to inspect my "rover." Your inspection report will be used in court and you must in a position to call yourself "an expert in the field of automotive repair for land rovers."

Basically, in a nutshell, My rover started to "shake" unexpectedly on the highway one day.. I immediately took my rover in for service to the dealership. Was told I needed a fuel injector, oil change, new plugs and wires for $1800. Was told there "could be" further damage but wouldn't know without inspection during the repair. Was also told there was fuel in the oil.

Paid for the repair, picked up the rover and was told "all is great, runs good, has a slight "shake" but that will 'work itself out?'... Hmm..
slight shake? Longer story short, engine blows on the highway just a matter of days later.

Now, I have consulted with an attorney as the dealership now wants to charge me $17,000 for the repair (this is an '03 rover discovery.. it's worth 8500 at best!). I have been told I need to find "a certified land rover mechanic, who can testitfy that 1) he is an expert in the field of automotive repair (land rover) 2) can give my vehicle a full inspection and can determine whether or not the damage could have been prevented.

I have gone "round and round" with the dealer. The owner of the dealership here has stated in an email "he has never been successfully sued, and is WILLING to come to a settlement of $600 IF I sign and notarize a "release" releasing them from all liability and responsibility.

Hmm.. not going to happen.

So, that being said, anyone know anyone here in Albuquerque, NM that can inspect my rover

Yes, yes, I am a "girl" and I think I'm being taken for a ride. Grrrr!

 

Another oil pump failure in a 4.6!!! Try contacting land rover clubs in the area. I would start with Arizona land rover club and solihull society (CO). SOMETIMES land rover techs do go off roadin. Good luck and for more info on your problem google "land rover oil pump failure" best of luck

 

Sorry about your luck but the 4.6 is a junk of a engine, it is notorious for oil pump failures and the engine "blowing up" from lack of lubrication.
You can thank Ford for this because Ford owned Land Rover then.
You have zero course of action other than buying a used engine (~$1500) and having that installed and then selling the truck.
Here is your biggest problem, proving that you did not drive with the oil light on, and they will claim that you did.
LR admitted to a oil pump defect in the '03's but not the '04's, so you have that against you too.
This is a "he said she said" situation.
And I dont know of any tech who is going to stick is tail out there like that, especially if he works for LR, can you say conflict of interest? (he would be risking his job)
Best of luck to you.

 

If you paid for the initial repair with a credit card, the card company may help you in a dispute with the dealer to negotiate a better settlement. AMEX saved me once with a screwball Honda dealer.

 

I'm sorry.. again, just a "chick".. how did you all deduce this was an oil pump failure? Just trying to figure all this out.. I was told I needed "plugs, wire, fuel injector, and oil change".. and that I MIGHT have engine damage... My problem is this- IF I did have engine damage, I wasn't informed of it and was actually encouraged to drive the vehicle. My oil light never came on.. not UNTIL I threw the rod through the side of the engine block on the highway..thats when my oil light went on andI lost every drop of my oil. I think my problem started with the the cylinders being flooded with fuel.. I had a misfire in cylinder 5. I guess I can only hope this problem, which I paid for, is the "culprit" and my "expert" will state that.. Thanks guys for all your replies! Please keep giving me advice! I'd like to keep my rover for as long as possible! I love my rover, hate this dealer!

 

it's a common problem.

Let me google that for you

 

I don't think that your gender has much to do with it. Gals can wheel Rovers around just like the boys, but with more flair. There is a higher than normal rate of failure of the oil pumps in this range of vehicles, from posts on this site and others. Unfortunately, Rover does not build in an oil pressure gauge, so all you know is light on/off, which is basically saying it is either 7 PSI or lower, light on, anything higher, OK. But normal oil PSI at roadway speed is on the order of 40 PSI. So as the pump fails, lubrication suffers greatly, then failure of something else. Mechanics could have detected this with a pressure test of the oil system, but may not have had reason to perform it. Oil pressure test is not a normal "running rough" drivability issue. Unfortunately you, and nearly all of us, are driving around in a vehicle that has less instrumentation than a Ford pickup.

That said, fuel in the oil could have been gross quantity of fuel pumped into a cylinder by a stuck open injector, there is about 34 PSI behind that to squirt in the fuel in precise metered pulses determined by the computer. The fuel could have entered the oil pan. What is not known is how long that went on, before it became a drivability issue that you could detect. Fuel in the oil pan would not be in such a great quantity that the diluted oil (seven quarts or so) stopped lubricating the engine. If the oil had thinned a great deal, the resulting lower PSI would have kept the oil light on, or made it flicker at various speeds.

Don't know if dealer did an oil PSI test, or a compression test on the cylinders to check them as part of the repairs.

It is sort of like going to the doctor's office and running a few tests. When have you done enough tests? Hard to say. But if their paper work shows anything about these tests, that may help your case. Most shops want to do what the customer needs to get them back on the road again, but not a lot of extra tests to confirm everything else is OK.

Could it have been prevented? Perhaps, by more testing, but they may not have been indicated by the rough running symptoms. Had enough damage already been done that engine was about to fail anyway? Possibly. Is it more a Rover design flaw? You could find a lot of forum users that would tilt that way.

Did dealer charge a lot for repairs? Yes, compared to DIY parts only, and a little more than an indy shop, where labor rates vary. Would it be wise to buy new dealer engine? No. But you may find an indy shop that will put in a used (pre-owned pampered posh sheetmetal) engine from a dismantler (they know if it was running when it was received) or a salvage yard ($250 is the going rate near me, and you pay someone $100 to pull it from the donor vehicle). Used engines can have a short warranty as well.

As a savy business woman, you have to decide if you want to spend the money to fix your Rover, or spend the money to help your attorney buy his.

I say all this not as an expert in anything. But my dad was a zone manager for Pontiac when I was young, and he later managed and owned dealerships with Pontiac, Dodge, Volvo, Fiat, and Mercedes. My high school job was to wash the used cars every day. I've always managed service organizations with modest fleets of installation and repair vehicles.

As a factory zone manager, my dad would get involved with customer disputes with dealers, and had the authority to have things repaired as warranty (with the dealer being paid) even if the vehicle was out of warranty. Don't know if your and your counselor have considered that route as well.

I would state that any owner of the same engine as yours should strongly consider adding an aftermarket oil pressure gauge.

 

Chick or not makes no matter, we say oil pump problem because it is a known defect, no less than 6 4.6's have failed because of this on this forum alone in the last year.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t=pump+failure

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t=pump+failure

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t=pump+failure

These will get you started on the known problem.

A leaky fuel injector will not cause this, throwing a rod is from either worn out rod bearings, lack of lubrication or over revving the engine.
A improperly installed rod cap will cause this also but that would have happened in the first few thousand miles of it being new.

If you can post a pic of the hole in the block please.

 

Thank god, I was going to try and get a job at the dealer, but the asenine service manager wouldn't give me the time of day. Wouldn't even come out to shake my hand. Its' not like I was a certified tech but oh well.

And you are in luck. You want a certified land rover technician in Albuquerque then you need to speak to Rob Dassler, South West Rovers.

Southwest Rovers Homepage

I have personally met Rob and I know the man is smart and will be able to help you. I can vouch for Rob, hell so can Atlantic British, he rebuilds their transfer cases for them. He's a good guy and extremely thorough and knowledgeable.

 

thank you so much for your reply! Very insightful. Oil pressure... Hmmm... Lots to think about... You're awesome! I'm just a little smarter now this morning than I was yesterday