Eric A, The death range is ancient history. Don't worry about that unless you find a truck with 38k original miles. And for posterity, all years are prone to regular oil pump failure.

 

My 01 was originally sold in Boise, Idaho and it has SAI

 

Yeah the SAI thing was basically meant to be CA or emission states only, but honestly they got spread all over the place. Back in those days at LR whatever was on the shelf got slapped on the line. 99 P38 & 99 D2 are proof as some early 99 P38’s (late 98’s actually) had GEMS 4.6L , or a Bosch 4.6L then with 95-98 other odds/ends. 99 D2 had some D1 parts like older oil pressure switches, blowers, and other odds/ends.

I miss those days as it’s not like that anymore. In the words of Forest Gump “life is like a box of chocolates & you never know what you’re gonna get” that pretty much sums up LR back in the day lol.

 

[QUOTE=
Just stay away from the '03's.
Check it out just like any other used car you were going to buy.[/QUOTE]

Hi from New Zealand, by chance my wife and I are going to check out a 2003 Discovery 4.0 V8 tomorrow so it would be great to know why the '03s should be avoided altogether? Also, can you tell me if these engines use a belt or chain drive? Cheers

 

They have a timing chain. 03's in North America came with a 4.6 with some shoddy workmanship on the front cover. There were no 4.0's in 2003 here anyway, either you have a transplant engine or things are different in NZ. You should not worry.

 

i'm a kiwi myself, with a 4.6L '03, but i live in nyc.
be prepared for a shock when you go to fill the tank. these things don't drive cheap. figure at least nz$250 to fill the tank from empty.

 

Would the front drive shaft need to be lubed or changed on a Discovery 1 or is this issue only with the Discovery 2 ?

 

Prone is an exaggeration in my opinion. I have had 15, all over 100k, never had a broken oil pump. That puts my sample rate at something line 7%, so prevalence must be less than that.

 

About to have a mechanic look over a DII I'm interested in. Unfortunately I'm not able to look the truck over in person, so here's a checklist I've put together for him to do:Truck recently had Valve Cover Gaskets, Oil Pan Gasket, and Transfer Case Gasket replaced.

Anyone see anything that I missed that should be added to the list?

Thanks

 

My 01' doesn't have SAI. Not sure where it was originally sold, but I purchased it in Portland OR. Whenever I see an under hood pic of a disco, that's the first thing I look for. It's very rare to see one without SAI. You'd be surprised how much more under hood room their is without SAI crap.