Front-end suspension rattle and banging is gone!

[powershift]

I found a shop to do my suspension work and now I can slam on the brakes for a red light and drive over speed bumps quickly. Not having the rattle is pretty nice. There is a little loose feeling in the steering in some cases though. Maybe that is from worn tie rods? The shop put that on the receipt (pictured) as a suggested replacement. They also had a 4 wheel dyno I was thinking about doing for $150, just to see the power curves and to see how much power it puts down.

I asked the shop to diagnose the engine noise and they came back saying it is the timing chain. The seem like a straight-shooting shop, but it doesn't sound like they want to do the timing chain work because "they need special tools". They did quote me for an engine swap though, $5,500. If I could just find someone to do the chain I don't think I need to replace the whole engine, if in fact the noise is the timing chain. The told me in so many words that the chain guides are defective and need to be replaced at my mileage. I'm thinking about calling the Land Rover dealer to see how much they would want for the work. I'd pay $7k for the work but then I also want the water pump and other coolant parts replaced. I already did the rear crossover pipe.

 

[txfromwi]

Did you personally do the rear crossover with your own hands? If so then you certainly can do all the other plumbing bits yourself as well.
(And you could have done the control arms yourself as well - it's not terribly hard.)


I have not done the timing chain, but my sense from this group is that it's a pretty straight forward job.

 

[powershift]

Did you personally do the rear crossover with your own hands? If so then you certainly can do all the other plumbing bits yourself as well.
(And you could have done the control arms yourself as well - it's not terribly hard.)


I have not done the timing chain, but my sense from this group is that it's a pretty straight forward job.

I did the crossover work in my apartment parking lot. For the suspension parts, I'd rather pay someone lol. I was happy to pay $588 in labor. The parts were a little expensive but from what I understand the bushings in the control arm are on the soft side that provides more comfort at the expense of wearing quickly.

I might get ambitious and do the timing chain, but I need training and special tools too. It would be better if I did it since I can get in there and replace anything I want, like all the coolant parts without walking away with a $12,000 bill. At that point I want that $12k to be going towards a new engine, not an engine that already has 99k mi on it.

 

[Al Pizzica]

There are probably hundreds of posts on here about the timing chain issue and the quotes to do them are all over the map depending on dealer vs. indy shop.
Interestingly, In all my time on the forum there are a lot of loose chains but not one post I can remember of the engine skipping time and ruining the engine. I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.

 

[djkaosone]

If you're doing the timing chain, there's a lot you can replace along the way. You'll probably be more meticulous than any mechanic by doing it yourself. I've done the timing chains myself and it's not terrible after doing it several times. I've even got the chains to fit so snug that there's little to zero play prior to releasing the tensioners.

I seriously found a ton of sand in the injector holes from years of desert runs, and I'm willing to bet that mechanics would just overlook this and slap it back together, if future damage occurs from it more money for them to "fix" it. Just saying...

 

[txfromwi]

When I did the crossover pipes, I was amazed at how much grit and dirt accumulated on the engine, even way down "inside" around the oil cooler. Both on the V8 and the V6. It's absolutely amazing.

I performed no fewer than 4 separate vacuum cleanups along the way in that project - no way any mechanic other than yourself is going to be so diligent in keeping that material out of cylinders.

That plus, those acorns that show rodent gnawing. And those didn't just blow in there..

 

[txfromwi]

I did the crossover work in my apartment parking lot. For the suspension parts, I'd rather pay someone lol. I was happy to pay $588 in labor. The parts were a little expensive but from what I understand the bushings in the control arm are on the soft side that provides more comfort at the expense of wearing quickly.

I might get ambitious and do the timing chain, but I need training and special tools too.

Working in a parking lot is never fun - cudo's for making that work!

But since when are new tools a deterrent ?? New tools are one of the great joys !!

 

[powershift]

Working in a parking lot is never fun - cudo's for making that work!

But since when are new tools a deterrent ?? New tools are one of the great joys !!

I'm aiming to carry everything I have and go overlanding in my LR4 w/out paying for storage. I already lost everything so I'm working hard to not accumulate things and then I want to put rent money ($1,400) into the stock market as part of my retirement plans instead of paying rent for shelter. That's the idea anyway lol. Another problem buying tools is I need to know the needed tools prior to tearing everything apart because I have one truck, but if Oreillies has it then I can take the bus or order it and have it delivered. It sounds like I need a shop vac with custom tips and what I could do for that is buy from Harbor Freight and just throw it away before I leave.

 

[ktm525]

IMO you can do yourself if you have aptitude , a secure garage and lots of time. A project if you will. If this is your only daily driver then a DIY timing chain job is going to suck on many levels.

 

[ktm525]

Did you get an alignment after the control arm replacement?