posted this in my other post but the question on the thrid page and getting lost in the thread so here it is looked at two 03 DII's and don't it figure the vin on one of the truck's is 3A790537 and the other one is 3A774765!!!!!!!!!!!

Now did Land Rover recall these trucks or was it one of those your screwed if you bought one in that vin range!!!

also did they fail on low milage truck's?? So if you have one near or over 100,000 you where safe and probably got one of the good ones?

 

Best I can tell... no one knows for sure one way or the other. I assume the ones in the VIN range are in the range for a reason. I work for a dealership as a tech and I know that all recalls issued that we work on are specific and have a specific reason for exsisting. So if the VIN is out of the VIN range then most likely in my profressional experience on the dealer level... what ever the problem is with those affected VINs is not affected to those outside of it. I dont think mileage matters. Too many factors exsist as to when a bad oil pump housing alignment could cause the failure.

 

There was a TSB on this not a recall and it was basically left upto the dealer one what they wanted to do to correct the problem.
If you bought the truck brand new and always had it serviced/repaired at that same dealer and then your engine blew up in good faith they usually covered you.
But as a used car that has had 2-3 owners by now you are 100% on your own.
I would avoid a '03 completely.
However if you are dead set on one and are willing to travel to AZ to get one I know of a nice one that has been well maintained and is going up for sale very soon.

 

so if i understand this correctly there's nothing that can be done but replacing the motor???? what are the chances that if it has not broke in 90,000 plus it not going to (I know that sounds stupid because everything brakes eventually but i mean in regards to the faulty pumps)

 

Yes the only 100% cure is a brand new engine.
There was a defect during manufacturing and the oil pump gears wear twice as fast as they should.
The #1 sign of impending doom is the oil light coming on at a hot idle.
If caught in time you can do a temp repair, which involves replacing the front engine cover and oil pump and gears.
Typically if it is going to fail it fails in the 40-50k range, replace the front engine cover and gears and you bought yourself another 40-50k.
Total cost on that repair is around $1500.
If you do not catch it in time your engine is toast and needs to be replaced, rebuilding it will not work.
One this forum alone we had one guys cam shaft break in half, the bearings seized from lack of lubrication.
Most of them the rod bearings go out from lack of oil pressure.

 

If you are near or above the 90,000 mile mark, you are nearly safe.
The big thing to keep in mind, if your oil pressure light takes longer to go off on a cold start or flickers at a stop light, you pull over, right then, not when you get home, and shut it off. By doing this you will prevent the major engine failure and by replacing the front cover or sometimes just the oil pump gears you can easily pull another 50,000 plus miles out of the engine.

 

I just purchased an 03 disco II S. I was told by a land rover club president, that a 4.0l can fit right in to my 4.6l spot. Apparently the 4.0l is a better engine than the 4.6? My truck has over 200,000kms on it, and the oil light comes on once and a while when in idle, but not always.
I would fix the pump issue, as I purchased the truck for cheap, and its in mint shape.
Would it be cheaper to simply put in a 4.0l used engine or fix the oil pump issue in existing engine?

 

Get a 4.6 RR short block, that's what I did. The DII 4.0 and 4.6 are interchangeable, as well as the RR 4.6.
You can pull the front cover and check the condition of the cover and oil pump gears. If your cover is still good then you can replace the oil pump gears for $100. If the cover is shot then it's about $600 for a new cover and gears, or try to find one used. That should give you at least another 50k on the engine.
You should also swap those sh!tty 16" 6 spoke wheels with my 18" hurricanes

 

Totally agree with what Disco Mike states. From personal experience with the 2003s purchased by friends and techs in the community, if a 2003 DII has 100 K Miles on it and the engine is in good health, (No sludge, no lifter noise, no symptoms of overheating, no heavy oil leaks, no flashing oil light) then I would not worry about the oil pump issue and I would treat it like any other vehicle with a 100 K Miles.

I am sure that Land Rover's factory bookkeeping was not a 100% accurate, since in their production system, they used up the inventory of engine blocks made by a tier 1 supplier, with no sequencing whatsoever between supplier production runs and Land Rover vehicle sub-assembly runs. The VIN range is really an approximate span based on estimated dates.

I have seen 2004 DIIs sold at Manheim and Adesa, exhibit the same failure that allegedly only the 2003 MY has.

So, if the 2003 DII is in a good state of engine health based on the specific checks that I outlined, then buy it and enjoy it.