Hey folks,
been lurking for a while but compelled to submit this issue as I’m on a trip.

Issue: oil indicator came on at idle and is on all the time below about 1500 rpm.

Stats: oil change less than 500 miles. Oil quantity is good.

Towing 2600 lb trailer over the mountains. Never had an issue previously. Temp is good.

Do not have an oil cooler. 98k miles.

Pretty concerned based on all the feedback on the 03 issues.

Appreciate any feedback.

 

If you've been lurking, you probably know that you will get more eyes on this if you post in the Disco 2 forum instead of this general one.

Any issues with the 2003 block/front cover assembly should be well and truly resolved by now. The engine would not have survived this long if it was in the problem VIN range.
That said, it sounds like your oil pump may be broken. I would not continue to drive it until the problem is resolved.

 

Unless of course you are running 5w30 oil, which will cause that symptom... But if you are using the appropriate 15w40 oil and having the flashing oil light at idle then yes the next place to look is at a cracked oil pump gear set.

How many miles from home are you and where are you, someone may know of a good shop near you.

 

Appreciate the response. Got concerned and posted in the first spot I could find.
Out of town with limited resources around and of course it’s a weekend.
Towed the trailer all day yesterday and been keeping an eye on the temp gauge which hasn’t budged.
Perhaps there’s a chance the oil isn’t up for the job and replacing it with 10-40 would help. not sure what my shop uses and they’re closed until Monday morning.

 

15w40, Do not use 10w or 5w anything... If your shop is not Land Rover specific they may not know this quirk.

 

Ok. It is a Rover only shop. He had told me initially to watch the temp gauge. I’ve managed to drive about 500 miles over a couple mountain ranges while towing a trailer based on that. No oil loss, no strange sounds, no temp increase. Is there a scenario where the sensor is faulty? Would I have been able to push it this hard if the pump was bad?
tough questions I know, trying to weigh my options since everything is closed today.
thanks.

 

Well I personally have driven a lot of miles with a broken oil pump before realizing what was going on, but not towing a boat.

If you have a real Rover mechanic then I would assume you don't have the wrong oil weight.

More likely the cracked pump. It is a common failure point the result of which is low oil pressure which will lead to premature wear on your engine. It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

If the shop is close to where you are now I'd wait until tomorrow and go in. Just a guess but if you aren't doing your own work I would say parts and labor your will be at $800 -1200 to fix this issue.

One factor would be is it is light flicker a few times at idle or continuous at idle? Once up to speed you probably have enough oil pressure but always the run the risk of it completely falling apart. You will have to asses how comfortable you are with that. If it grenades you risk damage o the front cover and are stuck wherever that happens.

One thing you could do as a temp fix is change out the oil with a 20w50 which would naturally increase the oil pressure a bit but you still run the risk of the oil pump gears exploding.

 

If the sensor was faulty, you wouldn't be getting consistent behaviour from it. Your indications all point to low oil pressure.
The temperature gauge on the dashboard is rubbish, and will really only tell you when the engine has already overheated. Surprised that a Rover place told you to look at it -- although if you don't have something better then I guess it's better than nothing.