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feyniriel said:

A year ago my fiance bought this 1997 Discovery 1 manual, 300tdi and upon driving it out of the sellers yard we actually had to take it back after a few miles as it overheated. After sleeping on it he still decided to get it. It was unregistered, uninspected for 10+ years, rusty and paint chipping off. Well my fiance is a LR enthusiast and a home mechanic so after several attempts, we finally got it registered. I paid 1100 pounds to get it fixed up enough to register it. And he's been driving it for months as his daily, it still doesn't have a MOT done but the car is registered in another country so police hasn't bothered us. I can see how much his car means to him, his mind is occupied by it daily and he dreams of all the mods he'll do for it when he fixes it up, but it's still broken in every way, rust holes everywhere, broken pumps and leaks everywhere, on a good day it takes 3 seconds to start the engine, on a bad day I have to jumpstart him, something wrong with the transmission as it jolts violently when pressing the clutch, he tried fixing it but couldn't find the fault, now we're driving around without the speedometer working..

But worst of all and something that I dread is his engine making a terrible rattling and clanking noise, I keep telling him it's not normal and sounds like something it about to go fubar (his Disco2 timing chain exploded and he was depressed for a long time which lead to him buying this Disco1... don't want to see him like that again) but he just says it's what a 300tdi is supposed to sound like. I don't believe that, I've had rough four cylinder engines before and while they sound rough they're not supposed to have a rattling and clanking noise! It also makes a bubbling noise after you stop it, on Britannica restorations YT channel he shows a video of the EXACT same noise and says it's a cylinder head cracked... My fiance saw it and said that it's probably just the vacuum pump. I think he's in denial.

So I'd like to ask help on this forum from you fellow LR enthusiasts, how can I kindly convince him that his Disco is in a critical condition and he should maybe consider taking it to a specialized mechanic or getting another car if he can't afford to? I have a LR too but I don't think one car is worth so much stress, that disco is essentially a financial black hole for us... He keeps saying even if this engine explodes he'll just rebuild it, while I want to give him credit for his mechanic skills I don't think it's very realistic for one man to rebuild his engine in a parking lot..

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Turboman said:

Don't really know what to suggest overall. Some people are very sensitive about any criticism of their chosen vehicle, even if it is obvious to everyone else that it is a heap.

One thing I will mention is that Disco 1 does not have a timing chain like a Disco 2. it has a belt, and the belt should be changed at the specified interval, or less than the specified interval, or it can break, and that can cause expensive damage. The belt may even have jumped a tooth already, or be very worn or loose, which could be causing the noise.

So, small steps, urge him to change the belt, or get it changed, if it is not known when it was last done.

Best of luck.

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feyniriel said:

He did change the belt! He also did valve clearance and replaced some pumps, but the noise persists.

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Turboman said:

OK. Do you think he got the engine and pump timing right when he changed the belt?

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