Hi so we will have our 2008 discovery 3 on the driveway soon and I will be busy with the screeching handbrake , but recently I read lots about timing kits damaging and causing oil pump failure mainly in 2007s and 2008s as the tensioner is bolted to a weak part of the pump that can snap , I have been told the belts were done recently which I've no proof of , the question is though how worried do I need to be about this oil pump giving up on it all ?
Disco 3 (LR3) Oil pump worries
- Thread starter 13er
- Start date
This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
biketeacherdave
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,661
- Location
- south east london
Very worried very very worried.
- Posts
- 373
- Location
- Cheshire
Get it changed as soon as you can afford to
That's exactly what I was thinking , I will have a good look at front belt I should be able to see clearly if I've the old oil pump and also have an idea if anybody has bothered with the timing kit lately because there's certainly no invoice for it , I believe there's is no way to tell if the pump casing is even cracked and about to break, its just get it out , I'm just not risking this happening, whatever else goes wrong , thankyou all for the response, I'm capable of this job but only with following somebody else's instruction , I may research a bit
Last edited:
There are some vids on yoututbe, and a good write up by Disco Mikey on the D3 forum.
I think what happens is the old style pump is good for years until disturbed, but then when you have a cam belt done when the tech tightens the cam belt tensioner bolt up, this is what causes the failure to start.
As cambelts go it is actually dead easy, people are acared of it becasue its a V engine, and traditionally they are a grade A arsehole of a job, but this one is easy to access.
cheap fan removal spanners, and the cheap timing pin kits off ebay do the job nicely.
Most people do not pin the crankshaft, only the camshafts which makes the job a lot easier.
It's posts like these that give people the extra bit of confidence to just go and do it, I suspect it's had a timing kit fitted recently and I'm guessing the oil pump was last thing in anybodys mind , so what if I discover the kit Is actually like new and I just need to do the pump , is the tensioner re / use or should I get another ?
That is your choice, they are every 110k so it will be a judgment call on your part, maybe if it all looks new just do the belt and reuse all the pulleys?
When I bought mine there was no paperwork, so I changed it all, and tbh all the parts I removed looked like new, but it was the pump I wanted to change, when I got in there the pump was dated 2012 so desd chuffed when I found the date stamp.
That was lucky , not sure how long the advisory has been in place to do the pump but I am remaining hopeful it was done also , I have been informed the timing kit is recent so maybe il get lucky , but if anything looks dodge or on the older side on timing kit it's all coming out , if however the oil pump is the improved type il be leaving that alone , as I assume you left your 2012 pump in there too lynall?
Yes I left the pump alone, its still in there doing sterling service.
Oil pumps generally never wear out in the engines life time, but still you hear of people saying change the pump like its a service item.
Many hgvs out there with 1.5 million k on the clock, all on original oil pump.
It is only something to get involved in during engine rebuild time, and as modern engines dont really get rebuilt like the good old days.
TheMunster
Active Member
- Posts
- 350
The reason people say change the pump anyway even if it is a new type is there is a bit of an old wife's tale going around that they wear out. Thing is so many people have made the pump over the years that some of the cheap ones may be wearing out, but I'd be confident that a new design genuine fomoco or LR pump would last the life of the car.
The diesels are very bad at building oil pressure at startup, some of the cars I test drove last year you could get in gear and be driving away before the oil light went out. My 56 plate takes about 3 seconds when left for a few days.
Belts are due next year so I think I will take the front cover off and see what the pump looks like, if its a new type I'll leave it, if its an old one then I'll get it changed. Going rate round the indys in my area seems to be £750-850 for pump and front belts.
The diesels are very bad at building oil pressure at startup, some of the cars I test drove last year you could get in gear and be driving away before the oil light went out. My 56 plate takes about 3 seconds when left for a few days.
Belts are due next year so I think I will take the front cover off and see what the pump looks like, if its a new type I'll leave it, if its an old one then I'll get it changed. Going rate round the indys in my area seems to be £750-850 for pump and front belts.
You couldn't argue with that price really , and makes sense to let them at it , I prefer doing my own maintainance , sometimes id have been better not to for the time I was under something and I'm certainly no landrover expert, but I'd like to do it myself , I've been noticing that crank bolt is a problem doing the oil pump and even though il be using lock tools I am still a little worried il $#$$ the timing up a little by not getting that belt around everything properly
TheMunster
Active Member
- Posts
- 350
Doing just the belts is quite an easy job, not really any more difficult than doing a TDI for example.
The problem with doing the oil pump at home is you MUST lock the flywheel and you MUST get the crank seal installed correctly. To do this you need to spend several £100 on locking tools and seal install tools.
Once you work it out the price difference after you've bought the tools isn't as bad as you think. Seeing as the oil pump is probably a job that I'll only ever do once I have decided it isn't worth it. I'll do the belts myself but if the pump needs doing I'll bolt it back together and get it booked in the local indy.
The problem with doing the oil pump at home is you MUST lock the flywheel and you MUST get the crank seal installed correctly. To do this you need to spend several £100 on locking tools and seal install tools.
Once you work it out the price difference after you've bought the tools isn't as bad as you think. Seeing as the oil pump is probably a job that I'll only ever do once I have decided it isn't worth it. I'll do the belts myself but if the pump needs doing I'll bolt it back together and get it booked in the local indy.
I'm really hoping I see a changed oil pump , I don't mind doing the belts but I know I'm going to struggle with the crank bolt and seal , never mind the oil pump , I will avoid that job if at all possible
