the electrical connector too because if that isn't leaking it will and the only way to get the clip for it is to have the pan off. Be forewarned with labor and the 8-9 qts of ZF6 fluid with the replacement pan (integrated with filter) this is almost 1000$

v Drivetrain- the 4.4.engine is relatively stout and if maintained does not have a lot of issues. Plenty of theses with nearing 300k now. The transmissions are also relatively stout although due to cheap accounting practices the did not lubricate the output shafts coffectly going into the transfer cases so sometimes the teeth turn to rust dust and the vehicle will not move and it will sound like you're smashing gears of you try to shift. But that seems to be more prevalent on the full size Range Rovers. Transfer cases do go bad used ones are plentiful and new ones are pricy. Also not a fun job for a DIYer as the bolts actually go from front to back on the transfer case so a 13mm torque adapter is a must. Differentials are generally good since the update on the F diffs. I don't think I ever did a non locking R diff

vi Steering and suspension
. A Suspension- you know what's neat? Spring conversions. Or finding one that didn't have air suspension from the factory but good luck with that. I have seen exactly one and I think it was a Canadian car (km/h on speedo). That being said. This is where the full vehicle scan is clutch. The compressor and the valve bodies are generally where the LR3 have problems. I think I did 2 front air struts and no rear ones. The key thing here is to make sure it doesn't have the modified air compressor because when I had gotten hurt and stopped working on cars they were starting to not make those anymore because they had gone back to the old style but now there's a bunch of these running around woth the modified one which normally wouldn't be an issue but you had to modify the air lines as well. You can do a quick check yourself by looking for an inline green and white valve on one of the lines. Control arms are always going out on the nearly 4 ton trucks. Easiest way to check those is slow roll (2-5mph) and jab the brakes. If you hear a clunk you need new junk. If you're doing those get the bolts too. The notches for the eccentrics can round off and then you can't align it. Not that many issues woth the uppers. Replaced a few sets for customers that wanted them. Ditto for sway bar links. F wheel hubs go out pretty frequently. The grinding noise should be a pretty easy diagnostic as will the inch of wheel play. About 500$ a side. Rear bearings are awful. They have to be pressed in and it is not fun
.

 

B Steering- leaks are few and far between and I've never done a PS pump. Racks are usually OK. Inner tie rods are a weak point and do need to be done on occasion (DIYer beware as there are no flats on the inner tie rod so a tool will need to be purchased). I have seen a few where the steering shaft binds up but that's only been like 3. The other thing I dont think I mentioned is the suspension thing are the R sway bar bushings. They'll make a clunking over speed bumps when the back tired go over them

vi Air Conditioning- primary issue here is gonna be your compressor. The clutches have a tendency to just fall off. Make sure you do the valves every time the AC is serviced because they will seal exactly once. This is another one that is pricey. Last I remember our cost on the OE compressor (Denso) was over 800$

vii Emergency Brake- the Achilles heel of these trucks. And the bane of any LR mechanics existence. The shoes will delaminate and torch your rear rotors. It will smell like a caliper is locked up. Parts and labor on that is about 500$ but at that point you're halfway to doin the module too. So add another 1000 bucks and you're golden

viii Sunroof Drains. Front sunroof drains are viewed as a minor nuisance in most cars. Not an LR3. The passenger one if leaking will drip directly onto the CJB which can create all sorts of problems. I've seen so much stupid stuff. As a result of mine not being fixed prior to my ownership the horn doesn't work woth the steering buttons and the rear blower doesn't work at all. So make sure those work

ix Brakes and tires- these are heavy trucks. Non turntable rotors (metals too soft) so you will need brakes pretty frequently. We did rotors every other time we changed thr pads and that seemed to work fine. And everytime you do the pads remember your 40$ sensor as well. Tires in general are not cheap. The tires we had the best luck with were the Contis, BFGs, and Michelins but they always seem to wear the inner like inch of the tire much faster than the rest of it. And I promise I aligned it. Like 9 times

So that's my 2 cents. Sorry it's in two posts. It wouldn't let me post all that in one

 

Do you have more insight into this? When was the update or how can you tell it's the updated version? Thanks, great stuff.

 

it was a modified breather hose. The earlier models, thru 9/06 production date, (ballpark don't remember exactly) have one that didn't ventilate at hwy speed properly. Bubbles in fluid created excessive pinion wear which led to premature failure. Most of then have been fixed

 

Ah yes. Mine is 5/06 and replaced when I bought it with 86k. It depressurized when I cut the tube. Hopefully caught it in time. Thanks.

 

You would definitely know if you hadn't. 86k you are plenty safe more than likely. If it was bad it would sound like am angry Walrus every time you turned at low speed

 

I'm looking at a 2008 LR3 SE and was about to ask what to look for besides a PPI, thanks all for these lists! The LR has less than 50k...anything to add?