Hey All,

New to owning an old Land Rover and need some support to help me not bail on this car.

Bought a 05 LR3 with a whooping 245k miles on it for $2,500 knowing it has a few issues. Found many more since I got it.

Is it worth me getting this thing fixed up or should I cut bait and start looking for a LR3 in better condition.

Below is what I know is wrong. Besides all this, I love the idea of owning a LR3.

• replace rear lower control arms
• new tires
• AC blows not very cold on left side of car, not cold at all or other. Heat blows slightly warm on right side of car, not warm at all on left side. Not sure if this is related to other issues.
• Found the passenger floor was soaking wet. I fixed the sunroof drain and spliced the corroded wires. It�s still a little wet in the pad, but not pooling. Can�t tell yet if something else is leaking also or if it�s just not drying out since it�s getting cold here.
• Front of car sags all the way down after 15 minutes with car off. Right front sits a little lower than left front sometimes also when driving. I pulled fuses and both front sides still went all the way down after 15 min. The yellow suspension light comes on after 15 minutes of driving also. Rear stays up fine overnight.
• Tonight I drove it a few miles and steam started coming out of engine bay. It did not overheat at all, but it�s also 10 degrees here. Opened hood and there was a decent amount of water on top steaming, no idea what�s going on here.

 

As far as the wet carpet goes. I had to remove the door sill trim and pull up the carpet and run a fan blowing on it for about 24 hours straight until it was fully dry. When you pull up the carpet and feel the soaked padding it seems there is no other way to get it dry other than letting air get under the padding to dry it out.

 

control arms/tires- i think is part of regular maintenance.. you need to do it even if you got a different car eventually...

carpet wet - address sunroof drain (looks like you did already).. based on the pics, your cowl looks warped (could be a possible water ingress point), It is about $100 part and is an easy DIY (from what i can tell. i ordered one and got delayed in shipment so i will be replacing mine when it gets in) and from what other members suggest, add a DIY shield/deflector to avoid leaking into the cabin air filter area and add RTV sealant...

AC/Heater issues - May be as simple as the heater core being clogged?!? not sure.. just discovered a thread a couple of days ago

suspension sagging - May be the front valve block leak or the bags themselves?

steam - could be a crack in one of the hoses?


I love mine.. and i'll try to keep it as long as i can.. good luck..

 

• replace rear lower control arms

Common every 50k or so.

• new tires

good time to switch to 18"s if you don't have them, and want better tire selection for off-road

• AC blows not very cold on left side of car, not cold at all or other. Heat blows slightly warm on right side of car, not warm at all on left side. Not sure if this is related to other issues.

try a good coolant flush by someone who knows how to eliminate all trapped air pockets
also, top up the AC refrigerant
worst case is a new heater core

• Found the passenger floor was soaking wet. I fixed the sunroof drain and spliced the corroded wires. It’s still a little wet in the pad, but not pooling. Can’t tell yet if something else is leaking also or if it’s just not drying out since it’s getting cold here.

sunroof drains, and cowl warpage as suggested
but also check your exterior A-pillar trims - there was a dealer "fix" for water leaking
if they are loose, might need new clips, and perform the fix (basically covering the lower hole with their sticker, or good tape)

• Front of car sags all the way down after 15 minutes with car off. Right front sits a little lower than left front sometimes also when driving. I pulled fuses and both front sides still went all the way down after 15 min. The yellow suspension light comes on after 15 minutes of driving also. Rear stays up fine overnight.

clean or replace front valve block AFTER you change the compressor dryer / rebuild kit - and confirm no other external leaks

• Tonight I drove it a few miles and steam started coming out of engine bay. It did not overheat at all, but it’s also 10 degrees here. Opened hood and there was a decent amount of water on top steaming, no idea what’s going on here.

could be condensation from the cold, could be a broken bleeder T valve (on top of engine, under the plastic cover)
Common problem. if broken, could be leaking out and/or allowing air into the system, causing the uneven heat issue
does your coolant level drop?
I replaced mine with a brass piece. OEM ones fail all the time.

Your list (minus the wet carpet) sounds like my list of expected issues and routine preventative maintenance and upgrades that have been handled.
Also my first Rover. Don't give up just yet haha

 

REAR lower control arms are not common to replace. Why do you think they need to be replaced, Mike?

The coolant issue is the biggest red flag to me. I'd get that looked at. If it's an easy fix and it's never been overheated, then the rest of the issues are easy.

 

[QUOTE=houm_wa;803267]REAR lower control arms are not common to replace. Why do you think they need to be replaced, Mike?

Ha - totally didn't see "rear" hidden within the rest of the words
�\_(ツ)_/�

 

you will want to replace the coolant T under the engine cover ASAP. I suspect the steam and wetness under the hood is from a crack in that.