Developed 4.6 Knock/Tick @ Idle Only.

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
Hey everyone,

It's late, but I couldn't wait until morning to ask. This is an 03' w/approx 95K miles and a leaking front seal (slow, but present... no puddles). After approximately 30mi of driving I noticed a knock/tick at idle in a parking lot. I checked my oil and I was about 1.5qt low (I use Mobile1 10w40). I returned to the truck several hours later with a few new quarts, topped off, and didn't hear the knock/tick anymore.

About 20 miles later I come to a stop and notice the knock is back. It's pretty slow at a dead idle, speeds up when given gas, and then is gone completely at about 1.5K+ RPM. At first I thought it sounded low to the driver-side, but then when I popped the hood I felt it could be high on the passanger-side near the intake manifold.

I haven't gotten my hands on an oil pressure gauge yet and I've got a ton of highway driving that needs to get done tomorrow. Obviously I don't want to get out on the highway with this thing if I'm in danger of doing damage.

Anyone have this happen to them? I'd like to try out some basic stuff to see if there are simple fixes before I scrap my entire day... I really hope this isn't a spun bearing.

Best regards,
Dave
 

turbodave

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2008
330
10
KY
I think spun bearings are pretty rare - loose liners are more common though...

Good start on looking at the pressure however. You will need a metric oil adaptor - it is M12 x 1.5. You'll also need a 24mm or 15/16 wrench to get the old switch off.

You need to be seeing somthing like 13psi at idle when hot - check the RAVE for the exact number as I don't remember stats too well!

I will ask - is the noise from stone cold? Or only after 5+ minutes. If the latter - from my experience - it is more pointing to a loose liner.
 

jeffro0502

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2006
718
0
Navarre FL
Don't think a loose liner would in crease with engine speed. You could possibly have a little sludge in one of the lifters....try some marvel mystery oil and and drive...see if that solves it? I had a similar noise in my 03 with about 59K on the clock. Went through everything till I tried the Marvel, after about 100 miles of driving my noise went away completely. I use the MO every three oil changes now and run Castrol 20/50 dyno oil and a quality filter. Although I am thinking of switching to Rotella 15/40 because of some of the properties of that oil.
 

roverover

Well-known member
Feb 27, 2005
3,819
28
70
Lancaster PA
www.UsedLandRoverParts.com
If you are in a cold climate it may be just the thickening oil. If you are about to do an oil change in the next bit drain a bit out and throw in a litre of ATF, this will thin your oil if its too cold and clean some of the sludge up if its dirty. If your oil gets real black fast put another one in a day or so before you change the oil. If it stops knocking and begins again after the oil change the oil is too thick for the climate. Just my $.02
 

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
Thanks for the replies everyone!

I couldn't get on Dweb yesterday so I was forced to get some local advice from Non-rover guys. I drained a quart of oil out and replaced it with a quart Lucas Oil Stabilizer to see if it would change things at all. From a cold start there is no knock and I let it run for a few minutes and still nothing. The other night it was only occurring after it was good and hot, but I'm nervous about driving it around and causing a knock if I might result in further damage.

Should I add the MMO to my existing Lucas ridden oil or drain and start over? I'm planning on taking the truck to a couple buddies who are Ford Techs tomorrow to see if they can isolate the sound and then trying to schedule a diagnosis from one of the local Land Rover Specialists. I hate the idea, but I don't want to screw this up.

If it wont do any harm to run some of the MMO around town a bit I'll give it a go.
 

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
roverover said:
If you are in a cold climate it may be just the thickening oil. If you are about to do an oil change in the next bit drain a bit out and throw in a litre of ATF, this will thin your oil if its too cold and clean some of the sludge up if its dirty. If your oil gets real black fast put another one in a day or so before you change the oil. If it stops knocking and begins again after the oil change the oil is too thick for the climate. Just my $.02

I actually do not live in a cold climate. It was 60F at the coldest the night the knock occurred. However, I have been doing a lot of snowboarding and my truck did spend multiple days/nights in 17F - 45F temps. Would that have caused things to junk up and start knocking since I'm running 10w40?
 

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
I can't believe I failed to mention this but my Throttle Body Heater Plate is leaking and my heater only generates heat when I'm on the gas. Is there something wildly obvious that I'm missing here?!
 

nateb006

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2006
373
0
Bradford, PA
www.bottorf.net
Dave Legacy said:
I can't believe I failed to mention this but my Throttle Body Heater Plate is leaking and my heater only generates heat when I'm on the gas. Is there something wildly obvious that I'm missing here?!

Park the nose up as high as you can get it on a hill and run it for a bit. You might have an air pocket in there. Keep an eye on your coolant level and it should work the air pocket out.
 

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
nateb006 said:
Park the nose up as high as you can get it on a hill and run it for a bit. You might have an air pocket in there. Keep an eye on your coolant level and it should work the air pocket out.

Thanks. I'll do that and get the replace that throttle heater plate leak ASAP.
 

jeffro0502

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2006
718
0
Navarre FL
I ran that combination lucas a MMO don't think the lucas really did a lot...but will not hurt to run MMO and lucas same time. MMO does basically the same thing as ATF however I wouldn't leave the ATF in for an extended time as it will clean too much. MMO is something you can put in with a new oil change and leave it.

Dave Legacy said:
Thanks for the replies everyone!

