Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum, and have recently purchased a 2003 Disco 2 SE7 with 114,000 miles on it for cheap because of a slight ticking sound in the motor. I usually buy old Volvos and fix them up as a fun side project, but couldn't pass on this Disco because of the price, despite knowing next to nothing about them, figuring I could part it out, as it is in pretty nice shape otherwise. I have since driven it around a bit and have fallen in love with it despite its long list of flaws, and now I want to try to fix it up and possibly turn it into a budget overlanding rig. Anyway, after exhaustive research on what this engine noise could be, I have come up with a plethora of answers, none of which seem to be definitive. So, I am hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
When I start the truck up cold, it doesn't tick. About two minutes after I start it, it starts lightly ticking at the raised warm-up idle speed (around 1,000 RPM). Once it settles down to normal idle (700 or so RPM) it ticks infrequently, unless I bring it up to around 1000-1400 RPM. Past that, the noise of the motor drowns it out. The tick gets more frequent as the revs increase. Once the truck is fully warmed up after going for a drive, it doesn't tick at all at idle. Once I bring the revs up to around 1,000, it starts ticking consistently. If I drop it back down to idle, it goes away again. I have read about the notorious liner slip that causes ticking in these motors, but have read that it is most pronounced at idle, and is very loud. The tick in my engine isn't very loud, and I can't hear it in the cabin unless I roll the windows down. Once I start driving I can't hear it over tire noise unless I am going very slowly and really listen for it. This makes me hopeful it isn't the liners, but I don't know for sure. I haven't pulled the heads to look for any signs, nor have I pulled the valve covers to look for any signs of rocker failure or anything similar. I don't know the service history of the truck besides what I learned from a few receipts left in the glove box:
I have two options at this point, as far as I can tell: fix whatever the noise is, and drive it until something else breaks (assuming this option is cheap enough to make it worthwhile - I am not afraid to do major engine work if it is worth my time and if the parts are cheap enough), or just run it like it is until it blows up, if it even does. It won't be my main vehicle, and I just want to have some fun with it off-road and around town for a little while. Will it last long enough with this noise to have 5,000 miles worth of fun with it, then I can part it out like I had intended when the motor lets go, or is it cheap enough to fix? I took a quick video from inside today, which might help get a better idea of the type of noise that is going on.
I will try to get some better footage from outside the car this weekend. As I said, I am totally new to the Land Rover world, so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.
I am new to the forum, and have recently purchased a 2003 Disco 2 SE7 with 114,000 miles on it for cheap because of a slight ticking sound in the motor. I usually buy old Volvos and fix them up as a fun side project, but couldn't pass on this Disco because of the price, despite knowing next to nothing about them, figuring I could part it out, as it is in pretty nice shape otherwise. I have since driven it around a bit and have fallen in love with it despite its long list of flaws, and now I want to try to fix it up and possibly turn it into a budget overlanding rig. Anyway, after exhaustive research on what this engine noise could be, I have come up with a plethora of answers, none of which seem to be definitive. So, I am hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
When I start the truck up cold, it doesn't tick. About two minutes after I start it, it starts lightly ticking at the raised warm-up idle speed (around 1,000 RPM). Once it settles down to normal idle (700 or so RPM) it ticks infrequently, unless I bring it up to around 1000-1400 RPM. Past that, the noise of the motor drowns it out. The tick gets more frequent as the revs increase. Once the truck is fully warmed up after going for a drive, it doesn't tick at all at idle. Once I bring the revs up to around 1,000, it starts ticking consistently. If I drop it back down to idle, it goes away again. I have read about the notorious liner slip that causes ticking in these motors, but have read that it is most pronounced at idle, and is very loud. The tick in my engine isn't very loud, and I can't hear it in the cabin unless I roll the windows down. Once I start driving I can't hear it over tire noise unless I am going very slowly and really listen for it. This makes me hopeful it isn't the liners, but I don't know for sure. I haven't pulled the heads to look for any signs, nor have I pulled the valve covers to look for any signs of rocker failure or anything similar. I don't know the service history of the truck besides what I learned from a few receipts left in the glove box:
- Head gaskets were done at the dealer at around 45,000 miles. I don't know why this was done, only that it was and that it cost the previous owner a small fortune.
- Various other receipts from the dealership for things like wheel speed sensors and brakes.
- I changed the oil the other day. When I got the truck the oil level was filled about 4-5 inches ABOVE the max fill mark on the dipstick. When I changed it, the oil that came out of the truck was a strange dark brown "muddy" color, not black or dark golden-brown. It did not seem to be the "milkshake" consistency of something that had coolant leaking into the motor, but I could be wrong. It was exactly the same color as mud. I changed it when the oil was warm (as one should) and the oil coming out of the engine was steaming like crazy - nothing I had ever seen before. Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of it. The oil filter evidently had not been changed in many years - it was rusting both around the rubber gasket and rusting underneath the paint on the filter. I put fresh 10W-40 in it and a new filter, which the engine seemed to like, but didn't help with the ticking. The strange part is that one of those receipts showed an oil change at one of those quick-lube joints only 700 miles before I bought it. I think they didn't actually change it, because the oil I put in is still perfectly clear after 40 miles of decently hard driving (mostly up and down a dirt road and driving through a rocky, hilly off-road track I built in my backyard while in low range, with occasional moderate to heavy acceleration on paved roads).
I have two options at this point, as far as I can tell: fix whatever the noise is, and drive it until something else breaks (assuming this option is cheap enough to make it worthwhile - I am not afraid to do major engine work if it is worth my time and if the parts are cheap enough), or just run it like it is until it blows up, if it even does. It won't be my main vehicle, and I just want to have some fun with it off-road and around town for a little while. Will it last long enough with this noise to have 5,000 miles worth of fun with it, then I can part it out like I had intended when the motor lets go, or is it cheap enough to fix? I took a quick video from inside today, which might help get a better idea of the type of noise that is going on.
