2003 td4 problem

hi my partner has a 2003 freelander td4 with 75,000 miles on the clock , 3 days ago i pulled up and noticed on tickover the rev needle moving up and down slightly on its own almost cutting the engine out but then reving back up and saving it from cutting out, i then turned off the engine a min and tried to start it up again but soon as it fired up it just died , this happened twice , on the 3rd attempt it started as normal and off i went with no problems, since then my wife says sometimes when she goes to start the car up she turns the key all the way and theres nothing there but on the second try it fires up and once its running its fine, the cars never been thrashed as we got this from my grandad who had it for 5 years with no problems and serviced regular , ive checked battery leads etc. and looked for any obvious faults but cant seem to notice anything wrong so i just though i would ask on here before we go paying garage prices this time a year if anyone has any ideas what the problem could be ? thanks lee

Could it be a fuelling problem? maybe the low pressure pump? Is this a pre facelift model?

I honestly couldnt tell you i dont know where to start looking first,, yeah its the pre facelift model its on a 03 plate

If it was a fuel problem the engine would try to start but just turn over if it was short of fuel wouldnt it ? ? But when the key is turned its just dead it doesnt even try to start

lannen55 said:

hi my partner has a 2003 freelander td4 with 75,000 miles on the clock , 3 days ago i pulled up and noticed on tickover the rev needle moving up and down slightly on its own almost cutting the engine out but then reving back up and saving it from cutting out, i then turned off the engine a min and tried to start it up again but soon as it fired up it just died , this happened twice , on the 3rd attempt it started as normal and off i went with no problems, since then my wife says sometimes when she goes to start the car up she turns the key all the way and theres nothing there but on the second try it fires up and once its running its fine, the cars never been thrashed as we got this from my grandad who had it for 5 years with no problems and serviced regular , ive checked battery leads etc. and looked for any obvious faults but cant seem to notice anything wrong so i just though i would ask on here before we go paying garage prices this time a year if anyone has any ideas what the problem could be ? thanks lee

Click to expand...

We had similar with our 2003 preface lift Td4, although ours never stalled
so here is a list of things we have done.and in this order as well..
1. Cleaned the EGR Valve.
2. Cleaned the Crankcase Tampon.
3. Checked all hoses for holes (found one and a couple of loose clips).
3a. Changed the hose during the week, had to buy the right one..
(15 mins Max)

This all made a massive difference to the smoothness and no more almost stalling..

Next we changed & cleaned the following;
1. EGR Blanking Plate.
2. BMW Cyclone Crankcase filter.
3. Air Filter.
4. EGR/Turbo Filter
5. Cleaned the inlet Manifold with Mr Muscle, (not perfect but cleaner)

Have look here for the parts I got http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/what-one-correct-one-202492.html
I Didn't use the Maff cleaner..wasnt confident enough this time around..

The engine now runs much smoother with nice tick over and easily reaches 90-95 Mph without putting my foot through the floor..

The First 1-3 took about 3 hours on a Saturday..
(I am a complete novice when it comes to engines, and I didn't rush at all)

The second 1-5 took similar time as I now knew where things were and what to do,,
Parts all from Ebay,,about £100 but I got a performance filter you could save £20 by getting a normal one..
about 2 weeks between jobs as I waited till I had all the parts before changing them..

Very happy with the results..

I Hope it helps you ...

P.S Air is as important to these to run right as almost anything..