2003 Disco: what to look for

[Bayou Boy]

I've got an 03 Disco SE7 sitting in my driveway that I'm having checked out by the local euro mechanic in the morning. It's potentially for my wife so I'm not worried about not having the CDL. Only 45000 miles. Carfax came back clean except for a couple of small things taken care of by the previous owner's service contract. First Rover for me. What should I be looking for to cover my rear/wallet?

[MattScott]

This is the reason you should buy an 04

2003 Discovery Series II Oil Pump Failures
Vehicles Affected
Discovery Series II (LT) 3A771801 – 3A808362
Situation
Oil pump failures on 2003 Discovery Series II vehicles may be the result of a
manufacturing error. Locating dowel pins may be slightly misaligned permitting
assembly of the oil pump to the engine block, but placing stress on the pump housing
which can ultimately lead to leakage or failure.
Resolution
Whenever an oil pump failure is encountered on vehicles within the above VIN range
the only effective repair currently available is replacement of the complete engine
assembly including the front cover/oil pump manufactured to the latest tolerances.
Use the following components to affect a repair:
• LBB112301 4.6 Engine assembly LEV
• LBB111461 4.6 Engine assembly NON-LEV

[Z O O R O P A]

I believe the alternator is better in the 2004 year as well as some other minor improvements. If you do some research you will find that land rover claims they made more than 100 changes or something of the like

the price difference isn't that much is it? I would think you'd have a lot of negotiating room these days .....

[Scott Brady]

Most importantly, you will want to avoid the 03 as it has no provision for a CDL. It is an expensive modification to correct.

[MattScott]

Scott is correct, even if you say it isn't important to you presently, it will be in the near future, you can quickly outdrive the etc. It's expensive to upgrade.

[Bayou Boy]

I just checked. This one is outside of the VIN range for this issue.

And like I said above, this truck is for my wife. We live in South Louisiana. I have a 4 door Wrangler that I drive for the rough stuff. She wouldn't let me take "her car" on anything too rough anyway. Maybe the Alpine Loop in CO on a trip to Wyoming that we have planned next summer but that's it. She likes the styling and the way that it drives. Is there anything else that I should be looking at?

This is the reason you should buy an 04

2003 Discovery Series II Oil Pump Failures
Vehicles Affected
Discovery Series II (LT) 3A771801 – 3A808362
Situation
Oil pump failures on 2003 Discovery Series II vehicles may be the result of a
manufacturing error. Locating dowel pins may be slightly misaligned permitting
assembly of the oil pump to the engine block, but placing stress on the pump housing
which can ultimately lead to leakage or failure.
Resolution
Whenever an oil pump failure is encountered on vehicles within the above VIN range
the only effective repair currently available is replacement of the complete engine
assembly including the front cover/oil pump manufactured to the latest tolerances.
Use the following components to affect a repair:
• LBB112301 4.6 Engine assembly LEV
• LBB111461 4.6 Engine assembly NON-LEV

[mtnbike28]

what is CDL

I searched http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/CDL
and they have 50 choices, none make sense....

[IH8RDS]

Google Center Differential Lock Land Rover.

[R_Lefebvre]

I'd check the condition of the floors in the front. The truck tends to leak, and can lead to rust. Make sure it's not too bad. Just remove the tread plate from the door sill and pull the carpet up a bit. See how bad it is. You may find the screws holding the door sill down are siezed. That's a sign the floor won't be in great shape.

[transientmechanic]

The floors will not be rusty.

I worked on these things for quite a while at independent shops and the dealer and never saw one with any unusual rust issues (at least 03/04s). What I did see all the time though were failed rear air suspensions, leaking headgaskets, leaking front cover gaskets, leaking oil pan gaskets, leaking intake gaskets. Bad MAF sensors. Vacuum leaks. Bad door latches leading to alarm problems. Failed front driveshafts leading to replacement of transmission assembly and transfer case assembly. Leaking transmission output seals. Leaking rear axle hub o-rings. Worn hubs leading to bad ABS sensor readings. "Shuttle valve" failure in ABS modulator.

I did see a lot of the bad blocks as well. That was very common.

Thats everything off the top of my head.

AND don't be surprised when it needs front and rear pads and rotors every 20k and tires every 25k.