The best mudders were the Ford Model A with its narrow skinny bicycle tyres and the VW Beetle, light and rear wheel drive.

For mud, the 3 would probably need those real old skinny Michelin X tyres and be locked in off road height, and even then .....

The wheel wells are small and fill too quickly with mud. Then when the air system gives out and the vehicle drops, well you do have a problem.

It is a desert machine - does not tip over, lurches slowly forward and does not dig holes.

 

I got a suspension fault! wew! Debating whether to bother with fixing it or going coils... I never offroad the thing, just drive it on crappy city streets

 

I would diagnose the EAS fault first. It could be something simple and easy. The coil kit is $1000 plus install. Oh...and you'd be taking out a major system in the LR3. It's well documented (or well argued at least) what it does to the LR3's off-road ability. I have to think that when you rip out a major system and then use a "magic orange box" to bypass much of the integration and intercept CANBUS messages going from system to system, you are just asking for downstream trouble.

 

Haven't really had the time or inclination to do much to the LR3 since slapping the new tires on and doing the heater hose relocation. However, I got out there today and spent some time doing this extensive mod down by the EAS compressor.

 

I tore into my LR3 yesterday and removed the front valve block assembly and tore it apart. I found the center valve where the needle sized hole was clogged with some goo. Wiped down all the valves, and the orings (blew air thru the whole assembly). There was a very very small coat of white powder on the o-rings. Put it all back together (found the job a breeze vs P38 EAS), let the system air up, and I was surprised when I was presented with a battery fault (found out my wife left the RR door halfway open/closed). I metered the battery with the LR3 off and had 12.6v, with the engine running I had 13.4-13.5v so I knew the alternator was doing something.

Took it for a drive and after 8 or so miles the battery light went out. It was still idling high until I turned it off/on and then the idle was back to normal. Guess the computer was awake the entire night vs every 6HR or so.

Left it in Normal Height mode (like I have been doing), and this morning it had not gone down in the front at all (like it has been doing), so I think that goo in the center valve was causing an issue. We'll see how long it last, but I do plan on getting a 60.00 kit off of Ebay from the UK with a new Hitachi piston ring, removal tool, new filters, and silica beads for the dryer assembly.

 

Nice. I did a writeup about disassembling that valve block and cleaning it somewhere on this board. The most difficult part is simply removing the stupid voss connectors/air lines. And even that's not difficult per se... just confusing the first time you do it. Glad it seems to have worked for you. As I learn more and more about these cars, maintenance of the compressor and valve blocks is something that owners really need to keep on top of to prevent major issues down the road.

 

Yeah it was really simple. I was actually impressed with how easy it was to get to even though it's tucked away good. The air lines weren't bad (used to P38 EAS fittings that you had to push/pull and you lost o-rings pretty often).

The assembly itself is very well made (once again vs P38 type stuff), and I just took my time laid it all out piece by piece cleaned and inspected it, then took the main valve block body and blew it out. I was expecting a lot of white residue, but it was very faint.

I found a 2005 LR3 in great shape the other day for 5K, but they said the EAS dropped evenly at the front. I bet you more than anything that front valve block is messed up or dirty. If I could sell one of my D2's I'd buy that sucker lol and turn it into a dedicated off roader.

I always loved the inside of the LR3's back when they first came out, but the outside styling was just so different from the D1/D2 that it took a while to get used to. Now I see an LR3 up against the LR4's and I think the LR3 looks more rugged vs the LR4 lol.

Off topic, but a funny story none the less. I was out driving it last night to see if the battery light would go out. I went into town to grab a Redbox and when I pulled out onto main street I hit the gas pretty good to get out into the middle lane. I saw a white early 04-08 Body style F150 turning out onto the road and I thought they looked at me. Well they caught up to me when I hit a red light. The man and his son rolled the window down and the father said that thing sounds pretty peppy (I had the resonator removed and replaced with straight pipe last week). He then said my son wanted to know if you wanna race? I was actually like man it must have sounded pretty good back there or something lol.

I normally don't do races in my vehicles, but it was after traffic had died down and we were the only ones at the intersection. I gave em the sign for lets do it and as soon as that light changed I was on it. I jumped about 5ft ahead off the line, shifted to second and between the shift to third I just really started to leave him lol. I never let off and after 1/2 he was dust in my rearview mirror... Just thought it was funny that I beat a 300HP 5.4L V8 F150 that weighs no where near the LR3. He spun off the line and I just took off. Gotta love AWD!

I do love how that 4.4L sounds without the resonator. I left both resonators at the tips intact I just had the turtle shell looking one removed. It's barely noticeable at idle or cruising, but if you get into it, it truly reminds me of a Jaguar F-Type.

Anyone that doesn't remove that resonator is truly missing out on a beautiful sounding little V8!!!

 

I'd love to hear a clip if possible! I like how quiet the LR3 is in general, but when I accelerate I'd like a little bit more rumble.

 

It's quiet at idle, and around town. Step on it and that dual cam V8 makes a truly lovely exhaust note. Let off the throttle and it calms back down to quiet again.

 

2006 - Have had her since she had 29K on her. We're clocking in at 205K now. She's really never let me down. Tried to have some fun with her finally. I'm sure i'm gonna get assaulted with this post; but have at it.

https://imgur.com/a/y1i3B