An introduction to my new LR3

OregonGX

Member
After some major lurking and research the past few weeks on a bunch of LR forums, time to introduce myself and my new truck.

As of Sunday, I closed a deal on a two-owner 2008 LR3 with 54,000 miles. The vehicle was traded into a Mercedes-Benz dealer here in Oregon and lived its life in the PNW (first in Seattle, then in Portland). After a test drive, a PPI, and some haggling, I closed the deal and brought the truck home yesterday.

The build is great - lux package, HD package, alpaca on Zermatt. Probably my perfect color combo. I've been a sucker for silver on tan since my GX470 and how cool that combo stays in the summer.

My wife and I share a commute so we recently purchased an EV for daily driving duty and this will be my weekend runabout, mountain car, and snow vehicle. (And some wheeling with the local Rover club here in Portland.)

The PPI revealed the need to do LCAs, a leaking transfer case, weepy coolant bleed valve and a few other small items: air filters, partially clogged sunroof drain, 1/2 the heated windshield is inoperational, and (oddly) a missing battery tie down (I think a shop flunky forgot it at some point).

The tilt/telescopic was also inoperational, which was a great leveraging ******** with the dealership as they were planning to have LR Portland replace the column as well as the 19'' tires - I told them to sell it to me and give me the money off ?

My plan for the truck at this point is to get to capable wheeler/reliable mountain truck via the following mods, with the most significant expense in my budget being getting all maintenance up to speed so I can feel confident taking my family over the Cascades in winter (in-laws are in Central Oregon).

  • Replace LCAs, all fluids, repair t-case, address bleed t, lift and alignment at my local indy
  • 18'' SE wheels
  • 265/65/18 AT tires (Falken Wildpeaks are currently in the lead due to price, reviews and severe snow rating. Open to suggestions and input.)
  • Winch bumper (ARB is in the lead due looks and never being able to afford one back in the day as a kid with a Jeep ZJ).
  • Winch (I have a 9,000lb Warn and 12,000 pound Milemarker. Which should I drop in? My gut says for the weight of the LR3 I need the 12K if it fits. I'm going to upgrade whatever goes in with 150' of synthetic line to save a bit of weight.)
  • Lighting (I am thinking Hella 500 LED Valuefit for the low voltage draw and somewhat compact size to preserve airflow. I think I will also run the amber guards for fog and low visibility conditions here in the PNW, as well as matching them to the factory fogs in the winch bumper with Lamin-X)
  • Lift via IIDTool
  • Rear seat protection from my toddler ?
  • Remove factory running boards

Holding off on:
  • Sliders
  • Rear bumper
  • Roof rack

Srl97fJ.jpg
 

jkatka

New member
Congrats on the new LR3. I got sliders before a bumper. The sliders act as a step and I figured I would run into roots and rocks in the mid section of the truck before I destroyed the front bumper. KO2's are a great AT tire and are winter rated. I would talk with some of the folks in PCRC there are a few nicely outfitted LR3's in the Portland location of the group and I am sure they could give you some good feedback on what has worked well for them.

Jeremy
 

perkj

Explorer
@OregonGX Great find and congrats! Like me, you were lucky enough to find a LR3 with both the HD and LUX packages. Mine is an '08 as well with both packages and just turned 60K miles though I've owned mine for a few years now and purchased it with ~36K. The leather on the LUX package is so nice compared to the regular leather. Just curious, what did you end up paying for it??
 

gbarba

New member
Congrats on your purchase – you really scored with that! It's a beauty and a great find with those packages and ultra-low mileage. ?

You're smart to do all the fluids right off the bat and I'm sure the rig and your future self will thank you for it. I just ordered the poly RRS LCAs and excited for them to show up and see how it rides. If you replace the coolant bleed T, Falconworks and several other places sell a brass replacement that's been discussed on these forums a good deal. I have one coming in the mail too.

I don't have a winch yet, but given the weight of these things fully loaded I'm looking at 12k just to be on the safe side. I got a spare 18" SE wheel from a junkyard in Albany, so it might be worth looking around locally for the rims and/or a matching spare. Before getting the swingaway rear bumper, my 265/60/18 spare fit in the stock location at 45psi, so you'll likely be able to get yours in there easily as well.

Congrats again on that beast!
 

OregonGX

Member
I got a spare 18" SE wheel from a junkyard in Albany, so it might be worth looking around locally for the rims and/or a matching spare.


