Preventive maintenance - what next?

mlnnc

mlnnc

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2008
267
31
Charlotte
What is the next preventive maintenance item I should do? The truck has 110,000 miles. We've had the truck since May 2001 when it had 20,000 miles.

My emphasis is to replace items that are most likely to leave me stranded. It is not a daily driver but I use it mostly to haul Boy Scouts on weekend trips that are often 2-4 hours from home.

Headgaskets are done. Throttle body heater kit installed. Front O2 sensors are done. Driveshaft rebuilt. New plugs and wires. Battery is 2 1/2 years old. Serpentine belt is 3 years and 16,000 miles old. Transmission service and other fluids were done on schedule with 90,000 mile service.

Should I replace the rear O2s? Replace more hoses? Replace the crankshaft position sensor? Vehicle speed sensor? Throttle position sensor? Water pump?

What do you guys think?
 
KyleT

KyleT

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2007
6,059
8
39
Fort Worth, TEXAS
dont mess with the rear o2's they just monitor emissions. the rest is good suggestions.

coolant flush with good coolant and distilled water.

run rotella, either 15/40 or synthetic 5/40 ('im a fan of 5/40 in these motors)
 
Big Papa

Big Papa

Well-known member
Jan 3, 2007
1,504
0
McKinney, TX
I'd say Crank shaft sensor, since mine just crapped out on me. It left my vehicle just dead. Thank god I was I wasn't out in BFE.

Water pump is a good idea too. It's next on my list.
 
mlnnc

mlnnc

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2008
267
31
Charlotte
Well, the truck answered the question for me. The original, bleed-screw-in-the-hose upper hose blew out on the way home from work last night.

I was tooling along, happy as could be with how well the truck was running when I glanced down at a stoplight and saw the red coolant temp light. PANIC! The temp gauge was right in its normal, middle position only a few seconds before. It jumped to the red zone in a big hurry.

Luckily I was right next to a gas station and was able to pull in there right away and shut off the truck. Used a cut off golf tee, a nylon grommet and some duct tape to MacGyver a fix to get me home. (Worked great, actually.) Wife picked up the new hose this morning and it'll get installed tonight.

I know, I know, I was warned. Penny wise and pound foolish. I even had a couple 6mm bolts and o-rings in the truck and ready to replace the plastic plug, but what I had not understood is that it is not the threaded plug that fails. The entire threaded plastic part the plug screws into blew out.

So for the umpteenth time, if you are still running the earlier style upper hose CHANGE IT NOW.

Now back to the thread --- what is the next preventive maintenance fix I should do?
 
Last edited:
brianhoberg

brianhoberg

Well-known member
Apr 16, 2007
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46
San Antonio, TX
www.brianhoberg.com
mlnnc said:
Well, the truck answered the question for me. The original, bleed-screw-in-the-hose upper hose blew out on the way home from work last night.

I was tooling along, happy as could be with how well the truck was running when I glanced down at a stoplight and saw the red coolant temp light. PANIC! The temp gauge was right in its normal, middle position only a few seconds before. It jumped to the red zone in a big hurry.

Luckily I was right next to a gas station and was able to pull in there right away and shut off the truck. Used a cut off golf tee, a nylon grommet and some duct tape to McGyver a fix to get me home. (Worked great, actually.) Wife picked up the new hose this morning and it'll get installed tonight.

I know, I know, I was warned. Penny wise and pound foolish. I even had a couple 6mm bolts and o-rings in the truck and ready to replace the plastic plug, but what I had not understood is that it is not the threaded plug that fails. The entire threaded plastic part the plug screws into blew out.

So for the umpteenth time, if you are still running the earlier style upper hose CHANGE IT NOW.

Now back to the thread --- what is the next preventive maintenance fix I should do?
Click to expand...

yep, replaced mine just about a week ago. Crazy how the whole thing goes out
 
brianb883

brianb883

Well-known member
Sep 6, 2009
83
0
I'm surprised you didn't see a ton of steam to tip you off if it was spraying all over the engine..

And as I'm sure you remember from my experience, even the new style hose/bleed screw setup doesn't solve the problem, my bleed screw leaked more and more until it saturated the belt causing it to spin and squeak and sprayed coolant everywhere :ack:

For those of you in Charlotte, Hendrick BMW has bleed screws that work on the new style hose setup for $8. I'm' sure any other BMW dealership has them as well. It can't hurt to carry a spare for only $8.
 
SGaynor

SGaynor

Well-known member
Dec 6, 2006
7,148
162
52
Bristol, TN
Flush the brake and steering fluids. After 11years and 100k+ miles it might not be a bad idea to replace the flexible brake hoses; they can rot and just pop - not good.

