It might be handy to get an overview of all the problems - just in case there are some links.
Ok well I'll start with the auto gearbox on my TD5 and the dreaded s and m lights,these started coming on a couple of years ago very intermittently at first and then gradually getting more and more frequent with no apparent reason. My local independent expert and main dealer hooked it up to testbook each time and told me it was a faulty solenoid in the gearbox,(very expensive). the problem got worse and worse and then I found that everytime i drove through a puddle it would come on again, leaving me to do hill starts, pulling away in fourth gear, revving the bollocks out of it.
After a couple more visits to the main dealer, they said i needed a new gearbox and furnished me with a cup of burnt oil from my gearbox and a quote of £1800 for a replacement.
Everyone seemed to ignore the fact that i was saying this happened only after going through water. Unconvinced i decided to replace the section of wiring harness that runs from the XYZ switch (also replaced by landrover on their advice- no cure) to the gear selector since then I've had no problems - cost £150 and a further £50 for a local mechanic to fit it and insulate it with a load of silicon. It's a fiddly job that would have taken me ages. I replaced the oil in the gearbox with Dexron 111 and changed the screen filter. Now it's silky smooth.
Next the ACE valve block was leaking main dealer said that I needed a new one at the cost of £1280. after such a bad experience with the main dealer i was of course off to seek more advice. I went to the Wimbledon 4 x 4 centre near to work and spoke to a top bloke called Dean who soon diagnosed a leaky high pressure pipe caused not by the valve block failing but the ACE pump.
Inside the pump is a regulator, if that fails the hydrolic fluid is pumped continuously through the system at about 180 psi causing the seals on the valve block to blow. I changed the pump for a new one from paddock spares, £360. The next problem then is that Land Rover say the system needs bleeding using the testbook diagnostics - Not so. If you jack the front wheels of the ground gravity takes over and the system actuators drop into place which then engage the ACE pump. The seals on the valve block aren't cheap at £28 each but it's still cheaper than a new valve block which wouldn't have solved the problem.
Rear trailing arm bushes - take them off completely and take them to garage where they can be taken out and replaced using a hydrolic press, you'll save yourself from hours of frustration.
Rear airsprings have been metioned on the forum several times in the past, i just want to re-iterate how easy they are to replace. I paid £75 each from Autopost in Wimbledon compared to £212 quoted from Land Rover, if you can specify Contitech springs when you buy your replacement part, you'll be getting exactly the same as Land Rover OE BUT WITHOUT THE Land Rover embossing. Most importantly the couplings are the same so easy to switch over.
I also had a leaking radiator which can also throw the car into limp home mode if the ECU thinks you are overheating. £462 at Land Rover or a fiver on radweld - simple.
The cost and ease of replacing the front shock absorbers was far better than trying to change the shock absorber bushes.
Invest £40 in a proper Land Rover workshop manual, the diagrams and instructions are 100 % better than a Haynes manual.
Finally incase you didn't know - main dealers will rip you off at £100 per hour for labour as well as the cost of OE parts. I have a neighbour who is a technition and M.O.T. tester at the local SEAT dealers. He tells me that they are actively encouraged to find faults on customers cars that aren't actually there, just so the garage can make money out of unsuspecting customers who wouldn't know any better.
Hope this may be of some assistance to some of you.
