My 54 Plate 4.4 vogue for 850 quid :) :(

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LOCKESBOY

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47
[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]Hi Guys, got a spare 5 minutes so I thought I'd share my story with you...

I bought this lovely, well velma out of scooby doo lovely Range Rover 4.4 petrol Vogue for the vast sum of 850 quid...gumtree.. had a short mot, Oslo Blue metallic with cream leather, 3 owners 136000 on the clock, quite solid, bit of rust in both rear arches, usual stuff, tyres were all cracked and horrible, spare was flat, so first purchase 5 new tyres from black circles, it had only done 6k miles in 3.5 years, stood outside almost unloved, just like velma lol...anyway engine oil was as black as tar, when I removed the oil filler cap,...holy s##t...not to be discouraged by the lack of servicing, I like a twit bought it ...it drove ok, no handbrake, but suspension worked ok, all the electrics worked, radio worked but no sound, power pin had disappeared as they do when you get water ingress, sat nav unit, had water ingress , got another from ebay, 70 quid, repaired the amp and hey ho, stereo and sat nav working, all be it a bit out of date lol...put a flush in the engine, ran it for a bit and changed the oil and filter, the oil filter housing was held on by a plastic tie wrap as both rubber mounts were broken, got a couple of new ones , changed front diff oil, rear diff oil, transfer box,and did a service on the gearbox, drove it for about 100 miles and changed the engine oil again, put in a new pollen filter, air filter, changed the plugs, very old knackered BMW ones came out, changed the thermostat, someone had removed the thermostat previously, the last owner said something about a blown head gasket, but it had been repaired, I couldn't see any evidence of head gasket repair so I thought he was confused, anyway all that was left of the original thermostat was the housing, there was nothing inside,.bodgers.
Bled the brakes, cleaned up the rear brakes, front as well, got the handbrake working, changed a couple of front suspension arms and now it's actually not a bad motor, I spent 2 full weekend cleaning it up, it was like tykes had owned it..jeez....the engine is getting nice and clean , I can see that there is hardly any carbon now when I remove the oil cap, I picked a bit out the other day and it was soft, il give it another oil change in another 100 miles or so...the headlights were flickering so I changed the bulbs, that cured that and I bought a second hand lighting ECU as the original unit was playing up, I need to change the ignition switch electrical connector as I think it's about done, I put a post up asking if anyone knew how to get access to that, but all in all it's been a bit of a project and probably a bit more than I thought, I also bought a second hand rear light, as the driver side was long past it's best, I have another Range Rover which is almost immaculate, I bought new front fog lights and 2 new number plate lights from the main dealer and fitted them onto my good RR, I took the bits off that one and reused them on the banger as both front fog lights were working but the reflector material inside was turning to dust....oh and I put on a new rocker cover gasket set on the banger, cleaned up everything inside , you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes but both rocker covers inside were like jelly moulds. would I do it all again, I don't know, I think for this car it was too much, I should in hindsight probably not of bought it, I reckon if I hadn't it would of gone to the breakers to be honest, I think its cost me about 2.5k so far and it's not worth that, ..well to me it's not, so i should of run away first time i saw it lol...had to change brake pipes for mot and some suspension bits, washer bottle spewed out the screen wash first time I went to fill it, the whole thing was just a totaly uncared for neglected mess ...il probably run it through the winter and then pass it on to someone who isn't too fussy and just wants something reliable....or I'm going to go all in and just keep going and restore it back to what it should be...anyway I hope you enjoyed reading about it, have a great day whatever your doing...

