Land Rover Repair: ACE pump, land rover dealers, manifold gaskets

Question
Let me preface my inquiry with "I know very little about engines." I own a 2000 Discovery (my second Disco.) I take very good care of my ride and get all the recommended service performed. I am a Land Rover Dealers dream customer. I have spent many US dollars having my Disco serviced. I had to tow my Disco when the ACE light glowed red last week. Now I have to replace the Active Cornering Enhancement pump. Dealer says $845 before tax. OUCH! My question is, could I be having problems with the pump because of a catastrophic engine failure I had last year at this time? Then, I had to replace many things. The engine severly overheated when the serpentine belt broke. Vehicle was towed to dealer then too. Other parts replaced: engine assembly, belt tensioner assembly, intake manifolds, intake valve seat, stem seals, exhaust manifold gaskets, exhaust valves, intake gasket, head gasket, valve guides, valve cover gaskets, cylinder dowls, crank shaft, oil pane gasket, front cover gasket, alternator bracket. Whew! Luckily, this happened on the last day of the warranty for my Disco. Since then I have also replaced the air mass meter ($340). The dealer says none of the problems since the engine failure were due to the failure itself or overheating as a result of the failure. But I want to believe otherwise. That Disco was HOT! I thought it was going to catch on fire. Could these newer problems be the result of the excessive heat due to the engine failure? Or am I just trying to get the dealer to cover something that was going to go wrong anyway?

Answer
Hi Marcia,

"I feel your pain!"  Yes, you were lucky to have had this happen while still under warranty.  I had my serpentine belt break on me while on the highway and I know it can be a shock.  I was lucky I could drive my Disco a very short distance to a local mechanic who repaired the tensioner pulley that ceased.

I don't suspect that the overheated engine could have affected the ACE pump.  Most series II Disco's with ACE, HDC and TC will eventually have problems like this.  Its becoming quite common. I've had several owners complain about this and there is little to do but leave with the dealer to fix.

Mass air flow meter could have been affected by the super heated engine.  This sensor is sensitive to heat.

The ACE system has more to do with the wheels, suspension and braking systems than the engine.  If you had had an actual engine fire, you might have been able to include the wheel sensors and ACE pump as part of the problem.  However, this did not happen.  

You may have a point with the MAF sensor (sits close to engine) but the ACE is a separate problem.

Best of luck,

JohnMc

NB:  Series II engines were prone to having exhaust valve(s) sticking.  About every 50,000 miles, the exhaust valves begin to stick due to buildup.  This requires a complete valve job.  The warranty work you had done took care of this problem.  Be aware that the sticking valve problem could come back after ANOTHER 50,000 miles.