Does anyone know for certain if LR redesigned the weak '03 oil pumps?

After doing a search on here I found this post: https://landroverforums.com/m_28994/tm.htm

The implications are that simply replacing the oil pump is not enough...you have to get a new engine!!

Did they redesign parts of the timing cover and engine block too?

 

Well, if you keep pushing the truck past the point of pump failure you're going to ruin the engine, THEN you'll have to replace the engine. Otherwise, if you just want to replace it for general purposes on an '03, you put a new one on and you're done with it.

 

I talked with a Rover mechanic at Land Rover North Scottsdale today while picking up some parts for my brake job. I asked him about that fact that on the '03 models the oil pumps seemed to fail quite often and usually resulted in a new engine. He said that when Rover was manufacturing the engines at the very start of that model year, when machining the front engine cover (where the oil pump is integrated is my understanding?), the specs were off by a couple hundreths of an inch. This caused more stress to the brearings on the oil pump and thus caused a high likelyhood of failure. The only real solution is a new engine without this flaw. So in other words, the posts that you found are accurate.

 

The door pillar plate on my '03 indicates April 3rd 2003 as the date of manufacture, the engine was probably manufactured before that date. I guess I'll have to ask a Service Manager at the dealership to run my VIN# to see if it has one of the defective engines.

If what Belaou's mechanic say's is true, maybe it's time to start calling a spade a spade; it's not so much a defective oil pump as a defective engine, as that's what we'll need to rectify the problem.

 

What's even more alarming is that Tigermax's Disco is an '04. If they supposedly discovered the problem in early '03 and rectified it, why are the defective engines showing up in '04 models? Were LR execs unethical to the point of defraying losses by knowingly unloading flawed engines, hoping that they would hold together long enough to outlast the warranty, where they then become free of any liability?

 

First, they were not flawed engines, if so that is what we would have been talking about, it was an oil pump issue no more no less. If you were to check with Rover, there is a super ceded oil pump replacing the original.
Second, the build date on your door panel is the exact date of your trucks production, not someother day that Rover is hiding from you.
By your production date, your 03 should have been built with the newly designed pump, so I would go building up all sorts of storys against Rover as to a conspiracy, I mean as a retired service manager, that is one of the funnier stories I have heard.
As for some ones 04 having an oil pressure issue, guess what, everything that is mechanical is prone to failing, it is just the nature of the beast.

 

Mike:
No disrespect here.Fonzie is not telling a story. My '04 Disco failed at 22,000 miles just a few months ago. The vehicle is cherry by any other stretch oftheimagination. NOsignals whatsoever that we had a problem.We were going up a canyon in Utah pulling a very light boat doing about 55 mph and theCEL came onand 10 or so seconds later the engine shutdown. we hadenough momentum to pull overand thatwas the end of it. Had ittowed and they replaced the engine with a brand new one. "Oil pump bearing failure due to poor design that would be rectifiedby the new engine block" according to the service manager. We picked it up 4 days later and took another trip. The CEL came on as we were coming out of the boat ramp and it started running rough. Called LR back in Salt Lake City and they said to shut it down and they would tow it. This time it was a rod that got bent because they did not put the engine together correctly. In the end, two weeks later, I got my Disco and it's been running like a top (knock on wood) since then. I went from Salt Lake to San Francisco and back with no issues. Hopefully, this did it. My summary is, there definitely was something wrong with the bearing design. The way the service manager made it sound, my new block does not have these issues, however, I remain cautious and will probably dump the thing as soon as it exceeds warranty coverage. I hate to do this because it is a fun vehicle, but I cannot afford to swap out an $8000 engine every 50k. if indeed the design is not perfect. BTW, LR was great thru all this. I did not spend a dime on it!

 

Sounds like you had a string of issues you shouldn't have had to go thru.
I still stay in touch with Rover thru a friend at one of the zone offices, for all intents and purposes, the 04 engine has been near flawless as per engine failures.
To bad you had to go thru that but, I wouldn't be afraid of another failure.
By the way, no disrespect taken.
Take care,

 

*Ahem!* [/align][/align]First! -I am not building up all sorts of storys...I am trying to get to the bottom of one soI can figure out the best course of action in preventing myself from becoming a chapter in that story.[/align][/align]Based on Tigermax's post, It is not unreasonable for me to to surmise that the timing cover/engine block itself might be flawed in addition to the oil pump, if that's what it took to resolve the problem:[/align][/align][/align][/align]Apparently, according to Belaouat least one other Rover mechanic agrees with that assessment:[/align][/align][/align][/align]If there is a superceded oil pump replacing the original, that's fine. I just want to be sure it's not a band-aid fix, because the above quotes leave me skeptical.[/align][/align]Second! - I was not suggesting that Rover trys to "hide" the actual build date...I was merely making a guess that the engine could have been, and probably was built before the date on the door pillar plate.I've never workedon an auto assembly line, butI imaginethe plate is stampedand installed on the door pillar the very day the completed truck rolls off the line. I would have a hard time believing that the engine block, timing cover and oil pump were all cast and assembled on the same day the truck rolled off the line.[/align][/align]Is it not concievable that the engine was assembled and sat in a storeroom till it was needed? Wouldn't a dealer have to run the VIN # or theactual serial # stamped onto the engine block to be sure it wasn't one of thedefective engines? - That's what I was getting at and not accusing Rover of hiding the build date.[/align][/align]And please do forgive me for daring to suggest that a large corporation might be capable of any kind of questionable cut-loss tactics to save profits...that never happens does it, hmmm?[/align][/align]Obviously I'm being sarcastic, becauseI found thetone of yourpost to be rude! -Call me sensitive, butI don't suffer arrogance and condescensioneasily.[/align]

 

Thanks forresponding to my pm Tigermax. Glad to hear that all is good on your 3rd engine!!! - It's also reassuring for those with LR warranties, to know that they will stand by thier ink.

As for me, my warranty expired right after the previous owner returned it to the leasing bank last June. So now my only option is to try and get awater-tight extended warranty. I'm talking with my LR dealer about that right now. They want me to bring it in and pay for a "Safety Inspection", but I won't do that till I've read the actual extended warranty contracts they are proposing and researched the policy company they are using. It's not the same as the original new LR warranty and from what I've heard one can expect to have to fight to get warranty claims honored.