hello my name's Danny Hopkins and I'm
here at Britpart in Shropshire to talk
to you about this beast the discovery 3
and 2004 Land Rover took the bold move
of taking its discovery away from the
original sector so no longer such a
utilitarian vehicle bluffed of farmers
and they stuck the discovery 3 firmly
into the luxury MPV sector now there was
a bewildering array of different
specifications there still are there are
also some really important things that
you need to know if you want to buy one
just for you because if you buy a bad
one it will be a world of pain buy a
good one best car you've ever owned so
to take you through it here's Martin okay
so as Danny said the discovery 3 is
quite a complex car and there's a lot to
look out for when you're buying one the
model was launched in 2004 and ran to
2009 when it was replaced by the
discovery four when it first came out
there were three trim levels which were
S, SE and HSE. HSE being the top spec S
was dropped in 2006 and replaced with GS
and XS there was also two engine choices
when the car first came out one being a
4.4 litre petrol V8 which are now quite
thin on the ground you're much more
likely to come across the 2.7 TDV6
diesel
manual was standard on the cars but a
lot of people specified the automatic
gearbox which is generally a better
choice for everyday use and in 2008 the
car also received a number of upgrades
from Land Rover including body-colored
bumpers wheel arch trims and a number of
interior revisions so now let's head out
onto the road and we'll show you what to
look for when you test drive one
so the first thing you want to do when
you're test driving a Discovery is have a
good look at the interior just to see
how it's been treated obviously these
were popular family cars so there's
possibility there could be marks and
scuffs on the door cards any rips and
tears in the seat should be taken into
account the S model came with cloth as
standard but the SE and HSE models had
leather like this one and nappa leather
was also an option on the later models
which was a much softer to the feel and
not not as grainy to look at the SE and
HSE also had a touchscreen sat-nav as
standard now it's worth bearing in mind
that map upgrades are available but they
are quite expensive and they end in 2015
so the very latest ones aren't
compatible with this system as you
driving the car if you've got a manual
gearbox it's worth making note of where
the clutch bite point is because if it's
quite high it's possible that the car
might need a clutch replacement in the
near future and that can be an expensive
job because the dual mass flywheel can
need replacing at the same time when
you're driving new automatics make sure
it shifts between drive sport and
up-and-down as it should and also watch
the rev counter as you accelerate see if
there's any slipping flaring or
shuddering as you accelerate through the
rev range
because that can be an indication of
skipped oil changes also while you're
driving when you're going over rough
ground or bumps or speed humps listen
for any knots or clunks from the
suspension because that can give you an
indication that there's a loose or worn
ball joint or bush as we mentioned
before these cars are quite heavy on
bushes and ball joints because they're
such a heavy car and they do knock out
the front lower arm bushes and the top
rear arm bushes so check out the other
videos in the Britpart workshop series
where we actually replace those arms and
show you how to do it SE and HSE models
will have had sunroofs and there was a bit
of a problem with the drain tubes and
these cars were knew that what would
happen is the valve in the end of the
drain tube would become clogged with dirt
leaves any sort of rubbish and the water
would back up the tube and leak into the
interior through the sunroof obviously
having so many electronics
in this car any water in the interior
that's mixing with those electrics is
gonna cause problems so I asked the
seller if there's ever been any problems
with water ingress check the carpets
aren't damp things like that
other than that sunroofs are pretty
reliable on the highest spec cars
there's a lot of things inside the cabin
to test they have electrically
adjustable seats so you need to make
sure all the switches work make sure the
electric windows electric mirrors
everything like that works as well as
the entertainment system the air
conditioning climate control heated
seats heated wind screens everything
like that should be in operating
condition if the aircon doesn't blow
cold and the vehicles got rear air
conditioning fitted it's probable that
the pipes that run below the vehicle are
corroded and they're really expensive
and tricky to replace so take that into
consideration if the vehicle does have
rear air conditioning another thing to
check while you're out driving the
discovery is if you get to a nice open
piece of road put the gearbox in sport
mode and really accelerate hard look in
the mirror to make sure there's no
excessive black smoke as it pulls
through the rev range if there is a lot
of smoke or it feels like the car's
lacks power it's possible that there's a
boost problem or you could have a
sticking EGR valve so take that into
consideration right so if you park up on
a nice quiet piece of road you can test
all the off-road functions of the
vehicle so if it's select neutral on
your automatic and go from high range
into low range it should tell you that
you've selected a low range on the
dashboard and the little green light
with the mountains will come on back to
high range it will say high range
selected you should hear a click from
the transfer box as that selects the
next thing to do is to check the air
suspension so you can select extended
height and the vehicle will raise select
access mode and the vehicle will lower
so when you select normal height it
should settle back to that height fairly
quickly if it does take longer than
you'd expect then there's a possibility
that the air suspension compressor is
getting tired and may need replacing so
next we can check all the terrain
response functions so normal driving you
would have it in normal mode you've got
ice and snow
mud and ruts sand mode and rock crawl so
make sure when you select each one it
should flash for a couple of seconds and
then go solid some ranges you do need to
have low range selected for it to engage
so just make sure everything on the
terrain response works as it should
finally we can check the hill descent
control press the hill descent control
switch and the emblem will come up on
the dashboard you can then select Drive
let your foot off the brake and if
you're on a descent you should feel the
car brake itself down the hill
automatically as you can hear the ABS
pump working
letting the vehicle descend the hill
slowly and in a controlled manner so
