Land Rover Repair: 2003 Land Rover Ticking noise, land rover engines, engine teardown

Question
I have this noise for a year now, and my mechanic said that it is not too serious as long as you can handle the noise. I am planning to take a 250 mile road trip, is it still ok to use my LR with the ticking noise?

Answer
2003 Land Rover engines knock for a variety of reasons.  Some lead to failure while others are just annoying.  Sometimes we hear a noise and we know it's about to fail.  More often, though, we have no idea how long a Rover will go making noise before having bigger problem.  You just have to decide how comfortable you are with that.  If you want a positive resolution, you'll have to take the motor apart and see what raps.  I caution you that the result may be full engine teardown and overhaul, so don't do that unless you are prepared for a bill that could top $10,000