Anyone have a high mileage LR3?

kbahus

Adventurer
I am starting to see some with 200k on the clock for dirt cheap. Does anyone have any experience with one of these rigs beyond 150k? What has failed beyond the normal LR3 problems like control arms, water intrusion, air suspension parts, etc? :coffeedrink:
 

GregInMI

New member
I have a 2006 LR3 V8 HSE. I have been quite pleased to get to this mileage with only the normal lr3 issues.

Front lower controls arms have been changed
Right Front wheel bearing changed
Front tie rods replaced
Thermostat changed
Rear ball joints and toe links changed
Brakes replaced 3 times
Lift gate external release handle/button changed
Tailgate power latch replaced
Recently replaced the air compressor

The truck now needs rear upper and lower control arms and the engine thermostat housing assembly.

Now that I have listed it all, maybe I'm not quite as happy with it. I guess if you assume the suspension arm replacements and a compressor are the cost of entry on an older LR3, the res to the list isn't bad for 150k.

This truck is always garaged and is really the wife's carpool ride and grocery getter, so it isn't getting a tough workout.

I still love it.

Greg
 

DiscoDavis

Explorer
Not me but when I blew a tire out in Elko NV (lots of mining out there) a guy getting tires on his truck that day who worked on a mine site had an 06 like mine but with 250k on the clock. He loved his so he might have been a tiny bit easier on it BUT he said the only thing he ever had to do beyond the service intervals was replace a compressor. Big wow hearing that.
 

NCLRbear

Adventurer
I have a 2006 LR3 V8 HSE. I have been quite pleased to get to this mileage with only the normal lr3 issues.

Front lower controls arms have been changed
Right Front wheel bearing changed
Front tie rods replaced
Thermostat changed
Rear ball joints and toe links changed
Brakes replaced 3 times
Lift gate external release handle/button changed
Tailgate power latch replaced
Recently replaced the air compressor

The truck now needs rear upper and lower control arms and the engine thermostat housing assembly.

Now that I have listed it all, maybe I'm not quite as happy with it. I guess if you assume the suspension arm replacements and a compressor are the cost of entry on an older LR3, the res to the list isn't bad for 150k.

This truck is always garaged and is really the wife's carpool ride and grocery getter, so it isn't getting a tough workout.

I still love it.

Greg
I have a '06 with 182k miles on the clock. Its ran pretty well over the years. Right now my locking rear diff is starting to go out. I'm going to try and and just replace the bearings but we'll see... I've replaced the following.
Front wheel bearings changed
Brakes replaced a couple times
Lift gate external release handle/button changed
Recently replaced the air compressor
ride height sensors.
water intrusion from blocked sun roof drains
Alpine glass is cracked right now.
new radiator
AC compressor
coolant manifold (plastic)
 

unseenone

Explorer
152,000 miles on the clock here. So far so good. All the usual stuff. In the queue, radiator should be replaced, AC pump should be replaced, Alternator still working, but would like to replace as a preventative.

Stuff done, complete new struts, upper lower control arms, all bushings, drive shaft, diffs (mine). Did the engine intake seals, VVT seals, oil fill, water pump and new hoses recently. I've done a lot of the stuff listed by others as well, such as brake light switch, tranny metal pan, lift gate, roof glass, windshield, coolant manifold (three times), batteries many times (now using Deka). and so on. I also recently replaced all the 02 sensors. The drivers side front was seized, and needed to be re-tapped.

Lots of add on gear, winch, rack, sliders, etc. Did a road trip yesterday, was going 14.4 mpg highway at 70-75, happy with that.
 

A.J.M

Explorer
146k on mine.

All wish bones changed, 4 arbs, drop links, steering inner arms ans track rod ends, rear propshaft, compressor, starter motor, ac condenser, 2 cv joints due to split rubbers and the suspension compressor.
Had the rear brake pipes changed as they corrode in our horrible climate, both back callipers have been changed and so has a front. I used that excuse to upgrade.

It will need the gearbox rebuilt as the torque converter is dying and the gear change is slurred. I'll get new injectors at similar time. Later in the year I'll be changing the air struts for new ones.

A lot is wear and tear of a life of hard use, it doesn't get an easy life and with the terrible roads and the road salt we spray down for months of the year it really takes its toll on the car.

It's only failed to get me home once due to a failed cv joint that I didn't want to drive on. I could have but I played it safe.

In the uk we are still stuck with the BL legacy of cars being fit for the scrap yard by 100k so they tend to not get looked after as they age as the values are so low and people don't care about them.
 

kbahus

Adventurer
Thanks for the responses thus far, it is starting to give me a more clear picture of what needs attention.

