Intro and Disco 4 SDV6 test drive questions

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Originally Posted by luxman

Here are my thoughts. I have owned a D3 from new. They are a great vehicle if looked after. White smoke can mean a vacuum leak and is caused by brake fluid being sucked into the manifold. Don't believe the hype about not changing the transmission fluid. Get a kit fitted for this to happen' and if you tow, I would suggest a transmission oil cooler. They say the gearboxes are sealed for life, but you should disregard this. In Europe, life is about 60k. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of transmission failure if fluid isn't changed.There is a genuine ZF kit available [that should tell you something] with a new steel pan and replaceable filter. Cost me $395.00. Hope this helps.

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I can only support this suggestion.

It is now almost 12 months since we joined the ranks as a LR owner, when we purchased a MY2013 Discovery 4, 104,000 Kms with many extras fitted. Seemed like a great deal and I was cautious as we hadn't planned to replace the Patrol for another 12 months, but the heart gave way with encouragement from the family. We took the extended warranty, had the service history all looked great until 3 weeks later 120Kms into our return journey home warning lights aglow all over, into limp mode, eventual shut down just off the freeway. In short, 2 x JLR dealers failed to locate the cause as there were no relevant fault codes apart from the warning 'transmission overheating". With the support of friends in the 4WD community & fellow LR owners I located an ex-LR mechanic (not a technician!). After some angst our concern was damage to the transmission so off to a highly regarded Auto Specialist who diagnosed the issue immediately. An almost collapsed heat exchanger. On recommendation this was removed from the circuit & a direct transmission cooler installed, with not an issue since.
Thankfully not any damage to the transmission......:thumbsup::whistling:
On contacting the dealer & the extended warranty company, the cover is for "Mechanical Failure only" which the cooling circuit was not listed as being covered.

I concur that if towing beware of the TC cooling issue, and have the transmission serviced earlier particularly if travelling in the dusty outback. Whilst this is not a common fault, it is not unknown among transmission servicing companies and is prevalent with vehicles towing frequently.

I am not sure where this sealed for life crap comes from - the D3/D4 service schedule has a service schedule which is clearly not "sealed" for life - an urban myth. For sure it is too long but not sealed for life.

The D5 transmission is sealed for life, but under arduous conditions should be serviced every 48,000 km !!!!

But the thread is not about a D5 and its later gearbox. A 2011 D4 should still have the 6 speed but if it is a 12MY it will have the 8 speed - not sure which gearbox from the posts.

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Originally Posted by Wojer

I can only support this suggestion.

It is now almost 12 months since we joined the ranks as a LR owner, when we purchased a MY2013 Discovery 4, 104,000 Kms with many extras fitted. Seemed like a great deal and I was cautious as we hadn't planned to replace the Patrol for another 12 months, but the heart gave way with encouragement from the family. We took the extended warranty, had the service history all looked great until 3 weeks later 120Kms into our return journey home warning lights aglow all over, into limp mode, eventual shut down just off the freeway. In short, 2 x JLR dealers failed to locate the cause as there were no relevant fault codes apart from the warning 'transmission overheating". With the support of friends in the 4WD community & fellow LR owners I located an ex-LR mechanic (not a technician!). After some angst our concern was damage to the transmission so off to a highly regarded Auto Specialist who diagnosed the issue immediately. An almost collapsed heat exchanger. On recommendation this was removed from the circuit & a direct transmission cooler installed, with not an issue since.
Thankfully not any damage to the transmission......:thumbsup::whistling:
On contacting the dealer & the extended warranty company, the cover is for "Mechanical Failure only" which the cooling circuit was not listed as being covered.

I concur that if towing beware of the TC cooling issue, and have the transmission serviced earlier particularly if travelling in the dusty outback. Whilst this is not a common fault, it is not unknown among transmission servicing companies and is prevalent with vehicles towing frequently.

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Extended Warranty has been covered in many other threads but to briefly visit this topic again. Extended Warranty has many traps for young players. Even the LR Warranty does not offer the same level of cover the original OEM Warranty did. Ironically the LR Warranty is underwritten (or was) by Allianz and yet Allianz had an Extended Warranty that was better than the LR one for the same price (not cheap though). Be careful of tricky LR sales comments ... "as close to the original as you'll get' is often used and misleading. The Allianz top level of cover was as close to the original OEM that you could get .... it pretty much covered everything. It had to be taken out before the originally warranty expired.

It's a murky subject and needs to be explored carefully before spending the dosh or you could very much end up having the "Mechanical Failure Only" or something similar, type conversation leaving you greatly out of pocket.

I'm quoting all of this post because it sums it up pretty good....
The LR could cost me a few dollars to fix and maintain.....
I've looked at Prados, Pajeros, Isuzus, Rangers, Nissans, LC100 4.2TD....and all of their ilk.
I really want the LR....its going to cost me up front pretty much what a used version of above would....
So in the end I've got to take a chance....an educated one hopefully.
600nm and 3500kg towing.....yes! (only going to tow 2.5T....want to keep a bit up my sleeve).
I've got a quote for an autotrans service including full flush, and sump replace ($1250).
I asked for the code, (thanks DiscoJeffster), they gave me P006A which they are fixing.


I've learnt heaps since I've been on aulro, I thank you.

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Originally Posted by ghoti

Hi, I dont often post, but perhaps can share a couple of things to put your mind at rest.

We have a 2010 HSE which we bought in 2012 with 62000 on the clock. At the time we were a little concerned it left a small cloud of smoke when you put the boot into it...and at 226000 it still does :-).

We had the gearbox serviced by A&B transmissions in Dandenong (Australian ZF gearbox agent) at 180000. They gave it clean bill of health. At the time Land Rover claimed the ZF didnt need servicing...though at my service last month they told me it did. Seems they now get the kits from A&B!

Last service we needed front and rear brakes done...roughly $1250 each end. I call that expensive. We also needed lower control arms (apparently they need doing evry 100,000 or so). All up with the service I dropped $4700.

To put things in perspective, we had a Pajero between our Disco 3 and 4. The dearest service was just under $500. At 283,000 we had to replace front shocks and rear diff rubber bushes at a cost of $600. We also put an altenator in it along the way which was circa $400. I DIYd disc pad changes but it still had the original rotors.

The Pajero was cheaper to buy and cheaper to own. It even survived my DIL filling it with petrol and driving it till it stopped (dealer flushed tank and lines, replaced fuel filter and $170 later we drove it home).

But...it was noisy, harsh riding and while rated to tow our boat and caravan it really struggled. It also struggled to stop with the 2 tonne boat attached. Hence why we bought another disco and never let our DIL borrow it!

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Good luck with your purchase. My suggestion is that you take it for a good hour plus long run pushing it through its paces before you make final payment . Take your mate who owns the RRS with you. Make sure you are happy with it.

Is this 3.0 SDV6 the hi powered 3.0 or the low powered 3.0? Not sure if it is relevant for a HSE but some people are not aware that the D4 has two variants of the 3.0 in them.

garry

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Originally Posted by garrycol

Is this 3.0 SDV6 the hi powered 3.0 or the low powered 3.0? Not sure if it is relevant for a HSE but some people are not aware that the D4 has two variants of the 3.0 in them.

garry

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2011 only had high power 3.0s - the alternative was a 2.7...

Thanks - still not sure if this car which is a 2011 is a 11MY or a 12MY - I assume the 2011 year applies to when it was first sold - so if later in 2011 could be a 2012MY so could have the low powered 3.0 engine.

I have noticed sellers are often reluctant to mention this point and just advertise it is a 3.0.