Tic Tic Tic

[Sirfoss]

Just some info. Some thing that likes to rear its ugly head time to time. That ticking noise at start up like no oil pressure. I have seen this many many times and allot of the time if you remove the oil pan you find a screw laying in the pan from the oil pick up tube. And the tube is loose, I clean the threads and use lock tight on them and reinstall......and like magic the tic is now gone. Just thought I would share that.
Mike

 

[campbell]

How much of a pain is it to remove the oil pan?

Oh, I have a 99 D2

 

[Cadaver]

I just did this project. I was getting an oil light on at startup and that awful clunking noise (bearings getting beat to hell). Parked it immediately and dropped the pan. Pickup tube was dangling on two bolts that I removed by hand. Pickup was nasty. Ordered new pickup, pickup gasket, and oil pan gasket. Cleaned pan, reinstalled with new bolts using lock washers and loctite. Problem solved. Other factors that I found that play a role are crappy oil filters that allow oil to drain out of the pump into the filter then back into the pan. I have found that K&N 3001 works best for my 98 D1. Also, I would run 20W50 in the summer and 10W40 in the winter. Another consideration is an oil pump that could be leaking. I havent had to replace the oil pump yet.

Oil pan removal is a breeze on a D1. I had to remove the stock steering stabilizer to get the pan out. Other than that, remove the bolts and drop the pan. 15 minutes max. I got new cork gasket and pickup tube from Nathan at Discount Rovers.

If you are about to drop the pan, I would run a can of motor flush prior to draining the oil.

 

[Sirfoss]

Thanks

John,
I am glad to have you reply to this because there are so many people that have thiis happen and the vehicle ends up in a shop for big $$$ repair when it may not need it at all.
Thanks Mike

 

[Cadaver]

Michael,

Agreed, hopefully some poor soul searching this site about his oil pressure and noise at start up will read this and investigate before doing other more expensive things. its a sick feeling to hear that knocking noise that accampanies a low oil pressure. Credit goes to Dave Lucas, who shared his similar experience with the pickup tube. I was relieved to see the loose pickup tube. The problem set me back a total of $50 and about 2 hours of my time. Over an hour was spent cleaning the oil pan. Still, this alone may not solve the problem, but its a cheap place to start. Dropping the oil pan is so easy, that I think it should be done at least once per year to clean.

 

[DiscoJen]

Next step

Great info! I did in fact drop my pan last friday fearing that my ticking at start up was due to clogged screen. Screen was indeed pretty choked up. Cleaned it all up, found nothing loose, got warm dripping oil in my eye and cursed a bit (ok a lot) but still have the ticking at start up (and lighter ticking at idle that goes away with rev). I am using Wix oil filters and the ticking started the very minute that I changed my oil the first time after I bought my truck (97se7). I guess I will try a different filter as Cadaver indicated may also be a suspect.

Thanks for posting this thread!
Jen

 

[Sirfoss]

Jen

Sent you an email on what to try.
Mike

 

[bazzle]

Ive found that low viscosity (5 to 10 ) and synthetic on a series 1 Disco causes the hydraulic lifters to bleed back. Use normal oil 20/50 and problem goes away.

Bazzle

 

[Cadaver]

Yep, I use 20W50 unless the temp gets below 30F, then I switch to 10W40. Try the K&N 3001 filter. Its taller than the standard filter, but has a check valve that prevents oil from draining back into the pan. I wont use any other oil filter. 6.5 qts in the pan and .5qt in the filter. Other things that make ticking noises are failing lifter, exhaust leak, catalytic converters, just to name a few. DiscoJen, does the oil light stay on or flicker when you are hearing the ticking. This is one of my pet peaves about the Discos, no oil gauge.

 

[DiscoJen]

K&N 3001 oh yeah!

I made the switch today after reading this post to the K&N3001 oil filter - it DID take away my loud ticking at start up from dry starts. Shucks, it didn't help with the tic at idle, but I am very pleased with the anti-drain feature.

I'm still torn as to whether my tic is lifters or an exhaust leak. It sounds like it's coming from right under the plenum like someone tossed a penny in there. But I also have a bit of chugging that carries down to under the drivers seat as if it's an exhaust leak too. My lights have never flickered so I think my pick up is probably good.

This tic began exactly the minute I did my first oil change after I bought my truck. I used a Wix filter and Castrol 20w50 synthetic blend. Within days I performed another oil change to Castrol 10w30 which didn't help. I also felt this too thin for Florida summers so I did a flush and changed my oil again to Castrol 10w40 with no change to the tic. I went ahead and drove this for a month or two until I dropped my pan last week and used Quaker State 10w40. Tic is still there and I really don't like the Quaker State...it seems really, really thin. I am quite sure I will be doing another oil change and will probably go ahead and try the Rotella that Sirfoss suggested within the week.