A.J.M, question for you since you have experience with corrosion, how has the truck held up aside from rusty brakes and suspension components? Have you noticed any rust on the body or frame? I live in salt belt here in the states, so corrosion resistance is pretty high on my list.

For the others, how does the alpine glass crack? What do you do about aside from replacing with a new piece of glass (I am sure big bucks).
 

A.J.M

Explorer
Both frame and body on mine has minimal surface rust showing.
The frame is very strong and unlike the D1/2 they don't rot away in front of you.

To keep it good, mine will at the end of summer be going in to get stripped down, arch liners etc removed and dinitrol applied to seal it once the surface rust has been rubbed down. This should cost me about £600-750 roughly. It will protect the car for years to come though.

Suspension wise, the rust just seized the bolts in place. The arms had surface rust but were solid and strong.
The front lowers, rear uppers and rear uppers were all cut out as the bolts wouldn't loosen.

I had brand new arms and parts with new bolts nuts and washers etc all waiting in their nice new Land Rover stamped bags ready to go on. I walked into my local dealer with the list and asked what's the best discount he could do for the parts.
 

ColoDisco

Explorer
I bought my 05 for $8200 in November last year with 152k and have already passed 156k. I am also a LR tech at a dealer. On my personal truck I have replaced both front wheel bearings, RR wheel bearing, brakes all around, tie rods and outer tie rod ends, rear sway bar bushings, serviced all three diffs. Working on replacing all bulbs with led. What still amazes me about these trucks is how little they leak.

Common failures I repair as a tech:
Thermostat/ thermostat housing, water pump (get the factory original pump, after markets use paper gaskets that leak), control arms (due to worn rear bushings and worn ball joints), tie rods/ends, front sunroof drains, wire splice repairs due to corrosion caused by sunroof drains, front and rear diffs due to bearing wear caused by paint peel inside the diff (easy to spot, if the paint is peeling on the outside of the diff its peeling inside), cats (go bad anywhere north of 130k but not as common). If I think of anything else I will add on.

As for rust my truck started life in Ohio for 17k and then moved to Texas where I bought it and moved it to Colorado. I have surface rust all over the underside but it has not really caused any issues.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Yeah I've heard of 200k+ trucks out there. Just keep up on maintenance. Wear items REALLY wear out as mentioned before.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive a sorted, high mileage LR3 (especially now that gas is cheap).
 

kbahus

Adventurer
Interesting tidbit about the paint on the differential, thank you and certainly something to look for. When did they resolve the differential issues? So far everyone I have contacted via craigslist can provide literally zero service history and state they have only done oil changes. I am certain getting a truck like that in proper order would take a long list of parts and time.
 

DiscoDavis

Explorer
AFAIK they worked it out sometime between 07-09 (diff).

Yeah people don't keep good records anymore. If possible try to find one that was dealer serviced or ask them what dealer it went to. The dealer can usually pull all those records for you. That's how I have a complete set from 2006-2016.
 

getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
Just got a 182K mile 2006 SE. Its 4.4L, Every option except the HD locking rear axle. Drives great. Just needs a good clean up and some o2 sensors. The guy thought the cats were dead, but I hooked up my scanner and got live data. It showed the right bank of o2 sensors had no voltage. So I gave him a cheap offer and drove it home. Just ordered some o2 sensors off eBay, it should be running a lot better by the end of the week.

This one dealer serviced since new.
 

sunrisehiker

Adventurer
O boy..
I guess this 182 000 is pretty common lately , as I also clocked 182 K going back home, from Maine Winter Romp last Sunday.Managed not to brake anything , so it was a good weekend overall.
 

Colin Hughes

Explorer
Mine has around 173,000 miles on it now. Both times I had to be towed were related to corroded Canbus wires. The other time was a corroded wire from the EAS pump to the front valve block but I was close enough to the shop to drive it there on bumpstops. When I bought the LR3 my mechanic friend, who I purchased it from, has already replaced all the brakes, updated EAS pump, all the suspension components and had pulled the front interior apart to fix any Canbus wires corroded in there. I've put about 69,000 kms on it in my two years of ownership. I've done rear brake pads twice, rear calipers once, rear wheel bearing,front airbags (with Arnotts), front valve block,thermostat housing and front and rear sway bar bushings and links. I really like this truck but the fact a corroded wire can leave you stranded still scares me. Right now I'm of two minds deciding if I will keep it or buy something that has less complicated electronics for backcountry trips.
 

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