when you've checked that works press the
button again to disengage it and you can
drive off normally so here we are under
the bonnet of the discovery this is a
2.7 TDV6 engine this is generally a
good engine has its quirks and its
foibles like most modern diesels it's
especially important that this engine
serviced on time because they are very
sensitive to having their oil changed at
the correct period other things to look
out for are the EGR valves when you
start the vehicle listen for a ticking
noise if that noise continues and the
there's black smoke from the exhaust and
any lack of power there's a possibility
one of the EGR valves is failing if you
get a chirping or a squealing noise at
idle that means it's possible the
Brasilia belt tensioner is failing the
bearing inside is breaking up and just
causing a bit of noise but they're not
too difficult to change another thing to
check under the bonnet is to make sure
that the vehicle has the correct battery
fitted being quite complex cars it's
really important that they have a
battery fitted that's up to the job
so look for a genuine battery or either
a 950 cold cranking amps rating or an
absorbed glass mat like this one
we move over to the other side the
discovery had 11 recalls throughout its
lifetime one of those recalls was on the
breaking vacuum system so make sure the
car has this brake pipe fitted here this
was an extension piece that was fitted
under warranty for a problem that meant
that the vacuum pump would leak oil into
the master cylinder so just check the
color of the brake fluid in there make
sure it's not too dark again that should
really that should be replaced every
three years on service anyway another
thing that's worth checking is the turbo
pipes because if they crack or get
contaminated with oil and split then
you'll have lower a lack of boost
pressure and you'll get smoke from the
exhaust and lack of power when you're
driving the car so spend a few moments
just looking over these to make sure
they're not oily there's no cracking in
the rubber and they have any big splits
in it's also important to check that the
timing belt and the fuel pump belt have
been replaced on time they are due to be
changed every seven years or one hundred
and five thousand miles whichever comes
soonest and obviously it's quite an
important and a large service so if the
car is coming up for that service you
have to budget for that another thing to
note is these do like to throw on
warning lights and there's a lot of them
so if you have a bit of a nervous
disposition about warning lights
discovery 3 probably isn't for you
luckily there's a huge range of quality
parts available from Britpart to keep
one of these on the road so now we're
going to put it up in the air and show
you what you need to check for
underneath
okay so we're underneath the vehicle the
first thing to check if you're starting
at the back is the tow bar
there's a massive service action on
these from people leaving the detachable
tow bars in place and corrosion setting
in between the tow bar and the
crossmember so if it is in place give it
a good shake make sure it's not loose
and just visually check the crossmember
make sure there's no rot setting in
moving it further forward make sure the
spare wheel is in place because these were
really easy to steal and a lot of the
full-size alloys went missing over that
period of time so make sure that's in
place and that the winch is holding it
in place securely you can expect some
surface corrosion on the chassis it
shouldn't be excessive but just give
anything that looks suspicious a bit of
a poke and screw dry
make sure it doesn't hole obviously
depending on where the cars been in the
country will depend on how rusty it is
and another thing to look out for on the
rust side of things is the brake pipes
the rear brake pipes that run from the
front of the car along the body and out
to the rear wheels corrode readily and
they're an absolute nightmare to change
in situ so if yours look rusty budget
for that accordingly moving further
forward
just check the exhausts in good
condition obviously if these vehicles
have been used off-road then inspect
them underneath for any damage signs of
scrapes and knocks also make sure the
air suspension compressor hasn't been
jacked up on because a lot of people
mistake it for a jacking point the
bracket that holds it to the chassis is
only made of aluminium so if there's
been a trolley jack under there and the
bracket snapped off the compressor will
vibrate against the chassis and make a
horrible noise so make sure that all
looks okay
so again vehicles that have got rear air
conditioning fitted will have a pair of
silver pipes running along this sill and
if there's any discoloration or moisture
around any of the joins you can suspect
there's probably a leak in the aircon
system a little bit of misting on the
transfer box isn't uncommon but make
sure it isn't pouring out get hold of
the prop shaft and have a look at the
center bearing if you can while you give
it a shake the rubbers often split on
these and cause a vibration so make sure
that's in good condition moving forward
again make sure there's no excessive oil
on either of the under trays if there's
an engine oil leak it will trap all the
way down and you'll see a lot of
moisture at the back of this metal one
here check the CV boots are in good
condition haven't sprayed all their
grease out that'll be an MOT failure and
it'll cause the drive shafts to run dry
and eventually fail just go over
everything make sure the ball joints
look in good condition I haven't got any
split boots on the lower ball joint on
the tie rod gaiters on the front just
make sure everything looks free of
damage another thing to check is if you
can jack the vehicle up
give the tires a spin give the wheels a
spin make sure there's no damage to the
inside of the wheels no splits and the
side walls because tires for these
vehicles are quite expensive and once
you finish doing that you can give each
wheel a little wiggle just to check for
any play in the lower ball joints get
hold of each wheel give it a shake
side-to-side to see if there's any play
in the wheel bearings any play in the
track rod ends and the tyre rods
themselves and then the very last thing
to look for at the front of the car just
check the underside of the front bumper
and the under trace for any dents and
scrapes and marks from off-road use
because that will give you a good
indication of how the vehicles been
treated so the discovery 3 is a great
car
if you pick a good one it will serve you
well and then all the parts are
available from Britpart to keep one of
these on the road no problem at all so
if you want to check out more videos on
Land Rovers and how to keep them on the
road have a look at the other videos in
the Britpart workshop series
