Clutch release bearing noise

[Purity Vendetta]

Hi guys I've just bought a 2000 Discovery 2 TD5. It was bought from a company specialising in mainly Defenders. I'd been to see quite a few Discoveries and most of the age group I could afford were very rotten and/or quite well abused. The one we bought is by far the most solid and has done around 40 thousand less miles than the average and never had a tow bar fitted. I'm aware that one a vehicle of this age everything won't be perfect so am prepared to do a little work.

Now the issue I'm a bit worried about. The clutch release bearing squeals intermittently when the peddle is depressed and the clutch disengaged. We did take the car back to the guy's place straight away and he told us that it's a common problem due to the release bearing being graphite??? He also said that nothing bad would happen due to the noise and it would 'settle down after a few days'. Now I know the part is cheap and it's a straight forward job to fit one but due to the weight of the box and the fact I'm not either super strong nor equipped for Land Rover gearbox removal I'd rather not start having to drop the box out right now. We are a small company doing classic and vintage motorcycle restorations and our workshop isn't big enough to fit a Disco in so I'd be doing the job outside.

I guess what I'm asking is should I live with the noise as the clutch appears to be fine or am I likely to have big trouble? We bought the car as we wanted to keep the British ethos of the country and we need to tow a variety of trailers up to an 18ft car trailer.

Any advice gratefully received as this is the first Land Rover I've owned and I've spent a significant amount of our companies limited funds on it.

[Blanco]

Welcome, .... in my experience it has little to do with the condition of the bearing, and for what it's worth it won't go away after a few days. The noise indicates (for me, in my identical vehicle) wear in the DMF. It will be annoying for a while but will eventually make gear selection difficult. As with all things it depends to some extent on the way it has been driven, but anything up around the 140,000 miles and I would press to get a clutch job done. Do the spigot bearing and rear main oil seal at the same time. You will doubtless get more experienced help along shortly, but I am sure that was what caused mine. Good luck with it anyway..

[Purity Vendetta]

Thank you Blanco, as I said this is the first Land Rover we've owned so help and advice is most appreciated. The guy we bought the car from did say he'd stand by it if anything awful went wrong so we'll see. It's only done 120,000 which was around 40,000 less than most of the others we went to see and to be fair the rest does look in far better condition than any of the other cars we looked at. I suppose these niggles are to be expected with vehicles of this age and within the price range. Apart from this noise it's lovely to drive. I must learn more about this Dual Mass Flywheel as it's the first time I've come across one.

We figured that if we do take the gearbox out soon we'll use our motorcycle lift as we're not strong enough to manhandle such a heavy unit. A friend has told us that he would never do it again after he dropped the box out of his Defender 110 on his driveway lol.

[Purity Vendetta]

Well after today's inspection of the car the noise has become a bit of a moot point as the rear crankshaft oils seal is leaking badly. It's been the first dry day so I got to crawl about underneath and check things out. All looks well apart from this. No very happy that the guy, who deals in Land Rovers declined to mention the leak but he did say he'd stand by the car on a warranty basis. Well we'll see on Monday when I ring.

Otherwise it doesn't appear to be a difficult job other than the shear weight of the box itself. I'm considering using my motorcycle lift and fabricating a wooden cradle to facilitate dropping it on my own. Now you can see why I normally stick to motorcycles!

[Rangy35]

The noise could also just be the pilot bush, seen and repaired plenty, for some reason most people dont know how to lube the bush before installation.

[Purity Vendetta]

Yes I've seen these bushes and needle roller versions worn out in no time when they haven't been greased properly. Another reason why I prefer to do my own maintenance and repairs. I've only used one garage in 20 years and was ripped off and the quality of the grease monkeys work was appalling!

[Roverdrive]

Our 04 plate disco did the same when new after about a month's ownership. The dealer tried to fob us off with it being "normal" but I insisted on the spigot Bush being changed. I believe it was down to poor initial lubrication.

[Purity Vendetta]

Well on balance and taking into account of the age and price of the car I'm feeling quite happy and reassured that the noise is nothing I can't fix myself for a reasonable price. I'm very grateful for the advice and thank you to those who contributed. The plan of action is now to drop the box, fix the crankshaft seal (£12 + the flywheel bolts), fit a new clutch and spigot bearing and hopefully things will be fine. The car is lovely to drive, she's not new and it's a lot of bang for your buck so to speak.

[lyron]

if you decide to drop the box, you can do it with all four wheels of the ground. ( on very good axle stands) and use an engine hoist through the passenger door. saves a heck of a lot of struggling especialy if you are doing it on your own. they are very heavy.although mine is a disco 1 the principles are the same.it might be worth while you are at it swapping the dmf for a standard flywheel conversion.

ron.