Freelander 1.8 engine prob

Hi chaps, so heres the story... I have a 1.8 k series freelander, so last week i heard a fairly loud clicking noise that sounded like it was coming from behind the inlet manifold, I thought it was probably the valve lifters filling up, about the same time every now and again the starter motor kept locking up,like it was getting stuck on the ring gear, so i took it off had a look and seemed to be ok put it back on seemed fine until this morning tried to start the car same thing. thought i`d give it a tow start to free it off only to find when i put it in second gear to tow start it the wheels just slid along the ground, tried it a few times same thing. I took the starter motor off again and tried to turn the engineusing a long bar on the ring gear and wouldnt move, seems something has finally given up the ghost, so i`m up for any suggestions to what i could be. sorry a bit long winded cheers Andy

Wow. Not easy to diagnose that fault over the internet.

My guess is the timing belt has jumped and caused valve/ piston contact. This would bend a valve stem, which would explain the ticking noise you heard. I would think that the most bent valve has then snapped off, locking the engine.

There are some tests I'd do before pulling the engine apart.

First is check the timing belt is tight and all the timing marks line up.

Next see if you can turn the engine backwards as well forwards. Im expecting it to turn almost one complete turn, before it locks again. This will pretty much prove the problem is in the cylinder.

If the engine doesn't turn much over half turn, then it could be it's dropped a big end. However the K series is a very robust engine, that doesn't generally suffer bottom end failure.

Hi thanks sounds like good advice, i did try to turn the engine both ways but set solid, the timing belt i fairly new.got it done when i had head gasket done about 6 months ago, but i`ll plod on and try anything right now lol

Update... so i did as Nodge68 suggested and tried turning the engine backwards and forwards and would not move an inch....set solid. I was wondering if it could be the gearbox not the engine, also i noticed the water bottle was empty, and i know just before the lock up it was full coz er in doors topped it up... any more thoughts anyone.

Is there any mayo in the oil filler cap?
I'm thinking that the timing belt has slipped or snapped, a piston has bent a valve or many. A bent valve has subsequently broken off and embedded it's self inbetween the head and piston. This could well drain the coolant and lock the engine up.
Or a rod has failed and punched a hole in the block, below a liner.

If the gearbox was at fault. The crack would turn a bit as slack in the drive was taken up. The crank wouldn't be locked solid.
So something major has gone by the sounds of it.

I'd drain the sump and see what comes out.

Could it be Hydraulic lock with coolant filling a cylinder? Remove spark plugs and try to turn crank again and see if any coolant squirts out.

htr said:

Could it be Hydraulic lock with coolant filling a cylinder? Remove spark plugs and try to turn crank again and see if any coolant squirts out.

Click to expand...

I thought about that Htr. If left overnight, the coolant would drain into the sump. So I discounted it as a potential cause. Also a hydrauliced engine will turn in one direction.

It's a strange one for sure and quite unusual for a K to lock solid in both directions.

Thanks for all the input chaps. car is with mechanic as we speak, he will let me know in due course and be sure i`ll let you guys know.

OK so mechanic got on the job, stripped it down and found water in number 4 cyliner that had compressed and tilted the piston which jammed itself into the liner and locked it up. he said the head looked ok so was thinking a cracked block, question is now do i get a new engine or scrap the bugger any thoughts

Andy Hellen said:

OK so mechanic got on the job, stripped it down and found water in number 4 cyliner that had compressed and tilted the piston which jammed itself into the liner and locked it up. he said the head looked ok so was thinking a cracked block, question is now do i get a new engine or scrap the bugger any thoughts

Click to expand...

Sounds like a replacement engine is needed. Unless you want a project to rebuild yours. A 1.8 K series engine is cheap enough secondhand to get a replacement.

Keep the cylinder head though - assuming that it hasn't softened. It'll be good to keep as a spare, or will raise decent money if sold as a known, good head (assuming that the valves etc weren't damaged as part of the hydraulic lock.

The initial description of clicking did sound like a failing inlet manifold gasket - and may be the route cause for the hydraulic lock.