98 Land rover Freelander 2.0 diesel engine light on, blowing blue smoke when cold

hi all, im new here. i have a 98 landrover freelander 2.0 diesel and its driving me nuts. when starting it, as i turn the key on to let glow plugs warm up and let it do an engine check,the engine light goes out when its done but then it comes back on and stays on after started. (also my engine light is red- the manual says amber? does that mean anything) also when cold it misses and light blue smoke comes from exhaust and heavy to rev but once warmed up a little- runs smoothly, smoke stops but engine light still on. also has lack of power. gave it a service and improved a little- smoke not as bad and power a little better but thats it. can I still drive it without damaging anything once warm? any ideas as to what is wrong? and what i can check myself before going to mechanic?
thanks

mine just snuck on and put it into limp mode - fuel filters blocked

Hello pal.
Pop to the community forum and introduce yourself.
Mike

update- also gives a little hiccup when put foot down a fair bit on accelerator when driving...

Why are you driving it with a red warning light on? Red usually means STOP.

well seems to run fine once warmed up a little- minus the slight lack of power. was also advised by someone to maybe just give it a little bit of a run as it was sitting for a while with buggered IRD... problem did improve but still remains. I take it there are 2 coloured warning lights?

may i ask what is the history of the car, ie has it had a full service, egr bypass done, crankcase filter, turbo filter, fuel filters , oil filter etc

personally i wouldnt run it with a red warning light due to possibly causing extensive damage to the engine

have u had the ird replaced, checked the vcu isnt locking up etc

ive got a 2002 td4 and knkw youve got a different engine to mind but would hate to see u possibly blow ur engine up if a red warning light has come up

are the bulbs ok in the instrument panel, as some may be blown and maybe more lights should come up and not if bulbs are blown

have u got access to a diagnostic reader

hope u didnt mind me saying but with a red warning light up i personally wouldn't use it until you've investigated it more

nah, dont mind at all. bought it off a fellow about 6 months ago maybe with broken ird, broken tailgate lever, tailgate wouldnt open, and siezed vcu. ird was replaced about month ago, along with tailgate lever, then came service replacing oil, air and fuel filters- also running two new oil changes through it to clean old stuff out. also replaced oil in ird and top up gearbox oil. tail shaft was removed as was believed to be problem to cause ird failure last time. before service, last service it had was 2010. sat in paddock for a couple of years with the buggered ird. however. when we went to have a look at the car, started first try via jump start and ran like a dream, and no light. bought it home and next time we started it, we jump started it and problem popped up... anything else you want to know just ask

i found out mine was the map sensor on the bulkhead not the fuel filter (although it does run better now the filters changed anyway!)

mine was chipped and the wire had draped onto the turbo shorting them out.

check the connections to the map sensor.

Trav1s said:

nah, dont mind at all. bought it off a fellow about 6 months ago maybe with broken ird, broken tailgate lever, tailgate wouldnt open, and siezed vcu. ird was replaced about month ago, along with tailgate lever, then came service replacing oil, air and fuel filters- also running two new oil changes through it to clean old stuff out. also replaced oil in ird and top up gearbox oil. tail shaft was removed as was believed to be problem to cause ird failure last time. before service, last service it had was 2010. sat in paddock for a couple of years with the buggered ird. however. when we went to have a look at the car, started first try via jump start and ran like a dream, and no light. bought it home and next time we started it, we jump started it and problem popped up... anything else you want to know just ask

Click to expand...

hi

if the ird was broken i assume the vcu has been replaced and possibly the rear diff as when the vcu seizes and not sorted out will smash the ird and rear diff to pieces

has the engine been power washed by any chance as u say it started ok,

if it needed jumping maybe a new battery or recharging it first

have u checked the rear diff etc ,

like others have said may be a map sensor but if u start right at the beginning, with sorting the battery out then, leave the prop off until the diff is checked otherwise u could cause damage again unless its already been done

have u plugged it into a diagnostic reader yet

do to know much about ur engine but knkw there are others on here who are more experianced

good luck

vilguy said:

i found out mine was the map sensor on the bulkhead not the fuel filter (although it does run better now the filters changed anyway!)

mine was chipped and the wire had draped onto the turbo shorting them out.

check the connections to the map sensor.

