Well, my P1171/P1174 is definitely a vacuum leak the smoke test failed miserably. I can hear a hiss coming from somewhere behind or under the A/C compressor then smoke appears generally from the lifter galley area in the center of the engine. Intake manifold gasket?

 

Maybe .
If Not Injector?

 

Yeah. I'd put money on injector o-rings.

 

Thanks I will be sure to get a set of top+bottom injector o-rings before the tear down. While in there I'm going to replace the ignition wires, water pump, all of the coolant hoses, thermostat, heater plate, coil packs, serp belt, intake manifold gasket, fan clutch, oil pump, cover seal, timing chain & gears and oil pan gasket. This is going to be a hell of a job for a guy with two left hands, that's for sure.

 

follow the RAVE, label and take pictures of everything before you take it off, take your time and you will be fine.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Is there something I should know about the front cover before getting started? I remember reading something about locating pins not lining up and causing trouble. Would hate to do all this and then have problems with the cover shortly down the road, especially after investing in a new oil pump.

 

If I remember correctly some of the 03's had miss aligned pins from factory.

 

I just did a lot of reading on this and my '03 is in the affected VIN range. Good news is I have almost 135K on the odometer so either the PO had LR fix this years ago under warranty or my engine managed to survive this long from the factory without going kaboom.

So, do I just service the existing cover with a new oil pump and seal and Keep On Truckin' ?

 

This will be dependent on the condition of the oil pump gerotor when you get it off. If the oil pump has broke into pieces, it may have damaged the front cover contact area. As you have to drop the oil pan anyways, inspect your main and rod bearings, too. Mine were shot at 82K due to low oil pressure from an outer gerotor broke into four pieces. Clean and inspect your oil bypass spring (in the front cover) at the same time.