Upgrade my LR3?

[kameag]

Currenly have an 06 LR3 4.0 with (270,000 km) 170,000 miles. It has been a great truck and have recently repaired an issue with a water leak that caused a short (lowering, fault lihgts ets.). Did not spend much on that as it was only labour so I don't have alot of money into in the past couple years. It will need tires and brakes soon (before winter) so am trying to factor that in.

My wife and I both love the truck so if possible would like to stick with an LR3 or LR4.

There is another 06 LR3 nearby that is a 4.4 HSE with "only" 75,000 miles on it. Was thinking of having a good look and wondered what I sould look for/be thinking about. Is the 4.4 as reliable as the 4.0? It has a few more toys vs. my SE but I don't care about those...just love the drive of the truck. I don't off road with mine but have used it a lot for hauling home reno materials etc.

I have done a complete front end, new air conditioning compressor, and a complete new rear wheel assembly on one side since buying mine several years ago. I assume I will face some of those same things with the 4.4 Other than that, not sure if there will be a big difference on maintenance.

Have looked at several otheres over the past few months and most I have seen with half the mileage of my truck were in much worse shape cosmetically. If the inside and paint was not looked after, my assumption is the mechanicals were not either. Would appreciate opinions!

Thanks.

 

[bbyer]

Re what to look for on the HSE, I think about all it can be is owner history - how many?, and looks. Is the interior and exterior in as good a shape as your SE?

Also where did the most of the 75,000 miles get put on? Was it in some salt belt area and the driving was all city salted roads, or otherwise.

As to what you cannot see, the mechanical internals, either it has maintenance records or not.

I have about 200,000 miles on my 2005 HSE and have done lots of maintenance. I call it maintenance as I have never walked.

I replaced stuff that was weak from the factory and probably still is but you will not get more than maybe 80 thousand miles from the front end, the alternator, starter and fan belt idler bearings, nor the plastic of the thermostat housing or that cooling system vent hose. The AJ6 engine itself is good.


My view of the AJ6 4.4L V8 is it is probably the only engine that Jaguar / Land Rover every installed that was a reliable engine. I did not say built and Ford built it as well as your SE engine. LR must be the only world distribution vehicle seller to have yet to invent more than one good engine. GM, Ford, Fiat, Mercedes, VW, Renault, Toyota, Nissan and Honda all have invented more than one good engine; the others just buy their engines from one of the above.

If the original air compressor is still installed, then a replacement will be in order - would stick with the Hitachi.

You have had experience with water leaks I gather. The HSE probably has a sunroof and you HSE, perhaps not. If you get the HSE, you best work with a water hose around the sunroof and windscreen to determine if there could be water ingress and if so, fix it now.

I taped off my sunroof with 3M tape and never open it; hence no roof water leak problems and no wiring problems either. Also my 3 overnights in a garage all the time.

Assuming the factory radio is still working, you will enjoy it very much - like having the Boston Pops in the back seat. The sound system has a classical music speaker system, not a heavy metal sound system - very good on the hi notes from instruments like cymbals and the piccolo; and to hear that clean is a lot tougher than shaking the seats.

 

[kameag]

Thank you bbyer. Well I went to drive it and it drove very solid....nothing noticable including no shimmy or shakes at highway speeds. Interior is in better shape than mine as assumed with the lower mileage. Paint looked good except for a mark above windshield.

But...the a/c did not work, which is fixable. On the test drive I stopped at one point and decided to look underneath. I have never seen a vehicle that rusty on the frame and underside! That thing must have been sitting somewhere very damp for a long time. Anyway, decided not to pursue it further.

