As one with an '04 D2, I'm well aware of the horror stories and the common issues. It seems like almost every '03 or '04 here is at some point ticking/knocking etc., and there are lots of comments but nothing supported by any empirical data. I HATE this conjecture, I want facts! I've done a LOT of reading and picked the brains of some VERY sharp LR specialists.

Of those specialists, John Robison is one of the sharpest I've encountered- and I think every D2 owner here ought to read this blog entry of his... After you've finished reading it and looking at the detailed pictures supporting his claims, you may even feel like reading it again. I did.


http://robisonservice.blogspot.com/2...-failures.html

 

This is old...

 

Old? Sure... 269 days old, to be exact. Our trucks are old too, what's your point?

There's a new thread about a ticking/knocking D2 powerplant almost every week, maybe a new owner will appreciate this old news.

 

Old or not, it's still a good read.

 

Good reading, im interested in one of the questions asked in regards to that article, about using head studs instead of head bolts to reduce/elimiate the cracking near the headbolt hole in the cylinder, I guess the question is whether the torsion load cracks it or the tensile load cracks it, combo of both or does it even matter, I used ARP studs on my D1 for the headgasket change and didnt have any issues, I wonder if D2 could benefit from studs or just wasted money due to bad block design/casting in the bolt hole area?

 

I really hate seing this block cut like that showing how little metal there is, it scares me !!!

 

What I get out of that is dont buy a '03 or '04.
And if you do dont bother doing oil changes just keep the oil full and drive it until it blows.
I am not recommending that, thats just what I got out of it.

 

My '03 developed a tick after about three days of ownership. Now... what I figured was that the people I bought it from must have just changed the oil with something like 15w-40 or 20w-50 or some lucas additive or some other kind of thick oil to cover up the tick. I ran premium fuel in it, changed the oil a few times, etc. nothing worked. I drove it with that tick for about a month or so. After the first time it ticked it got more and more frequent to the point where every time it was warmed up it ticked until I shut it off and let it cool back down.
I finished all the other work on the truck, got it running great and let my wife start driving it. I drive it once in a while but it's basically my wife's daily driver. My wife, not being used to driving the truck filled the gas the other day with regular unleaded. Realized it after doing this and asked me if it was a big deal or not. I told her no, just run it out a little and add some super it'll be fine. Before we got that far the tick stopped... just stopped. period.
Here's the deal, if I run super, two or three days later.... tick comes back.
Run regular... two or three days later tick goes away and doesn't come back until I run super again.
........Any Suggestions???
I guess this is how to get rid of that pesky tick!!!

 

Really? That's what you get out of it? Such an astute deduction!

 

My name is Bundu and I have a 2003 Discovery with a slipped liner....
I have read heaps of stuff about the slipped liners. What I understand is that overheating the engine is the most probable cause of slipped liners, and we all know that these engines have a problem with overheating as they get older. Neglected maintenance is also a contributing factor. Sure there are theories about bad design and poor materials and worn out tools etc, but not every 2003/2004 has suffered from a slipped liner. The same with the 2003 oil pump issue, not every 2003 engine has failed.
So what is the variable? Maintenance, or rather neglected maintenance and overheating. That's my theory anyway.