Servicing at non LR garage

Hi there. Had my TD4 04 commercial for just over 6 months now.

It only had 12k on it when I bought it with a full LR SH.

When 24k came I had it serviced at a local 4x4 specialist (Mike Aitkin) at a cost of £250, which to be honest I find quite expensive, even though I do appreciate that its still half the price of a LR dealer.

For the next service I'm thinking of taking it to just a normal garage (by normal I mean services all makes and types). I have yet to get a quote though, closed today as a bank holiday here.

What are peoples views on this.

I notice in the Haynes manual that there doesnt seem to be anything that is too speicialised in the service schedule which I assume is taken direct from LR themselves so cant see how £250 is justified.

I have just paid £140 to get a 20K service done on a Skoda Octaive vRS, the next one (40k) will be £190. Thats at £50/h labour at a Skoda dealer.

Now I appreciate there is a little time involved in removing engine covers and undertray (if needed) on a freelander but I cant imagine the filters (I Know there are several) and oil coming to more than £80 at a push and no more than a couple of hours labour to do a service/checks so wonder how £250 is attainable for a 24k service.

Any thoughts then on using a non 4x4 specialist on a freelander?

Steve

what is there hourly labour rate? Did they use genuine parts?

I was shocked when I went to my local all makes parts supplier to buy a fuel filter for my TD5. I was paying £5 for my 300tdi. They wanted £25 for a non genuine one for the TD5. I turned around and walked out.

Me un Porky always Diy, as most the service jobs are quiet easy, but for a major job Rover Tune [independent] in Pangbourne is the dogs bollicks

ratty said:

what is there hourly labour rate? Did they use genuine parts?

I was shocked when I went to my local all makes parts supplier to buy a fuel filter for my TD5. I was paying £5 for my 300tdi. They wanted £25 for a non genuine one for the TD5. I turned around and walked out.

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as mine is still under warranty i had to use genuine parts (had it done at a local ford garage )
we have a trade account with the local stealers parts department .
had a new fuel,air and rotory oil filter the total bill was £63

So no harm in having it done in a decent back street garage using good quality OEM spec parts (LR genuine if OEM not available) and decent oil then?

Would non LR specialists have access to testbook or a similar tool just like I have VCDS and a lead for VW/Audi/Skoda which is very similar to VAG's VAS system?

Steve

What you have to remember is that if they have done the full 24k service then it includes wheel off brake pads and shoes removed and rebuilt all the levels checked, it takes us 4 hours for a td4 service all filters ect, cost for parts with oil £95 and we charge £195. The 12k services are £95

Tomo1971 said:

So no harm in having it done in a decent back street garage using good quality OEM spec parts (LR genuine if OEM not available) and decent oil then?

Would non LR specialists have access to testbook or a similar tool just like I have VCDS and a lead for VW/Audi/Skoda which is very similar to VAG's VAS system?

Steve

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why not diy if it's no longer required under warranty conditions to have it 'professionally' serviced.

btw have you tried your vag com on your freelander? i believe it should read generic fault codes from other makes. thinking of getting my own.

booboodag said:

What you have to remember is that if they have done the full 24k service then it includes wheel off brake pads and shoes removed and rebuilt all the levels checked, it takes us 4 hours for a td4 service all filters ect, cost for parts with oil £95 and we charge £195. The 12k services are £95

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Blimey mate £100 for 4 hours labour, very very cheap. Are you a one man band?

I have it listed as 2.6 hours

all the usual lights and auxiliary equipment operations are checked as well as chassis, transmission and exhaust components. Radiator and intercooler are checked and cleaned (externally)

engine oil (BMW longlife), oil filter, air filter, pollen filter, crankcase ventilation valve filter, turbo boost pressure control valve vent filter and remote batteries are changed.

All fluid levels are checked and topped up.

All wheels are removed and brakes checked, you dont have to strip the brakes and rebuild them though mate. You just have to remove drums if fitted, clean and check linings and check for leaks.

