Hey all,
Not sure how many of you remember me from the last time I was here, but I'm back with another lovely L322. BMW-engined, of course, as is my preference (being a BMW mechanic and all). The last L322 I owned was a 2004 in Zambezi Silver:
![]()
I sold it a while back and bought an X5 4.6is, thinking I wanted something a little sportier. It was certainly faster and handled better, but I had a lot more mechanical issues with it and the ride quality was awful. It drove more like an oversized car than a real truck. So I sold that and kept my eye out for another Range Rover.
Flash forward to July 2018, when my buddy and I rented out a space to open up our BMW shop. There was a car dealership next door with a black Range Rover sitting outside, so I talked to the dealer and found out that it had transmission issues (according to him). He was about to scrap it so my buddy and I scooped it up for $800. The cluster pixels were busted so I had no idea what the mileage was, but I figured that since it started and ran it was worth that in parts alone.
After getting the title, keys, and Range Rover to the shop, I put a battery into it and hooked up my BMW diagnostic laptop... as expected, a lot of my software didn't quite work, but PA Soft did. With that, I was able to see that the mileage on the DME was 102,000 miles! Score!
The initial problem was that the truck wouldn't move at all when in gear, so the dealer's transmission diagnosis seemed accurate initially. I had a 5HP24 laying around in my backyard from a 540it parts car, so I figured if I had to replace it that it wouldn't be the end of the world. Before taking that on, my buddy and I did a bunch of research to see if it could be another problem. Long story short, we found that the transfer case was stuck in some kind of towing mode and just needed to be reinitialized after pulling a fuse. We did that, and boom, it started driving. So now we had a 2003 Range Rover with 102,000 miles and a clean title that ran and drove. Heck yeah! I felt like I was on top of the world that day.
Naturally, the first thing we did after putting some gas in the Rover and some air in the tires was off-roading. So we drove up north to a place where we could do that. These are the first pictures I ever took of this Range Rover, doing what it does best:
![]()
![]()
![]()
So we basically went from having a non-driving Range Rover to one that did 80mph beautifully and off-roaded like a champ. The transmission shifted perfectly, the AC blew cold, and the air suspension worked perfectly.
Of course like any cheap Range Rover, it still has its fair share of problems. There's a red BRAKE light indicating a bad pad sensor (the brake rotors and pads themselves are fine), there's a coolant leak somewhere, there's a bit of shimmy in the front suspension, and the clear coat is pretty bad on the hood, roof, and tailgate. There are a few cosmetic issues with the interior as well. The radio doesn't work at all— the onboard computer and nav work fine but there's no sound when I press the power button for the sound system, so I'm thinking a dead amp?
Another issue we ran into after our first round of driving it was the steering wheel and ignition key cylinder locking up. We eventually got it to work again through a combination of pulling fuses and pulling the battery a few times. That was a real pain in the rear so our solution in the meantime has been wiring up a switch to fuse #18. By flipping it off and then on, everything works perfectly. Keyless entry and the alarm system seem to be unaffected so I'm fine with this solution until we figure out a proper fix.
We also got the cluster pixels repaired through an eBay seller, so now I can see that wonderful low mileage as well as any warnings. So far the only warnings are "check brake pads" and "check coolant level," otherwise it's solid. No CEL either.
For now the plans are pretty simple— go through all the usual maintenance items like filters, spark plugs, and oil. Then fix the suspension looseness, which is probably caused by either loose sway bar links (had that issue in my last Range Rover) and/or the thrust arm bushings (common issue with all the BMW's I have as well). And I've gotta figure out where that coolant leak is coming from before it gets too serious... for now I've just been adding distilled water regularly and it's been fine.
It's good to be back!
Not sure how many of you remember me from the last time I was here, but I'm back with another lovely L322. BMW-engined, of course, as is my preference (being a BMW mechanic and all). The last L322 I owned was a 2004 in Zambezi Silver:
I sold it a while back and bought an X5 4.6is, thinking I wanted something a little sportier. It was certainly faster and handled better, but I had a lot more mechanical issues with it and the ride quality was awful. It drove more like an oversized car than a real truck. So I sold that and kept my eye out for another Range Rover.
Flash forward to July 2018, when my buddy and I rented out a space to open up our BMW shop. There was a car dealership next door with a black Range Rover sitting outside, so I talked to the dealer and found out that it had transmission issues (according to him). He was about to scrap it so my buddy and I scooped it up for $800. The cluster pixels were busted so I had no idea what the mileage was, but I figured that since it started and ran it was worth that in parts alone.
After getting the title, keys, and Range Rover to the shop, I put a battery into it and hooked up my BMW diagnostic laptop... as expected, a lot of my software didn't quite work, but PA Soft did. With that, I was able to see that the mileage on the DME was 102,000 miles! Score!
The initial problem was that the truck wouldn't move at all when in gear, so the dealer's transmission diagnosis seemed accurate initially. I had a 5HP24 laying around in my backyard from a 540it parts car, so I figured if I had to replace it that it wouldn't be the end of the world. Before taking that on, my buddy and I did a bunch of research to see if it could be another problem. Long story short, we found that the transfer case was stuck in some kind of towing mode and just needed to be reinitialized after pulling a fuse. We did that, and boom, it started driving. So now we had a 2003 Range Rover with 102,000 miles and a clean title that ran and drove. Heck yeah! I felt like I was on top of the world that day.
Naturally, the first thing we did after putting some gas in the Rover and some air in the tires was off-roading. So we drove up north to a place where we could do that. These are the first pictures I ever took of this Range Rover, doing what it does best:
So we basically went from having a non-driving Range Rover to one that did 80mph beautifully and off-roaded like a champ. The transmission shifted perfectly, the AC blew cold, and the air suspension worked perfectly.
Of course like any cheap Range Rover, it still has its fair share of problems. There's a red BRAKE light indicating a bad pad sensor (the brake rotors and pads themselves are fine), there's a coolant leak somewhere, there's a bit of shimmy in the front suspension, and the clear coat is pretty bad on the hood, roof, and tailgate. There are a few cosmetic issues with the interior as well. The radio doesn't work at all— the onboard computer and nav work fine but there's no sound when I press the power button for the sound system, so I'm thinking a dead amp?
Another issue we ran into after our first round of driving it was the steering wheel and ignition key cylinder locking up. We eventually got it to work again through a combination of pulling fuses and pulling the battery a few times. That was a real pain in the rear so our solution in the meantime has been wiring up a switch to fuse #18. By flipping it off and then on, everything works perfectly. Keyless entry and the alarm system seem to be unaffected so I'm fine with this solution until we figure out a proper fix.
We also got the cluster pixels repaired through an eBay seller, so now I can see that wonderful low mileage as well as any warnings. So far the only warnings are "check brake pads" and "check coolant level," otherwise it's solid. No CEL either.
For now the plans are pretty simple— go through all the usual maintenance items like filters, spark plugs, and oil. Then fix the suspension looseness, which is probably caused by either loose sway bar links (had that issue in my last Range Rover) and/or the thrust arm bushings (common issue with all the BMW's I have as well). And I've gotta figure out where that coolant leak is coming from before it gets too serious... for now I've just been adding distilled water regularly and it's been fine.
It's good to be back!
