Moving forward?

I'm slowly searching for a tidy 1.8 K series FL 1. I've found one that has a snapped cam belt. Now I have some questions that I hope people can help with. First of all it's a 1998 model, 5 door, 5 speed with about 113000 mls on it.

These aren't 'clearance' engines right? I can and should expect to replace valves etc. At the same time I'd do the w'pump, thermostat and its associated seals, new head bolts, tensioner and its bolt and a head skim.

Is there a particular brand or supplier of modified MLHG preferred? ie gives the best service life? When you buy a MMLHG do they come with the newer head 'dowels'?

Throttle body, I searched and didn't find what I was looking for. Tell me what size throttle bodies did these 1.8 engines come out with. Is it the metal 52mm one? I know on the R200 / R25 1.1 - 1.4 that a simple upgrade was to fit a 52mm one. Is it the same for the FL1?

Exhaust Cat' converter: emission st'ds are not so stringent here. If I remove this will it negatively effect the starting / running of the engine - economy - performance?

I have read that when some have fitted a 'sport cat' the have bridged out the O2 sensor with a small resistor, tricking the EMU into thinking that it's there and all is well. Is this the sort of scheme I should be thinking of?

Suspension bush kits. There are two brands available on Rimmers. Brit part and one other which is more expensive. As the vehicle will be off the road for a month or so I'd like to replace these. Recommendations as to brand / type - polyurethane? ...

Finally! I may even upgrade the front brake discs and pads. Any recommendations here? Brand ...

Thanks in advance!

HTR

Broken cam belt means bent valves.
The standard TB is 48mm. A 52mm TB won't make a big difference on a standard engine. The filter housing is restrictive and the cams are timed for torque.
There is more power to be had by fitting a pair of MG TF 135 cams.

Is it the one Grumpy gel is looking at on trademe?

Those cams, are the the same or similar to Piper's 270Hs ?

And yes it is on trademe!

htr said:

Those cams, are the the same or similar to Piper's 270Hs ?

And yes it is on trademe!

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G'day HTR, that Freelander looks to be in decent condition apart from the damaged caused by the cambelt.

We won't be going for it.

I'm sure a Freelander wouldn't be the car of choice to tow behind a motorhome because of its AWD setup - but you do see RAVs being towed and they're basically the same, so maybe its OK.

Did you not fancy the L Series Diesel in Queenstown that closed on Friday? Only went for $3,200 which if it was in good nick was a good buy.

Hello GrumpyGel!

I contemplated PMing you about it. I'd be happy with a K1.8 as I have a good degree of understanding / experience of it - them.

That red one would suit me as a project vehicle. I've just bought a spare head for a K1.8 in Alexandra tonight. I'll get that ready to fit. That's why I asked for cam advice. Think I'll leave it as st'd as the torque curve reaches near its peak at lower revs than the Piper 270s of the TF135s that were mentioned.

I'll look into what benefits some porting and polishing can do though! and see if I can source a bigger throttle body.

Check you PM

Regards,
HTR

I phoned the FL1 owner tonight. The cam belt didn't break. Apparently the cam belt cover was loose and the belt had some how jumped - sounds like a load of BS to me.

Still sounds like a possibility to me now that I've acquired a replacement head. He did comment that the sun roof leaks - a bit! Fuse out and silicone job.

Needs a new front tyres and front brake pads. Rear tyres were replaced about 6 months ago. So new ones on the back and the rear ones moved to the front is that correct?

All electrics are good [ window lifts] 2 key fobs, no 3 amigos. PAS had a leak but has been rectified at last WoF [ WoF = MOT].

HTR

htr said:

I phoned the FL1 owner tonight. The cam belt didn't break. Apparently the cam belt cover was loose and the belt had some how jumped - sounds like a load of BS to me.

Still sounds like a possibility to me now that I've acquired a replacement head. He did comment that the sun roof leaks - a bit! Fuse out and silicone job.

Needs a new front tyres and front brake pads. Rear tyres were replaced about 6 months ago. So new ones on the back and the rear ones moved to the front is that correct?

All electrics are good [ window lifts] 2 key fobs, no 3 amigos. PAS had a leak but has been rectified at last WoF [ WoF = MOT].

HTR

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That's the right way of changing 2 tyres, so long as they're the same make.

Yeh, they say "Cambelt came off while driving" which sounds strange - maybe they tried to change it and didn't put it back together again correctly - you'll probably want to budget for a new belt & tensioner.

Amazing how many Freelanders have leaky/faulty sunroofs. Still all Landies should leave the factory with as many sunroofs as possible - I'm sure they're all that holds the roof lining up!

I don't know if you have a Landie parts supplier - but Cashel Car Sales in Chch are good for 2nd hand parts. I've had parts for the Freelander from them and my son's also had bits for his Rover 220 Turbo. They're Landie & Rover specialists and usually have a few on their forecourt as well. They're also good for advice on getting new parts or parts they don't have. Prices are good - they supplied and fitted an ABS modulator for the Freelander for $400 (200 of her majesty's quids). They'll ship as well - when Michael picked his Tomcat up in Timaru it came with a CV joint bubble wrapped that the previous owner had bought from Cashels.

Jumping on an old thread as it had a similar issue. Is it cheaper to get a new head rather than rebuild the old one after a snapped belt?

wolflore said:

Jumping on an old thread as it had a similar issue. Is it cheaper to get a new head rather than rebuild the old one after a snapped belt?

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Depends on the work needed to restore the damaged head. You don't know if the replacement head has been overheated, which shortens life massively.

Htr's Freelander has been running well for a few years now. The head was treated to a porting job while it was in bits. It's returning good Mpg with the mods that have been done.

For me I had to replace only 2 valves. The head was otherwise undamaged. It got a skim to ensure flatness and I removed the casting flash/aluminium from the water apertures in the head, and as Nodge said I opened up the valve throats and inlet / exhaust runners too.

Did you take many pictures?

wolflore said:

Did you take many pictures?

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It's all here https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/motor-mods-and-the-easter-pressie.258199/

However the images don't work now.

Oh No!

How much were the repairs? There's a W reg black 3 door for sale near me which is MOTd until Sept. Or is it variable dependant on what bent? It's up for £275.

wolflore said:

How much were the repairs? There's a W reg black 3 door for sale near me which is MOTd until Sept. Or is it variable dependant on what bent? It's up for £275.

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The valves are about £7 each. A the full uprated HG kit is £270, which also includes the timing belt, water pump and tensioner.
Both prices from here.
https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections...bolts-and-revised-oil-rail-equiv-to-zua000530

The K series engine is cheap to fix properly.

Edited for accuracy.

So we'll worth doing then. Thank you.

£269 not £150

Are these non-VVC?

wolflore said:

£269 not £150

Are these non-VVC?

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Sorry. £269. Non VVC engine.

Edited for accuracy.