95 Discovery 5 speed with 130k
Sometimes occurs when engaging or disengaging the clutch. It seems to occur also while encountering bumps in the road. The noise does not seem to be related to steering as I have tried turning and circling left and right at various speeds with no noise resulting. I hear this intermittent sound from a few mph up to 40-50 mph. Clicking sound that is easiest to reproduce by pressing the accelerator at low speed and then letting it off suddenly (vehicle jolts).

Only occurs after driving and warming things up. After taking a drive I spun the driveshafts and moved them fore and aft. I didn't produce any noise from the u-joints and didn't see or feel any play in them.

However, my two findings were:
1. There was clicking in the transfer case that I believe to be the source of the problem. In your opinion(s) is this something to worry about? Add Lucas oil conditioner?? Or just keep an eye and ear on it?

2. The front driveshaft had about half an inch of rotational play. When I spun it and then stopped it, it seemed like there was something inside of it that spun that extra half inch. Any need for concern with this?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

1. All Rovers clunk like that, mine has done it since I bought it last April, 20k later and it still does it but not if I drive it in third gear (auto). I think it is the gears in the t-case, they have slack from wear and tear, I am going to try a thicker gear lube this time and see what happens.
Mine has over 172k and it is starting to bug me as it has gotten alittle worse over the past year, not that I can afford to fix it right now, but I wouldnt worry about it.
Mine does it when changing from reverse to drive and back and then when coming to a stop.

2. I have no idea, sorry.

 

Rotation on your front drive shaft is a little more than normal. I would just watch it and not be too concerned. Make sure you have good oil in you diffs and the transfer case. I dropped RP in all of mine and actually went up to 95W140 with no notice in MPG drop, even on 20 degree days....

 

usually its normal. the extra play in the t-box is the noise youre hearing. its not a normal gearset in there, its all cintered metal. so as you drive it wears to itself, this is done to reduce noise. i wouldnt worry about it all too much unless it gets alot worse, or feels almost like you just got rear ended when it happens. as to it not happening in 3rd, its because your engine is not overdriven, ie, in normal conditions, your wheels will begin to decelerate before the engine, and input shaft. be careful using heavier gear oil in there as the pump will have to 'suck' the fluid harder, and can easily casue it to fail.


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Thanks for the replies. I isolated one cause of noise as movement of the top of the coil springs against the retention ring. Lithium spray lube took care of 80% of the noise so far. I believe I have a similar situation somewhere else, but progress at last.

 

I have an Auto96 Disco and it makes a ticking/clicking noisethat seems to befrom the transfer case area (behind the engine). Itmakes the noise only when the carhas been heated up just as you mentioned and I too cannot hear it when driving on highway. I went under the carwhileidling for further investigation and am pretty sure the noise is just debris (broken off pieces) in your catalytic converter. At first I felt like it may be my transfer case but the noise is not consistent, and when I hit the converter with a metal rod, the sound changes slightly.When I press the accelerator the clicking frequency increases which leads me to beleive the exhaust flowinside the pipe is causing those pieces to move more rapidly. Maybe I'm too optimistic. I sure hope its my catalytic converter since my Disco shows no serious signs. Peices inside your Catalytic converter is nothing to worry about.

 

Just got mine back from the shop after replacing the y-pipe and 4 o2 sensors. I had the same problem, ticking coming from the driver's side cat. In the last six months my disco just didn't seem right. It was sluggish, odd exhaust sounds when I stomped on it, throaty exhaust and onemechanic said the exhaust had "a popping sound". The ticking was so bad at idle I thought I had a stuck valve or worse.

All fixed. The new cats fixed everything. I had the shop that replaced the cats check everything to see what made them go bad and he said he found nothing else wrong and said it's in great shape engine wise for it's mileage. I'm the third owner of a former lease so I don't know how well it was treated before I got it. No codes, no vaccum leaks and fuel pressure good. Engine is smooth as silk.

The only problem with the new cats was the installation. I found the y-pipe on ebay for $320. Good deal, problem was it was a poor fit of an aftermarket part and he had to modify it to fit properly, but he did a great job. I guess that's why it was a "good deal". The seller has 74 of them yet to selland I have told them of the poor fit (they probably know that).

 

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the main muffler burned out inside. After replacing the muffler ($72.00) at my friendly local muffler shop the issues went away.

 

Thanks all for your replies. Since I have solved the noises caused by bumps in the road, I now just have a noise occur when letting the clutch out or getting on and off the gas.

Would worn splines create the clicking sound on a manual gearbox? I saw that -

"The manual 'box is a development of the well-proven R380 transmission, as used on the Romulus models. The 'box has been uprated for its new role; it now has triple synchromeshes on all gears instead of the double synchros on the previous model. It is also fitted with the splash lubrication plate to keep the gearbox splines lubricated to avoid the premature wear associated with these on the R380."

http://www.discoveryownersclub.org/tech/history/

 

Just to close out the thread, the resolution was a loose motor mount. Thanks for all the tips.