2005 LR3. oh boy...what have I done

[rezdiver]

Got a deal on a 2005 LR3 SE V8. Not sure if it was a deal or not but it needs a lot of love. ...lots.
Excellent body and interior.

-Sitting on bumpstops. Its a long drive home like this.
-engine light on
-the tcase functions not working. . Probably because it is on the bumpstops.
-heater fan not working
-oil leak, not sure from where
-yellow exclamation light on
-brake pad warning
-burnt out headlight
-probably a bunch more but its a good list.

Im gonna bring her back to life. Hopefully soon.

[mepham55]

Good Choice of truck Reza!

One simple check for the truck running on its bump stops and throwing all sorts of lights is a faulty brake light bulb. This makes the truck think it's brakes are on and so it throws a fit and does all kinds of silly things. Make sure you use genuine land rover taillight bulbs(the vic dealer just gave me some).
If the truck has gotten wet inside on the passenger footwell this can also cause a fault as all the vehicle electrics run in a depression here and will corrode and ground out again causing the truck to go into limp mode.

Oil leak is most likely the transmission cooler line on the front left of the vehicle. It joins the radiator there and is only connected with useless hose clamps, usually you can just get away with tightening them.
I've got spare headlight parts if you need something.

Get it down to Victoria and I'll help out!
Matt

[rezdiver]

Thanks for the tips.
Funny you say that. Im just getting off the ferry in vic after picking her up in Vancouver. Staying overnight if you have a few minutes tomorrow.
Yup i do have a tail light burned out.
Also a warning that my bonnet is open.
Im missing tge manual so just googling everything.
:)

[mepham55]

Im in Arizona for the next week so unfortunately can't help tomorrow. The service manager, Chris, at Land Rover vic is great and should be able to help with the taillight and any code clearing issues you have.

Matt

[rezdiver]

Ok. Thanks

[rezdiver]

got the heater and AC working.

fixed the key fob corroded wires running in the sills but key fob still doesn't work. took the fob to Prices locksmith and they tested the fob, its not transmitting, probably a dead battery.

Took the air compressor out and found the connecting rod had popped right off the bearing.

I am trying to source out another compressor.
looks like they have updated the compressor again with a new AMK model. The AMK is used in BMW and Mercedes vehicles with air suspension also. the price on the BMW an Mercedes is half of what rover wants for the LR3. trying to see what the difference is between the models. possibly a higher supply pressure rating.

does anyone have any sources for compressors in Vancouver. Dealer wants 1100cad. found a supplier in Calgary wanting 800cad. Arnott industries is selling them for 720usd. the original and the replacement Hitachi have been discontinued for this application.

[rezdiver]

Found the oil leak, its amazing how much oil leaks out when the oil filter is not tightened.. :D

[franko]

Nice, getting her all figured out eh. Must have gotten a great deal on it.

[huebnerd]

Post a picture, would love to see the LR.

[rezdiver]

I broke down and purchased a compressor from land rover Victoria. After calling and researching all over the place, their price was not that much over the top. plus they sent it to me over night.

It is the new AMK compressor. comes as a kit with everything you need, including fittings, lines, and new sound proof housing. This one comes with the heavy duty aluminum bracket, a lot of the aftermarket models come with a steel bracket, not sure if there is any advantage or disadvantage. took an hour to remove the old compressor and a half an hour to install the new one. very easy.

The truck is sitting at extended height now. :D
going to leave it like this over night to see if there are any leaks.

I need to take it to a rover shop to reprogram for the new compressor. they updated the software with the introduction of the AMK compressor. It works as is but the update should be done. I also competed a hard reset on the electrical components (removing the battery cables and shorting them out to each other, the cables not the battery :o ) to see if any issues will clear up. this actually helped clear up some of the alerts on the dash. I am sure the codes are still there somewhere in the background.

Franko,
It was a good deal. very hard to pass up. I was looking for a classic Rangie, but this was a great opportunity to get into something a bit more modern.

[mepham55]

Nice work Reza,

Your getting to know the truck pretty fast! I'm back in town this Friday so if you want/ need and headlights parts let me know. I've also found that the vic dealer is very fair for pricing considering it's genuine and you can usually get the parts same day. What warning lights are remaining?
They're great trucks and fairly easy to work on(as your finding out!). Is it a SE model? Looks like it's got 18" rims.

Matt

[rezdiver]

It is an SE model with 18's.

I got the headlight sorted out, had to buy a headlamp bulb on my way up as it was getting dark. quick stop at Canadian tire sorted me out. they also carry the 60 amp fuses for the compressor.

I chatted with the parts guy at the dealership about tail lights and he said to just go and get standard bulbs. I read about some possible issues with not using the 21/5 w bulbs but he said that the standard off the shelf bulb is all he carries.

I was a bit hesitant dropping that much money on a compressor. but I guess it is the heart of the whole suspension. I even came up with my own design to use aftermarket components and build my own compressor package with a better air dryer. I am planning on plumbing into the lines to be able to use an external air source if required. but at this price I am hoping this OEM compressor will last a long time.

the warning lights remaining is a yellow caution, I think its related to the brake pads.
I am now also getting an "HDC fault system not available" warning. I did not have this warning at the beginning. I am attributing that to driving 300 plus kilometers on the bumpstops at 80+km/hr.... :shock:

[Crs]

I don't remember if the chassis is aluminium. If it is, you definitely want the bracket to be the same as dissimilar metals cause corrosion and that will be a LOT for expensive than an LR compressor to put right. I think you made the right decision. If JLR think the bracket should be Al, then it should be Al.

