[QUOTE=hilltoppersx;166285]first off...

Although you are getting right around the sweet spot at 80-100k... so if i were you i would bite my toungue.

Sorry, not biting my tongue, just being careful. Robson service, who you might respect, if not that's okay, states that most Discos with the pump problem died early. So if you have evidence that 85k-100k is the sweet spot, show us. Do your homework, do a google search and show us the countless hundreds, if not thousands of 03s that have bitten the dust because of the pump issue? Not trying to pick a fight, I just think it serves this board to deal with FACTS, not rattling off absolutes. The only fact that exists is that LRNA put out a TSB stating that 03 Discos "MAY" have oil pump issues in the vin range and their FIX was a new engine. Certainly makes it prudent to avoid buying an 03 in the Vin range if you can but I see no evidence that the great majority of 03s will fail because of this. You are saying this is a given and all I am asking is to edify me and this forum with the evidence. I hope you're not right but I will accept the facts that you are IF you present them. Until then, guys like you are helping to tank the values of 03s out there and I personally take offence to that. I made a conscious decision to buy an 03 because the 03 I have was the better vehicle compared to all other 03 or 04s I looked at. I knew about the vin range problem so not being a lemming I decided to check out the facts for myself. I talked to my friends at the two biggest LR dealers in L.A. I spoke with my friends at the two biggest LR independent service outlets in L.A. I spoke with British Pacific in Santa Clarita who sell the 4.6 blocks and I spoke to Atlantic British who sell the blocks and NO SINGLE PERSON told me "yeah, we see a ton of these issues on the 03s in the Vin range. They all die. They're all defective." Instead, every single person said "Yeah, we've seen a few, and some were out of the vin range and 04s. And no, they don't all die. It's just a small percentage." So I bought my 03 and am happy I did. Could my pump go, sure? But believing it is doomed and guaranteed to go is like believing that Obamacare will not add to the deficit. And I'm just not that stupid.

 

[QUOTE=hilltoppersx;166285]first off...

Although you are getting right around the sweet spot at 80-100k... so if i were you i would bite my toungue.

Sorry, not biting my tongue, just being careful. Robson service, who you might respect, if not that's okay, states that most Discos with the pump problem died early. So if you have evidence that 85k-100k is the sweet spot, show us. Do your homework, do a google search and show us the countless hundreds, if not thousands of 03s that have bitten the dust because of the pump issue? Not trying to pick a fight, I just think it serves this board to deal with FACTS, not rattling off absolutes. The only fact that exists is that LRNA put out a TSB stating that 03 Discos "MAY" have oil pump issues in the vin range and their FIX was a new engine. Certainly makes it prudent to avoid buying an 03 in the Vin range if you can but I see no evidence that the great majority of 03s will fail because of this. You are saying this is a given and all I am asking is to edify me and this forum with the evidence. I hope you're not right but I will accept the facts that you are IF you present them. Until then, guys like you are helping to tank the values of 03s out there and I personally take offence to that. I made a conscious decision to buy an 03 because the 03 I have was the better vehicle compared to all other 03 or 04s I looked at. I knew about the vin range problem so not being a lemming I decided to check out the facts for myself. I talked to my friends at the two biggest LR dealers in L.A. I spoke with my friends at the two biggest LR independent service outlets in L.A. I spoke with British Pacific in Santa Clarita who sell the 4.6 blocks and I spoke to Atlantic British who sell the blocks and NO SINGLE PERSON told em "yeah, we see a ton of these issues on the 03s in the Vin range. They all die. They're all defective." Instead, every single person said "Yeah, we've seen a few, and some were out of the vin range and 04s. And no, they don't all die. It's just a small percentage." So I bought my 03 and am happy I did. Could my pump go, sure? But believing it is doomed and guaranteed to go is like believing that Obamacare will not add to the deficit. And I'm just not that stupid.

