Advice on replacement engine

[pam_illidge]

Hi All,

My 2010 Freelander 2 lost power and coasted to a halt towing my old camper trailer on a recent road trip around northern NSW, checking out old movie theatres! The check oil light came on and I had to get towed to Casino - lucky I am in the NRMA. I had just travelled 1.25 hours from Tenterfield over hills and it was a hot day. The oil and oil fllter were changed just before I left Sydney. The engine turned over a few hours later over when moving the car forward so my camper trailer could be towed to a caravan park, but wouldn't start. My Freelander 2 was towed to a Repco Service Centre in Casino the next day which had the right diagnostic equipment. It has been there quite a few weeks now (I picked my backup car up from Sydney to continue my trip as I had to get back to start a new job). The car will not start and apparently there is no error code explaining why. The mechanic says that he believes there is low compression in the engine ie it appears the engine is stuffed. Looking for suggestions for where to start with researching options for a reconditioned engine and any information on costs, what to watch out for, etc. Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Pam

[RANDLOVER]

Sorry to hear about this.

I'm concerned about the statement "believes there is low compression" as it is a just matter of taking pressure readings on each cylinder and seeing which one/s or all are low.

How many km's on it? It might just be worn piston rings but I'd expect that to cause a gradual loss of power, hard starting, etc. No/low compression could also mean it has broken, thrown or jumped a timing chain/belt, for cranking but not starting could be something electronic like the crank position sensor, a common fault with these IIRC. It probably should be opened and inspected, as might be repairable.

Not sure about recon engines, but LR wreckers like Triumph Rover Spares and British Off Road may have used engines.

Triumph Rover Spares - Triumph Rover Spares

British Off Road - The Land Rover spare parts specialists - Land Rovers, Now Wrecking List

[FisherX]

Get it to a different mechanic to have it diagnosed properly. I could be an easy fix. I know the crank angle sensor can fail when it gets hot and will work sometime when it cools down.

[pam_illidge]

Thanks so much for your response. Yes - the mechanic in Casino did not do a compression test and I'm not sure why. Maybe didn't want to invest the time without having a conversation about payment? The car does have 300K+ on it, but is a diesel. I did some reading and there are about 8 different causes of low engine compression! Including timing belt and blown head gasket. Was thinking of asking the mechanic in Casino to do a compression test but as he doesn't seem keen and the communication has been so poor, I'm now thinking of transporting back to my Landrover specialist in South Windsor, Sydney. Have just requested quotes from several car transportation / freight companies. He can then do the compression test and open and inspect the engine as you said, to enable an informed decision to be made. Hopefully it is one of the simpler, least expensive options like the crank position sensor! Finger's crossed. If not, the reconditioned pathway it is.

Sorry to hear about this.

I'm concerned about the statement "believes there is low compression" as it is a just matter of taking pressure readings on each cylinder and seeing which one/s or all are low.

How many km's on it? It might just be worn piston rings but I'd expect that to cause a gradual loss of power, hard starting, etc. No/low compression could also mean it has broken, thrown or jumped a timing chain/belt, for cranking but not starting could be something electronic like the crank position sensor, a common fault with these IIRC. It probably should be opened and inspected, as might be repairable.

Not sure about recon engines, but LR wreckers like Triumph Rover Spares and British Off Road may have used engines.

Triumph Rover Spares - Triumph Rover Spares

British Off Road - The Land Rover spare parts specialists - Land Rovers, Now Wrecking List

[FisherX]

Thanks so much for your response. Yes - the mechanic in Casino did not do a compression test and I'm not sure why. Maybe didn't want to invest the time without having a conversation about payment? The car does have 300K+ on it, but is a diesel. I did some reading and there are about 8 different causes of low engine compression! Including timing belt and blown head gasket. Was thinking of asking the mechanic in Casino to do a compression test but as he doesn't seem keen and the communication has been so poor, I'm now thinking of transporting back to my Landrover specialist in South Windsor, Sydney. Have just requested quotes from several car transportation / freight companies. He can then do the compression test and open and inspect the engine as you said, to enable an informed decision to be made. Hopefully it is one of the simpler, least expensive options like the crank position sensor! Finger's crossed. If not, the reconditioned pathway it is.

How are you going with this issue? Did you need a new engine??