Just recently picked up an 03 disco se and joined the rover family. Great rig so far although I feel the maintenance is probably needing to be done. I do most of my own mechanics and have built a few cars personally. Just wanted to say " Hello"!

 

Hello!

Do a little searching and get the RAVE manual on here.

 

Oh god another one sucked into the 03 void... check your vin, does it fall in this category? 3A771801 – 3A808362


lol... welcome to the club, just keep an eye on her like a hawk and never get complacent about maintenance and she will do you proud in the worst driving conditions and suck gas like a middle east oil well.

 

Welcome, and I will tell you this forum is a goldmine for a DIYer. The biggest issues are maintaining the front drive shaft and the cooling system. I'd tackle them first. You also do need to check your vin pronto to figure out if you're in bad range.

Then you'll want to do the 'Major Service' that's stickied to the top of the main page.

You'll also probly want to buy a spare crankcase position sensor and keep it and the tools to change it in the truck.

The good news is these trucks are a pleasure to work on. Small engine, big hood.

 

welcome here is some good reading for you
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t-reads-26352/

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone! The vin reads "SALTY164333A774997" so hopefully that isn't a terrible year. I just downloaded the Rave manual and thanks a lot for the link to that. I do appreciate manuals when you can come by them. So far she has a couple things wrong with her but seems to drive clean. I have to do a heater core here soon and I am aware that its a bear of a job. I also need to do the Idle Air Control Valve but it appears it's fairly easy. I noticed when I changed the oil she's got a bit of a leak underneath too so I am going to have to do some investigating on that as well. I will take a look at all the forums maintenance schedule and start getting caught up! Thanks guys

 

3A771801 – (yours) 3A774997 - 3A808362

May want to think about doing an oil pump or checking that its been replaced already....

 

Here is a word of advice:

NEVER take too seriously anyone who tells you to check the VIN number on a 10 year old 03.

ALL of the VIN # related issues (oil pump/dowel placement on front cover) came to the surface in the first 40,000 miles and have been addressed.

So enjoy bringing your truck up to spec and then enjoy your ride!

 

If you suspect heater core is blocked, and you have low heat, that is also a sign of low coolant, a more serious issue. Sound like water rushing thru pipes under dash is air bubbles (can purge) or exhaust gas (head gasket). In the plumbing plan you will note there is no valve for heater core, it gets hot coolant every day of the year, even with AC on. Some reverse flush the core.

 

I will check the oil pump and see if it needs to be replaced. I'm hoping that by now with a 145xxx that it will have had most of its problems already and things have more than likely been replaced. The heater core gets no heat at all but I can feel warm coolant in the lines running into the fire wall. I am hoping that its plugged up and not something more sinister. The D2 has full coolant to my knowledge but I have only checked the level when I first bought here last week. Thanks for the info everyone.