I picked up an 03 DII a few weeks back with a blown oil pump. Owner shut it down as soon as the oil light came on and it seems (I hope) no other damage was done. So I replaced the oil pump (new front cover) and did the timing chain/gears, water pump and hoses for good measure. Its been running great for the past two weeks so I'm hoping all is good. She needs some work (headliner, a door lock, etc) but thats expected. I'm hoping it lasts a few years. Fun car and perfect to get the 220 lb dog around.

It joins the 98 LR DI, 05 Mazda Rx-8, 07 Audi A4 Quattro and 11 BMW X5 4.4TT. All fun or useful cars/trucks in their own right.

 

Looks real nice! I am have been going through some of the same repairs you just went through but now I have an overheating issue.

 

Did some 03s get the newer headlights or were they swapped on that one?

Want your seats!

 

Keeping my fingers crossed. Eyes are always watching for any warning lights or overheating. It was almost a steal at $1100. I took a big chance since it wasn't running when I bought it. Then again, the 98 wasn't running also - new fuel pump and she was good to go.

Any ideas whats causing the overheating?

 

As far as I'm aware the 03's had the newer headlight design. Yeah, I love the piping. I had a Range Rover rental when I was in Germany earlier this year and the interior in that is just heads and shoulders above anything else I've been in. The X5 isn't even close

 

All 2003 have the newer headlights

 

Wow, nice score! It's almost identical to mine (color and everything) and I paid $4k. I had to have the same work done; mine was running, but had the oil light flickering at low RPM idle. Oil pump outer gerotor was cracked in three places.

What type of overheating are you experiencing? Do NOT run it until you get the overheating diagnosed. I'd also recommend swapping over to the 180* thermostat and adding the factory oil cooler from an earlier D2 that they deleted in '03.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-cooler-69414/

 

Yep, very happy with the new addition. Funny thing is I paid $1100 also for the 98 DI (needed a fuel pump) and this one is in MUCH nicer condition then the 98.

The overheating issue was in response to ME6067's issue. I'm not experiencing any overheating. I do have what sounds like a lifter tap but I plan on replacing all the lifters/pushrods and probably rockers in the not too distant future. Overall I'm happy with her. She isn't perfect but for $1100, she is a darn good deal.

 

If you do new lifters and rockers you will also have to do a new cam shaft, probably should have done all that while you had the front off.

In the mean time try changing the oil to Rotella 15w40, many find that this oil, with high zddp and a detergent package made for cleaning diesel engines, quiets down the tapping. 12.97/gal at Walmart.

You might just save yourself some work and some cash, and your Rover will thank you.

 

Uh...lifter tap. Yeah. This is very likely NOT a lifter tap. When you have a oil pump failure, overheating often occurs, causing the well-known "tick"...at hot idle. The only way to correctly diagnose this is to pull the heads and verify if you have a slipping cylinder liner. It doesn't take much to free up a liner and have it smacking the head, leaving the liner's imprint in the head gasket and head itself. This seems to be very common on the 4.6L engines of '03 and '04, as LR used a different retaining compound and removed the oil coolers, allowing the engines to run hotter to meet the lower emission standards.

The "fix"? Pin the liners to the block or install a new short block with "top hat" liners...about $8-10K. Otherwise, live with the "tick" until she blows. How many miles does she have on her? Oh, and when you had the oil pan off, did you check the rod and main bearings?