New Discovery II owner is worried !
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 49
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Hey guys, I have an 03 Disco in the dreaded vin range and I am having the hardest time killing this thing, I do hardly any maintainence besides changing the oil every 3,000 miles and bringing it through the car wash every once in a while and still, this thing just keeps on running. What do I have to do to break this thing so I can post some scary things on here and freak other people out about a problem they will probably never encounter? Sorry, I'm just joking around, I really do have a Discovery in the vin range but at 135000 miles I still have yet to have ANY problems. These really are great vehicles, I just want to make a point to anybody out there who owns one of these things. A lot of these things were bad, but most went within the first 50,000 miles give or take, it seems very clear to me that even in the range, not ALL of them were bad. I LOVE MY DISCOVERY, and seriously all I do is check my fluids frequently and listen to the engins once in a while. Sometimes it has a tendency to tick a little bit, sounds to me like maybe just one lifter sometimes possibly even two. My point is, don't let this stuff scare you, what I've found is that most of these posts on a lot of the forums where people really down these things came from people with a vehicle that was only a year or two old. I cant say I wouldn't be pissed if it was me, but, if you've just bought one of these at 7... almost 8 model years later and you've got 100,000 miles or somewhere in that area, just enjoy the truck, you're probably WELL out of the woods on the oil pump so stop worrying and have some fun, in my experience these things are fun to drive, are built extremely well, have great options, don't seem to have too many problems (if any) and they are real head turners. Just a great truck all the way around. p.s.-once in a while mine ticks when it's warmed up, I personally have had great luck with marvel mystery oil. I put in about 4 to 8 ounces and let it run for about 20 min. to a half an hour, then change oil and filter and that seems to take care of at least MOST of it. By the way, I run 5w-40 european synthetic valvoline (v996 I believe it is, but don't quote me) in the winter and a good synthetic, high mile 10w-30 in the summer. Change it often enough for a while and at 3000 miles it still looks almost like new oil when I change it. Just want to ease some nerves out there, I went through the same thing when I first got mine, I was scared to death. I shouldn't have even wasted my time worrying, NOTHING has EVER gone wrong with my truck, treat it right and pay some attention to it and it WILL give you years and years of flawless service. Thanks for listening to me ramble, good luck everyone, especially fellow "bad vin#" owners.
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4wd Low
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
As the originator of this thread, I must say that your post held a lot of meaning to me. As I said, my 2003 Discovery II was a long time dream , and after I purchased the truck, and joined several L/R forums, I learned possible problems loomed ahead.
( not that I stated 'possible' )
At that time, I wished that I had done my homework before, not after, the purchase, so I ran a bit 'scared'.
After reading your post, and others, most of my fears have been removed, and I will endeavor to give the truck the best possible maintainence, and enjoy it.
These vehicles are , in my estimation, one of the best all-arourd designs ever, comfortable, and yet still, rugged. What more could an owner want.
( not that I stated 'possible' )
At that time, I wished that I had done my homework before, not after, the purchase, so I ran a bit 'scared'.
After reading your post, and others, most of my fears have been removed, and I will endeavor to give the truck the best possible maintainence, and enjoy it.
These vehicles are , in my estimation, one of the best all-arourd designs ever, comfortable, and yet still, rugged. What more could an owner want.
Three Wheeling
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
I have a 2003 in the death vin range. Have 88k on it. Runs like a rocket. No issues whatsoever. Do all your maintenance as Mike describes. Doing his 90k service worked wonders for me. Change out the front drive shaft. Be very attentive to any new sounds that come up, run them down and repair. If the dreaded oil pressure light ever comes on pull over and DO NOT DRIVE THE TRUCK, get towed until you find out the problem. At your mileage chances are you are home free. The death VIN range should not be an automatic "No buy" signal. Plenty of 2004 owners have had their oil pumps fail. Enjoy your truck!
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 948
Likes: 36
From: New Hampshire
sorry for such a long post before, just wanted to help others who found all the bad info after purchase, like me. Wanted to mention also that most of those threads where there are two hundred posts about bad pumps do appear to be posted by either the same person or just a couple people maybe, with LOTS of time on their hands. If I had on oil pump explode on me I think I would have more than just one or two comments on the subject!!!
Winching
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 692
Likes: 9
Separating and allowing combustion gasses between the sleeve and block is a different story, as they only added a retainer and not a top hat sleeve.
Winching
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 669
Likes: 2
From: Beaumont, Texas
Start a new thread with your questions, it will be easier to address and keep track of...BTW, good luck with your search, test drive many, ask for maintenance records and early 2001s still have factory CDL if you plan on serious off-roading.
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bowser881
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Sep 22, 2008 05:38 PM
