Range Rover 2.5DSE - What to look for

[xjsjohn]

Hi folks,

After looking at all the 4X4 type vehicles on teh market and in my budget for the task of moving my disabled father about a bit i have decided what i want ..

1999 - 2001 (or newer if poss) Range Rover 2.5 Turbi Diesel (DSE i assume)

Here i would appreciate the vast knowledge that is pistonheads ...

From other peoples experiances / knowledge etc .. what should i be looking out for when looking at one on the lot?

Is there an easy way to see possible problems with suspension?

Where do they start rusting from?

Things to look at specific to this engine?

ETC ... all pointers appreciated.

[bluespanner]

xjsjohn said:

Things to look at specific to this engine?

Its not broken, it really is that slow....

[zumbruk]

It isn't *that* slow.

It's slower.

Honestly.

[Bodo]

will it outrun my S2 SWB diesel??

[YamR1,V64motion]

i was lookingat getting 1 a while ago but am going to wait a bit for the L322 to come down a little more and buy one of them, try to find one with the lowest milage possible obviously with history, not too smokey etc, and when you get 1 i would recomend chipping it as yes they are a tad slow, i think honestly the 4 litre with lpg would be a better buy but the diesel is less liable to cooling problems.

[xjsjohn]

yes, i did see a 3 toed sloath pass me by like i was standing still when test driving, but to be honest i am not so worried about the performance on this beast ... (i will probably regret that comment 1,000 miles into ownership)

Its going to spend most of its time in London and the southeast, so always in traffic jams or bumper to bumper on the M25 at 6pm ...

Anyway ... ok ...
No Smokers ..
No High Milers
Think about chipping it

any pointers on
Spotting problems with the air suspension?
Known rust areas?
Known poor build areas?

any pointers on any options, ranges, trims, etc that i should just walk away from?

Cheers

John

[xjsjohn]

Bodo said:

will it outrun my S2 SWB diesel??

from my test drives .... .

I wouldnt want to put real money down on that challenge

the spec's say that it will reach 100mph ... eventually .. if downhill ... and with a following wind.

[YamR1,V64motion]

chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML

[bluespanner]

YamR1V64motion said:

chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML

Why do you put in a few blank lines before every post? Just wondering...

>> Edited by bluespanner on Monday 15th May 18:53

[niva441]

I'm currently running a DSE Auto, although once I've finished moving house I'll unfortunately be selling it as I won't have the space and it will have become surplus.

Overall I'm well impressed with it. I was a bit dubious about buying it at first and was really looking for a disco. However with the air suspension etc it a far more useful bit of kit, plus the rear seats can fold without the front seats in their most forward position (as is necessary in both 300 series and SII discos).

Performance wise it's never going going to win any races, but it's no worse than a TDI Disco and better off the line than a TD5. Plus it's got a more even spead of torque than either.

[YamR1,V64motion]

bluespanner said:

YamR1V64motion said: chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML Why do you put in a few blank lines before every post? Just wondering... >> Edited by bluespanner on Monday 15th May 18:53

to tell the truth i have absolutly no idea, i think its just force of habit from writing e mails and writing them more like a letter- leaving a space from the top of the page etc, its definatly not something i conciouslly(sp?) think about.

[xjsjohn]

YamR1V64motion said:

chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML

Indeed i have seen the light ... now i just have to find the right one ....



>> Edited by xjsjohn on Tuesday 16th May 10:30

[BLUETHUNDER]

Air suspension problems.The monitor light above the center consol should stop flashing after 5-10 seconds after start up,if this continues after a couple of minutes then it can point to three things.1 Weak piston in the compressor.2 faulty ride height sensor.3 leaking air spring.Prices for the following are Compressor £288. Ride height sensor £47 each.Air spring £60 a corner.One note you can actually buy a compressor repair kit which consits of a new piston plus seals for about£35.

[eliot]

YamR1V64motion said:

chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML

Blimey! I thought the 4L V8 was a dog.

