Bad '04?
 

I've been dealing with low oil pressure on my '04 Disco Se with 80k on it. I've checked the oil uptake screen and that is clean. I did see some aluminum shavings in the oil sump (used magnet to check) and spoke to a rover specialty shop who said that there was a batch of '04s that have the same issues as the bad '03s. He said that the shaving are from the timing chain rubbing up against the front cover due to the engine mounting pegs being machined poolry and the shavings have most likely blocked up the oil galleries causing the low oil pressure. He also said that replacing the oil cover won't be doing much good cause they themselves rarely go bad.

Has anyone else encountered this?

Thanks!!

That is true about bad '04's. I'm not sure if his explanation is right on the money (I thought it was the oil pump gears shredding) but regardless what you need to do is take off your front engine cover and replace those gears and inspect the chain and see if it is indeed rubbing. I'm not sure if the entire oil pump needs to replaced or just the gears, I'm sure someone will chime in that knows for sure. Taking the front cover off is not too terrible, you need to drop the oil pan and remove the viscous fan.

I was able to remove the front cover and the inside of it looks fine. The timing chain doesn't seem to have been rubbing up against it. The cover is still tethered to the oil pressure sensor because I don't have the right size wrench for it yet. Once I have it off I'll see what the condition of the gears are. I was told that if the gears and cover are worn it may not necessarily mean it's due to faulty design, but to it having been run with low oil over time from a previous owner. It's when the gears are cracked that denotes that the well known design flaw is the issue. That's what I remember hearing from this tech anyway.

Thanks for the reply!

Isn't that just a 10, 11, or 12mm socket (forgot which one exactly)? Get a couple socket sets from Harbor freight. The metric impact set and then a chrome metric set of smaller sizes has gotten me through head gaskets, front cover, suspension, brakes, oil pan, hub etc...

Too bad it is apart, you should have checked the oil pressure at all 4 points before tearing into it.
If it was an 03 type issue, I have seen a number of people replace the pump and cover and they are fine again for another 50,000 plus miles. Wouldn't suggest you do this though till you find where the shavings are coming from.

What are the other possibilities? I still have the pump off and plan on replacing the bearings as well. Instead of trying to pinpoint the exact problem with my limited expertise and only a month's use of the storage space that my dosco is currently in, I've decided to replace everything. Head gaskets are next, followed by induction cleaning, and engine flush and changing out the wires and plugs. I've also replaced the front drive shaft with servicable grease points. All other 60k service is done.