My 2001 Disco II is in the shop today. Dealer called telling me my plugs and cables are shot and I need a tune-up. This is the first major repair I've needed. I bought the truck used 3 years ago with 22,000 miles. I now have 66,000 mile on it. The dealer pointed out I am due for the 60,000 mile maintenance. I could have bundled all of this in today for $1,200. Buy the sound of the repairs I'm getting today, they would have done the majority of this under the maintenance, changing the plugs tune-up, air filters etc, etc. The majority of the cost of my repair are replacing the spark plug cables, which apparently is time consuming since I will be getting billed for 3 hours of labor. I consider myself some what of a "do-it yourselfer" I maintain mine and my wifes truck, brake pads, rotors and routine oil changes. The 60,000 mile maintenance requires fluid change of the transmission fluid and differentials. How hard is this? Should I have paid the extra $400 to have the deal change these fluids?
If anyone has done this, I'd love a quick "how-to" or things to look for.
It is easier and more pleasant than changing a babies nappy [diaper]. Just dump the oil from the drain plugs and refill to the level plug or dipstick. Two gearboxes and two axles and perhaps the front swivel housings if yours are oil filled. Most of this used to described in the operators book but as the population has become less intelligent they may have dropped it out from latest editions. I would guess the fuel and air filter needs changing at this service as well as the engine oil and filter.
Thanks for the response. The oil and air filter will be done today as well.
I've looked through my book an it does not have any reference on doing this. I do see where I need to use ATF Dexron III for the automatic gearbox, and API GL5MTI Fully synthetic -75W/90R for the Transfer gearbox
How about synthetic oil for the engine. I believe the dealer says this is a "no-no" because of the V8
Do LR change the trans filter a well when they do a fluid change? My professional opinion is that it should be done, and I never receive any complaints about the additional cost of doing this.
I don't believe so. The filter in those ZF boxes is not meant to be an ultrafine filter. It is a gauze only and I have never heard of one restrict the oil flow so it does not need cleaning in any normal circumstance. It won't do any harm, may do some good but probably never actually needs doing.
The filter in the autobox is generally changed at 48,000. Some people have it done at 24,000. It's a pain on the V8's as you have to remove the Y pipe, the g/box crossmember etc etc. This can push up the cost. The actual changing is easy :-)
"Austin Shackles" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
Oh, yes indeedy, matey!
On the "thor" engine, fitted to a disco II, there is no clearance to get to the coil packs or leads without removing the upper half of the inlet manifold! Better by design, eh? It's not as daunting as it first looks, a simple case of unclipping and releasing all hoses (ditch the stupid factory hose clips and fit proper jubilee type clips) then use 2 nuts locked together to undo the water pipe securing stud on the side of the manifold, reach in the back and feel for the 2 8mm headed bolts on the coil brackets and remove with the aid of a small 1/4" universal joint. Remove the 4 long and 2 short 10mm headed bolts securing the manifold upper half, ease the front end up and forwards to unhook the rear from under the coil pack brackets. This will then give you just enough access to replace the leads. Refitting is, as they say, the reversal of removal but remember you'll need a new upper-to-lower manifold gasket at around £20 UK, and it makes refitting a whole lot easier if you file a slight chamfer on the sharp edges of the 2 lugs that the coil pack brackets attach to, just to ease their way in. Genuine plug leads are around £85 UK and have a different fitting at the coil end than normal leads. AFAIK, no-one as yet does aftermarket leads with the correct end fitting design. The job ought to take around 1.5 - 2 hours, not the 3 hours they are claiming. I've now got these down to a fine art, and can remove the manifold in 20min! (Comes with a mis-behaving lpg system on my own motor!) FWIW, I'd replace the std plugs with NGK Irridium tipped ones (not Platinum's), gapped to 32 thou'. These plugs will last virtually the life of the engine, and gapping them down slightly reduces the firing voltage slightly, which helps the life of the 2 coil packs and the leads. They all live in a very poor environment, condensation and extremes of heat, with the coil packs having known insulation failure issues. One of mine failed at
28,000miles, I've replaced a lot for customers at anything from 32-80,000 miles and now if one fails, I replace both due to the issues of getting to them! Badger.
On or around Fri, 4 Nov 2005 10:23:43 +0000 (UTC), "Badger" enlightened us thusly:
Yet another case of designers being a bunch of prats. It should be obligatory for car designers (or at least those concerned with the mechanical side) to do 6 months in a busy workshop repairing other designers' work... That way we wouldn't end up with stupid situations like this where a 20 minute job takes 3 hours.
Mind you, got a quote from the LR dealer in Ipswich for replacing a 300 TDi vacuum pump, a matter of 15 minutes maximum in a properly equipped workshop
- quote (including the pump - 109 quid inc VAT and rush delivery for the same unit from Paddock) came to about 350 quid. Wish I could make at least
200 quid an hour for labour. Bunch of piss-takers. Needless to say, they didn't get the job.
Indeed! Underbonnet of a Ford Crown Victoria (4.6 V8, OHC) is a good example of how twin coil packs ought to be installed, the packs are mounted at the front of the cam covers and the leads are routed across the front and then run backwards as required. Easy access and better basic design due to the coils being mounted in a slightly cooler place. FWIW, you should see some of the stupid designs that aircraft designers come up with!
Hmm.. wish I could get away with charging silly prices like that as well, but then I've no plate glass fronted showroom to support. ;-) Badger.
The placement is often not down to the feature owner (Engineer), often the physical placement is down to the CAD operators, who are often contract staff with no particular interest. The placement should be reviewed before being commited, but most engineers only care if it can be said to fit so they can sign it off. No one is interested in cost of ownership, past lip service at reviews, particularly after the warranty expires. There's not going be be many messing about with 10 year old Discovery III's etc
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