Thread: DIY D4 servicing, no extended warranty

Sharing 5 years of maintaining and servicing my 2010 D4 3.0 SE.

Bought vehicle new, had an immediate issue with the fuel cap (factory installed a petrol cap on my diesel vehicle => fuel tank couldn't breath, created vacuum, engine would shutdown => took LR a while to work it out and was fixed by just replacing the cap (i got them to also replace the whole tank and pump system up to the common rail for they had been placed under unnatural stress by the vacuum)) and had a couple of batteries failed which were replaced under warranty. (I now demand a Land Rover brand replacement battery, and haven't had an issue for 3 years) Other than these, no other issues whilst under warranty.

Instead of extending the warranty for $2000+, i bought a GAP Diagnostics Bluetooth code reader and decided to service the vehicle myself, with the help of youtube, AULRO, etc.

Still going great at 95,000 Km, been to the outback, up the high country, towed a van and some heavy trailers long distances and been a daily driver for the family around town, and hasn't been to a dealer since 35,000 km. I've done 2 major services myself (filters, oil, vehicle checks, etc), tricked around with the config a bit with the config tool, disabled the bonnet alarm, replaced the front lower control arms, had a couple of wheel alignments done, replaced front and rear brake pads and rotors, gone through original tyres and a pair of General Grabbers. Needs new tyres and some wear and tear inside but no other issues. Still drives extremely well, love it.

For the services, I;
1. purchase a D4 filter kit from one of the many online parts websites (oil, fuel, air, pollen, etc)
2. buy the suggested oil for the 3.0 L diesel. Couldn't find it in any store. I buy it from Ritters in Melbourne.
3. download the LR service checklist and do the B service (bigger one) every ~25,000 Km.
4. learn how to do things from youtube videos and researching AULRO.

For control arms, I:
1. had a mate help me, combined our tools so we had nearly everything we needed. PS: you need some special tools for this job and some of the bolts are extremely tight! big sockets and very long breaker bars needed.
2. bought the new control arms from online parts website.
3. watched youtube videos on how to do it. Many times over.
4. after 7 hours of hard work and lots of fun.
5. put the suspension into Tight Tolerance Mode, and got wheel alignment at the local tyre place ($75).

For brakes rotors and pads, I;
1. bought the gear from online parts website. Because i was saving so much on labour, i bought higher quality parts. Slotted and drilled front rotors.
2. watched youtube videos, especially for the rear brakes which are a combo of drum handbrakes and pad/rotor stopping brakes. special procedure to remove the rotors, install the new rotors and to calibrate the handbrake. easy once you follow the instructions.

For bonnet alarm, I;
1. my car alarm kept randomly going off. annoying and hard to diagnose.
2. AULRO legends pointed me straight to the bonnet switch. it had dust inside and wasn't making a good connection.
3. with a paper clip, a finger from a latex glove and gaffer tape, i short circuited the switch (ie: telling the computer the bonnet was always closed, even if it was up), wrapped in latex to keep it dry and sealed it up with tape.
4. no issue ever since.

GAP Diagnostics tool;
1. I highly recommend getting one or an equivalent from another vendor. Cost ~$600. Was paid for within one DIY service. I believe it can read all the fault codes from each of the car's sub systems, which I then search online for each code and see if anyone highlights any big issues. None so far.
2. When going anywhere remote, having a tool to read the faults and let me reset some of the computer systems is extremely reassuring. I believe it cant do everything, but gives me some visibility about what is going on and some extra tools.
3. It lets me set the vehicle in Tight Tolerance Mode, so I can get any tyre place to do wheel alignments. NB: if you dont set your car in Tight Tolerance Mode, a wheel alignment is done at a suspension height lower than standard driving height, because when you turn off the engine, the car drops a bit. ie: when start the car, suspensions raises, you drive away from the shop, and immediately your wheels aren't aligned...
4. suspension height control. For fun or when you need it (like high speed sand driving) you can give yourself a suspension lift through the computer. Its easy to do, easy to undo and easy to calibrate the suspension back to factory settings.
5. reset service interval light.
6. car config. I have turned on Daytime Running Lights (ie: the headlights are on all the time even when the switch says off), can remotely lock the doors and close all the windows from the key remote, have reflashed the central display up to the 2012 version, etc. Little things to customise the setup.
7. Lots of other stuff which i dont use, but if i need it, I can use it. I see this device as an essential tool for any new car if you plan to go anywhere off road and decide to take a tool kit with you. I take a small and varied set of mechanical tools when I go offroad and with the code reader, i have an electronic systems tool too.


In summary, in my opinion, this car is easier to DIY service than any of my previous cars. The big mechanical stuff (brakes, suspension, oil, filters, etc) are 99% the same as the 80s and 90s "non-electronic" 4wds. There are a few special procedures, but i have always found a youtube instructional video, forum description to help me learn, or really fast answers from AULRO members who in my experience are fantastic. I haven't had any fiddly things go wrong which required difficult diagnostics. A huge number of the car's components are monitored by the computer, and if anything goes wrong, the computer senses it, saves a code and with the help of the internet community, I find what and how to fix it. Its extremely satisfying and confidence building to DIY service the vehicle you take off road and into remote places. If something does go wrong in the bush, I am equipped with tools and bit of experience to try and work out how to get out.

I'm lucky that nothing major went wrong which could have been paid for by the extended warranty. Instead, my small investment of capital in the diag tool and my commitment to learn how the car works and how to fix it, has saved me a lot of money compared to taking it to dealers, I believe the vehicle is running as well as if i had had it professionally serviced and by doing it myself, its equipped me with the confidence to take my car anywhere.

I read posts by people saying that Land Rovers are still unreliable and full of electronics. In my experience, the D4 has been extremely reliable and easy to service by myself. IMO, all 4wd's are now full of electronics, owners shouldn't be scare of this and should always have the ability to read fault codes and use electronic tools to fix things in the bush. I haven't yet had the computer take the car into "limp mode", but instead of having no electronic tools and having to accept this very poor situation, i feel confident to diagnose what the car is unhappy about and attempt a workaround so as to not ruin my adventure. Naive, maybe. But not helpless.

My 2 cents.

Cheers, Andy.

Originally Posted by wombathole

Regarding gearbox oil replacement, i've purchased britpart DA2142 kit ($251 incl shipping from UK) and 7 litres of ZF Lifeguard 6 from Repco ($35/litre). Got the instructions to hacksaw off the old plastic drain tube, and clean out the screw holes from the existing unit, and install the new metal plan and filter without having to muck around with removing exhaust, chassis section and engine tilt.

Any tricks or warnings before starting the job? What do you suggest regarding temperature of the gearbox oil? do i need to do the job with the gearbox at a particular temp?

cheers,
andy

Yep, turn off your air con a few minutes before you stop the car when you plan to do the gearbox sump change , and make sure you leave it off. The drains are above the gearbox and twice I have thought I have oil leaking out the sump when the air con water started running down almost straight away after start up.


The manual says you should check the level at 50 degrees from memory and if you don't have a code reader that reads the gearbox temp , its about 10 mins at idle to get up to that temp. You start the car , let the temp come up then pull the plug on the side of the box and top up till oil comes out. Similar to the way you check diff oil level on most cars. You will need a pump to pump it into the sump , there is not enough room to do it any other way.


Cheers Ean