Looking at a 2013 LR4 - main areas of concern?

p m

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Bill, that's just how it is.
The LR4 is arguably the most-useful and most-capable 4x4 out there, yet you just can't trust it.
I just rented myself a Suburban for a trip to Jackson in winter.
Hope for the Grenadier to make it state-side, but the wait is getting old.
 
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Aug 20, 2007
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I think it's just coincidence. One thing I found favorable about the LR4 in my research was the bullet-proof power steering pump! My shop is going to fit me in today and see if they can fix it. I'm looking forward to a long-planned camping trip tomorrow for my 50th birthday and I'll be supremely disappointed if Land Rover lets me down. I was researching alternative 4x4s on the computer until 2:30 this morning.
Lol first thing I do when my DII starts giving me shit. After denial, parts lookup, and figuring how long it'll take to replace, I always look up Toyotas. Should've kept my tundra. :ROFLMAO:
 

gimebakmybulits

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Dec 11, 2013
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When you did the coolant manifolds/crossover pipes and water pump... was anything leaking or was it all preventative maintenance?
My 2011 RRS had a small leak that the local dealership claimed didn't exist..... when I removed the front Y pipe from the block both flanges crumbled so it was very close to having had a catastrophic failure. The dried orange sludge in the valley seemed to indicate that it had been leaking for a while. Vehicle has 72k miles on it so like discostew and others have said do it by age.
 
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Blue

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Mar 26, 2004
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Turns out it was a low pressure return line hose that blew. It was rubbing on something, maybe a pulley. They're overnighting a replacement hose but the truck wouldn't be ready until late afternoon so the repair shop is going to cut & patch the line and I should be good to go. Will take in next week for the replacement hose.

As Peter touched on, the big deal is if/when this shit happens when I'm 50 miles off road in the desert in the middle of nowhere. Then I'm fucked.
 

Blue

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Mar 26, 2004
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LOL, I've been looking at 4WD MB Sprinter vans. They have a new 4WD system coming on the 2022's that is supposed to be true center diff lock 4WD and not the open diff AWD they currently offer.
 

gimebakmybulits

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Dec 11, 2013
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LOL, I've been looking at 4WD MB Sprinter vans. They have a new 4WD system coming on the 2022's that is supposed to be true center diff lock 4WD and not the open diff AWD they currently offer.
4x4 Sprinters and AWD Transit vans seem to be unobtainium right now and about a 5 month wait on orders. Some pretty awesome stuff you can do to them though.
 

p m

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4x4 Sprinters and AWD Transit vans seem to be unobtainium right now and about a 5 month wait on orders. Some pretty awesome stuff you can do to them though.
That's about right, or you're paying 2.5x what they are worth.
But... Out of all off-pavement routes I've been on in the last few years, the only suitable ones for a Sprinter were Racetrack Road in Death Valley, and a part of El Camino Del Diablo in AZ that's been widened to allow border wall construction semi traffic.
And the Sprinter Overlanders seem to be becoming just as great as side-by-siders.
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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Turns out it was a low pressure return line hose that blew. It was rubbing on something, maybe a pulley. They're overnighting a replacement hose but the truck wouldn't be ready until late afternoon so the repair shop is going to cut & patch the line and I should be good to go. Will take in next week for the replacement hose.

As Peter touched on, the big deal is if/when this shit happens when I'm 50 miles off road in the desert in the middle of nowhere. Then I'm fucked.
That’s a random ass failure that can happen with any vehicle.

you think a diesel MB van is gonna be more reliable? Those things will limp mode you bc the wind blew the wrong way.
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
My 2011 RRS had a small leak that the local dealership claimed didn't exist..... when I removed the front Y pipe from the block both flanges crumbled so it was very close to having had a catastrophic failure. The dried orange sludge in the valley seemed to indicate that it had been leaking for a while. Vehicle has 72k miles on it so like discostew and others have said do it by age.

I could have sworn I smelt coolant 2-3 weeks ago, but it was after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic in 94 degree heat for almost an hour. I topped the system off bc it was barely below the fill line but it hasn’t moved any since. I still want to do the lines when I have a few days off at the end of the year for my peace of mind.
 

p m

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I could have sworn I smelt coolant 2-3 weeks ago, but it was after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic in 94 degree heat for almost an hour. I topped the system off bc it was barely below the fill line but it hasn’t moved any since. I still want to do the lines when I have a few days off at the end of the year for my peace of mind.
I smell coolant every single time I walk by the LR4 after my wife comes home from work. There is nothing on the ground, and the level doesn't seem to go down - but it does not inspire confidence (on top of other things).
 
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discostew

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Sep 14, 2010
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I think it's just coincidence. One thing I found favorable about the LR4 in my research was the bullet-proof power steering pump! My shop is going to fit me in today and see if they can fix it. I'm looking forward to a long-planned camping trip tomorrow for my 50th birthday and I'll be supremely disappointed if Land Rover lets me down. I was researching alternative 4x4s on the computer until 2:30 this morning.
Have you looked at the Kia Sportage?
 

Blue

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Mar 26, 2004
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That’s a random ass failure that can happen with any vehicle.

you think a diesel MB van is gonna be more reliable? Those things will limp mode you bc the wind blew the wrong way.
True dat.
 

p m

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I need to buy my wife a vehicle to replace that LR4, sooner or later (doesn't mean I am going to dump the LR4); the new Defender is horrendous for exactly the same reasons as LR4 + some.
So a Grand Cherokee L or a Durango are not out of question. Especially after we found that all crap from inside and outside of LR4 fit nicely inside a Durango.
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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The Durango is real nice inside, especially after the most recent update. The new grand Cherokee is REAL nice. My wife wants one to replace here Tiguan lease, we're waiting for the 2 row to come out.
 

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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Seattle
you think a diesel MB van is gonna be more reliable? Those things will limp mode you bc the wind blew the wrong way.

Had this exact conversation with a German couple I hung out with while camping outside Joshua Tree this spring. I was homeward bound on my 11,500-mile road trip in my LR3, they were on year 2 of a North American journey in their MB van they had brought over from Deutschland. It looked impressive and capable, but as we shared more stories about our travels I found irony in the fact that my LR3 had been trouble-free and they had experienced a string of issues with their van, some expensive. And that thing was expensive in the first place.
 
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