TAKING on your Land Rover’s annual service yourself is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling jobs you can do – not only will it save you a few pounds, but you’ll get to know the vehicle’s mechanicals and their condition first-hand, and keep on top of any other things that you otherwise may not have known needed attention.
The Defender and Discovery 2 Td5 are ideal for home servicing. The filters are readily available and relatively simple to access, you only need basic tools, and there’s no online-only service history or complex service interval indicator to reset. If it’s your first time servicing a Land Rover yourself, set aside a day and take your time to work methodically through the items listed here; we’ve left out replacing the coolant as this Defender wasn’t due a change, and while the brake fluid needed changing we haven’t shown that as it’s having the calipers replaced soon which will also include a full fluid flush.
What we have included are all the driveline oils, which often go far too long between replacement. Even if your Land Rover isn’t due axle and ’box oils this year, be sure to check the oil levels and the condition of the oil carefully. Fresh oils and filters throughout keep everything moving smoothly and reduce component wear long-term, so it’s well worth keeping on top of. While we’ve quoted for the oils per