HDC warning: first you might want to see if there are any uncleared fault codes after everything you've done. If that all good, or you've cleared the HDC fault and it came back, then check both the alternator and battery. If either is weak, you get lots of codes.

Do you have the locking rear differential in your LR3? It's optional. I have it on my Range Rover. There's a known fault with the motor that activates the rear diff. If the motor is having a problem, it will throw the HDC fault warning. JLR have a fix-it kit available. If I'm remembering correctly, it was about $650 fitted at Rovalution. (Note: there is NO control for the rear diff lock. It is activated by the various electronics and software when it is needed. Each time you start the car, it does a self-check. So you can get the fault indication even when the RDL is not being used.

Yes, I LOVE Range Rover Classics, but I'd definitely go LR3 over RRC as a daily driver. Good luck.

[rezdiver]

The alternator and battery are good.
I also have a warning for the parking brake, but it is functioning without any issues, brake holds and parking light comes on an off accordingly.
I think the chassis on these is well protected. for a 10 year old truck it has no rust on it. yet...I need to rub it on some rocks to expose some bare metal. :D
I do not have the locker on this truck so the fault is from something else I have done.

[franko]

Yeah good deal for sure @ 3500$ ;-)

[rezdiver]

Now now...
You cant put a price on a rover...

[rezdiver]

She's on the road. :D

Got the suspension software updated. no more faults from the suspension yet. got a very slow leak from the front end. left it at extended height over night, in the morning the front end had dropped down to just above normal height. I guess that is not too bad. I will do a leak test once we get some dry weather.

The shop also cleared all the codes in the truck, the park brake warning has disappeared. HDC warning is still showing up :(

I have a clunk and definite vibration from the right front when braking (high speed braking high vibration, low speed definite clunk), possibly the lower control arm bushings. will probably replace both lower control arms in the near future and get an alignment as I want to get some better tires.

Any recommendations for stock height 18 inch tires? :?:

I think I can go up to 265/65/18. I would like to be able to run down to bump stops without rubbing.

[mepham55]

I had a slow leak on the front of my truck. If both front sides have lowered equally it will most likely be your front air valve block that's failed. Costs $125 and it's located behind the inner fender gaurd on the passenger side front. Easy to do you don't even have to remove the wheel.

Matt

[rezdiver]

they are definitely leaking equally.

How long did yours take to leak out?

did you keep the old block?
it should be pretty easy to rebuild with a few o-rings I imagine.

[mepham55]

It leaked out overnight with the battery disconnected. I kept the old one but after opening it up it was not rebuildable, seems like the plastic housing gets hairline cracks, and for the price of the part I was not going to waste my time trying to repair the old one.

Matt

[rezdiver]

Found the clunk. Front right upper and lower ball joints.

Its interesting on this set up, the normal ball joint test of grabbing the top and bottom of the wheel didn't show any play. I grabbed the tire side to side which you would normally do to test the tie rods and i could distinctly see play in the upper and lower joints.

[scraig]

Check out disco3.co.uk
It is an excellent resource for all the common issues

[mepham55]

Hey Reza,

Just discovered a nice common water leak on my truck and thought you might want to check yours before it soaks your drivers side footwell. It's from the sunroof drain pipe elbow which Land Rover in their infinate wisdom ran down inside the a pillar to under the dash just above all of the electrics!! Here's a link to a post describing how to get at the part, (last post)

http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/sh ... hp?t=19657

It's essentially a flimsy rubber elbow that rots and leaves the drain pipe dangling over all your electrics.
I replaced mine with a 0.39 cent piece of 1/2" vinyl tube from the hardware store. Just heated it with my best gun and bent it into an "s" shape. Much more secure than Land Rovers design!

Matt

[rezdiver]

Stewart,
Thanks for the link. I have been busy going through all the info on that site. Its a great resource.

Matt,
Ill look into that. I have not checked the carpet on that side. The passenger side was dry.


Just ordered complete front upper and lower control arms for both sides. Almost as cheap as swapping out the ball joints but i get new bushings at the same time.

Also ordered myself a bluetooth Gap IIDtool. That was pricey but hopefully it pays off. I need to order a new key so it will save me a bit of money right off the bat reprogramming and syncing it to the truck.

[rezdiver]

I knew I should have looked at that water leak you mentioned sooner. got in the truck today only to step into a huge puddle on the drivers side. fixed the leak with a clear tube as you mentioned. spent the afternoon drying out the carpet and draining the channel.


Changed the lower control arm on one side last week. vibration and clunking is gone. going to change the other side next as the bushing is going on it.
Words of wisdom: have a set of new lower bolts on hand when changing the arm out ( I had to wait a day with the truck on jacks for the bolts to arrive because I was trying to be cheap and reuse the old bolts). the rear bolt was seized up and I had to cut the arm with a cutoff saw to get access to cut the bolt off. much faster to cut it off than trying to hammer the bolt out. the job probably took a couple of hours in total.
After doing this job, I would highly recommend replacing the whole arm if you have a bad ball joint or bushing. Aftermarket arms are cheap and you will save a ton of time trying to press the old bushing or ball joint out.

A new battery got rid of the HDC fault and park brake fault.

I finally received my new key fob, it was hard to spend that much on a new key but it is very nice to have remote lock function again. the old fob has a dead battery. will spend sometime soon to break it open and replace the battery in it. it is a rechargeable battery and the fob is glued shut to be waterproof, I will have to crack it open and replace the circuit board into a new fob housing from ebay. I used the GAP tool successfully to sync the new key.


I am very impressed with the GAP diagnostic tool. It has already saved me a bunch of money. It is an invaluable tool to have in the truck.



Maybe this thread should go into projects and builds. Not sure it belongs here as I am not really contributing to technical Q&A.