My 2004 Discovery is the one with the steam locomotive noise. I did a top end overhaul with new bolts, gaskets, oil seals, valve springs, etc., and did the torque routine as specified with painted white marks on the head bolts to prove it. You could eat your lunch off all the components and I oiled the valves before fitting them etc

But it had misfires on 2, 4 and 7 and a few rattles so I took it to a local British car repairer. They said they would check the ignition and compressions and it would take 3 - 4 hours.... I gave them a day, and now two days.

They claim that the top of the engine, rockers, valve gear are bone dry and the cause of the rattles.... this they deduced by passing a camera into the oil filler.

They said that they pumped air into 2 and saw it escape into 4. I always tested compressions with a gauge I connected to the spark plug threads.
I have not heard of pumping air into the cylinder with valve states affecting the result. My valves were ground in by me.

He mentioned bad oil pumps but I thought that an issue on 2003 and would be calamitous. He mentioned the liners might slip but that seems unlikely

My gut feel is a blown gasket for the leak but what are your opinions?

PS I added photos to show you how I worked on the engine. You can see the clean heads with clear holes and ports and the top of the engine with heads in place.

The components were very clean, the car had done very few miles since the work was done and two days before I put it in for repair it had an oil and filter change.

So peering down the oil filler would show clean parts with very clean oil. If he expected black crud he would not have seen that but I was very surprised to be told it was bone dry.

 

Anything is possible. You have to realize that you are asking a shop to look over your truck and see what got messed up by your hand. As a tech, I'd throw the book at you too. Everything you could have touched, gets replaced, simply because I wouldn't want you coming back and saying we missed something.

Sorry friend, but that's the way that cookie crumbles.

 

well it appears you have a two fold problem, no oil pressure and a compression leak, (the train whistle).

 

Hi

The good news is that they are not charging for the work and the point I was making was that they had not done any of the items they said they would.... check ignition and compressions, and rather peered into the oil filler cap and tell me the rockers are bone dry.... the point I added was that the parts were spotlessly clean and using fresh, two day old oil.

Then telling me about broken oil pumps, slipped sleeves and needing a new engine for $5000+ (I didn't mention that on my prior post) raised my suspicions that they were BS'ing me.

So, with respect to the book throwing post, I believe I have grounds for throwing also.

I will take the car to a member recommended repairer.

 

So you did all this work and did not change out the oil pump gears?

Oil pumps fail on all years, the 2003 issue was misplaced dowel pins accelerating the oil pump fail which will happen anyway...

 

Fair enough. but if you will allow me, let me show you some things.

Them blowing air into cylinder 2 and it came out of 4.
Smoke test. Maybe they took the lazy way out and smoke tested it, before delving into a compression test, IDK, but a smoke test tells you alot of imformation without even hooking a compression tester up. i know I have smoke tested engines to find cracks in heads before and it works.

Them telling you about the worst case scenario.
We all do it, because you would be pissed if I told you, yea an oil change would fix it and 2 hours later, call you back and say, hey, you need an engine. I have prepped some of my private customers and told them flat out, listen, this MAY work, but if it doesn't, the repair or replacement isn't going to be cheap. And I'm talking $15K engines and $7k transfercases.

You can re-throw whatever you want, but clearly, you did something wrong otherwise your engine wouldn't sound like a train. Any shop worth their salt is going to cover their own *** because, now they are going in after you did and finding and fixing a problem you caused, not knowing what you did.

I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm not defending the shop. I don't know who they are or what they did. I don't even work on Land Rovers and at the end of the day, I don't really care. I sleep well because i don't rip anyone off and my cars all work (knock on wood) But as a tech, I'm telling you what i would do in this situation and how most shops will handle it and maybe you should be a little realistic on what may be coming your way.

Hey, if I'm wrong, wont be the first time and wont be the last (don't tell me wife i said that) and i have no problem apologizing. If I'm right, well...

 

I'm not a tech, but it's very true that on an 03 or 04, hot engine = slipped liners. It's just a fate a D2 owner has to live with.

 

Hi

I would just like to clarify... the noise like a locomotive was my original, pre heads off, issue.

My current issue was misfiring and maybe a leak twixt cylinders days after new gaskets and correct head tighten with new bolts, but its a different head to the one with the leak, if so, and I'm hedging for a second opinion.

The engine I mentioned in the last post wasn't going to be new but he said he get one from a breakers yard.

I took the car there because they are the nearest Landrover repair shop to me. I took the car there about six months ago after a steering hose started leaking. They charged me $500 to change that hose and then announced the radiator leaked badly and needing replacing. I pointed out that I had driven the car to Orange Country and back the previous day with no water leaks and they admitted their tech may have clouted the radiator while changing the hose. To their credit they replaced the radiator for free so I gave them a second try with this issue that they said the tests would take 3 - 4 hours and the car was there for two days.

I don't think I will go there again....

 

Ok. Hope you work your issue out.
There is a thread, if you search for it, with reputable shops by state.
Good luck

 

I would do a oil pressure test to make sure that the oil pump is working and a leakdown test. Here's more info on a leakdown test: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leak-down_tester

I don't know how they can say the rockers are dry when the valve covers have a shield in it that prevents you from looking at the rockers....