I've been reading for HOURS, looking for the most likely cause of that annoying tick in my 99 disco II and I think it comes down to 2 causes:\
1.A cylinder sleeve loosened by the engine's normal heat or
2. Lifters/ worn cams
So my question is there. If it were the sleeves, shouldn't there be coolant in the engine ?
The noise is very metallic and comes after reaching normal temp. It has gone away for 2 weeks periods, 2 or 3 times, when driving long periods of time (250plus miles) and
one time after adding some marvel mistery oil it worked till next oil change. Tried a couple of times more and didn't.

Thanks for the input

 

Sleeve does not hold back coolant. It lines the softer cylinder. However, head gasket leaks normally leak at front or back of head, and if coolant is found inside the "inboard" cylinders, it can be a sign that block has cracked and the coolant is oozing up between the cylinder and the liner. See pix. Have seen posts on other sites about pinning a liner, and some references to drilling thru the block from the outside to do it. While in theory that could work, would like to see a photo layout from a practicing mechanic (as compared to a pontificating one).

Of course you can also toss in the jumbo oil filter and 15W40 Rotella mentioned in the tech section (oil questions) to try to quiet valve train.

 

Does 'loose liner' syndrome have to be accompanied by water loss? - DiscoWeb Message Boards

I asked the same question a few years ago. No. Loose liners do not have to be accompanied by water loss. The two block vids on youtube by 2 different users both ran just fine without water loss.
I was told to put seafoam, rotella, ATF, snakeoil, everything except Tide in my engine... I just did Rotella - but no magic stuff will stop liners moving if you have grooves in your firing rings because your liners are jumping...

 

I test drove a 2003. It was cold when I started it.
The noise was a gentle tick tick tick.
It took about 5 miles of driving on city streets to get that metallic tap tap tap.
Seems to be from the center cylinders on the drivers's side.
IT ran fine otherwise.
The noise was loud enough that you would hear it inside the Discovery and with the
hood down a good distance from the Discovery.
Someone before you may have overheated the engine. Sorry you must suffer with this.
A slipped liner is a fear we all secretly have.

 

Well, I'm will try the jumbo oil filter for sure, everything but TIDE right? lol
I'm so frustrated that I can't even think were to start; leaks? 3 amigos? or just pull the engine apart first? Not to mention, I already replaced the head gaskets, timing chain, all seals/gaskets, (valley, valve seals, crank shaft, even the valve covers)But it's very re-comforting to know that there is a TON of information available here. I will keep you posted.
Hey TurboDave
Were you able to fix yours by replacing lifters and camshaft? Did you shim the rockers?
Was the old tappets and cams ware noticeable? Because it seams that the more I read the more parts you gotta replace if you want to fit new lifters...

 

No. First time i got into the engine I replaced the lifters, cam and chain. The chain was loose, but the lifters and cam were in good condition - despite the miles, this disco had been main-dealer serviced with a full book of stamps - everything looked good. I did pull the heads to re-lap the valves and replace the seals, and that was the first time I noticed the grooves in the firing rings on the old gaskets.
All back together, and hey presto - the noise came back again 5mins after startup - although not quite as loud as before, but still loud and exactly the same (kind of) sound.

Next time I pulled the engine and replaced the block. Used the same heads, rockers, pushrods, rods, crank, pistons, pump, etc, etc, etc.
I also re-used the chain cam, followers as these had done less than 2K miles since the last un-succesfull attempt to stop the tick.

Basically the only "new" stuff was the rings, big-end and main shells (old ones still looked pretty good mind), the various gaskets and the ARP head bolts.

I didn't shim the rockers - I checked the lifter clearance using the bent&filed welding wire trick; these all checked out ok.

Built back up, and the disco hasn't ticked since.

The second head-gaskets also had the same grooves in the firing rings... In hindsight, I wish I had of pinned the liners on my old block as I KNOW that would have fixed it - but then again, if I had of done that, I wouldn't have stuck it on the grill and proven to many (still some will never be convinced) that the liners move on their own at "operating temperature".


This might be interesting reading:
Pinning sleeves, how to? Anybody? - Land Rover Forums : Land Rover and Range Rover Forum

 

yo dave, you got that pdf of how to pin the liners?. Can you pm it to me?

 

Nope, can't attach to a PM. You need to PM me an email address. :-)

 

Pm sent kind sir

 

You may want to stop guessing, this is what causes so many people to waste time and money.
How many miles on the engine, how often do you change your oil?
Go to the LRO and read my sticky at the top of the D2 section on head gaskets and valve train noises. Once you do that, if you feel mechanical enough, tear the top end down and follow all the directions, of the write up, and start inspecting/measuring each part of the valve train till you find your problem, then get back to us.