 

A Technical Service Bulletin issued by Land Rover North America on 3-14-2003 states that the failure of an oil pump is a design defect in certain 2003 Land Rover Discovery 2 trucks. There is no way to save the engine. If you have a 2003 that falls within the vin range ending between 3A771801 and 3A808362 it is doomed.

Sorry to disagree -- but this is patent BS. There were over 30 thousand trucks in that vin range and based on your quote above that would mean every one has failed or will fail. Do a search on the internet for failed oil pump and you will find many years of discos that had the problem. Do a google search on blown headgaskets and slipped liners and you will find more 04s with this issue than 03s.

please re-read my original post before going all postal. i said certain. don't believe everything you google. and also you ignored the fact that you are saying headgaskets and slipped liner have anything to do with this thread?

i said install an oil pressure guage or a scanguage 2 so he can keep an eye on it. the same suggestion you had made.

i'm happy for you that your 03 has not failed on you. you shouldnt have to worry about waiting for you truck to explode, hopefully it won't. hopefully its not one of those CERTAIN trucks Land Rover was talking about.....

 

Okay. Good. We seem to be in agreement. BTW: There are many posts about 03s with the oil pump problem. But here are a few about ones with 03s outside the vin range and 04s. Worth a read as I believe that no one with an 03 or 04 is out of the woods with the oil pump issue --

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Land-Rove...r-Discover.htm - a 2004
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Land-Rove...r-Discover.htm - a 2004
http://www.discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=63928 (read carefully scroll down and see the posts describing first hand evidence of 03s outside the vin range and an 04 with the failed oil pump problem.

http://www.landroversonly.com/forums...il-pump-34126/
Another 04 -- read "The vin range is BS by the way. Land Rover ****ed up a large number of 4.6s and I have replaced just as many if not more short blocks on the 04. I have an 03 and my oil pump exploded when it had 7,000 miles on it (not in the vin range by the way). If you bought your 03 used, go to any dealer and ask them to get your DDW repair history. Chances are that the motor was already replaced."


As for going Postal, I only use Fed Ex, so not a problem.

 

Not to beat this to death but since there is so much misguided paranoa about 2003s on this forum, I just spoke to my main Land Rover tech at Hornburg in Los Angeles, one of the biggest dealerships in the United States and he stated categorically that he has only seen a few (less than 10) oil pump failures on 03s out of the hundreds and hundreds of 03 Discos that have come through his shop over the last 8 years. He aknowledged the TSB, stated the oil pump issue was limited to a massively small (1% or so) of vehicles in the Vin range of 30,000 or so vehicles sold and that the internet paranoia was primarily driven by a couple of angry guys (and hey, I don't blame them) who started numerous threads about class action lawsuits,etc. re: the oil pump issue on 03s. Weave all the conspiracy theory, LRNA lie theories you want but this confirms everything I have heard from all other dealers, independant mechanics, parts houses etc. If the failures were limited to 1% or so of the vin range then that means 300 or so vehicles. Even if it is 2%, then that is 600 vehicles and I defy anyone to come up with evidence that 600 2003 Discos failed. Still, if 600 failed that means 24,500 in the Vin range didn't so owners with 2003s in the Vin range - watch your pressure, be vigilant on your maintenance, but frickin' relax and take all this "avoid 2003 in the Vin range" misinformation and hysteria with a grain of salt.

 

If you're really paranoid, you could install an engine shutoff switch that will shut you down if you loose oil pressure. I don't suggest that for a road going car though as it could shut you down at a time when you would rather give up your engine, than give up your life.
What I would do under the circumstances, is maybe install a warning buzzer to alert you if the oil pressure drops out. A warning light or gauge is at it's most useful when it's in your field of vision all the time, like on top of the instrument binnacle.

 

Tom,

Do you think the pressure gauges that install on the oil filter doughnut addons are a safe option? I don't mind doing the install work but does the fitting itself in any way weaken the filter assembly?