2003 SE w/ 80,000

I can pick it up for about $7,500. Go or no go?

 

100,000 + on my 03....the usual issues, 3 amigos, water pump...otherwise very happy with the truck. I take it hunting to the desert, my wife carpools the kids every day, my daughters drive it and I feel good about their safety. I'd say go for it! Good luck.

 

no idea what the bluebook is in your area but that sounds too high..especially with $4.25/gal gas

 

So, I went and test drove the 03 with 120,000 miles on it. It started right up and settled into a smooth idle. On the drive everything seemed pretty good, no over heating, good power, good brakes.

However, the Service Engine Soon light was on and the radio would turn on but no sound through the speakers. I had the seller (a used car lot) get the codes. The only one that came back was P0130. After researching this seems like an easy 02 sensor fix or even just making sure the connector is good. I'm capable of making this fix.

I inspected the engine as best I could and didn't find any leaking around the heads, things generally looked ok. This car was a trade-in at a local LR dealership that this car lot then acquired and they don't have any of the service records. But, Carfax is clean and I can see that it has been taken in for service of the course if its life.

I'm thinking now that I have some good negotiating power and can probably get this rig for about $5,500. Would love some insight on if I should move forward or bail. Alternatively, there is a 97 D1 for sale, full records, HG done, brakes, etc with 167k on it for $2,700??

 

I'm surpised no one jumped in.
I have a DII and have limited knowlege on DI, but I would give the DI a serious look.
you have service records, most of the big repairs have been done, you get a CDL which the 03 does not, it has a whole lot less ECM's and it's half the money. you might want to ask on the DI forum what they have to say.

 

I'd go for the D1 myself. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love my D2, and I love tinkering with cars. But I would be buying the D1 to make it my daily driver, and pull my D2 off the road. I have dreams of building the perfect D2 motor, bomb proof in every way, but what am I going to drive in the meantime, a subaru?

 

I think both sound like pretty fair deals. I don't know much about the D1 but my '03 now has 145,000 miles on it and not even a "change engine light" or 3 amigos. Actually, I did have the 3 amigos when I first bought the truck but, it was because the brakes were completely garbage, needed both pads and rotors but after that they never came back on. The engine had a new oil pump, water pump and probably a few other things I don't remember. Anyway, after the brakes and Disco Mike's 60,000 mile service the only other thing I had to do was change the power steering pump. It's been a really good truck. I have been told by some Rover fanatics that the very last of the bad oil pumps went at 75,000 miles. I don't know if this is true or not but, if it made it to any milage over that you're probably in the clear. I know I've had a hell of a time trying to kill mine. Good luck on whatever you decide to get, I hope everything works out for you.

 

Well, I guess I may have gotten myself in to something. I got a 03' with 50,000 looks very very well kept but now after doing some reading I'm worried! What would you guys suggest as a prevent...Should I change the oil pump or is it an oil pump and front cover? No noises and runs strong....


Thanks

Deniz

 

Before doing something like that, invest in two things: an oil pressure gauge (they make pancake adapters to attach to base of the oil filter); and a data reading code scanner, perhaps the Ultra gauge, so you can see live coolant temp readings.

1. You have an idiot light that comes on when oil PSI is very low, like 6 -10 PSI. OK, what's going on at 1500 - 2000 rpm when you run at 10 psi of oil pressure (and book spec is 50 psi)? A lot more wear than you intended. A gauge lets you decide when things are changing.

2. You have a coolant temp "gauge", but the reading is processed by the ECU, and it tells the gauge what to display. To reduce the number of worried clients from filling the service bays with warranty related non-issues, IMHO Rover programers inserted a routine to smooth out the display. From X to Y degrees it reads the same. If you are slightly overheating in other brands, you see the gauge slowly crawling higher. On the Disco, the gauge does not begin to move until it gets to above "Y", so you are really in the hot before you know it. The coolant gauge is more like an idiot light with a pointer.

3. IMHO the Rover engine is not much different from lots of other vehicles, but the lack of good instrumentation allows owners to operate in marginal areas for long periods of time in complete bliss. You would probably look under the hood if driving a Chevy truck and the oil PSI was 15 at 60 mph, and the engine temp was 227 F. You would not know this on a Disco and you would already be in a hurry to get to the store to buy the week's supply of oil.

4. Check fluids weekly. Run a good diesel rated oil for extra sludge cleaning. Run a heavier oil when your local temp can allow it. Running 10W30 in Miami is not as good as running 20W50.

5. In addition to the well presented articles in our tech section, please have your own copy of the RAVE manuals and read through it on the various questions that come up. The download is free below.

6. Because there is so much electronics in the D2 always have a tip top battery. And check your fan clutch, should not spin even a whole revolution when warm. The fan clutch impacts cooling at idle and in slow traffic. Always flush coolant periodicaly, replace with green or yellow, and distilled water, no Dex Cool (orange sludge is formed by Dex Cool).

 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think ALL Land Rover engines are defective anyway so, there really isn't exactly a "safe" year or model. They've all got problems with blocks, pumps, everything, really. On the models with the KNOWN oil pump issues, changing an oil pump isn't going to permanently "FIX" the problem. The oil pump is no different as far as I know, it's actually the locating dowels in the block that are misaligned and therefore, the problem. Regardless of the oil pump issues, OR, whether it's an '03 or '04 the blocks in the 4.6 have always been terrible!!! They sucked in the old Range Rovers (even more than the Disco's, from what I've heard) and they suck now. The only way to make one even close to "reliable" it needs a set of top hat liners to stop the coolant from leaking into the cylinders when the block cracks.