 

[Disco_Eric]

The LR4 is a direct injection engine. The LR3 is a multipoint injection. While a direct injection engine develops more torque, hp, and gets better mpg it does not keep the valves clean as the fuel is injected directly into the cylinders after the valves. Not so on a multipoint injection. This is why Toyota never went to direct injection and why Ford and many others are now going with a mix of direct and multi injection intakes. The Ford Ecoboost has no fix for their direct injection engines other than replace the heads! With that in mind, direct injection engines need to have their intake valves cleaned or big issues can occur. I clean my BMW direct injection every 50k miles as it is servicable. I am sure the LR4 is also servicable but I am sure others in this forum can weigh in if they have done so. For me I would take a well maintained LR3 over the LR4 for that one reason if I was looking at a truck with over 100k on the engine. As others have noted the V8 LR3 is a well proven engine and is not direct injection. I have friends driving their LR3 with over 250k on the original transfer case and transmission.

My LR3 only has 129k on it and I plan on driving for another 100k and look forward to all of the usual Land Rover issues that I don't consider a big deal if these trucks are maintained. I have 8 vehicles and the LR3 is one of my favorite trucks to drive with its air suspension. I also own a Disco 2 that is a completely different truck in comparison to the 3s and 4s. I was a mechanic (now a mechanical engineer) so I do my own maintenance and repairs. I have driven and worked on LR4s. They do have more torque and hp than the LR3 but for most part are very similar vehicles with respect to the suspension. For me I try to stay away from direct injection even though I do own a BMW direct injection that is servicable and I do service the heads every 50k miles.

As a former mechanic people ask me all the time what is the best SUV if I don't do my own maintenance and I tell them to buy a Lexus or Toyota. Best no maintenance car, buy a Prius or a Corolla. I love the joke about Land Rovers: 90% of them made are still on the road, the other 10% made it home ;-)

 

[bbyer]

Yes, I change the oil and filter/pan in the transmission every 50 thousand miles and in the transfer case and front and rear differentials, at maybe 80 thousand miles; engine oil and filter at 5,000 miles.

So far all are original; rad still OK but new coolant and the plastic thermostat housing at about 80 thousand miles as well.

I think it is pay a little bit all the time, or walk, and pay a lot every not so often.

Incidentally, anyone still having the factory front differential breather on their older 3 might wish to look at the following link. The upgrade fix is less than twenty five dollars and a clean hands stand up half hour task - well ten minutes on a second 3 after you have done it once. It saves you learning how to replace front differential seals.

https://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=23952

 

[jptruck]

Buy my old one...here:

https://www.landroverchantilly.com/...leNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

Great vehicle. I can tell you what needs to be done with it (not much). 80K and 2012. It's silver, not black.

 

[Willie Austin]

Currenly have an 06 LR3 4.0 with (270,000 km) 170,000 miles. It has been a great truck and have recently repaired an issue with a water leak that caused a short (lowering, fault lihgts ets.). Did not spend much on that as it was only labour so I don't have alot of money into in the past couple years. It will need tires and brakes soon (before winter) so am trying to factor that in.

My wife and I both love the truck so if possible would like to stick with an LR3 or LR4.

There is another 06 LR3 nearby that is a 4.4 HSE with "only" 75,000 miles on it. Was thinking of having a good look and wondered what I sould look for/be thinking about. Is the 4.4 as reliable as the 4.0? It has a few more toys vs. my SE but I don't care about those...just love the drive of the truck. I don't off road with mine but have used it a lot for hauling home reno materials etc.

I have done a complete front end, new air conditioning compressor, and a complete new rear wheel assembly on one side since buying mine several years ago. I assume I will face some of those same things with the 4.4 Other than that, not sure if there will be a big difference on maintenance.

Have looked at several otheres over the past few months and most I have seen with half the mileage of my truck were in much worse shape cosmetically. If the inside and paint was not looked after, my assumption is the mechanicals were not either. Would appreciate opinions!

Thanks.

 

[Willie Austin]

I have the 2006 LR3 HSE and I WOULD SUGGEST YOU BUY IT.

 

[Sogs]

Get an 07 or better, fixed the undersized breaks and rotors, I think they still have the bushing issue, so if you have those replaced ALWAYS go with the upgraded POLY BUSHING! Lasts waaaay longer. Expect bushing failure and 40-50k.