Land Rover Repair: 03 Disco - engine clicking, range rover sport, airstream trailer

Question
My Disco SE7 has 52k miles and two mechanics have diagnosed problems severe enough to replace the entire engine.  This seems ridiculous for such a low mileage engine.  What gives?  The noise is evident when accelerating and sounds like a clicking piston or something.  One mechanic says it is a bent connecting rod or wrist pin damage.  The other guy said it was a failed bearing of some sort.  The other part of the equation is that we recently began pulling a 23' Airstream trailer but the dealer says the 5300 lbs of trailer should be well within the Rover's ability.  The question - what can contribute to such engine damage when the engine is not that old?  Should we be concerned about a Disco or Range Rover Sport being capable of pulling an Airstream trailer within the towing limits?  

Answer
If I were you, I'd seek out a more qualified Rover technician to render an opinion.  Clicking on acceleration is most often a rocker shaft, exhaust leak, or catalyst problem.

Piston or rod noises are extremely rare.  In my service department I see thousands of Rovers and those problems are just about unheard of.

What does your dealer say?  If they are the ones telling you this, how far is it to another dealer?

Good luck,

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John Robison
www.robisonservice.com