Looking at LR3s to downside my wife's suburban. The ones in my price range at the

[99Discovery]

moment are '05s and '06s. I'm familiar with trying to keep 18"s, but what else should I worry about on these early LR3s? Is the front diff bearing issue going to haunt me with an '05 and an '06? When did the bearing issue get taken care of?

Other than the air suspension and control arms, what else should I be looking for, especially those model years in particular?

Thanks.

 

[hurstjd]

I have an '06 with 157,000 that still runs great. I replaced the front lower control arms at about 112,000. Around 130,000 started having some air suspension issues. It wasn't the compressor. I had to replace the drier. But now I hear that Land Rover is no longer selling separate parts of the air suspension and you have to buy the whole kit, including the compressor.

Otherwise, I haven't really had many problems. Tires seem like they don't last long, but the rest is just normal wear and tear.

 

[99Discovery]

Thanks, I've ran some searches and it seems the Front Diff Bearing issues died down with a breather kit replacement? You don't hear issues post 2006 or so with them. How does one know if they have the breather kit?

 

[perkj]

problems with the front diff pertaining to the breather are on all model years of the LR3 '05-'09. The upgrade kit came out in like '11-'12 so it'll be mileage dependent not model year dependent as to how susceptible a particular LR3 will be to it. Rear diffs are also an issue on all years. No real root cause like the front other than ensuring you change the diff oil (in both the front and rear) every 20K-30K miles.

 

[DiscoDavis]

I have postulated that the breather solves the issue of not expelling water from the gear oil, but there is some disagreement. It may be a bad bearing, but I think the updated breather cap is a good indicator of service and care. Look near your coolant expansion tank for what looks like a small snorkel between it and the radiator. That is the breather.

RE: LR only selling parts as a whole system, incorrect as far as I am aware. Plus tons of vendors have OEM parts for it too. My dealer will sell you whatever you want.

If it comes down to 05 vs 06, 06 SE's often came with almost everything the HSE had due to the way they were packaged. I like 06 better. If it has good service records either should show that most issues got fixed down the line. Look for water ingress...

Get it inspected at a dealer, pay the $300 or whatever. Will pay for itself.

 

[hurstjd]

I have 157,000 and have never changed the differential oil. The manual says to change it at 150,000. I can't imagine changing this every 20-30k. Mine goes in next week to have it changed along with some other stuff. I also run synthetic oil.

Also, on the suspension. I tried to order parts to fix it from various places on the internet. All of them told me the same thing that some of those parts were being discontinued by Land Rover so that you would have to buy the complete compressor set up. I was able to finally find parts and spent about $400 vs. over $900 for the complete set up. Could be I was misled, but several online vendors told me the parts were not available.

 

[Victory_Overland]

Not to hijack but it's pertinent to the thread I think. Anyone running ARB or other aftermarket diff breathers in their rig...........front and back?

 

[EricTyrrell]

If there's any transmission clutch slip, or hard shifts, run away.

Once you do find a good one, keep the transmission topped off. There's a very specific fluid and procedure to it.

 

[A.J.M]

Front lowers and rear upper arms go with age. That will depend on it's life. I've seen an 06 with original arms at 133k, no noise from them. Mine were shot at 98k.
Front wheel bearings go as well. About 100k or so.

Transmissions need the oil changed every 50-75k, it HAS to be a certain spec of oil. Any judder through the car like it feels like driving on cobble stones or rev bounce at speed, it needs a torque converter or gearbox rebuild.

Check everything works, all the toys, all electrics, raise and lower the suspension a few times. Listen to the compressor. It should run quiet and turn off after 30 seconds of start up. Longer and it's getting tired.
You can rebuild the Hitachi unit, or change the unit to the more reliable AMK version as found in LR4's and MY10 onwards RRS models. It's a straight forward upgrade and can run on hitachi software till you update it to AMK one. If i can do it. Anyone can do it.

They are good cars. They WILL need some cash put into them as they age. Keep the servicing good and catch issues BEFORE they get massive and you will have a good car.

My early 04/05 model has 148k on the clock and drives superbly, i've put a lot of money into keeping it good as i rely on it for work.

 

[Ray_G]

I'd note I'm right at 100k, haven't touched the difs (yet, it will get done prob at the 100k service or maybe on my own later).

Be mindful that the 'dif issue' has no #'s associated with it; i.e. is it as likely as a Dii head gasket issue, or something less? Difficult to quantify and the internet focuses mostly on people's issues with the trucks and not the (potential) masses who have no issues but don't start threads saying 'mine's passing 100k and the only thing wrong with it was the normal wear and tear on the LCAs, brakes, and oh yeah, the air compressor.

As these trucks get older maintenance records and condition are really the key indicators-but they are light years better than their predecessors in terms of overall reliability and that's the biggest take away. (well, light years better than the Dii...as the D1's are superb...but I'm biased. )
r-
Ray

 

[racehorse]

06SE just turned 143k.

As others have said - LR3s are like any other high end vehicle. Maintenance is key and maintenance is expensive. I spend as much on maintenance on the LR3 as I have with my 911. That said, these are great rigs. I wheel the rig, take it camping etc. so that's a consideration. If you are daily driving just on the street some of these might not apply.

*At around 100k you will need to begin replacing the air struts - as they age, they will leak. I've changed three so far, one is hanging in there at 143k.
*My fuel senders just went out - that's 1k to drop the tank, replace the senders, o-ring set (I have delayed fixing it and just keep track of mileage)
*Diff fluids should be changed every 30k or so (remember you're talking about preventative maintenance to prevent more expensive failures)
*Transmission fluid/filter - 90-100k = it costs $1,000 (remember you're talking about preventative maintenance to prevent more expensive failures - ZF tranny is many thousands more if it goes out)
*Air compressor will start to fail
*I haven't had any front bearing issues (yet)

 

[MrWesson]

06SE just turned 143k.


*Transmission fluid/filter - 90-100k = it costs $1,000 (remember you're talking about preventative maintenance to prevent more expensive failures - ZF tranny is many thousands more

I think it's important these threads to say YOU PAID not IT COSTS. Why?

$1,000 may scare someone away when they could do it themselves for $100 for the pan and since ford mercron SP was made for the zf transmission and well documented to be exactly the same(at 1/5th the cost).

You're $1,000 flush turns into a $150 and a spare hour.. You could also bring the $100 OEM transmission filter/pan to an Indy mechanic and see how he justifies charging $900 for fluid and labor.

The LR3 needs preventative maintaince, it's a reliable/tough truck and these days can be had for under $8,000... IMO treating it as though its an exotic is silly.

Buy one that's taken care of, drain/fill every fluid just in case, buy a dryer refurb kit($60), buy a scan tool(iidtool) and drive the wheels off.

Same tips could be said of just about any 4x4.

 

[hurstjd]

I stopped taking my LR3 to the dealer ($165/hour) years ago. I just take it to my local mechanic ($65/hour).

 

[Bama4door]

Or just learn to do the maintenance yourself and don't pay $70-$150/he for a shop to do it. Atlantic British had a bunch of DIY repair videos as well as YouTube. Most of the stuff is pretty straight forward.

Changing all the oils is super easy to do by yourself (diffs, transmission, T-case).

 

[Paul K]

I strongly recommend an '08. I had one- bought certified Preowned from the dealership in Bellevue, WA. Great truck- by far the most reliable of the 6 LRs I've owned. My FIL has an '05 & it hasn't been as good, plus mine had a few little upgrades that were appreciated. I'm not sure why LR made better vehicles in '08, but it seems to be across the board. My '07 RR was testament to that!

Good luck!

(I have an LR3 factory bug guard if you're interested?)