As a technician I am subject to a lot of the rules most DIYer disobey. So I have always have to be cautious and use logic first over any other reasoning.

I see the results of non maintenance and just plain bad parts. I see it on all cars regardless of manufacturer.

But sometimes I see a lot of issues caused by DIYer themselves and not the vehicle. They get in the long conversations about problems that could and could not be and how much is too much and should I do this or not.

But here is the ways I see most DIYers shoot themselves in the foot.
1. Diagnosis, listen if you don't like us throwing parts at your cars and then charging you then why the hell do you do it to yourselves? Case in point, LR3 Air suspension lights, they come on all the time and only a few have actually purchased the diagnostic equipment to diagnose their problems. Most just start with some height sensor and a compressor. And then be moan how expensive an LR3 is to run. Reality is, they are too scared or too cheap to go to a dealer or independant to get diagnosis. Heaven forbid they want to spend six hundred bucks on a hawkeye. That sounds expensive to most cause their ten dollar autozone one never fails, except its not a CEL light.

2. Bulletins, bulletins are not diagnosis and they are not the cure all. But they can help you in the right direction and lead you to a fix. Most have no idea about bulletins but at the same time in the world of pirates no one wants to pay the money for a subscription to any manufacturer or alldata for bulletins.

3. These vehicles are not easy to work on, and they are not easy to maintain. You need to first learn about your vehicle. This gets back to bulletins and info provided by the manufacturer. You will happy to know Rover puts training manuals on some of their sites depending on the vehicle. If you can't get that, read the owners manual and the workshop books, You will find they can educate you more then this website or even a technician like me.

4. Listen techs see what works and what doesn't. If we use the same coolant and oil in our own vehicles that we put in yours then trust me these long and winded conversations by so called internet experts means nothing. Save your time on reading about your vehicle not about endless arguements about what oil is best. That is what the owners manual is for.

5. Noises, mean nothing. We are all deaf. Sorry but its true. Unless you post an HD video of a noise with video then maybe we might be able to help you. and if a light comes on the dash, doesn't mean we can tell you the problem if its just a light. Unless its the oil pressure light or the battery light.

6. Aftermarket crap, listen unless its approved by LR, which some things are like BG products, winch bars, and winches, then most are useless designed to make you think it works and more importantly make you think its working. Case it point. KN air filters cause more check engine lights and lack of power then they actually improve power. Its a gimmick. Listen cars are designed by hundreds of engineers who design and test. Aftermarket car guys design on a shoe string budget and don't care what happens. So when you raise your truck two inches and add those extra big mud tires, don't blame me for all the noises and the bad suspension parts that get damaged. Its called engineering, the company that sold you the thousand dollar kit doesn't care if your ball joints wear out in a week or your driveshaft can't handle it. just buy more parts. Till you can't even drive the vehicle on the road.

Finally, these vehicles were built for the roughest terrains. They are used all over africa and the other continents. If they are used without lift kits,oversized mud tires, and a lot of other stuff then its a fair bet you don't need all that stuff to offroad drive. You just need to learn the vehicle. That is what the LR experience schools are for. If you want to be like the Jeep guys who are basically in a pissing contest with each other then you will find that your LR can go the same places that they can go and you can still ride home in comfort.

 

I AM WITH YOU!!!
Why do I need to replace my springs when they are not broken?
Why do people insist on rebuilding their fuel pump when the failure rate of this repair is over 50%?
Why do they go cheap and use universal sensors and then wonder why it does not run right?
Or not run premium gas even though it is required?
Why do they need to "modify my Best 4x4xfar" so it can go to the mall when it can drive around the world right off the factory floor?
These are the same people who spend $100 on a Royal Purple oil and $15 for a overpriced oil filter.
Then spend $120 on gear lube and then bitch when they have to drain it out 3 months later because it got water in it.
They spend $600 on premium brake pads and rotors and modify the air intake to improve MPG after they added a roof rack and 1,000lbs of gear and oversized tires and to cold of a thermostat.
Then the first sign of trouble they sell it because "it's just to expensive to drive and maintain, I love it but it has to go, I'm buying a Toyota"
I love my dog but I dont want to sell her everytime she poops in the yard.

 

How did you arrive at this figure? After 5 years, mine is still working.

 

I agree with you on the last one especially. Never understood why guys go the Jeep route with these things. Ditching all the luxuries, pulling out the carpet, bolting a whole hoard of useless crap to the exterior. These things in stock form on street tires will outperform almost any 4x4 you see on the road. If you want something as uncomfortable and useless as a Jeep, go buy one.

 

I have offroaded three stock rovers. They do great! If you don't mind all the brilliantly designed plastic bits falling off due to clearance issues front and rear. They are the best. 4x4xFar, I honestly believe that. They are not bulletproof however. My aftermarket bumpers have outperformed the stock plastic by leaps and bounds. Sure my $600 terrafirma +2" lift wasn't a stock replacement but it was needed. Yes I need to replace a ball joint but my truck has 140k miles on it. Not bad for a stock part to make it 100k on stock suspension and 40k on a lift.

I think the moral is know your vehicle in and out and its performance capabilities on and offroad before you begin to modify the stock design to fit your needs.

 

And don't believe every ad you read or see - think the truck in this pix is really needs that winch to pull itself out of that 2 inch of muddy water?

 

Man when i started to read this post i said these guys talk a whole lot of good common sense will be looking out for more of what you have to say in future

 

I don't know, I'm still trying to figure out what a "synthetic winch" is.

 

I am only going by what is posted here on the forum Tom.
Over half of the people who try this seem to fail at the repair.
I am not talking about it failing after "X" number of years, I am talking about they do the repair and then spend the next 2 weeks trying to figure out what they did wrong because their truck will not start or if it does it will not run faster than idle speed.

 

Ah, ok. Well, that sounds like to me that the pump wasn't really the problem, or that they weren't careful on the replacement work. Neither is a reflection on the actual viability of replacing a pump.