2003 Disco runs but many major problems running
 

Ok, forgive me if this has already been posted, but I could not find a related thread.

I just bought a 2003 Land Rover Discovery that runs terrible, but for $600, I could not pass up a mint condition burgundy Disco with 130,000 miles on the odometer.

The Bad and ugly, The motor runs with a code Miss fire on cylinder 1. All 4 o2 sensors are coded as well. the motor runs with a definite miss fire. After the 4.6 warms up it starts to leak oil terribly at every gasket, the coolant temp never rises above middle, it has a terrible lifter tap, and after 2 hours of running around it will not idle and dies out. When it dies out it acts like it has no compression when turning over. When you let it sit for about 30 mins it will start and run but will not idle but it will get you home. When it cools, IE the next day, it will start, run, and drive down the road at 70. It leaks so much oil that even the catalytic converter has caught on fire. My guess would be blown head gasket, but the coolant never ever overheats. Has anyone ever seen this before? Also the oil appeared to be very hot, so much that checking the dipstick for oil branded my friends fingers.

You'll probably find a better response if you post this in the DII forum. You're presently talking to the D1 crowd and they speak an entirely different language :dunno:

Welcome and good luck.

DO NOT go by just the temp gauge. It's basically Off, Middle, Pegged. I'd certainly recommend an Ultragauge or Scangauge II to monitor real live temps. Valve Cover gaskets are a common LR issue be it a RRC/D90/D1/D2/P38 RR.

Also if it's leaking that much oil it could be soaking your ignition wires & if they're old the oil will seep down inside them and cause misfires, or they could be routed incorrectly and arching against the engine.

D2's especially 03-04's are well known for head gasket issues, slipped sleeves, and cracked blocks. They ran warmer than earlier LR's and to be honest LR got cheap with them due to the LR3 soon coming out so once the last 03-04's rolled out of the factory that was it.

If it's that pristine you can always find a junk yard 4.0/4.6 from an earlier D2 or 00-02 P38 RR and drop it in.

Main things to do to your 03:

Add an oil cooler (stock on 99-02 models)
swap out the thermostat to a 180 LR OEM Grey unit
Change the coolant to green 50/50 mix
swap out the one piece fan clutch for a 99-02 two piece setup and use the Dorman 620-112 fan blade.

hold your hand at the exhaust and have someone rev it up. Note the pressure... if no pressure then work backwards form there. check oil for water and note if exhaust is white and smells kinda sweet. Check wires, plugs and distributor.