Why do you say no running disco will have the original oil pump? It's my understanding that the failure can happen at anytime.

 

No running 03 or 04 in the VIN ranger of the issue you refer to as "oil pump" will have the original issue, nor the original oil pump.

The issue was mis drilled front cover dowel holes which made the front cover of the effected engines pinch the oil pump gears which led to their early destruction.

Unless you find one with 25,000 miles on it then every running 03 or 04 out there that had this issue has had it dealt with or it wouldn't still be running.

Many of them, like mine, got new engines from the factory as a "fix". In my case at around 38k miles.

Others had the dowels altered to allow the front cover to be mounted properly, new front cover if it was scored, and of course new oil pump gears.

And again, these oil pumps break anyway, unrelated to the above issue, in all years.

 

So basically this is now a null issue?

 

i own a 2000 disco2. would not buy another one. my 1997 f150 is ten times the vehicle and its the worst year for that generation f150. wife loves it. the only reason we still have it. i work on all my own stuff. all the repairs have been done by me. heater core, head gaskets, water pump and a whole lot of other crap. my neighbor bought a 2001 durango 2 years ago and other than basic maintence has not had to do anything else to it. lots of other suv's in that year and price range. no need to get a nightmare.

 

I have to disagree with you Dave... again. You would have to be near retarded to buy a car hoping for someone to have to used their common sense to get something fixed, even if its free and under warranty, if they have the papers that they did it or it was done, then yes, buy it, but if not, walk away.

 

No, its not.

 

Ok so I am confused, even if the engine was not replaced that does not mean that all is lost...right? I mean if the engine or should I say pump was working fine and I went and just for the hell of it put a new one on I would be helping to ensure I would get more life out of the car right? It seems like people seem to have different views of the situation. I read that all or most of the cars had the engines replaced, then I read this is not true, then I read that the pumps usually fail around 50K or so then other people say it can happen any time. Some say the 03's are basically guaranteed to to leave you broke down other say not so much, some people say if the pump goes and you respond quickly you can save the engine and put a new pump on it. If I take the truck to a garage and have a pressure test done and the numbers are good should I buy it and install a gauge and just keep an eye on it? Oh and what are those 4 magic numbers?

 

if you really like it.. get it. it will cost you money, its a 10+ year old suv. its also a machine, without maintenance it will break down.

what it boils down to... it is a used car.. **** happens, and anything can and will go wrong. i took a chance and love my disco. it sure beat all of the trashed cherokees, rusted pathfinders, and beat to hell durangos with broken ball joints and bald tires that i looked at.

 

have it inspected by an independent LR mechanic before even considering it

 

If someone ignored the issue and ran an engine with a broken oil pump and crooked front cover for 75k miles it would not be a smooth running car. That kind of neglect would lead to other issues and it probably would not make it to what ever miles it has. At the very least you would run like hell if you did hear it running.

That's why I said if it is an 03 and its running and sounding good, chances are about 97% that if it did have that issue it has been resolved long ago.

I stand by what I said.

I have never been left stranded in over 120k miles driving an 03 that was in the VIN range and did have the issue.

If the oil pump breaks it isn't catastrophic. what does the damage is running with low oil pressure... and again, these oil pumps can break on any year of Disco.