You might want to do some searching on this site about the 2003. They had some oil pump issues that result in a useless engine. The VIN range is posted on here somewhere. If it falls within that range, run away.


EDIT: Found the VIN Range

TECHNICAL ALERT
March 14, 2003 TA03 1201

2003 Discovery Series II Oil Pump Failures
Vehicles Affected
Discovery Series II (LT) 3A771801 to 3A808362

Situation
Oil pump failures on 2003 Discovery Series II vehicles may be the result of a
manufacturing error. Locating dowel pins may be slightly misaligned permitting
assembly of the oil pump to the engine block, but placing stress on the pump housing
which can ultimately lead to leakage or failure.

Resolution
Whenever an oil pump failure is encountered on vehicles within the above VIN range
the only effective repair currently available is replacement of the complete engine
assembly including the front cover/oil pump manufactured to the latest tolerances.
Use the following components to affect a repair:
LBB112301 4.6 Engine assembly LEV
LBB111461 4.6 Engine assembly NON-LEV"

* originally posted by humroot *

 

can we please..please...PLEASE make this a sticky? half the clutter in the DII section is people asking about buying a '03

BTW, good post humroot

 

Good idea for a sticky.... I'll add:

There is a reason the 03' is cheaper. Issues have killed the resale value of all 03's on the market. That being said, not EVERY 2003 Disco II is a bad one. There are plenty of people on here who have had no issues (well... no oil pump issues) in their run of ownership. However, the point its... there is a MUCH higher risk of issues with the 03.

Is it worth the lower cost? Well, thats up to you!

 

It still stumps me till this day that not one machinest has not figured out how to fix the stupid problem of realigning the oil pump with the crank..it's only off 000.something stupid enough to start machining the inside of the cover over thousands of miles....jesus christ..we send people to space..WTF....

 

So from my understanding... the oil pump failure happens Usually by the 30k range i it does not by then then you are more than likely NOT going to have the issue of oil pump failure. The other reason for the lower value is the fact that should you want CDL you must change out the transfer case, while not an expensive proposition it does add to the devaluation.. I am an 03 owner I love my 03... and am extremely tired of the doom and gloom commentary.. yes there are issue and there might be better years but ALL years have issues we know that.

 

People have come up with preventative maintenance solutions, the problem is, most of the time these 03 owners are thinking about what they "could have" done to prevent it.

 

It's a quick fix...make a template ..pull the dowels..fill them ...put template on mark drill two new dowel holes...go on with your life...

 

The main bad thing about the '03 and '04 is gas mileage. Yikes! 12 MPG combined due to the all-the-time four wheel drive. We only use ours for local runs so it isn't too bad; we're going to buy a jetta wagon (40 MPG diesel WOOT) for work commutes and family excursions.

Our '03 is a heavy duty beast and honestly it reminds me of our HMMWVs when it comes to the maintenance checks. Do those and do them by-the-book and you will have a fantastic truck. If the seller has no maintenance records then drop the price on them like nobody's business. Go point out the leaks that you certainly find in the valve covers and pick out some funny ticks and drop the price so that you can afford the 1000 - 1500 dollars you will put into it in terms of preventative maintenance.

They're fun vehicles to tinker with (relatively simple in terms of operation) and can really cut the brush.

 

Every 03' motor was changed/repaired already. They all blew up within 10k miles. There was nothing wrong with the motors at all, it was only the timing cover. When rover ran out of motors to put in them they told us to just put timing covers on the motors if the motor was turned off as soon as the pump failed. Alot of the motors that we removed were repaired with a new timing cover and directly put into technicians cars. (rover didn't call for the blocks back) So If you find a 96 - 02 disco with a 4.6 in it, chances are its an 03 motor that blew up with a new timing cover installed.

 

Good to know that if an 03 was going to have an oil pump issue it would happen in the 10k-30k mile range. Also, is the comment from RoverMasterTech stating that all 03's if it had the issue are already repaired?

I'm going to be looking at an 03 in the death range with 120k on it later this week that looks like it has been taken care of. Asking price is $6499. I think if I could get it for $5,500-$6k it would be fair.