What should I fix first?? Please help

[alti]

Ok here is what the Land Rover shop found when I brought my 2006 LR3 in for a leak in the sun roof tube that was causing leaking in passanger floor. I have 79000 miles on it.
I am not sure what to do 1st and if there are any alternatives for service and expense.
Transmission leak/sleeve and pan=$1026.00
Crack in drive shaft boot= $720.00
Small leak front differential =$215.00
Ball joints bushings =$840.00
Tie rods =$460.00
Alignment=140.00
Total cost $3400.00
Thanks Alti

 

[Houm_WA]

I'd go with the Tranny leak first.

 

[tmcgraw]

Transmission leak/sleeve and pan= $1026.00
Crack in drive shaft boot= $720.00
Small leak front differential = $215.00

Do these all together as one expense so that whatever they knock out of alignment in doing these they will re-align with the alignment service.
Ball joint bushings = $840.00
Tie rods = $460.00
Alignment= $140.00

I put them in order of what I would consider a priority.

To some level it needs to be asked for them to quantify what a 'small leak' is. A small leak to me is when all I have to do is add 1/4 quart of transmission fluid at every oil change. To me (as a prior mechanic) that's not enough for me to warrant a $1,000 job done on the vehicle until I free up some money ...

All of the things you mentioned are important though because they'll start costing more money the longer the problem goes on. Bad alignments can lead to poor tire performance and if it's bad enough can effect your braking (not enough rubber on the road.)

Ask what is leaking too, and what they're going to do to fix it, if your diff is leaking and they're going to charge you $215 to replace a bolt ... It's probably something (if you want to) that you could figure out how to do yourself.

 

[tlt]

You might also consider picking up your own parts.

The lower A bar ball joint and bushings come mounted together. The new part is improved, about 225 each. They come with bushings, ball joint, etc. The labor to rebuild the old one will add up to more than the parts.

A good independent should be able to perform most of this work at significant savings in labor.

Order your own parts online.

 

[tmcgraw]

Be skeptical of parts places online that don't have a solid company. I just noticed earlier that a guy who had bought his parts and was bragging about how much cheaper he got them on eBay as opposed to his dealer. When I pulled up the part (being a dealer) I noticed I could have got them cheaper than what he got them on eBay, the specfic dealer he was going to was gouging him or he just wasn't telling the truth and was handing out information to get more people to buy from XYZ eBay seller.

Find a place that's reputable and always try to get some kind of parts guarantee/warranty. Along with someone who has a name. Autozone, Advanced, Land Rover, NAPA, O'Reiley's, something to that effect.

Before you start looking for bargain deals, get part numbers, that way you can accurately compare and you're not just looking for: "tie-rod to 03 LR3".

I'm bringing all this up now and driving it because we just bought a bad part (electrical component) from a 3rd party the other night because Land Rover doesn't sell it anymore, but we had to get it for the customer. When it came in this morning we noticed the component had been opened and looked like at some time it had been victim to an electrical fire and one of the pins was very weak and about to break, the tech noticed the problems before putting it on the car thankfully and when we go back to the person who sold us the part their stance is 'so-sad, should have got something with a warranty.' Not in those exact words but you get what I'm saying. Money and time spent and we still have nothing to show for this job but we have to figure out something .

 

[alti]

Thanks for all the help looking for an independent land rover service center and I think I found one in Salt Lake City....... I am going for the Trans. Sleeve/pan first along with the front diff. I am hoping they can repair the boot for a lot cheaper as the rover part is 600.00 alone.... labor on the boot was very cheap. We use the car mainly for road trips on the highway and around town/ not much 4 wheeling..... Bought the car 2 months ago and there has never been a drip of anything on the garage floor but I want to take care of any leaks before they get bad.
The car drives great and we just had an alignment done......The alignment that the dealer quoted was required after ball joints/bushings and tie rods were done..... Not that the car needed an alignment now.
Love this car!!!! and know that preventative maintenance along with an older car would have a few issues. Sounds like most of these are very common on the LR3's and all fixable.
We have replaced several small things already like some door locks and a rear sensor along with the passenger sunroof drain tube.....Now on to the big issues.

 

[tlt]

I always buy my OEM online parts from a LR authorized dealer. I agree, don't get sucked in to cheap 2nd rate stuff. http://www.landrovermerriamparts.com

If you need help with part numbers just ask!

 

[tmcgraw]

I'd never seen that before but that gives even me another source! Thanks for that link! They have pretty competitive prices too!

It's easier to order via P/N on there though too. I just went down and did a side by side comparison to dealer prices vs. their prices and 95% of the part numbers I used pulled up just fine.

 

[rainandsun]

Ok here is what the Land Rover shop found when I brought my 2006 LR3 in for a leak in the sun roof tube that was causing leaking in passanger floor. I have 79000 miles on it.
I am not sure what to do 1st and if there are any alternatives for service and expense.
Transmission leak/sleeve and pan=$1026.00
Crack in drive shaft boot= $720.00
Small leak front differential =$215.00
Ball joints bushings =$840.00
Tie rods =$460.00
Alignment=140.00
Total cost $3400.00
Thanks Alti

yeh I would to also on the tranny. I would suggest that if your not sure about the repair you can ask some help in repair shops.

 

[tlt]

The reason it is so expensive is all the work is flat rated. My independent did a bunch of similar work, and just charged me straight time. It worked out better for me. You might consider a metal pan, with a replaceable filter, which would be cheaper in the long run. The tranny fluid can be ordered online as well which will safe a chunk. ZF Lifeguard 6.