Click to expand...

what were the symptoms?

also, prop shaft is off- just a front wheel drive freelander at the moment. also battery was replaced about a week ago. not sure what power washing is, but when we bought it we started it a couple of times and still ran well. once brought it home problem came up instantly. I did read somewhere that freelanders are bad for problems with jump starting.

also have a mechanic coming out to try and do scan sometime soon, but he not sure if his scanning tool will be compatible with the model. also going to do a compression test.

Trav1s said:

also have a mechanic coming out to try and do scan sometime soon, but he not sure if his scanning tool will be compatible with the model. also going to do a compression test.

Click to expand...

Compression test is a good idea. Sounds like oil maybe leaking through a worn connection or similar. Also when it starts is it lumpy at first, could denote a duff injector.
And jump starting a Freelander is not a good idea. Use a battery booster next time, but you should be OK as you have a new one.
Mike

Trav1s said:

what were the symptoms?

also, prop shaft is off- just a front wheel drive freelander at the moment. also battery was replaced about a week ago. not sure what power washing is, but when we bought it we started it a couple of times and still ran well. once brought it home problem came up instantly. I did read somewhere that freelanders are bad for problems with jump starting.

Click to expand...

chucking smoke out the back and the engine light on, no power because it wouldnt boost (not enough air because of no boost hence the smoke!)

unless you mechanic is planning on plugging a hawkeye into it, it probably wont. its not and obd compliant vehicle i believe.

yes it is lumpy when first start from cold only. and not sure what the mech. is planning to plug in- hopefully hawkeye and not enough air boost? would that be map sensor?

update-
had another look today under the bonnet. i pulled the return hose off as it was loose on the injector on right side of car and putit back on with zippy tie to tighten. little diesel leaked out but diddnt worry about it as it wasnt much. started the car and looked back under the bonnet, and where I had pulled the hose off, that spilt diesel had settled at the bottom of that injector of which was blowing bubbles at the very bottom of it where it goes into the engine. could this be part of my problem? mechanic has not come out yet.

hi guys,
mechanic has not come out yet, he is still busy. had another look today under the bonnet and found large split in hose from top of the engine to back the air intake pipe. i pulled it off to repair it and notice it was a bit oily, so I started the engine with it off and revved it to about 2000 rpm and it was spitting oil out as well as the air pressure. anyway I repaired the hose and put it back on and power is better, but engine light still on and still smokes when cold. was wondering if the oil spitting out is bad? and can oil in intercooler or hoses trigger the eml? thanks.

oil has also worked its way to the engine intake from top inter cooler hose- explains blue smoking and rough/heavy running when cold and the loss of power also... what would cause this? and has anyone had this issue?

pulled the intake off and it is full of sludge, all the way through as well as the egr hose to the intake. am pulling the egr valve out to see if clogged etc., as well as clean everything out. what should I use to clean it all out with?

ok, i am going to outline what I have done.
-replaced maf sensor
-cleaned intake that bolts on to manifold (full of sludge- enough to pile an inch of sludge in one swipe of a finger)
-cleaned egr valve (was full of soot)
-cleaned egr pipe to intake (full of sludge also)
-attempted to clean intake manifold as it refused to come off (undid all bolts and it came out half way but kept catching on something.) so cleaned what i could with damp petrol rag and fingers
-pulled off bottom inter-cooler pipe and about a third to
half a cup of oil drained out
-cleaned O2 sensor
put it all back together and problems are still there but not as bad. i started it the next morning too and the smoking was not as bad either.
-replaced clamp on compressor on alternator
-full service with recommended oils (did improve)
-split hose replaced from rocker hosing to air intake hose

a mate with diesel mechanic experiences is confident it is my turbo dying. i searched up symptoms and I have all of them, including engine light coming on. but I can not see any sensors on the turbo of my 98 freelander, can my turbo cause an engine light?
thanks- any replies would be great!