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Went offroading in Portugal this summer
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frankv
 


Member Since: 07 May 2015
Location: Amsterdam area
Posts: 13

Netherlands 2005 Discovery 3 4.4 V8 HSE Auto Bonatti GreyDiscovery 3
Went offroading in Portugal this summer

After two summers of Covid and staying in our home country, this summer we went offroading in Portugal. We were with 4 cars and a Portugese guide. We had our Discovery 3 HSE V8 that we drove in with 2 adults, 3 children and all camping gear in the boot. And the rest of the cars were a Jeep Wrangler, a new Defender 110 and two Toyota Landcruiser 100's. They had roof tents.

We've had the Disco 3 for 7 years or so and went to the Alps and Pyrenees before. But this was the first time in Portugal. Every day ended on a new camping with swimming pool, all arranged by the guide.

I was susprised by the enormous possibilities. I have never in 10 days or so seen a sign that we were not allowed to enter, it seemed like every offroad track was possible. it could also be of course that we had very good guides Smile We did some steep climbs and descends, and a lot of very dusty tracks. There was also an afternoon of soft sand driving with sand climbs near Nazaré where we started.

As far as the Discovery goes we did have some trouble, but in the end everything went ok:
- had the airconditioning redone before the trip at a cost of about 2500 euro for a new condensor and new compressor and overhaul, it kept working even though temperatures were around 40 degr celsius all the time and the engine was doing very hard work
- when we drove to Portugal (2000km's) the check brake pads light went on, so we had all brake pads changed in Portugal, that was only 200 euro with very fast service
- on the way home (again 2000km's) the engine started stalling when coming to a standstill, and we had a clonk in the drivetrain when the gearbox shifted to lower gears, it was annoying in traffic and in Paris, but this sorted itself out and now at home everything works fine again, maybe the heat and long drive was getting to it
- now at home again I see a bit of oil leakage under the transferbox, so I'll have that checked

I was amazed at what the Disco could do offroad. It can do anything a new Defender 110 can do and is very capable onroad and offroad. Well that is why we bought it years ago in the first place! To be able to drive a long way to a starting point and offroading from there and drive back onroad again. It is a great machine.
  
Post #230563126th Aug 2022 5:17 pm
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frankv
 


Member Since: 07 May 2015
Location: Amsterdam area
Posts: 13

Netherlands 2005 Discovery 3 4.4 V8 HSE Auto Bonatti GreyDiscovery 3

Oh, and one more thing. One brake light was already not working, and the other one also went after a week, so I had only the 3rd brake light left.

Two lamps on each side are the normal rear lights, and only the upper two are used as brake lights. When looking at the lamps I saw that the brake parts of the upper ones were blown, but the normal lights were still working. But I also saw that the bottom light also both had a 'normal' part and a 'braking' part. And these were both still ok. So I just switched the upper ones with the lower ones and voila we had normals lights and brake lights again.

It turned out changing the bulbs was very easy using some youtube guidance. Two screws and a pull each side and they came off.

I don't know if this was intentional from Land Rover to have such a backup, but it was nice to do a field swap.
  
Post #230567327th Aug 2022 6:59 am
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Global Puffin
 


Member Since: 23 Dec 2020
Location: Stirling, Scotland
Posts: 223

United Kingdom 2005 Discovery 3 4.4 V8 S Auto Zambezi SilverDiscovery 3

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Hopefully an easy fix for the transmission oil leak.
 2005 D3 V8
2010 MX-5
www.instagram.com/global_puffin 
 
Post #23064553rd Sep 2022 7:35 pm
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qwerty
 


Member Since: 11 Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Posts: 118

United Kingdom 2012 Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 GS Auto Santorini BlackDiscovery 4

Sounds like a great trip, any pictures? Thumbs Up
  
Post #23064573rd Sep 2022 7:39 pm
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MintyHit
 


Member Since: 25 Jul 2017
Location: Bradford on Avon
Posts: 227

United Kingdom 2005 Discovery 3 4.4 V8 HSE Auto Java BlackDiscovery 3

Sounds amazing, couldn't you roughly sketch out your route?

I'm planning a similar trip in my V8 with my partner but unguided so any recommendations would be welcome.
  
Post #23064723rd Sep 2022 11:31 pm
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Naks
 


Member Since: 12 Jul 2010
Location: Stellenbosch, Republic of the Western Cape
Posts: 756

South Africa 2011 Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 SE Auto Fuji WhiteDiscovery 4

Nice, sounds like a fun trip - any photos/videos?

We are moving to Porto, and so far the prices of LRs seems very high. Big Cry
 --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear
2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged



Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9
Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: http://bit.ly/22l8YHh
Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: http://bit.ly/2iH7jgG 
 
Post #23064934th Sep 2022 10:49 am
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LiftedDisco
 


Member Since: 10 Jun 2010
Location: Towcester
Posts: 997

United Kingdom 2016 Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 Commercial Auto Barolo BlackDiscovery 4

@frankv - you mention that you had issues with the engine cutting out around Paris and then also talk about issues with the brake lights…

They may well be completely unrelated but issues with brake lights on a D3 can have far-reaching consequences - a faulty brake light will cause all sorts of weirdness, even using cheapy e-bay lights rather than the best you can find can sometimes result in limp-mode etc!

I’d check your lights and make sure they are top notch to avoid the possible risk of something cropping up!
 D4 Commercial - 65 Plate, 2016MY

D5 Commercial - Handed back when I left that job…
D4 Commercial (2014MY) - gone
D4 Commercial SDV6 - Baltic Blue (also gone)
D1 300TDi... 2" lift, HD bumpers (both), detachable tow hitch, 9,500lb winch, 235/85/16 muds and plenty of other toys (gone to make way for the next toy...)

Smiles per Mile - Tornado Motorsports caged Evo 3... 100" Defender look-alike, with Range Rover running gear - all fully IVA'd and registered! 
 
Post #231255525th Oct 2022 7:57 pm
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