Thread: Freelander L motor problems

I really cannot help with diagnosis other than to say the problems are not symptomatic of this engine which is very robust and extremely reliable. Mine has done 270,000km and is still running like new.

As far as the issue related to the check engine light coming on - have you had the codes read as this will point you in the right direction.

Good luck with it.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

I really cannot help with diagnosis other than to say the problems are not symptomatic of this engine which is very robust and extremely reliable. Mine has done 270,000km and is still running like new.

As far as the issue related to the check engine light coming on - have you had the codes read as this will point you in the right direction.
Good luck with it. Garry

Hi Garry

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I have placed the wheels in motion (money), for a friend of mine to obtain the unlock key for his software, so the faults can then be read again.

The previous time the codes were read (about six months ago), they did point to the MAP and MAF sensors. The faulty component wasn't found then and still is the same problem that I have now been asked to fix.

That is why I have started looking for another L motor Freelander to use to fault find by substitution.
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Justinc loves Freelanders - get him to have a look at it.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

Justinc loves Freelanders - get him to have a look at it. Garry

I was talking to Justin late last week and the conversation all but stopped when there was a very slight mention of a Freelander !
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Diagnosis is as any other engine. constant bubbles in header tank, Constant over heating, pressure instantly in cooling system etc, you could also get it checked with a sniffer.

Head gaskets are not common on these (these are a near bullet proof engine, The TD5 is based on them), if he has done a few of them there must be another issue, with a new head fitted and it is blown check the block deck for level (if you need to remove head)
Has it been cooked recently?
Has radiator been serviced?
Has he been replacing head bolts when doing gasket?
Hard to say what the light could be really, need to get the codes read.
More than welcome to swap bits with mine but it's a bit of a drive

Thanks Woko

This is an excellent list for fault finding you have put together here. I will add some more info for those that are reading about this problem for the first time.

Originally Posted by woko

Diagnosis is as any other engine. constant bubbles in header tank, Constant over heating, pressure instantly in cooling system etc, you could also get it checked with a sniffer.

To clarify the term sniffer, here is a short youtube clip with the description.

How to tell if your head gasket is blown - YouTube

Head gaskets are not common on these (these are a near bullet proof engine, The TD5 is based on them), if he has done a few of them there must be another issue, with a new head fitted and it is blown check the block deck for level (if you need to remove head)

I will ask if this was done.

Has it been cooked recently?

Yes, the car has given Graham problems ever since the rear welsh plug let go in Queensland, whilst the coolant was a good colour at the time, the corroded plug showed the car had a history of poor maintenance with the coolant.

Has radiator been serviced?

only back flushed, not removed to be serviced yet as far as I am aware, I am going to suggest to Graham to get the cores rodded.

Has he been replacing head bolts when doing gasket?

New bolts were sent with the head from "Tuners Engineering", I believe .

Hard to say what the light could be really, need to get the codes read.

'Alex' is looking at purchasing a unlock key for his diagnostic program.

More than welcome to swap bits with mine but it's a bit of a drive.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think Graham's budget would stretch that far, it would be a chance to escape for a while though.

I threw the towel in on this job.

Too many faults and was going to cost days of work to get a old car going and in the end Graham decided it was going to be too expensive !

I asked Graham since my last post what he had fitted to the car and to update the list of what Graham said that he has fitted, new;
Welsh plugs, head, head bolts and head gasket, rings, water pump and radiator. (he didn't say yesterday, but I think he changed the thermostat as well)
Second hand,; MAP sensor and turbo.
The block, at the time of fitting the new head,was checked for true.

It came to me to find why the engine management light comes on and he asked if I could also look at the boost setting on the wastegate.

I was meant to be setting the boost pressure and the first thing I noticed, lifting the bonnet, was that bottle of water in the engine bay.

It wasn't until I started cleaning the sensor's that I came across oil in the airway, I then looked for where that oil was coming from and found the engine breather was fuming excessively back into the air hose leading towards the turbo.
I set about cleaning all that I could easily, using petrol and paint brush, a large bucket of hot water and detergent and lots of rags.

After spending hours cleaning, I setup the boost gauge and took the car for a run, there was very little boost - about 5 PSI.
Back and forwards quiet a few times, along the road for a couple of kilometers each way, adjusting the wastegate actuator link rod. Finally had the gauge showing a steady 17 PSI, but at that setting the temperature gauge went quickly up to hot and the motor cut its power straight away!
So I topped up the water level at this stage and backed the boost off to 15 PSI steady, taking it for another run, the temperature stayed normal, but the engine management light still keeps coming on.
So I returned home and took the oil filler cap off and it was fuming bad and it was still blowing water out of the radiator cap

I rang Graham and told him that the breather was fuming bad and it was a bit pointless trying to fix the problems associated with the sensor while it was fuming badly, until now Graham was worrying about whether the new rings had seated.
Getting on the phone to couple of mechanic mates of mine I managed to persuade Graham it was only the head gasket, but without fixing that first, it was not going to be easy finding which one was the crook sensor.
The engine management light misbehaved less as the boost was adjusted towards the correct setting, but was still coming on.

He has now taken the car home and given it a dose of Chemiweld.

Sometimes doing a job for a friend can go very pear shaped !
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