Member Since: 06 Feb 2019
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 879
Just bought an 05 plate D3 HSE - what should I do first?
Hey all, thoroughly excited to be picking up a D3 tomorrow. I’ve had a Freelander 2 for the past five years without any breakdowns or major repairs, hoping that the Disco treats me the same.
I’m keen to hear of what you think I should do to the car straight away, to make sure that it has the best chance of keeping in the best working condition for the next five years. Cam belts, transmission fluids etc?
2005 car
TDV6
HSE spec
134,000 miles
It had main dealer serving for the first 75000 miles but since then its been at random Indy garages. Comes with no receipts so I’ve no idea about belts etc.
I have about £1500 to spend on the car but I want to keep a few hundred aside for new wheels - it’s 17 inchers are badly coroded. I’ll get a standard service done straight away but what else would you spend the balance on?
Things like oil pumps, water pumps, belts etc. What are the most important things to do first?
Many thanks, really looking forward to getting the car sorted.
R.
7th Feb 2019 3:49 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13635
Hi
Indeed along with a service the most important first things are the belts, oil pump cover
Hopefully they’ve sorted out the suspension in looking from last years mot history , mot due 25th June 2019
Welcome to the joys of D3 ownership
Ur find this forum very helpful together with an extensive amount of information
7th Feb 2019 5:04 am
DIY Ace
Member Since: 06 Feb 2019
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 879
Thanks gstuart, I saw the same advisory notes and he sent he below over...
“Last Service cost £1996 (June 2017) and included Front & Rear Brakes, Tie Rods, Prop Alignment and EGR Blank”
...but he has no paperwork to back it up (it’s a PX clearance)
I note you’ve had an EGR blank too. Was that due to failure or some other reason? My EGR on the Freelander 2 worked perfectly for 130,000 miles and i can’t see why they’d blank it unless it was faulty.
R.
7th Feb 2019 7:04 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13635
Hi
Ur welcome , if he’s not got any paperwork for suspension/ brakes at least u can have a look to see if they’ve been done
I blanked the egrs to prevent the MAP sensor and throttle body from carbon build up, there was nothing wrong with them, I left the egr pipes on because of the new MOT rules , put a thin blank between the egr pipes and engine block, as urs is also a 2005 u don’t need a software patch
First thing is the belts and oil pump cover , when I had all my belts done , I also had my water pump done at the same time seeing it was all apart
Assume you’ve already tested everything works , must admit they are awesome motors but must be bought with care
Gary
7th Feb 2019 7:57 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13635
Here’s my old bucket
Plus if u intend to keep it long term getting a diagnostic reader is a must , the iid made by GAP is a fantastic bit of kit and pays for itself very quickly , they are around £410 and work via Bluetooth on ur iPhone / iPad
NJSSAm I Gammon or Woke ? - I neither know nor care.
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2011 Mercedes Benz SL350 (R230)
1973 MG B GT V8 - 3.9L John Eales engine, 5 speed R380 gearbox, since 1975.
1959 MGA roadster - 1.9L Peter Burgess Engine - 5 speed gearbox
Past LRs - Multiple FFRs, Discos & a Series I - some petrol, some diesel,
none Electric or H2 fuel cell - yet.
There are 10 types of people in this world: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.
7th Feb 2019 10:01 am
Emmet McKnight
Member Since: 19 Jan 2018
Location: Derry
Posts: 265
Get the belts done and oil pump checked, likely to be the older style pump being 2005, I’d also get the gearbox flushed, engine service, diff oils and transfer box oil. To be honest £1500 isn’t going to go far unless you’re doing a lot of the work yourself.
I bought my D3 a year ago next week, 06 HSE, 111K miles, since I bought it I’ve changed diff oils, transfer box oil, engine service, all filters, front lower suspension arms front upper suspension arms, ARB bushes and drop links, discs and pads all round, cam belt, oil pump, gear box sump and filter and flushed, that probably cost me £1200 in parts but I done the work myself so probably saved £2000. Only problem she has gave me in 12 months was a faulty door lock at Christmas.
Get yourself a Haynes manual and a good tool kit if you don’t already have one, it will pay for itself in no time if you’re anyway handy at all. Try and pick up a 2nd IID diagnostic tool to read/clear faults you’ll pay £300 for one but again it will pay for itself in no time and you’ll get your money back for it when your finished with it.
7th Feb 2019 10:02 am
DIY Ace
Member Since: 06 Feb 2019
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 879
NJSS wrote:
Welcome Richard
Whereabouts in Hampshire are you?
Having owned a Freelander you probably have a good indy, just in casr Mark West comes very highly recommended.
Thanks, that’s very helpful. I am planning a day trip to Bell I think, he has been recommended too. But your suggestion will be a lot closer for day-to-day stuff. Thanks again.
7th Feb 2019 10:13 am
KieronH
Member Since: 09 Feb 2019
Location: Rotherham
Posts: 9
Following with interest, hopefully be in the same boat soon.
9th Feb 2019 9:59 pm
Charliecloud
Member Since: 31 Jul 2014
Location: Tonbridge
Posts: 980
If you have a sunroof - then get the sunroof drain elbows changed, as they will leak if they are the original ones. Do a search on here to find out the simplest way to do this.
9th Feb 2019 10:05 pm
harrythespider
Member Since: 21 Oct 2008
Location: cumbria
Posts: 290
If its HSE then wheels are 19" not 17", photo shows 19" as per HSE.
Unfortunately your budget won't go far unless you can do most repairs/maintenance yourself. Fortunately parts can be ridiculously cheap and this site is a good place to be guided by. If looked after, your D3 could do mega miles, 650k proves that. Good luck
Re: Just bought an 05 plate D3 HSE - what should I do first?
