ok...I understand you want to avoid the question, so let me make it even easier for you.
Name one thing that a diesel LR3 doesn't have that my Series diesel has.
See? I'm not even asking for 5 this time.
No, that's actually harder. I don't know diesels that well, never worked on one.
So if you want to push the issue, we'll go back to petrols. I will not ignore the carb and ignition system unless we also ignore the fuel injection system on a new one... So, you've got the distributor gear which could strip. I don't know if it's a big issue on LR's, but it is on Ford V8's which is what I know and why I brought it up. You've got a cap and rotor which can and do go bad all the time. Every time I go through deep water, somebody with an old Jeep ends up with a problem, never had an issue with any fuel injected trucks.
You've got spark plug wires which can burn or any number of other issues. COP plug wires are less prone to damage since they route better, plus you can actually fix them with wire stolen from any other 12V system.
On the carb side, you've got a throttle cable which can break or stick. I've seen that a number of times and had it happen to myself. Despite the fear of throttle by wire, and there have been some problems (*cough* on Jeeps) I haven't seen too many *yet*.
I'm also sure everybody has had jets mysteriously get plugged, I know I have. I've broken the choke linkage on one of my bikes. Engines that don't want to start because it's too cold. All things that can go wrong with carbs, and not FI.
While new trucks still have head gaskets, the science has come a long way, and issues are much less common. Musky has seen total engine failure, let me know if you ever see that on a modern engine. Modern engines are vastly stronger internally than they used to be. I'm not saying it's impossible, but much less likely.
You guys keep on coming up with these old "war stories" which just reinforce my point. Old trucks break a lot. Sure, you can bodge them back together, and that's great. But an LR3 is less likely to have a total engine failure, and guess what, the one with the airbag problem... you got it out? Do you even remember the poll at Dweb, asking who has really been totally stranded due to electronics? Do you remember the outcome of that?
Anyway, some of my own war stories:
I'm on an '83 XT125 and my dad on a 72 DT100 on a trail in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the clothes on our backs and the tool kits under the seats. His throttle sticks WFO, so he stops the bike. We try to free it up, kick it over, it goes WFO in neutral. Hit the kill switch, doesn't stop. I assume the old thing was dieseling on a hot spot at that point. So it's sitting WFO in neutral. Does it blow up? No. Just sits there screaming. I kick it on it's side hoping the carb will drain, but it doesn't. Now it's sitting on it's side, WFO in neutral. I pop it into 5th gear and pick it up so the rear tire touches and it stalls out. Now the engine is seized. We pull the head off, get a stick and a rock, and beat the piston down to get it moving again. Head back on, same gasket. We get a small sappling, I hold onto the top of it, my dad the bottom, and I drag him on his bike so we can turn it over, free up the piston and get it running.
While at the Corduroy Enduro last year, my friend on a KTM 250 2T drowned his bike twice. And not inching through the water at tickover either. We pull the bike out with muscle power. Is the engine blown? No. Tip it over, take out the plug, pump the water out, put the plug back in, get it started and continue the race.
That ledge you posted, with the spotter, and the truck inching up it? That wouldn't even slow us down on bikes.
I know you're not getting my point about motorcycles. It is this. We all have different goals and expectations for our trips. Some people denigrate others for keeping to gravel roads. Or criticize which truck they choose because it's not capable of the trails you travel. We should all have 40 year old diesel trucks so that we can all go on week long trips on level 4 trails. You act like you're the kings of off-road, because you've made the only logical choice on what you drive and where you drive it. Anybody else who does anything different is "wrong", because there is only one thing that makes sense.
I'm saying you guys do not own "the only logical solution for venturing off-road." I find doing some of the things you guys do in any street legal truck is fundamentally flawed from the start. Sure, you can't carry a weeks worth of camping supplies on an enduro. Some people don't choose to spend 7 days on a level 4 trail. I happily spend a day riding trails you'd have difficulty walking, forget about driving a truck on it, and returning to camp at night. Others are happy on a 7 day camping trip on graded gravel roads, and for them that's an "expedition". For the vast majority of people in the US, anything not in an RV park is an "expedition".
This post, was for a guy asking about an LR3. I guess you feel some civic duty to steer him clear, but the way you approach this topic, every time, I don't think these people listen to you. All you do is muddy the thread, and prevent anybody else who may make useful suggestions about options or mods from getting through. Since you guys started posting here a few months ago, this forum has gotten aweful quiet. Nobody wants to ask questions anymore, for fear of being belittled for driving anything other than a diesel Series III.
