Noise from Timing/Aux belt end of L Series engine

Mine's on 209K kms and no problems with the bearings (touch wood!). If there is no easy diagnosis and you have checked the obvious and potentially serious faults then it may just be something to learn live with .... If I have any bright ideas I will jot them down!

Well, I'm joining Gareth's club!

My family have agreed with me that the engine is making a strange noise - but I can tell that they're not really sure they can hear anything!

When I took it to the garage to have the belt changed, they were none to convinced it was making much in the way of a strange noise.

I took it to another garage today. The chap had a really good look and listen over and under the engine, touched his finger onto places I'd never do with the engine running. He went along with my strange noise but I could tell he was having trouble picking it out. At one point he said that the noise had stopped - but it was still ringing loud in my ears! - so I obviously have 2 strange noises - 1 I can hear and another this chap hears!

Why can nobody hear this noise that sounds so loud and like its the on set of the death throws for my engine to me?

I conclude that I must be going stark raving bonkers!

So the Freelander will go to the ball - it will embark on its 3K KMs road trip one week from today (assuming it lasts that long) and if it collapses in a heap of mangled and twisted bits of steel and alloy, I will tell 'em all - TOLD YOU F***G SO!

I hear many vehicle noises my family fails to hear .....

As you say, the test will be whether it gets you to the ball and back.

Fix an old rattling roofrack to the roof and put some clanking bottles in the boot. Keep the family talking or turn the music up. Distract your ears and enjoy the trip!

gareth123 said:

I hear many vehicle noises my family fails to hear .....

As you say, the test will be whether it gets you to the ball and back.

Fix an old rattling roofrack to the roof and put some clanking bottles in the boot. Keep the family talking or turn the music up. Distract your ears and enjoy the trip!

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The wife will be coming along, so I can listen to her snoring!

Well the freelander has done us proud so far. 6 hour drive yesterday from Christchurch to arrowtown with 5 adults on board and drove superbly.

Pic is at our bach in arrowtown.

GrumpyGel said:

Well the freelander has done us proud so far. 6 hour drive yesterday from Christchurch to arrowtown with 5 adults on board and drove superbly.

Pic is at our bach in arrowtown.

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Great stuff! And how are the engine noises?

In the summer I was worried about a long drive to Bergamo Italy from our place near Toulouse (10 hours) but after the first couple of hours you just get on with it and trust the car you are driving .....

Have fun!

I've given up listening for any noises!

If it starts making any really bad noises then I'll start worrying again. For now though I'm just enjoying being on the road and having a good time

GrumpyGel said:

I've given up listening for any noises!

If it starts making any really bad noises then I'll start worrying again. For now though I'm just enjoying being on the road and having a good time

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Stunning picture! I have never been to NZ but I know from my photographic colleagues how beautiful it is. Breathe it all in!

Back home after our "southern trip". 1,500KMs down to Queenstown and back along the Southern Alps. Its a fairly demanding route for cars, lots of hilly, twisty roads with various climbs well over 3,000ft. The weather was perfect holiday weather, but once again quite demanding on the car touching 30 degrees. I've never used the air con in the 4 years of ownership, but with 4 passengers to consider, I gave in and turned it on

The Freelander performed superbly, absolutely no concerns at all. With 5 adults and our luggage on board, there was quite a bit of gear changing over the hills/mountains, but the L Series shifted us very well. Not the best conditions for maximum fuel economy lugging us all up the steep climbs and air con etc - but still returned 37MPG over all - pretty dam good in my book.

If anyone gets the chance to holiday down in Central Otago NZ - I can't recommend it enough, we had a fantastic time. Photo album time....

Not racing the Freelander, but the Luge in Queenstown...



Rather quicker than the Freelander, but not so fuel efficient...



You've got to 'do' the Shotover when you're in Queenstown, your truely sitting behind driver...




The old girl parked up at the Shotover Jet carpark...



Be careful going by bus though, bit of Kiwi bus parking at the Shotover...



The old girl sunning herself in Wanaka...



More of a traditional rural NZ setting in Otematata...



Having a look down Lake Pukaki to Mount Cook...



Wouldn't be a Kiwi trip without a bit of fishing, the brother-in-law's first ever catch...

Nice one!
Your Hippo is just like mine . same colour I think, too? The noises you hear are the one's I hear. We just need to chill a bt and enjoy our holidays and then when we are home we can big up our cars and say they are the best things on the planet (until the next noise)

Glad it went well!

Glorious scenery and if I ever get a chance to get down your way I will certainly head for Central Otago .... Right now just considering our future options with one child likely to end up in Canada with his wife to be, another possibly going to uni there and the middle one maybe going to film school in the UK after failing to get a job here in France .... I dont think we should be following them around but it does confuse things for the future! Maybe NZ is the answer?

lol, when we were on our trip we passed a gold Freelander going the other way - lights flashed and waves, was a bit of a laugh.

We have similar looming decisions within our family. Our daughter has just finished uni and is traveling back to the UK with my wife's sister - but has a return ticket for a couple of months later. I think she could easily move to the UK though and has started dating a guy from Southampton who's over here on the city rebuild (after the quake) but will ultimately move back home. Our boy has just finished his schooling as well and is now working to save to shift over to the UK - with more long term/permanent plans. If they end up back in the UK, I'm sure we will also.

The Freelander continues to perform exceedingly well !

Over 2,500kms in the last 2 weeks now always with 4 or 5 adults on board. Yesterday was in many ways its biggest test. A 200km run out to Akaroa and Okains Bay. 120kms of that was basically flat, but 80kms was up and over the Banks Peninsular hills. Although we've been over passes exceeding 1,000m in the last couple of weeks, yesterday included 3 climbs from sea level to over 550m on very steep and twisty roads - lots of 2nd gear crawling turns and 2nd/3rd gear changes both up and down - long stretches never seeing 4th or top. On one of the steepest & sharpest turns going down we met a stock lorry with trailer coming up! He must have been in 1st-low-low-low gear! Breathed in and there was plenty of room for a Rizzla paper between us as he passed!

TBH there's plenty of people who live out there and travel those roads daily. There's camp sites down in the bays and people lug caravans up and down the hills, but they're still a good test for any motor

Glad it is proving itself in a testing environment! Looks like the gearbox is getting a lot of work - you can pace yourself and the engine with a manual box. I had a big old 3 litre vauxhall senator about 10 years ago with an auto sports box which was lovely but it didn't half get hot on steep climbs/descents!

Outstanding scenery. As they say here bonne continuation !