my point exactly the THE FIX was to replace the engine, so if you come across and 03-04 block you should be wary of bad machining on the face of the block.

 

Replacement wasn't the only fix, it was LRNA's fix.

The replaced blocks were either destroyed or repaired and reused.

I've heard stories of dealer techs upgrading their 4.0 trucks to 4.6's with them.

I would assume they just tig welded the old dowel holes and drill/tapped new ones correctly using a front cover as a guide.

At this point in time I would not worry about the "VIN range" issue when shopping for an 03-04.

 

you can have all the 03 you can find, i'll with 99-00's thankyou

 

"machined incorrectly for dowels that hold the timing cover on, this put undue stress on the oil-pump gears causing them to crack."
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Dowel pins don't ever hold anything on, they just assist in lining up and holding a part, so that the bolts/nuts, that do the holding, can be secured. In the case of the offending Rover oil pump housing, the dowel pins were, indeed, off; not where they should have been, making the nuts/bolts securing stress excess; not lined up where they needed to be, for the interior gears to run correctly, stressing them---no great surprise, since the whole affair was not lined up right.

 

"most 03's and 04's are high mile vehicles, the ones in the VIN range that had the issue have had it resolved one way or the other or they wouldn't still be on the road.
That being said there will always be those that repeat old news on the interwebs and that will keep the supply of good 03 and 04 models available for those who know better."
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Exactly; I couldn't agree more. Many people heard that the problem was "fixed" by replacing the engine, and their mind was made up so no use trying to change their mind. YOU CAN'T UNRING A BELL. Truth is that they COULD be fixed with a simple fix, as yours was, and proven to be a long term fix at that. Yet, for some, somehow, a whole engine exchange seems more permanent a fix, so that is what they remember. Myths never die, they just grow old.

 

I'd disagree. The ones who waited to have their fixed on the 03-04's are the ones who did a large toll on the engine, starving it of oil, it might not be seized (if you buy one with the light blinking), but the wear rate is increased exponentially imo. So you could just buy a 2004 and fix the oil pump and pat yourself on the back thinking you save tons of money, but really you bought an old, tired, and abused engine w/ more than just oil pump problems.

 

The first casualty of low oil pressure is the cam shaft.

The cam shaft will lunch itself long before the block will be damaged...

60k and counting on a replaced camshaft/lifters. Also did the timing chain, front cover, and oil pump gears at the same time, turns out the oil pump gears in my replacement engine failed too. Obviously the low oil pressure is what led to the cam shaft wearing in the first place... Combined with too thin of oil... I also have no proof but believe I had a failed bypass valve in the front cover which contributed to the original low oil pressure issues. And by the way my oil light never ever came on through any of this.

Bottom line this same stuff can happen in a non VIN related engine. And, it does not necessarily doom the block.

I was told twice in the above situation that I needed a(nother) new motor for $10,000.

 

My oil light never came on as well.

I took mine in because one morning upon start up I heard the lifters tap and said "that's not normal". One morning of that is all it took for me to take it to the shop right then and there to see what the deal was.

So I don't think (I hope) it wasn't driven very long with that spun bearing.

This 04 is new to me with 128K on the clock. I paid 3K for and I'm in it for $1000 in maintenance repairs. So I am OK so far.

 

" they just tig welded the old dowel holes and drill/tapped new ones correctly using a front cover as a guide. "
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Not exactly true, no reason whatsoever to TIG weld dowel holes in wrong place, no reason to fill holes at all, but the dowels certainly needs to be removed, so gasket can lay flush and seal where old dowel holes are. If the holes bothered you, they could be simply filled, with dowels of shorter length, so they don't interfere with gasket seal. New dowel holes need to be fit in, the way you mentioned.

 

to the OP ImQuattro,

how did you make out with the crank?