Series 3 L200 - 1996-2006 - 2003 K74 2.5 turbo diesel double cab in Warrior specification. 18 years old and we have owned it for 12 of those. Purchased for towing an Ifor Williams 505 and then a 510 as the wife and daughters horses got bigger. I think it had about 86K on it when we bought and had already had a EGR cooler replaced which I think had probably failed and led to it being overheated.
Shortly after taking ownership it developed a bit of a knock that that resulted in a spun bearing on number 4 - New crank and rod required, so new bearings, belts, clutch, etc. Shortly after that rebuild we had a coolant problem.
The head gasket - MLS - had been pulled and distorted joining an oil way to a coolant passage. - Cleaning that out of the system still goes on today. I replaced the head gasket and a couple of years later had a water leak at the back of the head - yep same odd distortion of the head gasket but this time it had not joined the oil and water - just the water and atmosphere.
No photos of the second time but this the issue was the same.
This time I had the head skimmed - should have had it done the first time I took it apart but I had incorrectly assumed a faulty gasket. Or me doing the angle torque stretch bolt plums incorrectly. Anyway since then it has been pretty faultless. Dropping through MOT's with various advisories.
Long hauls were now mainly for car collections and it has performed that task pretty well -
G32 - Blackheath London
G32 - Witham Essex - outside the old Ginetta works building
G15 - PHX Croydon
Autotune Gemini - Staines or slough or some such
G15 - Dover
G15 - The wilds of Norfolk
Fury for IVA - Worcester
G21 - somewhere east again
Gemini - Hereford I think
Deliveries as well as collections and no end of horse shows -
All of this taking its toll but it got regularly serviced every 5K and washed occasionally.
The last big round of MOT failures I put a new tank in it - old one rusted through and weeping Diesel - and the exhaust getting to end of life again - I had already decatted it and EGR deleted and it had a mild steel replacement I fitted but this time I dropped a full stainless system system on it. No chance of any increased performance as the play in the turbo will makes sure any benefit in that respect is negated.
Its a decent thing to drive - and a decent specification being a Warrior with leather, aircon, 6 disc CD changer privacy glass and a Mitsi top.
Never had any serious offroading so always run HT tyres but it has always pulled itself and the horse box out of muddy fields and I remember one car park in Wales that was sheet ice - After doing some hiking we got back and cars were stuck going nowhere as thye carpark was on a slope. Changed out of our boots whilst watching all the hilarity going on around us. My mate looking at Rangerovers just spinning all four wheels sliding sidways into posts asks me are we getting out of here? 4WD, rear diff locked - into Reverse we pull out of our parking place no slip on drama - into 1st drive past all the spinning and sliding idiots out the carpark and onto the main road - stop 2WD diff lock off - and off home.
The last MOT highlighted some more serious rot being visible and the L2 got retired and I bought the wife a replacement. 1600 Petrol ASX nice enough car and tows well enough.
She likes it - but its not the L2.......
have I put that down
