I recently started hearing a ticking noise coming from engine area, from previous experience on my 98 it sounded like it might have been my catalyctic converter so I took in to my local ind mechanic, after inspection they told me it was a loose rocker arm that was making the noise andit was not a major concern right now, in the mean time I'm driving around with that very noticeable ticking noise. I do have an extended warranty that covers me until 96,000 miles,( I am @ 92,000 currently), and would like to have repaired before the expiration, my mechanic told me that it needed to be a failure before the warranty would cover but I would rather not wait until that happens. My question is how long before this couldcause majorproblems with my engine & how easy of a fix is it stop the ticking?

 

If all it is is a loose rocker arm then it is a easy fix, remove the valve cover, tightne the bolt, replace valve cover, done.
How long can it go on like this? 100's of thousands of miles. Or until tommorrow.
This is why I always say do not buy the extended warenty, they never cover anything.

 

Who knows how long it can go like that? Def not me. You have to take a lot apart to get the valve covers off: ps pump, intake manifold, etc... so it does take some labor. I would take the rocker arms apart when I was in there and clean out the oil passages real good, I know most of mine were clogged up makingthem a little noisy. Did they check your oil pressure too, you have an 03which are known to have bad oil pumps on some of them.

 

My mechanic explained to me that the rocker arms are aluminum but use a steel disc where they contact the push rods. That disc can get loose and cause a ticking sound such as you described. It's been a while so I don't remember all the technicalities involved but it my not be a loose rocker arm at all, but simply that disc on the arm. I had a ticking sound coming from my driver side of the engine and founf out it was caused by 1 or more of the 3 cracks in the exhaust manifold.

 

The only fix is replacing the rocker arm, which is a common failure parts on our engines.
How often do you change your oil, what oil and weight do you use?

 

Thanks for the repsonses, Mike, i change the oil every 3,000 & use castrol 10 w30

 

I have found where some people have had success quieting down their engine by doing an ATF engine flush to improve oil flow and pressure.

 

Please help with some advice on this, I decided to take to the LR dealership to have them diagnose the problem to see if it was the same as my ind mechanic, they diagnosed a rocker shaft & cam shaft problem and a leaking headgasket. I took it in on 1/8, they called the next day and said the warranty co wanted to send an inspector to verify, insp came the following Mon and diagnosed a leaking head gasket and bad #4 & #7 lifters so that is what they authorized for repair. The dealer said it would be Thur or Fri before they would finish. Called today and thedealersaid they had everything put back together and it is still making the ticking noise! dealer says for sure it is the whole camshaft that needs to be replaced that is why the noise is still there but said the warranty only authorized the before mentioned work! I called the warranty coto try and see whattheir reasoningwas and they told me their inspectorwas sure the cam shaft was OK and would not replace the camshaft unless the dealer pulls apart the engine again & they send another inspector to verify, if that inspector still disagrees with LR then I will have to pay the 8 hourlabor charge to pull apart the engine (probably about $1k), this whole time Ive had a rental car that costs $45 a day and the warranty only covered 6 days @ $25 a day which the 6th day was yesterday! So I think my choices are: 1-have them pull the engine apartagain, wait for the inspector to come and see if he agrees about the camshaft? 2-pick up my disco with the same ticking noise? 3-pay out of pocket for the dealerto replace the camshaft? 4-take back to ind mechanic and have them replace? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Well this does you no good now but this is exactly why I always say NOT to buy a extended warrenty.
This is a tough call, I would have the dealer tear back into it.
They should back you up.

 

This is a tough one. It looks like any of the 4 options you'll end up paying a butt load out of your pocket. It sounds to me that your extended warranty company is just trying to avoid paying even though they know there is still a problem. I would like to know how the inspector could tell the cam wasn't the problem without it being pulled out of the engine originally but now has to have it pulled to see if it's bad. It sounds like the shop told the inspector what they found and he just signed off on it without really inspecting anything