Hey, I've been a reader, but new to this Forum so please forgive a newbie. I've searched the various threads, but not found much new about the well-known 03' Oil Pump issue with certain builds. My vehicle falls into the known VIN number range of the affected vehicles.

My 03 has 101k relatively trouble free miles (not counting the front drive shaft failue, window regulators breaking, minor oil leaks, headliner and the like) and is cosmetically and mechanically in very, very good shape. Do I have a ticking time bomb regarding the engine? How do I check to see if it was possibly fixed at some point. I am the second owner and put the last 40k miles on it.

I read one article from a guy that knows the history that stated that if an 03' had the issue, it would have worked its way out by now. ???

Thanks for any useful advise.

 

I asked a very similar question when I got my '03 back in Feb. I too am a second owners but have logged only 15k miles for a total of 82k miles. My VIN is also in the taboo zone. bummer.

So when I posed the similar question here on this forum about a ticking time bomb with respect to the oil pump, the reply I got was that if it didn't fail within the 1st six months to a year, then all is ok. Of course, helps when you say a prayer and you make a sacrifice to the Rover Disco Gods.

Don't know what to tell you about investigating your engine to see if it was a rebuild. I'm a newbie myself, so I'll defer to the obi-one-kenobi guys on this forum to address this concern of yours.

 

Thanks gbob. Hopefully we'll hear something

 

I had an 03' that was also in the Vin range and she ticked like crazy. Thought it was a liner, but upon dis-assembly not due to failure rather sick of hearing the tick I found that the Oil pump Outer Ring was cracked clear through in three spots. My oil pressure was about 10 PSI at idle so these cracks may have been adding to this low pressure.

So to answer your question, the only way you'd know if you have an oil pump issue is to pull the front cover and inspect the oil pump for cracks. Not a horrible job but time consuming of course.

 

Due to a quality control issue at the engine factory some 03 & 04's had an issue with the front cover (which contains the oil pump rings) being mounted askew. This led to undue pressure on the rings which made them break prematurely.

I bought mine at 38k and took it back to the dealer as soon as I heard the loud tick. They replaced the entire engine.

Any truck in that VIN range now has already died or been fixed.

This should be the least of your worries.

That being said all Disco's have have issues when the oil pump gears wear out or break which they do whether or not the block is "in the range"

A good rule of thumb is to know your oil pressure, don't wait for the idiot light to tell you something is wrong.

 

130k on my 03 in the death range..ooooiiieeee ka koooooieeeee....drive it until it croaks. I've seen more 04's blow up since I started hanging out on land rover forums. FWIW I have put 70k on the truck since I bought it no ticks and good oil pressure.

 

Thanks all for the replies. This info is good to hear. I've seen several members with aftermarket oil pressure gauges and just found a related discussion thread?