You also have to swap the rear wheels over and apply anti seize compound

ps crankcase valve filter and turbo vent filter should be changed on every service

and don't forget the fairly hefty (and often debated) 6.8 litres of oil in a td4

Optimus Prime said:

and don't forget the fairly hefty (and often debated) 6.8 litres of oil in a td4

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We did a 48K service one the other day and it took about that, maybe 6.5.

if you don't undo the oil filter housing cap first it will keep oil in there, that's the only reason i can think of why people can't get the specified amount back in

well just to let you know the service kit on my LR cost me a Whopping £15 including the 10l of oil

G-man said:

well just to let you know the service kit on my LR cost me a Whopping £15 including the 10l of oil

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what LR is it Gman

where did you get it from? If it was a TD4 freelander did it come with the two vent filters you have to change as well?

If it did ill have some of that action!

I'm interested in this turbo vent filter - anyone describe where it is or have a pic?

Don't recall mine ever being changed!

bonnybrook said:

I'm interested in this turbo vent filter - anyone describe where it is or have a pic?

Don't recall mine ever being changed!

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it's located behind the engine and looks like an old school see through in line fuel filter

Land Rover Parts Shop

click on enlarge

its middle front in this pic

the crankcase valve filter is the blue on back right

pussyeater said:

it's located behind the engine and looks like an old school see through in line fuel filter

Land Rover Parts Shop

click on enlarge

its middle front in this pic

the crankcase valve filter is the blue on back right

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nice one. Done all these others. Is the turbo filter easy t get at and do?

bonnybrook said:

nice one. Done all these others. Is the turbo filter easy t get at and do?

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yeah piece of ****, its down the rear of the engine

might have to remove air filter cover to get down the back

you'll see it and work it out from there, pull out old and push in new

when i phoned LR main dealer to order both of the vent filters i asked him how often they need changing and he said every 36k.

I told him on Autodata service schedules it has them being changed every service so he double checked LR service schedules and sure enough they've changed it to every service (autodata get their info from manufacturers so i was confident this would be the case), worth noting.

pussyeater said:

We did a 48K service one the other day and it took about that, maybe 6.5.

if you don't undo the oil filter housing cap first it will keep oil in there, that's the only reason i can think of why people can't get the specified amount back in

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I don't understand myself, but I had removed my filter housing cap, &
drained properly. Unfortunately I believed the manual & put in the 6+ litres quoted & checked the dipstick after to find it so full I had to drain a lot back out. Maybe the oil cooler retains some oil on some cars, my car was pointing very slightly uphill, almost level but not quite.

chromiumuk said:

I don't understand myself, but I had removed my filter housing cap, &
drained properly. Unfortunately I believed the manual & put in the 6+ litres quoted & checked the dipstick after to find it so full I had to drain a lot back out. Maybe the oil cooler retains some oil on some cars, my car was pointing very slightly uphill, almost level but not quite.

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It's never a good idea to fill it with the specified amount and then check the dipstick (as you found out the hard way) you want to put about 1 to 2 litres under and then add by monitoring the dipstick. did you run it after you filled it to fill the oil filter housing back up?

the reason for undoing the filter cap first is so that no oil is held in there under vacuum, a bit like if u held a pint glass in a bowl of water until it filled up then turned it upside down and started to pull it out. the water stays in the glass until the top of the glass (now at the bottom) is out of the water. The same thing happens in the housing, it acts like a natural anti drain valve.

what we do is get the engine to full operating temp, add engine flush and run for stated amount of time, stop it, undo the housing and then let it drain for as long as poss 20mins plus usually, then change filter, fill it with oil and run it for 3 to 4 mins to fill oil filter housing back up, wait for another few minutes for the oil in the head to drop back into the sump and then check it again

the hotter the oil the thinner it is thus meaning the easier it will flow out

the engine flush also thins the oil during the flushing phase

the level of the ground is important, if the dipstick goes into the front side of the engine and the car is facing uphill the reading will be lower than it truly is and vice versa for down hill