How's the rotoflex look?
 
F

Fortymile

Guest
Some good advise as I've just passed 98,000 miles - about half of it off-road.

BTW: I was on here about 8 years ago (when I had a Freelander).... and went away shortly afterward...... Now I'm back.:patriot:
 
brianb883

brianb883

Well-known member
Sep 6, 2009
83
0
jeffro0502

jeffro0502

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2006
718
0
Navarre FL
Inline T-Stat Mod
Radiator
Water-Pump
All hoses
Flush
Don't replace 02s until they go out and replace in pairs
Crank Position Sensor, I have one in truck waiting
 
aliastel

aliastel

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2009
942
0
Champaign, IL
Replace or at least pull the crank position sensor off. Unplug the harness and pull the wires up above engine to inspect. Often the wiring is parished from the heat in this area and bare wires will be touching which will cause unexpected cut-out. Easy and cheap PM.

Also, the starter is very difficult to replace on the road. There are a few horror stories on this forum with large price tags attached regarding this. Replace it before it fails and even consider replacing the problematic allen bolts with studs and nuts instead. This will make changing it soooo much easier next time.

The alternators on these are good units and last along time, and are easy to change out in a pinch. If you start seeing your tach wigging out, then the alternator may be about to go, giving you early warning. Beware routing the serpentine belt the wrong way, which is easy to do. My Disco had the belt routed slightly wrong when I got it and it acted like the alternator was bad, because it was slipping there.

If you've replaced the fuel pump recently, make sure you replace the fuel pump harness attached to the pump as PM. The contacts usually become damaged inside the plug when the old pump goes out to to voltage fluctuation. This will cause the most annoying and even dangerous intermittent cut-out when you least expect it. Sometimes it will start right back up, and sometimes you have to wait for hours. Eventually it will fail completely.
 
mlnnc

mlnnc

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2008
267
31
Charlotte
So ... I ask for advice and then ignore it.

I never got around to preemptively changing the crankshaft position sensor and ended up getting stranded two days ago with a truck full of Boy Scouts 100 miles from home. It would start after cooling down 30-40 minutes or so, but would then crap out again after running for a few minutes. Had to get the truck towed and another scout parent had to come with a minivan to get us home. Stupid.

I picked up a new sensor yesterday, and a friend and I drove back to install it and get the truck back home. The $59 sensor I found locally at Auto Zone is marked Bosch. The towing company owner let me pull the truck into his shop and we put it up on the ramps we brought to get a little more room to work.

As expected the worst part by far was getting the electrical connector out of the bracket and unplugged, and then plugging in the new one. I should be used to it by now, but the masochism of the Land Rover engineers and design team is amazing. Why not locate the connector in a place it can actually be reached? Well over half the hour and 15 minutes spent under the truck was due to the connector. Replacing the sensor itself was a breeze.

In the end my cash cost is the price of the sensor, lunch for my friend and me, and a few extra bucks I gave the towing operator for letting me do the work inside his shop and use a little GoJo. The friend will also get a gift of some tasty beverages and we'll do his son's truck soon. The $50 towing fee should be reimbursed by the insurance company.

So boys and girls, the moral of the story is don't wait; get in touch with Will or your favorite DWeb vendor today and change your CKP sensor next weekend!
 
T

turbodave

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2008
325
3
KY
mlnnc said:
The $59 sensor I found locally at Auto Zone is marked Bosch.
Click to expand...


Did you have an autozone part number on your reciept? They don't have it on their website?
 
kennith

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
A: Lubricate all your hinges.

B: Inspect and lubricate all handle and latch mechanisms, especially cargo door.

C: Thoroughly inspect hood release cable. If at all in question; replace.

D: Replace the brake rotor screws.

E: Get the shit out of the A/C drain nipples.

F: Clean your stuff up.

G: Have a root around everywhere for split tubing wire loom that's past it, as well as any ties, clamps, snaps and so on that are perished or about to be. Some may have already let go.

H: Get a damn close look at those engine mounts and make sure they don't need replacing. If they do, call Lucky 8 and get those nifty semi-solid mounts. They won't break.

I: Thoroughly inspect and lubricate all of your brake calipers, and adjust any cables that need adjusting, including your handbrake cable and those in the engine.

These are just a few minor, often overlooked things that can really ruin your day outdoors if they go wrong. Keeping things clean makes a hell of a difference when you are already working on something you don't want to work on.

This isn't everything, but it's got some things you might not have considered.

Cheers,

Kennith
 
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