Freelander TD4 Engine Roar

Hi All
I have joined today and this is my first post. I did search beforehand as instructed and couldn't find the answer elsewhere. Sorry if I wasn't looking in the right place.
I have a Freelander TD4, 53 Plate. I bought it in 2004 at 10k miles. I did 25k miles per year for the next 4 years and have done 5k miles per year for the last 9 years, mostly motorway. It has been serviced annually or more often on schedule when required by Sturgess in Leicester originally, then Rockingham Landrover and more recently by West 4x4 since I moved to the South Coast.
The engine is currently making an interesting noise, intermittently. In 5th gear at 70mph and 2,500 to 3,000 rpm, it starts to roar, sounding a bit like a Spitfire fighter plane does when it flies past. There is a slight vibration also.
Any thoughts on what the problem is?

Are your sure that the engine is making the noise? I'm thinking along the lines, that the VCU is past its best. It has clocked up a lot of miles for it to be the original.
It's well worth doing the one wheel up test. Has tyre maintenance been as per the LR owners handbook?

Nodge68 said:

Are your sure that the engine is making the noise? I'm thinking along the lines, that the VCU is past its best. It has clocked up a lot of miles for it to be the original.
It's well worth doing the one wheel up test. Has tyre maintenance been as per the LR owners handbook?

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Hi Nodge
Many thanks for taking the time to reply.
I am no mechanic so I have always used specialists to maintain the car. I think the noise is coming from the engine but I may be wrong! I have booked it in for West 4x4 to try and fix the problem. Mark West plugged in his Diagnostic Unit the other day but no fault codes came up.
The tyres have been maintained per the handbook and are all the same. I still have a set of Michelin Synchrones on with plenty of tread left. They seem to have lasted forever, which is presumably why Michelin stopped selling them.
Also, before anyone asks how motorway mileage is possible on the Isle of Wight, it isn't. I now only use the car for work so I keep it at the office in Southampton.

Marconi said:

Also, before anyone asks how motorway mileage is possible on the Isle of Wight, it isn't. I now only use the car for work so I keep it at the office in Southampton.

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I was wondering

I wonder if its just some debris caught in something that turning - eg drive/prop shafts or hubs/breaks.

If you get it up to speed and ease off the throttle, does the noise stop? If you knock it into neutral does it stop?

GrumpyGel said:

I was wondering

I wonder if its just some debris caught in something that turning - eg drive/prop shafts or hubs/breaks.

If you get it up to speed and ease off the throttle, does the noise stop? If you knock it into neutral does it stop?

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Hi GrumpyGel
Thank you for your reply.
The noise does stop if you ease off the throttle. At the speed it occurs I haven't thought about knocking it into neutral!

look at your bottom pulley they come apart and then you will get noise like a motor mower also when it is dark get a torch and shine it around the pulley if you seen and Fairy dust as I call it but other call it metal swarf then it is the pulley coming apart hope this helps you out

If it stops off throttle, then a split boost pipe it the most likely cause.

teddywood1 said:

look at your bottom pulley they come apart and then you will get noise like a motor mower also when it is dark get a torch and shine it around the pulley if you seen and Fairy dust as I call it but other call it metal swarf then it is the pulley coming apart hope this helps you out

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Hi Teddy
Many thanks for your help and for taking the time to reply.