[anthonyjohn]

Hey my names Tony. I'm looking into buying a 2003 discovery with a 4.6l. it's very clean and it's only $3500. Reason being is it has high miles (169k) But the owner has swapped in a "reconditioned" 4.6l engine. Says he has receipts from the LR dealer.

Now my question is.. what to look for? I know these trucks require lots of maintenance. Thats not a huge deal as i'm rather tech savvy i can eprform most of this myself. I come from a stage 3 Audi s4 (b5) so i'm used to the high prices.

Is the 4.6l a good engine? If it truely has only 80k on it as the owner says, what should i expect? Since everything else has nearly 170k, what should i be looking for as far as that?

Thanks for the help!
Cheers

 

[dakluck]

Oh man. Get the entire service records for the truck. Where to start...

Head Gasket?
Rust?
Prop Shaft Rebuild?
Oil Pump/VIN?
Suspension?
Plugs/wires?
Fluids in Tcase/Diff's?
Brake Lines Cracked?
Tstat?
Electric issues?

What are your plans for the truck?

03's don't have cdl, if its going to be a trail truck.

 

[anthonyjohn]

Oh man. Get the entire service records for the truck. Where to start...

Head Gasket?
Rust?
Prop Shaft Rebuild?
Oil Pump/VIN?
Suspension?
Plugs/wires?
Fluids in Tcase/Diff's?
Brake Lines Cracked?
Tstat?
Electric issues?

What are your plans for the truck?

03's don't have cdl, if its going to be a trail truck.

Well he's stating it has been taken care of. Head gaskets/Oil pump SHOULD of been taken care of with the swap from the dealer, yes? Also, says there is no rust. I haven't gone to check it out yet. $3500 a good deal? Is the only difference between the 03-04 version from the 00-02 the front end lights and grill? And obviously being an 03 the lack of cdl.. And just curious, assuming i could do the swap myself- How much would it cost to swap in the cdl?

Coming from a 2000 Audi s4, which pops turbos like crazy, you have to remove the engine to replace them. Is there anything on these trucks I can't fix in my own garage on jackstands?

My plans are just to use as a DD. I'm a new real estate agent and this truck would be very presentable to clients. Also, would look nice with some vinyl advertising! I am an outdoorsmen, so it'll be used to tow small boats, go fishing, snowboarding.. etc.

 

[anthonyjohn]

bump!

 

[Disco Mike]

Tony, how mechanical are you? These don't make the best drivers unless you are very mechanical.
If you are really excited about this, then find a good Rover mechanic and pay them to do a pre-purchase inspection so you don't buy any surprises. Also plan to do a fairly major service on it because of the mileage then enjoy it.

 

[anthonyjohn]

Tony, how mechanical are you? These don't make the best drivers unless you are very mechanical.
If you are really excited about this, then find a good Rover mechanic and pay them to do a pre-purchase inspection so you don't buy any surprises. Also plan to do a fairly major service on it because of the mileage then enjoy it.

I'm fairly mechanical, I just don't have a lift in my garage. So i don't want to be pulling engines in there. Thats why i got rid of the S4. Does $3500 if it's in decent shape sound like a good deal? I see disco 2's but 99-02 for like 2g's all day long on craigslist.

 

[Disco Mike]

Yes if approved by a Rover mechanic.

 

[Ryan Yost]

Tony,

Land Rover has identified a severe oil pump failure in the 2003 Discovery II and they have specifically attributed to problem to Rovers with VINs within the following range: 3A771801–3A808362. Firstly, check the VIN; secondly, check for leaks after and before driving (allow the car to idle for a around 10-15 minutes and check for leaks, too); lastly, check for any engine knocking noises--while idling or moving.

*At worst knocking can indicate lifter problems or a slipped liner in one of the cylinders.

 

[Disco Mike]

Ryan, lifter and sleeves don't knock, they tick.
A knock is normally always bearing related such as the crack or connecting rods.

 

[anthonyjohn]

Tony,

Land Rover has identified a severe oil pump failure in the 2003 Discovery II and they have specifically attributed to problem to Rovers with VINs within the following range: 3A771801–3A808362. Firstly, check the VIN; secondly, check for leaks after and before driving (allow the car to idle for a around 10-15 minutes and check for leaks, too); lastly, check for any engine knocking noises--while idling or moving.

*At worst knocking can indicate lifter problems or a slipped liner in one of the cylinders.

I'm aware of the oil pump problem of this year.. but I would think the dealer would have remedied that problem when they performed the engine swap.. am i right? It was changed out @ 86k miles and now has roughly 80k on it. Owner says he has all the papers for it.

 

[stb616]

your faith and trust in a stealership is troubling.

But seriously....don't have so much faith that they did it right or care at all about all those things that should be done before the engine was put in.

If they did ANYTHING to that engine, there will be a bill. A dealership documents everything. So don't take the guys word for it. Call the dealership yourself and ask for copies of the work orders.

 

[apbtpetey]

Ask for the paperwork on any and all work that was done at the dealership. Also see if the owner has any other paperwork on things done to the rover. Go over it carefully and check for leaks, take a look at the air filter (if it's really dirty might be a sign that the owner didn't really do a lot of the normal upkeep). Check all the lights and electrics as rovers can have issues in that area.

See if the suspension has been gone over. If not there are going to be things that need to replaced. Give it a good look over. As far as the cdl issue, if your not going to be doing a lot of off-roading you don't really need to convert it. If it doesn't have it you're going to want to change out the front driveshaft to a serviceable one. Meaning you'll want to either have the factory one rebuilt or buy a aftermarket one (do a search on here and you'll understand why).

If taken care of these are great as daily drivers, but you have to make sure you do the upkeep on them and preform the normal maintenance. Taking it to a dealership will make you go broke, but if you can preform most of the repairs yourself they really are not that expensive to work on. Don't expect great gas mileage either.