pissed off diso owner

Hey everyone...
So I have been posting about this issue for a few weeks now.  I have a '03 Disco with 52,000 miles on it.  I started hearing some grinding bearing noises about 7,000 miles ago, so while the truck was still under warranty.  I complained about it to the rover dealer and they said it was normal 4-wheel drive sound.  I kept hearing it but it was never very bad.  I made other comments on it during some Land Rover sponsored events...and they all told me it was normal.  Well...after I hit 50,000 miles it started to get worse.  I brought it in around 51,500 and the master service tech took a ride with me for 2 minutes and told me right away that I had a bad transfer case.  I made a appointment to bring it back and asked him if it was ok if I drove around on it for a few days and he said "you have been driving around on that thing for the last 10,000 miles like that....a few days wont make a difference."  To make a long story short...I brought it in, and they said there was nothing they could do for me because it was out of warranty.  They contacted a area manager, who also said there was nothing he, they, or Land Rover would do for me.  I then contacted Land Rover USA and filed a case complaint...and I finally heard back from them.  The verdict?  They are going to do nothing at all for me.  This will end up costing me $2-3k and they will not help with parts or labor.  I haven't even had my truck a year yet.  I have wanted a Land Rover all my life...and this is what I get when I spend a lot of hard earned money on one.  I am pretty upset to say the least...

Sorry to hear about your troubles, that really sucks big time.  If it makes you feel any better, I bought an extended warranty which doesn't really cover anything unless it blows up.  I've had my truck for a little over a month now and I don't really want to get into how much money how've spent to get it running great.  Actually it drove like a new car, but it was more the accessories that were acting up.
 
I've also been in your situation with dealers too and the best suggestion I can gice is to fins a true Rover shop that you TRUST!  The local dealers that I took my truck too didn't really care about what I was saying was wrong with my truck, but more about how much it would cost for them to look at it.  I then found an independant Rover service shop which in tern was the former service department of the local dealers before they were bought out to sell Lambos and Bentleys along with Rovers. 
 
If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can find the t-case from an older Discovery which is actually better than what came in your truck and do the work yourself. 
 
 

I would love to do the work myself.  I am a quick learner of most things...but I am not very good with cars unless I have someone helping me.  I have found a good shop in Minneapolis....Expedition Autoworks.  All they do is work on Rovers and they have been tons of help with this whole mess.  I have already retracted the deposit I put down to hold a defender for when they were going to be released in the US. 

You have just learned a very hard lesson. When you thought there was a problem, you should have had the dealer write up a repair order so that you could have documented the problem. That being said, lets get on to helping you.
Are you sure it is the t/case, describe exactly what it is doing, and does it do it in low range also? Has anyone inspected the front drive shaft, where it hooks to the t/case, they are know to fail because the u-joints in the constant velocity shaft don't have grease fittings, check it out.
As for the t/case, if it is trash there are plenty of site were you can buy good guaranteed ones like,
http://www.roverlandparts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=280
I would also suggest that if you need a case then you start listing your needs on some of the Rover forum classfied sections.
Get back to me.
Mike

Mike,
I had the transfer checked out both at the Rover dealer and at a local shop that only works on Rovers.  They both found metal shavings in the case and both said it is bad.  Everything else looks good at this time...what do you suggest?  Thanks so much for your help...

Very sorry to hear about your troubles.  That is a major bummer.  I think that Land Rover should have honored fixing your rover. 
 
Regarding doing the repair yourself, I have done several (Amercian vehicle) T-case rebuilds.  To me, the hardest part was removing it!  Once you get a T-case on your bench top, the rebuild portion is straight forward (again, I have not done a Rover yet..).  I rebuilt my Jeep T-case a few years back and I remember that the part cost (bearings, new gears, and gaskets) ran about $700 (I put in special gearing for off-roading).  You should see how much all parts will cost to do this to understand the labor costs.  It took about 1/2 day to rebuild my Jeep T-case and most of that time was spent getting it out.  You will also want to check to see if you need any specialty tools (bearing puller, gear puller, seal puller, bearing installer/press, etc...).
 
When you get done, you may consider putting in a additive to your t-case (like Engery-Release). 
 
Good luck,
Tim

The only way to know for sure how bad it is would be to tear it down and inspect all the parts to see what has failed and how much extra damage has been done from metal in the oil.
You do have options.
Mike

Bummer...sorry to hear of the ills.

Expedition Auto Works is going to put a transfer case from a '03 disco in my truck.  The case has 13,000 miles.  They are charging me about $900 for the case and total with labor will be $1700.  What do you think?

How are you supposed to get an additive into the t-case??? And what does it do?

The price for the t/case is good, but they are killing you on the labor and you may not find a better deal overall. Do you plan to use this truck for alot of 4wheeling, if so you might want to find a t/case the has CDL like out of a 99, 00, early 01 or an 04, this will give you alot more traction.
Mike

The dealership wanted "on the low end...$3,000" so I feel better about the local guys.  Do you know of any good shops in the area of Minneapolis Mike?

I live in the Minneapolis area.
 
Go check out the following shop in St Louise Park: http://expeditionautoworks.com/
 
Eric, one of the owners, is a factory trained Land Rover and Audi Tech and is also president of MN Land Rovers.
 
http://www.mnlandrovers.org/
 
I had a long e-mail exchange with Rik Olsen yesterday, Rik Olsen at gbolsen@hotmail.com, who is also an officer of MN Land Rovers.
 
I am new to Land Rovers and have yet to check this shop out.  But Rik spoke very highly of the shop and the club as well.
 
Good Luck, and hope to run into you some time.

Oops....didn't see that you had already taken it to Expedition Auto Works.......JDQ

quote:

ORIGINAL: johnnybob06

How are you supposed to get an additive into the t-case??? And what does it do?

Don't worry about adding an additive to the t/case, if you run it that hard either go to a heavy synthetic with a 140 W rating or a GL6 rated performance, neither of which are reall needed unless you are really hard on your truck.
Mike

Hi johnnybob06,
 
Your T-case has a filler plug (usually looks like a pipe plug or large bolt).  Some have a fill and drain plug.  You'll probably need a hand pump to pump the additive up into the t-case.  You can get one from Walmart pretty cheap.  If you are creative, you may be able to snake a tube down from the engine compartment into the filler hole, but this is harder then just pumping it in. 
 
Adding an additive like Energy Release can improve your t-case shifting, increase life, and in some cases lower your gas mileage.  You can also use Energy Release in your crank case (engine oil) which in some cases can lower your gas mileage. 
 
Tim

Does it come with any warranty?  you might also wannna look at getting a case with the CDL.  Might make the whole thing worthwhile...

quote:

ORIGINAL: xadamx

Expedition Auto Works is going to put a transfer case from a '03 disco in my truck.  The case has 13,000 miles.  They are charging me about $900 for the case and total with labor will be $1700.  What do you think?

 
that's cheaper than my f-150, but my f-150's new t case had 0 miles on it

I'll very soon have a spare 2003 transfer case I'd sell for less than that.  In perfect condition just upgrading to one with Difflock.

Sorry to hear about your issue.  I just posted my situation, very similar to yours.  What state are you in.  I've learned that in most states you could still be covered under the lemon law.  In California, its up to 6 months after the warranty expires if you can show that its a recurring problem that the dealer knows about.  Let me know, I'll forward over all the stuff that I have dug up

Yeah...it has been a bitter few weeks between myself and Land Rover.  I went up the ladder as high as I could go and they all said there was nothing they could do for me.  My truck is only 3k out of warranty.  Forward me what you have...that would be awesome.  Thank you!