We have a 2004 land rover Discovery II that died the other day. Check engine light had been illuminated for months and right before it died it began blinking and then motor turned off. Mechanic said we have broken Cam shaft. Engine had been using an extra quart of oil a week and had top end noise sounded like valves clattering prior to breaking down. Has anyone had similar experience and should we try just replacing cam or are we looking at an entire engine replacement? PLEASE HELP

 

With all those symptoms why would you continue to drive it in the first place!?. No telling what you will find once you open up the top half.

The check engine light is there for a reason, it is not to be ignored.

If you did brake your camshaft then your in for a whole lot more of repairs then that.

 

I realize continuing to drive it was not a good idea, but was my only means of transportation and didn't have the funds to get it in shop. Thanks for your reply but my question is am I better off finding a used or remanufactured engine or trying to repair the one I have? Do you have any suggestions of where I should look for used/remanufactured engine?

 

You might need to be just a bit more diagnostics to decide on a broken cam shaft. If you did not have funds to put it in the shop, then it won't be any cheaper now. Junkyards sell engines for a modest price (certainly this holiday weekend), but most will need head gaskets. You'ld know a lot more with compression test, taking valve covers off, etc.

 

Nobody can guess... You won't know until either you take it apart and look or you take it to a reputable indy LR specific shop and get it looked at.

I had a cam shaft fail and the block turned out not to be damaged. 60k on it since.

But this is individual and specific to each engine and what has happened to it.

No way of guessing on line, either check it out yourself or get it looked at by someone with documented experience.

 

So mechanic said compression on drivers side was 25 and compression on passenger side was ok. After compression test took off valve covers and that is when mechanic noted broken Cam???? Trying to decide whether to have this engine worked on or buy used? Thank you so much for all the feedback! I am a single mother of 2 and trying to make the best decision possible.

 

OK. So now that we know compresion test was done, and a visual inspection was done; that is the rest of the story. As is your personal situation.

1. This vehicle will eat every spare nickle. They are expensive to work on, and high maintenance. More owners that post here DIY rather than maintain with open checkbook.

2. For the cost of funded repairs (replace engine example), you could buy another vehicle that is more practical and will be more reliable for your family. Craigslist (owners) is one place to look. Repair parts for this truck could run into the hundreds, before labor. See https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...lacment-61059/ and I belive caymandrew spent more than 15 hours on it, mechanics gotta eat.

3. If the vehicle is paid for you should consider selling it. Unless you live in an area with snow in the winter, or on a long muddy rural dirt road, you don't need 4WD very often. Dead Rovers are sold all the time.

4. There is no shame in being thrifty, or broke, or between pay checks. A Rover does not care about this, it just wants every dollar you can scrape up. Plenty of guys on here have to wait for repairs until the eagle flies.

5. A quart a week sounds like high oil use, until you think about it. If you are zealous about keeping fluid in a vehicle, leaks don't kill it. Forgetting about the leak is what does it, or the leak increasing in speed and volume. You may not have minded pouring in an extra $5 of oil each week. The repairs are going to be a lot more than $5 a week, even if you have the room on the credit card. School expenses, pediatrician, holidays coming....

Not trying to dump on you. This is a time to think long and hard about your future with this vehicle, big costs now, followed by continued costly repairs and service.

 

How does a camshaft break and have good compression on 2 4 6 8, doesn't make sense. rocker shaft yes, camshaft ??
LR cams usual wipe out at the #7 cylinder cam lobes

 

Great point. Here are some pix to review with mechanic. This is an overhead valve engine, and the cam shaft operates valve lifters along the entire length, so a broken cam shaft could not have perfect operation on one side of the engine.

The rocker arm and shaft assembly can be repaired with new parts, or replaced as a unit with four bolts taken out from a donor vehicle. The pushrods would have to be pulled out one by one and examined for bent, etc.

Oil loss could have resulted in extreme wear of the rocker shaft. Only one small orifice feeds oil from the engine into the rocker shaft. The shaft itself is bolted in place and does not move, the rocker arms on it move as the push rods are forced up by the lifters in contact with the cam shaft.

But metal parts in oil, causing wear on other bearings, potential bent valve issues, this truck may not be out of the woods easily. Engine codes need to be looked at as well.

Pix of an opened up top end. Cam shaft down the middle, rotating lobes make contact with lifters and force pushrods up to press valves (intake and exhaust) open. Rocker arm transfers this energy from the pushrod to the valve. The rocker arms are arranged in pairs down each rocker shaft, which is what you see under the valve cover.



Here is a close up of the cam shaft lobes





Here is the rocker arm shaft, one under each valve cover. Held in place with four bolts. Rocker arms rotate as engine runs. Oil is fed thru shaft in one spot from engine head. If rocker breaks, or oil starvation cuts lubrication, shaft can be worn down. If worn down, and cracked open, oil pressure would drop to entire engine and most quickly to all other rocker arms on this shaft.



You have to wonder where all the metal has been going, and what damage it has caused to otehr bearings.


Now the mechanic may have meant to say rocker shaft instead of cam shaft. Many more modern engines have overhead cam shafts, so they are right under the valve covers. Could you put a used shaft assembly on there? Just four bolts. Or replace with new parts, shop carefully for good price. Would still have to deal with oil leak (where ever that is), and all this metal that floated around before it got to the filter may have shortened the life of other components.

If you can set a budget with the mechanic and get it running, it will make it easier to sell. An owner that does not DIY has to have funds available to support a mechanic in the lifestyle he is accustomed to. Does not matter what the family situation is. The vehicle is a heartless pile of previously posh sheet metal. It knows when you have extra money, and it knows when it is a long time until payday. It will strike when you least expect it and can least afford it.

At the barn the sign said "If it walks, water and feed it. If it cranks, also check the oil."

 

"The vehicle is a heartless pile of previously posh sheet metal. It knows when you have extra money, and it knows when it is a long time until payday. It will strike when you least expect it and can least afford it. "

poetry, share poetry, brought a tear to my eye.