'02 Freelander Tappet noise...

[Africanative]

I have an '02 Freelander 2.5l with about 110,000 miles. When I start up the car in the morning it makes a terribly loud clacking sound. To me it sounds like tappet noise, but once the car is warmed up the noise goes away. I believe that the tappets are auto adjusting so what could be causing the noise? Low oil pressure maybe? Worn oil pump?

I'd appreciate any ideas...

Thanks.

 

[joey]

Could be a similar issue as with the Disco's... the pick up tube for the oil pump could very well be clogged... time to remove the oil pan and clean things up.

 

[Africanative]

If the pickup tube was clogged would'nt I still hear the tappet noise once the vehicle has warmed up?

 

[Shermie]

I understand that the Intake Manifold has some electrically controlled flaps internally that make a racket. Once the car warm's up, they quiet down. Could be this... my car does the same.

But...... be careful as the 2002 Freelander's are famous for having a factory defect in the engine design. I understand that eventually coolant and engine oil will mix and disater strikes. If you want to know what this sounds like, follow this YouTube link...

YouTube - Freelander Engine Problem

Sounds like a helicopter... if you get this noise... it's pretty much over.

Good luck,

Rich Sherman

 

[Africanative]

It doesn't sound like your video. It's more of a high picked ticking and it sounds like it's coming from the tensioner side of the engine. I did what Joey suggested and checked the strainer for blockage, but it was clear. I'm wondering if it could be a bad bearing in the belt idler pulley or something like that...

 

[Shermie]

It may be a long-shot but on my Freelander the alternator/ac belt was rubbing on the side plastic cover and tearing. This cover is practically on-top of the belt itself. This was making a ticking sound like you describe but at a very fast rate when the side of the belt was catching on the plastic cover. Another source of common Freelander noises are two things. One, the engine air intake system has a small actuator motor that controls a flap. This can make a ticking noise when the car is idling. The second source of strange noises is the Jatco transmission box. When my dealer repeatedly refused to change the LRN-402 fluid at 30K, 40K and 49.5kmiles while my car was still under warranty, I did it myself at 53kmiles. I followed the procedure in the RAVE factory manual. At 53Kmiles the transmission fluid came out a smelly, watered-down mess much to my chagrin (some voice inside told me that my Jatco was shot.) When the new fluid was replaced, suddenly many small the strange ticking noises went completely away, the car felt like brand new. But.... at 53kmiles the transmission was already shot at that point and it lasted only about 1 year before the dreaded F4 condition and slipping 3rd, 4th and 5th gear woes set-it. Funny how under warranty at about 32kmiles I once got an F1 indication that LR claimed was a faulty wire. These guys "knew" by 2003 that these cars were a mess and did their very best to hide everything until after the warranty was over. I know this for a fact as I befriended the ex service advisor at LR. All of MY Freelander "problems" suddenly came out of the LR closet when I took my car in after warranty. The estimate for repairs was almost $10,000 USD. Ugghhh. I still have my Freelander, adding coolant every three days for the past 6 years and driving like a 90 year old. I get horns, insults and people passing me with the dreaded 'bird'. If I look at the positive side, As I cannot accelerate, I am saving on gas. Best of Luck, Rich

 

[Shermie]

It may be a long-shot but on my Freelander the alternator/ac belt was rubbing on the side plastic cover and tearing. This cover is practically on-top of the belt itself. This was making a ticking sound like you describe but at a very fast rate when the side of the belt was catching on the plastic cover. Another source of common Freelander noises are two things. One, the engine air intake system has a small actuator motor that controls a flap. This can make a ticking noise when the car is idling. The second source of strange noises is the Jatco transmission box. When my dealer repeatedly refused to change the LRN-402 fluid at 30K, 40K and 49.5kmiles while my car was still under warranty, I did it myself at 53kmiles. I followed the procedure in the RAVE factory manual. At 53Kmiles the transmission fluid came out a smelly, watered-down mess much to my chagrin (some voice inside told me that my Jatco was shot.) When the new fluid was replaced, suddenly many small the strange ticking noises went completely away, the car felt like brand new. But.... at 53kmiles the transmission was already shot at that point and it lasted only about 1 year before the dreaded F4 condition and slipping 3rd, 4th and 5th gear woes set-it. Funny how under warranty at about 32kmiles I once got an F1 indication that LR claimed was a faulty wire. These guys "knew" by 2003 that these cars were a mess and did their very best to hide everything until after the warranty was over. I know this for a fact as I befriended the ex service advisor at LR. All of MY Freelander "problems" suddenly came out of the LR closet when I took my car in after warranty. The estimate for repairs was almost $10,000 USD. Ugghhh. I still have my Freelander, adding coolant every three days for the past 6 years and driving like a 90 year old. I get horns, insults and people passing me with the dreaded 'bird'. If I look at the positive side, As I cannot accelerate, I am saving on gas . Best of Luck, Rich

 

[freelander2]

I have a 2002. I had mine worked on for the same thing at 45k. There are 3 things it can be. The dealer worked from the cheaper $200 to the most expensive $1500. I will have to look later at the invoice to see what they fixed. I am pretty sure it was an intake manifold thing. The more expensive one fixed the issue.

You can also try premium gas for a day but that would be pretty expensive too.

ou can aso see if something in there is hitting the fan and when you start driving it blows it bck.

 

[TRD4ME]

Sounds like you dropped a cylinder sleeve. The KV6 engine has loose fitting steel cylinder walls that when overheated expand and crush the head gasket, then when cooled bounce around inside the bore of the engine. Hope you have an extended warrenty, Land Rover is not releasing any KV6 engines right now due to a very low stock.

 

[ken]

My 2004 Freelander sounds just like the video; is it over for my vehicle as well