I couldn't get on Dweb yesterday so I was forced to get some local advice from Non-rover guys. I drained a quart of oil out and replaced it with a quart Lucas Oil Stabilizer to see if it would change things at all. From a cold start there is no knock and I let it run for a few minutes and still nothing. The other night it was only occurring after it was good and hot, but I'm nervous about driving it around and causing a knock if I might result in further damage.

Should I add the MMO to my existing Lucas ridden oil or drain and start over? I'm planning on taking the truck to a couple buddies who are Ford Techs tomorrow to see if they can isolate the sound and then trying to schedule a diagnosis from one of the local Land Rover Specialists. I hate the idea, but I don't want to screw this up.

If it wont do any harm to run some of the MMO around town a bit I'll give it a go.
 

Dave Legacy

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
360
1
Hacienda Heights, CA
jeffro0502 said:
I ran that combination lucas a MMO don't think the lucas really did a lot...but will not hurt to run MMO and lucas same time. MMO does basically the same thing as ATF however I wouldn't leave the ATF in for an extended time as it will clean too much. MMO is something you can put in with a new oil change and leave it.

Cool, thanks! I'm just going to add the MMO to the mix so I don't have to worry about discarding all the ATF. I'll go pick some up today.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,212
1,048
AZ
I'm having the same symptoms on my 2004 D2. It's a ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka at idle that speeds up momentarily if you goose the gas and then it disappears. Happens intermittently at cold start and also when hot. ["cold start" for me is anywhere from 40-60 degrees F ambient temperature this time of year]

Oil was changed about 1500 miles ago and didn't seem to affect the sound at all. Thinking of trying some ATF or MMO in the oil, then going with Rotella at next oil change.
 

leeawalden

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2005
2,401
1
Atlanta, GA
I had this same problem on my 04 and got it fixed under the extended warranty. It was a really loud and fairly fast tick and increased when you give it a little gas and then goes away while driving. I was getting in the car one morning while I was home and it was about 20 deg. outside, started the car and forgot something inside. Come back out and I just happen to see some vapor/smoke/exhaust coming from under the truck. It was an exhaust leak at the cat. Another friend of mine had the same problem. The dealer said they just replaced the gasket and bolts there and no more ticky.

I would probably get under the truck and spray some soapy water and look for bubbles along your exhaust since its not cold where you live. It might not be the same problem as mine but worth a shot and if it is, its a cheap fix.

good luck!
 

nolift911

Well-known member
Feb 19, 2006
403
0
Just a thought for some of you guys that have a ticking...I know some have ticking and some have knocking and some have both - this is targetted at the "tickers"

I had the same issue (01)and thought it was rockers and all kinds of other stuff in the engine - it wound up being the purge valve - near the drivers side, it ticks when it cannot engage and rarely throws a code unless it gets really bad and cannot activate at all. You can put your hand on it and feel it ticking pretty loudly when it is trying to activate and cannot.

Anyway just a thought...
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,212
1,048
AZ
My tick is from drivers side, top of engine. Haven't isolated it further, will check purge valve, thanks.

I had a similar problem on my D1 and it was missing Y-pipe bolt & bad gasket so my first thought was exhaust leak. I checked all Y-pipe and manifold bolts and all were properly torqued. Haven't checked gaskets, just bolts. Also did the Seafoam thing and didn't see any indications of exhaust leaks.
 

Reed Perry

Well-known member
Jun 19, 2005
619
0
City Of Oaks
I also have a passenger side tick that is loudest at cold start (20-40F). Recently Ive noticed "some" blue smoke and a smell from the exhaust at cold start. Could the smell and smoke be cause of the ticking? I guess we could all have a little different tick but are these related? I run rotella-T 15W40 oil and it was changed recently as well as a recent sea foam treatment
 

Epsom_D2

Well-known member
Dec 27, 2004
261
0
Boca Raton & Gainesville, FL
I had the same tick coming from my 04 at about 72k. Turned out to be bad cam bearings and the cam was bouncing around in the block and caused other damage to both cam and block. I brought my Rover in as soon as I heard the noise, the dealer is 30mi from my house. I ended up with a short block replacement in order to fix the problem (Thank God for an extended warranty).

My tick appeared to come from the drivers side of the engine and was really only evident at idle or very low rpm and after the engine was warm.

I will keep the purge valve in mind if I hear ticking in the future.

Best of luck,
S-P
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,212
1,048
AZ
Epsom_D2 said:
I had the same tick coming from my 04 at about 72k. Turned out to be bad cam bearings and the cam was bouncing around in the block and caused other damage to both cam and block. I brought my Rover in as soon as I heard the noise, the dealer is 30mi from my house. I ended up with a short block replacement in order to fix the problem (Thank God for an extended warranty).

My tick appeared to come from the drivers side of the engine and was really only evident at idle or very low rpm and after the engine was warm.

I will keep the purge valve in mind if I hear ticking in the future.

Best of luck,
S-P

Ouch. For reference, my 2004 D2 has just under 56K. Will have to spend some time under the hood this weekend...
 

S Marks

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
373
0
My '99 DII has had this tick at idle/low RPM for about 80K miles now (135K on truck). During the time I had warranty coverage, I asked multiple times about this and it was chalked up as "normal". I have always run Mobil 1 and Lucas at every change. Doesn't appear to affect performance, but I just decided to drive it till something happens. I stay on top of preventative maintenance and pray for the best. Just an FYI...