How Should a Healthy 4.6L Sound?

donniefitz2

Well-known member
Sep 15, 2020
138
56
Scottsdale, AZ
fitzventure.com
I have read many forum posts about ticking sounds, engines sounding like a diesel, etc. I'm wondering what a well-running Disco, '03 in my case, should sound like.

Mine has 66,000 miles on it and sounds pretty good. At cold start it sounds a bit clackity for about a minute, then not so clackity as it warms up (my 2014 Toyota sounded worse at cold start).

It does have a sort of "glug, glug, glug" sound underneath no matter the temp. Not really loud, but I notice it. It doesn't sound like an exhaust leak and I believe it's coming from the crank case. It's not a prominent sound, but it's there. For the record, I'm running Shell Rotella 15w40 and my engine temps hang below 200 almost always.

This weekend I met up with my local Rover club for an offroading trip and met a guy who also has an '03. He said his liner is slipped so I asked him to start it up. His liner was definitely not slipped. A slipped liner is very noticeable. But his, with 140,000 miles on it, sounded exactly the same as mine. His has that "glug" sound at idle, which I'm now thinking is just the normal sound of these engines.

I have linked to an audio file that's recorded directly under the oil pan. You can hear the "glug" sound. Here's a link to the audio file.

My question is, does this sound normal? Am I being paranoid?
 

specops1526

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2007
845
11
Los Angeles, CA
I'm pretty sure mine (currently an '03 with 89k) sounds the same as yours. I wish I could remember my last two ('04s) but I'm guessing they sounded similar.

I clearly remember hearing someone else's drive off once and I could clearly hear that diesel chug sound too. Must be the old Buick V8 sound.