There is a junker out in Gresham that has a couple LR3s that have stock 18s. I called and they want $600 for a set of four which felt a little steep seeing as I think they have some curb rash and damage from crimp on weights. However, wheels and tires will hold up LCA, lift and alignment progress so I might just run out there this weekend and grab them.
 

gbarba

New member
There is a junker out in Gresham that has a couple LR3s that have stock 18s. I called and they want $600 for a set of four which felt a little steep seeing as I think they have some curb rash and damage from crimp on weights. However, wheels and tires will hold up LCA, lift and alignment progress so I might just run out there this weekend and grab them.
FWIW, I paid $125 for a clean rim with minimal curb rash, so maybe you can talk them down a bit. Given what they run on eBay $600 isn't that bad though.
 

DCH109

Adventurer
Congrats and nice Rover.
GO with the 9K, the Warn (if not a VR model) is the better of the two winches. You can use a snatch block and double your pulling power.

The Wildpeaks are a great tire. the 265/65r18 are SL rated and you will regret that. Get the 265/60r18 they are still snowflake rated the correct XL tire and still look good. Also I have heard if the vehicle drops the the bumpstops you will have trouble with the 265/65r18.

Ever thought of a Hidden winch mount? the front and rear tow points are strong enough to use as anchor points.
Either way sliders are more valuable than the ARB in the beginning.
I have a 2007 and with the exception of the HD package the same trim as you (except I have an addition 100K on the clock). Seems to fix that heated windscreen it is a new one to be fitted. A total pisser in my opinion as it is a great feature.
 

Blaise

Well-known member
SL rating is not incorrect. It's really confusing!

An SL-rated tire has its maximum load capacity at an inflation pressure of 35 psi. XL tires can carry a heavier load when inflated to 41 psi.

That wildpeak tire (good tire btw) is a 114T tire which is rated to 2600lb/tire which is over the OE 106 rating, meets the requirements of the weight of the LR3, and as stated above the XL rating isn't needed here. It won't hurt, just not really something you necessarily need.

I can personally verify that the 265/65/18 tire does clear with an EAS failure, although not for the Wildpeaks (I run Duratrac).

I will personally suggest not lifting the truck via IIDT or otherwise for regular use. If you choose to run +25mm when on very challenging terrain I can agree there - it's nice to have the clearance. But run OE high on road.
 

gatorgrizz27

Well-known member
Congrats on finding a low mile LR3. Around here, they are all 130k+, which means at least they haven’t spent half their life sitting in the shop!

265/65r18 KO2’s will clear with zero mods, and no rubbing when sitting on the bumpstops. The spare will not fit inflated, I had to completely empty it and use soap to get it in place, but I have a ARB compressor on board.

IMO, the 9k winch is plenty for these trucks unless you’re pulling a trailer off-road. In most cases you won’t see the winching forces that a dedicated rock crawler will, and just be willing to winch before burying it to the frame rails in mud.

The Hella 500 series lights aren’t their best, I went with a pair of Rallye 4000 compacts, which are a racing quality off road light, but still haven’t had time to finish my mounting bracket. To me, amp draw is irrelevant as the engine will be running whenever they are on.

I also agree that it’s better to run stock height on the street. I was initially planning to run a 1” or so lift all the time, but after getting my tires mounted they fit and look fine at stock height. I’m 6’ and going up another inch also makes it harder to reach stuff in the back and requires sliding into the front seats rather than just stepping, which will eventually wear out the leather.

I did make a 1-1 1/4” higher setting with the IID tool, which I’ll typically run when going off road. It allows a smoother ride on dirt roads without the 30 mph governor of the factory off-road height, and gives more clearance in the off road mode, without overly stressing CV’s and still allowing plenty of down travel.
 

Blaise

Well-known member
265/65r18 KO2’s will clear with zero mods, and no rubbing when sitting on the bumpstops. The spare will not fit inflated, I had to completely empty it and use soap to get it in place, but I have a ARB compressor on board.

I'm taking back my previous statement. My Duratracs do rub at full compression (not at bumpstops, but when offroad while articulated). I haven't trimmed the rear sills for this yet. I also had to move some fender liners up front and the EAS height sensors also had to be zip-tied.

The KO2s may not require this as tire size doesn't dictate exact diameter/width.
 

Eric K

Observer
Sounds like a good buy, I had your heated windshield problem and it could just be a fuse (hopefully it's just a fuse). I believe their are two fuses for the front windshield, located under the hood (IIRC).
 

OregonGX

Member
Sounds like a good buy, I had your heated windshield problem and it could just be a fuse (hopefully it's just a fuse). I believe their are two fuses for the front windshield, located under the hood (IIRC).

I visually inspected both fuses and they weren't blown, I may just replace them and hit them with some dielectric grease to see if it's a fault.
 

Eric K

Observer
I visually inspected both fuses and they weren't blown, I may just replace them and hit them with some dielectric grease to see if it's a fault.
I had to replace several fuses in mine, and one of them looked fine but did fix a problem. I can't remember if it was the windshield or not, but I do know I replaced a good looking fuse and fixed a problem.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,541
Messages
2,875,681
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top