Rollin' up my sleeves again,
Jen

 

[Sirfoss]

Im Happy

I am happy that this post has helped most of you. I did not know Dave had shared this info.....I did his disco here at the shop. Dave had reminded me about the tube coming loose which I have not seen in a while. But since then have done several and with great success it has stopped that Tic. While my customers had alredy been told by others eng time or lifters and all the other junk that can be said. Thanks to all for there replys.
Mike

 

[Cadaver]

Does the ticking sound thats there now go away after the engine gets good and warm. If it does, thats a good sign of an exhaust leak. Another possiblility is to get under the truck and hit the exhaust pipes near the catalytic converters. If you hear some funky noises, converters are bad. Those would be two things to check. Usually with a lifer tick, they get worse as the truck warms up. But not always. A rocker may be loose. Ive had a piece of serpentine belt shred away from the belt and hit the lower radiator hose. The tensioner and pulleys can make noises. The possibilities are out there, you basically have to look at anything that is rotating or igninting. Check the spark plugs to make sure they are good and tight in the heads. It really comes down to hearing the exact sound. Difficult to describle a tick. These unidentified noises are extremely annoying. Good luck. Remember, you can always turn the radio up louder. Thats the trump card for odd noises.

 

[DiscoJen]

Idle tic

The tic is only audible at idle, when I rev a bit it shrugs off. A few months ago I found an exhaust leak and replaced the gasket. Last week I found a pin hole in my muffler and fixed that. I swear it sounded much better for about an hour, then it came back. Either the fix didn't hold or it didn't fix it in the first place. I'm gonna get out there tomorrow and check my belt and see if I can trace another leak somewhere. Wish me luck!

 

[jcollett]

jen -

i was having the same symptoms as you... ended up being an exhaust leak on the pass side where the maifold and y pipe come together -- the gasket was shot. replaced it and fixed the tic. now i am going to try this k&n oil filter you guys are talking about to see if i can eliminate my occasional start-up tic.

by the way --- what is this about 5/10 syn oil and bleed off??? i am about to do an oil change and was going to us 5W30 mobil for the winter months... not a good idea???

 

[Cadaver]

This is my opinion, run 20W50 during the hot months, 10W40 during the cold months.

 

[campbell]

i was having the same symptoms as you... ended up being an exhaust leak on the pass side where the maifold and y pipe come together -- the gasket was shot. replaced it and fixed the tic.

I had this same problem. Replacing the gasket wasn't that difficult. The problem with ticking in the engine compartment is that it can sound like it is coming from many different places. I took a cut-off piece of garden hose and put one end to my ear and moved the other end around the engine compartment while the truck was running. Watch out for moving parts! Anyway, it helped to pinpoint that the tic was coming form the manifold-->Y-pipe gasket.

 

[DiscoJen]

Exhaust leak

Hey Collet & Campbell...That is exactly where I found my first exhaust leak. The noise was really hard to locate so I had to do it by feel. I could feel a slight stream of air come out of the passenger side and replaced the gasket. That made a HUGE difference and was a cheap fix. Gotta be something on the drivers side manifold area that I am missing.

Heading back under the hood!
Jen

 

[campbell]

I was glad it was my passenger side and not the driver side. Looks much harder to get to on the driver side. Good luck and let us know.

 

[DiscoJen]

Suggestions?

I checked around again and tried to locate my tic/chug. I found a couple of split vacuum hoses and changed them out to no avail. My belt seems fine and I couldn't note any pulley problems. My fan does have a distinct wobble pattern that varies with rpm/rotation speed. The wobble straightens up with rpms and the noise goes away too. However, I may just not be able to hear the noise over the engine. The noise also increases its repitition with rpm increasing, but again, it's hard to hear over the engine to be sure.

I used a broomstick at first to try to locate noise and it sounded like it's coming from the bottom of the engine maybe the oil pan. I also used a piece of hose as well and I can hear it pretty loudly near the rear of the engine top and bottom.

What are the symptoms of a bad cat? I am going to break down and take my truck to an exhaust shop tomorrow and have them check for a leak since I'm not confident in my ear's findings. I just want to be educated before I get there. Of course, as soon as I called and made an appointment and said I had a Land Rover you could just hear the change in their voice - sounded kinda like $$$$cha-ching$$$$. Maybe I should wear something, say, ummm, revealing? rofl

But seriously, thanks for the knowledge so I won't get taken...

Jen