New LR4 Owner

[Wrstewart]

Hey Guys,

Im Ricky, nice to meet you. I thought I would finally introduce myself after my third week with my Sumatra black 2012 LR4 LUX and an interesting story to tell.

I bought the truck from a girl whose parents gave it to her (must be nice) so I was able to get it for a great price. It didn’t have any timing chain rattle when I test drove it and it’s about as good as it gets cosmetically for a 10 year old truck so I was fine with not getting a PPI. Funny story, I lost my sense of smell so I didn’t notice the gas leak when I test drove it, or when I picked it up. When I got it home my wife was like “what’s that smell?” I looked under the truck and it was literally dripping fuel . I found out about the fuel flange issues and got it repaired at the dealer at my cost, with a promise that Land Rover USA would reimburse me once they have the new part manufactured and send out the second recall letter. Lucky me!

While at the dealer they told me my brakes were at 1 and 2 mm front and rear. I declined the service and just finished the rears at home today. The pads were no where near the 1mm they said, actually more like 1cm. I thought it was weird that the brake wear light wasn’t on if they were that bad. I don’t know if I should be surprised that they would just straight up lie about something like that but it doesn’t give me any confidence in that dealer.

What’s next:
Front brakes
Front/lower/rear control arm bushings
Transmission filter and fluid change (British Atlantic kit with lube locker gasket)

I will probably get some bigger tires when these ones are shot, which might be a while because they are brand new, but I was thinking about a small body lift so I can get 32” on there. I don’t want to mess with the factory suspension, seems like a bad idea to me. Has anyone gone this route?

Thanks for reading.
-Ricky

 

[jlach993]

With 32 inches you'd still get rub at the frame honestly. Will you be going with 18 inch rims and fitting all terrain tires? If so I'd stick with 31.6" being the most you'd fit under there with no rubbing and mods to the suspension. 265/65/18 or 285/60/18 would be the only two options honestly.

oh and also how many miles on the rig? I'd look into the coolant crossover pipes. They usually fail and cause the truck to overheat in minutes. Usually some are lucky to smell or see escaping coolant a few days/weeks before. Some are unlucky where there are no signs and the truck catastrophically loses coolant. They fail anywhere between 50k-100k on average. I would definitely get that sorted out as a 10 year old LR4 would certainly need those done if they haven't been done before.

 

[Wrstewart]

Ah so it’s the frame that will rub, not the body, got it, thanks.

It has 134,000 miles and I doubt the crossover tubes have been done. The wife is not going to be happy I’m spending more money already!

 

[Wrstewart]

Oh and I’ll stick with the stock 19” wheels.

 

[Wrstewart]

Is there a way to check if the coolant hose needs to be replaced or will everything look fine until it fails one day?

 

[jlach993]

So usually upon removal does it crumble due to heating/cooling stressing of the pipes. It usually fails around the O rings at the tip of the pipes. I was driving along on a hot summer day in Manhattan and all of a sudden I smelt the sweet smell of coolant. This was around 98k miles. The temp gauge on the car never moved and was normal in the middle. Upon pulling over i raised the hood and the coolant tank was empty and the entire front of the engine near the thermostat was soaking wet. The front crossover pipes failed at the tip where it enters the intake. The rear crossover pipe in the back of the engine looking fine, however once poking it during its removal it literally started to fall apart. It's mind boggling to me that it wasn't leaking yet. Moral of the story it needs to be changed regardless. It's cheap insurance. I did the front and rear pipes, water pump and thermostat all around $500 bucks. I did the work myself and it took about 3 hours. I'm not a mechanic. YouTube was a great help.

 

[Wrstewart]

Wow great information, good to know it’s not too difficult or expensive. Thank you.

 

[mm3846]

Oh and I’ll stick with the stock 19” wheels.

255/60-19 tires will fit just fine, no rubbing. Pirelli makes a good street tire (I think its the factory Disco5 one) or you can run the Toyo AT3s if you want something aggressive.

 

[johnny walker]

When you need tires you might think about buying tires and wheels (in 18" rims) from Tire Rack. Better tire selection, free mount and balance, and when I sold the factory wheels they came close to paying for the after market wheels. Black wheels would definitely look killer on the black truck. Enjoy.
johnny walker boulder co 2012 LR 4 HSE Lux Mama's car

 

[sjm0731]

So usually upon removal does it crumble due to heating/cooling stressing of the pipes. It usually fails around the O rings at the tip of the pipes. I was driving along on a hot summer day in Manhattan and all of a sudden I smelt the sweet smell of coolant. This was around 98k miles. The temp gauge on the car never moved and was normal in the middle. Upon pulling over i raised the hood and the coolant tank was empty and the entire front of the engine near the thermostat was soaking wet. The front crossover pipes failed at the tip where it enters the intake. The rear crossover pipe in the back of the engine looking fine, however once poking it during its removal it literally started to fall apart. It's mind boggling to me that it wasn't leaking yet. Moral of the story it needs to be changed regardless. It's cheap insurance. I did the front and rear pipes, water pump and thermostat all around $500 bucks. I did the work myself and it took about 3 hours. I'm not a mechanic. YouTube was a great help.

When you need tires you might think about buying tires and wheels (in 18" rims) from Tire Rack. Better tire selection, free mount and balance, and when I sold the factory wheels they came close to paying for the after market wheels. Black wheels would definitely look killer on the black truck. Enjoy.
johnny walker boulder co 2012 LR 4 HSE Lux Mama's car

Hello, could you share YouTube link?