Freelander xedi l series. 1998 no start

hi all

I'm struggling to get my freelander 1998 l series running , it's been in my garage for 2 months as I only use it for shooting season and only cover 1000 miles a year.
On running it for 2 days approx 2 hours and driving it for around 20 mins I now can't get it started and I'm struggling to find a solution, so far I've tried the following -
New battery, new glow plugs, new glow plug cable , all fuses and relays look good , removed starter motor for test and working fine , new coolant temp sensor , all sensors removed and cleaned and reconnected , new fuel filter and bleed system, cleaned fuel banjo , cracked off injectors and fuel supply good, I've had a friend do a diognostic test and it shows no fault , tried easy start work no start. As a last resort I'll take to a garage but I only load £500 and for 2 years it's been brilliant with no fault and I don't want to spend much on it. It's cranking ok I think but just firing , plenty of fuel in tank. I'm guttered it's randomly stopped as 8 hours earlier I had it ticking over for 30 mins while doing some service check, any help will be gratefully recieved
Adam

Have you checked the fuel pump belt or timing belt?

How sure are you that the diagnostic test was using a device capable of communicating with the L Series ECU? Unless it was a device specific to Freelander it won't read any codes and even some Freelander devices don't talk to the L Series.

Thanks for your reply , yes I need to check them but access is difficult as the bolts on the timing belt cover have been cross thread and just keep turning , also I do need to try fuel fuel pump belt . Are they located in same area ?

And thanks for the advice regarding the tooling , it was a snap on reader as was only 3 that I tried that worked and gave lots of info but know faults.

Still strange I've done nothing mechanically to car since I turned it off and now it don't start ....

Adam131 said:

Thanks for your reply , yes I need to check them but access is difficult as the bolts on the timing belt cover have been cross thread and just keep turning , also I do need to try fuel fuel pump belt . Are they located in same area ?

And thanks for the advice regarding the tooling , it was a snap on reader as was only 3 that I tried that worked and gave lots of info but know faults.

Still strange I've done nothing mechanically to car since I turned it off and now it don't start ....

Click to expand...

Sounds like either a wire has fell off that shouldn't have or the reverse ... check all the usual suspects ...fuses, relays earths ... if they look good, still check 'em ...

Thanks for you advice , I've spent 3 hours today checking all wires and cables a fuses and all seems in good order. Removed sensors and gave them a clean with contact cleaner and replaced , tried to start with no luck.changed all relays as well .so annoying this Is !!

What can you hear when you turn on the ignition before starting to crank ?

Good evening , only noise I can hear is a constant clicking noise from fuel pump area ? It even cranks at a high speed which says there is compression there

If you are confident that there is fuel being pumped to the injectors, then I think there is only 1 likely reason for it not starting and that is timing - which is often the reason for the L Series having starting problems.

Usually though starting gets progressively worse as timing gets further out of adjustment as the belts stretch. For it to suddenly stop starting, or won't start after a belt change, that would imply a belt has slipped or not been put on in the right place. As Nodge says, belts need checking. As it is pumping fuel, neither the cam or pump belts have broken - but that doesn't mean they are working properly.

An electrical fault is a good candidate when it suddenly stops working - however, there would be a good chance of an error code - eg cam/crank sensor failure. I'm not sure how much error checking there is on the comms to the pump and its operation - but you say it is pumping fuel so looks to be working OK. The pump is primarily mechanical, so it is less likely that an electrical fault is causing non-starting than (say) with a common rail where the injectors are electronically controlled.

Does a fast cranking speed indicate good compression? It its spinning faster than normal, I'd have thought that was due to poor compression.

Thanks grumpy gel for your detailed support

Yes even tho she has been running brilliant for last two years the starting has got worse overtime , and particular the winter but even milder weather , once running tho she starts immediately all day without any issues. is timing a massive job? At the minute it's difficult getting around the engine on the drive, what do I need to remove to gain aces and what am I looking at ? Could it be easier taking it to a local garage ? I'm trying to keep cost minimal as although it's in great condition I only use it on our shooting marshes.
No belts have been removed or changed recently ?

Adam131 said:

Thanks grumpy gel for your detailed support

Yes even tho she has been running brilliant for last two years the starting has got worse overtime , and particular the winter but even milder weather , once running tho she starts immediately all day without any issues. is timing a massive job? At the minute it's difficult getting around the engine on the drive, what do I need to remove to gain aces and what am I looking at ? Could it be easier taking it to a local garage ? I'm trying to keep cost minimal as although it's in great condition I only use it on our shooting marshes.
No belts have been removed or changed recently ?

Click to expand...

They stretch and that messes up the timing. Replace it with an unstretched one and the timing will be correct.

The only belt I've touched on mine is the 'fan' belt. I have had the belts changed (twice) - but that's the only job I've had done at a garage!

The information I have comes from other threads on the forum and other Rover forums. The Rave workshop manual has information for replacing the pump drive belt and timing, using locating pins...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rave-disk-maintenance-manual.260227/

There is information in threads, for example...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/l-series-pump-timing.234946/

Thanks guys for your help ! I'll have a look at this , as a las resort I will have to get to garage but I'll se show easy it is to remove covers and inspect belt.
Appreciate your support !