Lifter Noise

[GermanlookT3]

My Friend got his Disco worked on and the Mechanic said that it had some lifter noise.... Hes got 108k miles. He Told me that its apparently not a big deal and that ALL Discos will do it. Apparently is ok to just leave them ticking and it doesnt do anything to your engine.
Is this true? I havent heard of anything like this before... I know My 2000 Bmw has a slight ticking sound but the Dealer said its "Normal"

The reason I wanted to know is Because MY Disco has around 85k miles and If I start to get a lifter noise what should I do? Or Better yet.. My friend doesnt like the fact that his lifter is making noise and he also wants to know what he can do?

[Disco Mike]

Lifter noise in any engine, except with solid lifters, is not normal and is an indicator of wear, be it either in the lifter or the harden surface of the cam.
I would suggest you consider cleaning out your engine and then doing a oil pressure test to confirm you are getting good oil flow.
Mike

[GermanlookT3]

Ok.. why is it that alot of people say its normal? Is it expensive to fix?

[GermanlookT3]

So by cleaning you prob mean Sea Foam right?

[Rycymru]

I have the same ticking noise and plan on having it fixed in the next week or two. Sea foam may take care of it, but it may not do anything. On Atlanticbritish lifters are 220 and a cam for my 4.6 is around 170, you may only need lifters if the cam isn't damaged. But changing them out will require a full weekend of work if you do it yourself.

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by GermanlookT3

Ok.. why is it that alot of people say its normal? Is it expensive to fix?

It is expensive to pay someone to do it.
It comes down to whether a slightly noisy lifter is causing any damage. Or whether it is causing any performance issues.
At 108,000 miles, it is worthwhile changing your cam if you are opening it up to replace lifters. So by leaving it you are unlikely to increase any repair costs. The difference in performance is most likely minimal.
So by them saying that it is normal is more saying that it is not required to be fixed at this stage (depending on how much noise though).
Putting cleaner through the motor will not fix your issues and runs the risk of damaging your motor.

[GermanlookT3]

I have a really good shop in town that works on Benz, Bmw's, Volvos, Porsches, and Vw's ... Ive seen some Rovers there so Im gonna see how expensive it is to replace the Lifters and Cam ... I dont want my friends Disco to get messed up.

[Disco Mike]

Originally Posted by Rycymru

I have the same ticking noise and plan on having it fixed in the next week or two. Sea foam may take care of it, but it may not do anything. On Atlanticbritish lifters are 220 and a cam for my 4.6 is around 170, you may only need lifters if the cam isn't damaged. But changing them out will require a full weekend of work if you do it yourself.

Need to start somewhere and cleaning the engine with a 6 quarts ATF flush is a cheap and usually pretty good way to start.
As for the noise, it may be lifter/cam related or it can be the rocker arms.
As for replacing the lifter and not the cam is ill advised, A cam lope/ if it has had some of it's hardened surface warn of will kill a new lifter quicker then you can do an oil change.
So, start with the basics and work up.
Mike