>> Edited by eliot on Tuesday 16th May 20:07

[YamR1,V64motion]

eliot said:

YamR1V64motion said: chipping 1 does give a huge advantage though, not too far off the 4 litre V8 and costs about £500, i also looked into this when i was considering one, all in all thier a good car and im glad to see youve chosen 1 over the ML Blimey! I thought the 4L V8 was a dog. >> Edited by eliot on Tuesday 16th May 20:07

i just know the power figures, ive never driven the 4 litre so cant really say, driven an DSE briefly and a 4.6 quite extensivly though.

[niva441]

Isn't there a problem with the liners on 4.6's?

[xjsjohn]

BLUETHUNDER said:

Air suspension problems.The monitor light above the center consol should stop flashing after 5-10 seconds after start up,if this continues after a couple of minutes then it can point to three things.1 Weak piston in the compressor.2 faulty ride height sensor.3 leaking air spring.Prices for the following are Compressor £288. Ride height sensor £47 each.Air spring £60 a corner.One note you can actually buy a compressor repair kit which consits of a new piston plus seals for about£35.

cheers for that ... knew the Air Suspension was one to watch, just did not know what to watch for ... feeling slightly better armed

[GKP]

niva441 said:

Isn't there a problem with the liners on 4.6's?

This problem manifests itself through the engine running too hot at times. Some say it's because of a weak fuel mixture under part throttle, others say it's due to radiators deteriorating over time and there's also the viscous fan unit failing and not pulling enough cooling air through the rad.

Mostlty it's a combination of these. The solution is simple. Maintain the car. Ensure all aspects of the cooling system are in tip-top condition at all times and fit the correct spark plugs and replace any iffy plug leads etc.

If you're going to be keeping the car for a few years it might be worth investing in the RovacomLite system (from Blackbox Solutions) to enable your laptop to interrogate the numerous ecus on board. This can save potential heartache (not to mention wallet ache) by allowing you to diagnose and remove any fault codes without going near a dealer.

I've not yet seen a 38A with serious rust on the chassis (although there are probably some out there that require the attention of a mig welder before mot time) however, the usual Range Rover body weak spots still exist. The lower tailgate, in particular, can get crunchy on its' bottom edge. Open the boot and lift up the plastic flap to expose the hinge area of the tailgate. This is where you'll find any corrosion starting.
Bottoms of the doors and the forward edge of the rear arches can suffer from corrosion so look for signs of the paint bubbling.
Windscreen seals leak, allowing water to collect in the sound deadening in the footwells (this is a bad thing!) but this is sometimes mistakenly diagnosed. Quite often, it's just the scuttle panel being choked up with leaves etc letting water in through the pollen filter intakes. You'll need to remove the plastic scuttle trim to investigate.
Water can get into the cabin from the a/c system drain pipe being blocked/disconnected, which allows the condensed water vapour to spill into the cabin from under the bottom of the dash.
There's always the o rings of the heater matrix pipes to lookout for, too. These go brittle and fail, consequently letting engine coolant leak onto the carpet.

Brake pipes on early cars are starting to need replacement due to corrosion. Especially the front to rear pipes and the two accross the back axle. The pipe themselves aren't expensive to buy (and can be sourced at most motor factors) but they are time consuming to fit and some people have issues when re-bleeding the (power) brakes. Although, as long as you keep the fluid level in the master cylinder above the 'min' mark it's straightforward allbeit somewhat alarming at the rate of flow.

Catalytic converters on the V8s aren't all that robust. A rattling cat is an unhappy cat! It sounds horrible and probably won't be efficient enough to pass an mot. Cheapest I've seen (Ebay) are around £250, you buy them as a pair. Rimmer/Craddock etc can sell you cats for £5-600 in stainless with lifetime warranty.

That's too much typing for one day...

[xjsjohn]

GKP said:

niva441 said: Isn't there a problem with the liners on 4.6's? STUFF

Many thanks GKP and BLUETHUNDER ... hate looking at a second hand motor un prepaired, and you guys have given me a brilliant check list or knowledge there!!!

Shall keep you posted on what Rangie i wind up with !! (i may even be tempted to try some real offroading in it, as opposed to climbing out of London potholes!!!!)

[GKP]

I hope Ted doesn't mind, but have a look at these:

www.rrr.co.uk/P38/P38%20Ownership.htm

www.cunningham.me.uk/rangiewiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

www.rovacomlite.com/

That should keep you going for a while!