Edit.
forgot to mention AC doesn't work, plugged in my AC machine and it wouldn't pull a vacuum found out it needs a condenser, and I plugged in my computer and went through about 20 fault codes, all nicely stored up in its various ECU memory banks, fixed most of it, all I've got now is rad fan inoperative headlight cleaning relay is up the spout , air bag light is on ..faulty coding to both rear head airbags, I think it's the ignition switch electrical connector box that's causing the air bag light to come on, thanks to Datatek for pointing me in the right direction...if you put the fuse in for headlight cleaning the headlight washers or wipers spring into life lol, that's why it was out in the first place, talking about fuses there was a fuse in every holder, including the blanks even fuse 36 or 37, which is for towing, and it still drove ok? Anyway I've pretty much got there, I've got a fault code for the fuel tank purge or venting, it's not the most important thing to fix but il fix it, airbags as soon as I get some instructions from here on how to remove the centre consul and get to the switch,...before I forget if you've got a Land Rover or Range Rover and your stuck for diagnostics or something I've got a laptop with a professional reader installed so if I can help anyone let me know, I live in Ayrshire..Scotland, if someone tells me how to upload pics I will, and il keep you guys informed on how it's going if your interested, I don't know what do you guys think get rid or keep going, you can let me know your thoughts, ...Haha just remembered when I replaced the thermostat there was like copper paste in the header tank, I think it's for head gasket failure or leaks in the cooling system, I flushed all that crap out, ran a hose through the system for about an hour then I drained everything and refilled the system with soft water and antifreeze, bodgers before had put in red and green and it had started to crystallize...jeez...anyway there are no issues with the head gasket i have no water loss or bubbling or anything, car gets up to temp quick, I fitted a 105c thermostat OE..and everything is fine new green antifreeze for winter and pretty much good to go...think il do the fuel filter when I get a chance, that's about the only thing service wise I haven't changed....ok guys that's it for now, let me know your thoughts...

Cheers guys,..have a good one..
 

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Hi like you said most people including yourself would have walked away from this but you've seen something in this rangie to keep putting tlc back into it post pictures and keep it
 
Hi Lynx45
That picture was the day I picked it up, it doesn't look too bad but in reality it wasn't as good as it looked. I don't think they changed the oil once in three and a half years, hence the oil jelly in both rocker covers...its running great now, engine is quiet and pulls well, il get another oil change done soon , today I put in 500ml of ATF to the engine oil, in less than 100 miles il change the oil, the ATF helps clean up the engine...
 
Hi lockesboy looks like it's in safe hands now keep up the good work for a £850 gamble it's paying off be one nice rangie when you've finished
 
You are one tenacious dude. I'm very glad to see someone else that refused to see a Land Rover turn into a scrapper. If the process was fun and you learned some stuff, it was worth it in my opinion despite the cost. Great work.
 
Hi WEEMAC,
It's getting there, recently changed both the oil cooler pipes from the gearbox to the cooler, I put genuine parts on, ..yes it's now a nice driving reliable motor, but the old saying buy cheap buy twice comes to mind lol...ahh it's been a challenge but yes I'm happy that I've saved it, it'll go on now for a few more years with a bit of luck ..
 
lol. They're always "getting there"...
You'd have had much less bother with the Freelander in the background of your original picture, though ;)
 
Haha, yes maybe lol, always liked the Range Rovers though, had a p plate 4.6 HSE for 8 years and had hardly any bother with it, I've got another RR and it's pretty much Imaculate and it's a bit newer, I remember going looking at those when they first came out, 1.8 litre K series engine, think I opted for the Honda CRV at the time for some reason...I bought the banger because where on earth can you buy a RR for that money, I can laugh but if I'd have broke it for parts it would of been worth about 4k the day I took it home,...note to self ...don't start cleaning and bonding with old RRs because as an engineer I will always try and fix it...I try and save everything...it must be an illness lol...your motor is nice, well done you...:)
 
Haha, yes maybe lol, always liked the Range Rovers though, had a p plate 4.6 HSE for 8 years and had hardly any bother with it

I'm only teasing. I'd take an L322 or P38 over my shed any day of the week. Took it on to learn the mechanical ropes as it were. I'm a pixel monkey so know computers, not engines! Plus, my garage isn't big enough for such a beast :D
I remember going looking at those when they first came out, 1.8 litre K series engine...

Last of the true Rovers. Great engine apparently, despite its cooling problems. Wish I'd plumbed for the K Series over the TD4 in hindsight.
I bought the banger because where on earth can you buy a RR for that money, I can laugh but if I'd have broke it for parts it would of been worth about 4k the day I took it home

Great point. I can see why you went for it. Particularly as you've recovered it in fine style. You have earned some bragging rights!
your motor is nice, well done you...:)

It's a steeeeeeeep learning curve but I gotta start somewhere. I don't learn without mistakes and I'm willing to balls things up in the quest for knowledge!
 
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