RichardMaby wrote:
Hey all, thoroughly excited to be picking up a D3 tomorrow. I’ve had a Freelander 2 for the past five years without any breakdowns or major repairs, hoping that the Disco treats me the same.
I’m keen to hear of what you think I should do to the car straight away, to make sure that it has the best chance of keeping in the best working condition for the next five years. Cam belts, transmission fluids etc?
2005 car
TDV6
HSE spec
134,000 miles
It had main dealer serving for the first 75000 miles but since then its been at random Indy garages. Comes with no receipts so I’ve no idea about belts etc.
I have about £1500 to spend on the car but I want to keep a few hundred aside for new wheels - it’s 17 inchers are badly coroded. I’ll get a standard service done straight away but what else would you spend the balance on?
Things like oil pumps, water pumps, belts etc. What are the most important things to do first?
Many thanks, really looking forward to getting the car sorted.
R.
Be prepared to have numerous conversations with SWMBO to justify why it is still a good idea to keep a Discovery 3 when it seems to go wrong every month & cost £500 to fix !
My reasons are starting to wear thin, if anyone can give further justification feel free to share
Cheers n Gone Nick MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
10th Feb 2019 12:37 am
DIY Ace
Member Since: 06 Feb 2019
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 879
Cheers all for the advice so far. Quick update..
I have it going up on a two-post lift next Friday, it is going to have a thorough inspection underneath to build a list of what needs doing. We’ll do a diagnostic search too. I’ve now had a good look around the car and driven a few miles so am building up a good idea of what I’m faced with. Looks like the suspension bits from the last MOT have indeed been done which is good. Discs and pads also good all round So im pleased with that. I am splitting things into two lists - stuff needing to be done by the pro and things I am going to do on the front drive. This is not the complete list, building it up as I find more things:
PRO Jobs to do
Both belts front and rear
Full service, filters etc
Gearbox flush
Refurbish the wheels (they are indeed 19 inch and not 17 inch, great, but they’re pitted and flaking)
Oil pump and sump
My driveway jobs
New headlight washer (missing)
Replacement speaker on the instrument cluster (it’s missing the indicator tick and the headlight alarm)
Replace sidelight bulbs (one not working)
Replace switches in the right of the steering wheel (the skip-right button doesn’t work meaning I can’t get into the cars Settings menu)
New latch to the second row seat (one of the the plastic grab latches is missing so I cannot fold that seat down)
Sort Bluetooth out (my phone connects, but drops it each time I turn the engine off and it needs re-pairing each time)
Full valet inside
Add DAB somehow
Touch up paint to the numerous scuffs and hedge scratches (none are too deep) and a full flattening and polishing
Sort faulty parking sensors (message centre says the fronts are faulty) which might be related to the faulty speaker in the instrument cluster
Things to investigate further
There’s a worrying bouncing of revs between about 1750 and 2000 rpm. Most comments on the forum seem to point to the torque converter. I’ve spoken with Bristol Transmissions and they can do a replacement for about £1200 so that might sort that hopefully. I may look at the known issue with contamination from the shared radiator, perhaps worth getting that seen to.
Otherwise the air suspension all works, all other electrics seem good so far. I paid £4000 for the car on eBay and I’m happy to spend a few grand now, looking like the service items and TC are going to come in at about £2250. Add to that anything we find on Friday. Im no longer planning to replace the wheels and tyres which will save a bit, I had thought they were 17s but in fact they’re 19s already. Tillers should have a few thousand miles in them.
Parts costs so far as I can see, seem reasonable. Though labour is eye-wateringly expensive. I’m currently building a new garage workshop at home with a full two-post ramp. That should be ready by spring next year. A kind of midlife crises present to myself. I’ve not done much major work before so really looking forward to getting that ready and starting to get more involved. Just a shame it’s not ready now, so going to suffer the labour costs on these more urgent jobs in the meantime.
Update next Friday, once it’s been up on the ramp.
Thanks again, this forum is superb and everyone is so helpful.
Richard.2022 BMW i4 M50. Bought Oct 2022. 10,200 miles and counting...
2014 BMW 435d convertible. Bought July 2021. 58,000 miles and counting...
2005 Discovery 3 HSE Auto. Bought Feb 2019. 169,000 miles and counting...
2009 Freelander 2 XS Manual. Bought Sep 2013. SOLD Aug 2021 (already regretted!)
Member Since: 10 Dec 2018
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2
I would several parts of the "full service" on your 'driveway jobs' list:
Oil change, oil filter change, air filter, pollen filter, and diesel filter can all be done very easily, with only access for the last one being even slightly problematic.
Other than that, gather up all the reciepts, service history, and MoT history, stick them all in a spreadsheet, and see exactly what was done, and exactly when (time and mileage). It's not sexy, but it saves a lot of "Ooh, I wonder if/when that was done?"
10th Feb 2019 11:49 am
DIY Ace
Member Since: 06 Feb 2019
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 879
Thanks Mr Blam, good suggestion re the spreadsheet. I’m a sucker for MS Excel so I’ll enjoy doing that over my lunch breaks.
Three days into ownership I haven’t yet got the Haynes manual or workshop manual. I presume from your suggestion that access for these items is all straightforward then, bar the fuel filter. Might get the pro to do that when they’re on the belts etc.
Would you change the coolant and brake fluid too? The car has done 134,000 and came with no receipts other than stamps in the log book. Given recommended intervals, I guess best to change these too. A driveway job you think?2022 BMW i4 M50. Bought Oct 2022. 10,200 miles and counting...
2014 BMW 435d convertible. Bought July 2021. 58,000 miles and counting...
2005 Discovery 3 HSE Auto. Bought Feb 2019. 169,000 miles and counting...
2009 Freelander 2 XS Manual. Bought Sep 2013. SOLD Aug 2021 (already regretted!)
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