So after many months of procrastination, looking at threads on here, doom scrolling through l322 vids on youtube, I finally bit the bullet, and managed to convince the OH that a FF would be the best way to go, for carting 3 largeish dogs around, the country, over a Disco 4.

Santorini Black 4.4 TDV8, Vogue, Ivory interior, looks like its got a few options, H&C seats, VDS, and may be some other I have not noticed yet.

Late 2011, and has done around 138k miles, so i'm fully expecting to have to spend a bit to get it ship shape initially, mind you its not actually in bad order, the usual items have seen better days (seats etc).

The car is lovely to drive, the OH loves it, i love it, the dogs fit nice and comfortably, so they'll be alright....

did few bits on over the weekend, cabin filter, air filters, cleaned the engine bay, and generally cleaned it up a bit.

Bought a few bits, oil(was a little under halfway), coolant (quite low), some items i'll need for servicing (oil vacuum pump thingy, socket for the oil filter housing, torque wrench, and some larger than i have already sockets

had a few blasts out and about local to me, and it's an amazing car, quiet, fast, smooth, and a pleasant place to be, all seemed pretty good, a little bit of rust at the back arches (nothing spectacular), engine sounded good and strong,and beefy, please bear in mind i'm coming at this from a company tesla, so anything with any sort of grunt is going to do things....

Took it this week to a local indy, for a post purchase check over, got phone call a few hours after dropping off and a conciliatory 'not the best news im afraid' then got a list not quite as long as your arm, but sort of, of things that 'need' sorting, and i literally pooped my pants, and i'm sure the colour drained from my face, as the OH asked if i was ok?

Went to the indy, and then they said, its nothing they really wouldn't expect to see on a car of this age, and then tempered my fears with the fact that these are appreciating assets now (happy[ish] days).

told me the actual main thing was the oil cooler need replacing as there was some dampness, and then quoted some eye-watering price to do..... along with a couple of coolant pipes that go between the heads on the V block?? and a few other serviceable items, lower arms, rose joints? etc etc.

so i get back home, and putting the car up the kerb on to the drive, and it struggled a bit i reverse, so put it low range and lifted up, thinking this would help, it did, but when i stopped, the suspension threw a wobbly, went it extra height mode (can't remember the exact term that showed on the dash), and it proceeded to [i can only assume] lift the car higher as it though it was stuck, and popped the osf air bag.....damn (now on order) and looking at at few vids/guides these don't look the hardest thing to replace?

so at the moment, its sat on my drive, with no air in the system, looking very sorry for itself.

but i have faith, and most of the skills needed to do many items of work myself, i have put my OH through many hours of repair vids, Woodys, Sam m &m, rough restos, etc so now there is some understanding that you don't need to take these to a garage everytime something serviceable need doing, and i gotta say, everything seem pretty accessible [outside of the engine bay] and i will probably have a go at the oil cooler....?

once i get the suspension sort, i may put some pics up.

but so far, i love it, even with the bits that need doing, and as i mentioned the OH loves it



any suggestions on parts sites, best places for this or that, please feel free to pass on any information

Don’t be scared of doing the oil cooler yourself, I’ve changed a couple now on the drive and although time consuming, as long as you’re methodical, it’s really pretty straightforward - no special tools are required. The longest part tends to be cleaning all the gunk out of the intake.

Also check the expansion bottle as if the cooler has been leaking, it may have contaminated the coolant with oil.

Take particular care of the small coolant hose at the top of the engine, it’s very easy to snap off the connector.

Do a search on here, loads of content covering the oil cooler replacement  Jonathan

2010 L322 5.0 SC Autobiography Black
2007 Defender 90 XS Hardtop

Thanks for the tip.

i think i'll give it a go, i'm not sure how important an issue it is, as the indy couldn't get me in until late september, and they didn't seem too bothered about that time scale??

I may need to convince the OH before commencing......

I've just done my oil cooler and thermostat housing as both were leaking.
I would highly recommend getting all the hoses that connect to these items.
I'm glad I had all the hoses before I started as all the plastic connections just snapped off so easily.

When you do the oil cooler it is worth doing the serpentine belts when the front is off. Change the jockey wheel at the same time.

Don't be tempted to buy a non-LR jockey wheel as the aftermarket ones have a reputation for failing. John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue - SOLD
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT-Sold

Congratulations. Pics soon please! 2012 Vogue TDV8 in Aintree green over sand

Thanks for your advice, i'll certainly look at doing those bits.

although time is not really a factor, how long would the serpentine belt & bits generally take?, please consider will not have any specialist tools....

i have read/seen that a transit thermostat housing is the same? but a third of the price, is this true?

I have a question, also on my sheet of 'defects' [serviceable items] from the garage (worse writing than a doctors prescription), it mentions coolant bridge leaking, could you advise on what this may be please?

another item that i think it says front diff extension? housing leaking, i'm not quite sure what this means, as terminology may differ from garage to garage, as it does in my industry.

oh and one last one, do upper rear rose joint = upper rear bushings 2011 4.4 Vogue, Santorini

Congrats and welcome!

She looks beautiful

Please consider investing in a GAP IID or equivalent diagnostics tool. An absolute must-have and a huge cost saver.