I have an '03 with a 112K in the death VIN Range. Replaced oil pump at 99K (it was in four peices), but still had pressure in factory range. It took care of my ticking.

Fast forward 13K later and it is ticking again. Oil pressure is still fine, but if I park facing up a slight incline overnight (driveway) the pump drains and I lose my prime. Oil light will stay on for too long at start up. This does not happen if I park with the front end downhill. I've duplicated this multiple times. It does it everytime.

So I'm ordering parts to replace the pump again. It is a pain, but doable in a day. My question is since I'm in the death range and obviously have dowel pin alignment problem, should I try something? Here is what I'm thinking:

Upon reassembly:

- enlarge the dowwl pin alignment holes or grind down the dowel pins.
-loosely assemble the timing/pump cover.
- pull fuel pump fuse and spin engine while tightening cover.


Do you think this is worth it to have the cover/pump gears find their natural place? Or should I just replace it for a days time, $100 in parts and monitor the oil pressure for another 10-20K?

FYI - water pump, timing chain, hoses, idlers were all replaced the last time. I also run a oil pressure gauge.

Thanks - ordering parts today

 

What oil filter are you using along with what weight oil?

 

Well, perhaps consider the oil pressure relief or such (attached). And check out the post on removing the dowel pins.

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...ing+dowel+pins

 

I think you will find there is nothing wrong with the pump. Sounds like a cheap oil filter with faulty drain back valve.

 

I'm confused (really, not trying to be my normal PITA self) on the drain back valve issue with the oil filter. Since the filter is upside down, how does the oil inside it drain out through a valve that would be located above the oil left in the filter? Perhaps it siphons. But certainly a filter can be swapped out cheaply and one of those jumbos put on (the Prolator/Mann is my fave).

I would also suspect that the oil pickup or pickup tube O-ring might have an issue. If a small hole is covered by oil when parked it might behave differently when open to air parked at another angle.

 

Don't you know, Rovers aren't bound by the laws of physics.

 

I run Rotella 5w40 in the winter and Rotella 15W40 in the summer. Currently running th 5w40 since it is cold in MN. Always use Mobil 1 filter.

Oil change is cheap so, I wil do that first, but I'm pretty confident I have some pump issues. At idle it pumps 22psi, and currently on the highway when warm it is only 43-45 psi. When I replaced the pump gear 12K ago it would pump 50 psi at 2000 rpm. Idle is the same as I remember before. I think it has developed a crack or two (tick, tick) and now can't keep up in the upper rpms.

I will review the dowel pin removal thread. I hadn't seen that beforem, thanks for posting.

 

Did you replace the front engine cover last time?
If not I suspect that is your problem.
If your front engine cover is scored it can cause your oil issue.
99% of the original engines blew up within 20k that had this problem and were replaced under warranty.
Just swap out the oil filter, try a NAPA one and see what happens before you do anything else.

 

I did not replace the cover last time. There was no scoring and the new gears fit really nicely. The pump gears that I pulled out appeared to be orginals from the pics I've seen on the net. The truck came with complete records and no mention of any fixes regarding replacement or pump gears.

Hoping it is a filter drainback issue. I'll report back with what I find.