I recently had an engine replaced in my Freelander 1.8 EXT 2001 manual. It runs generally very well indeed and smoothly. However occasionally when warmed up it judders big time on take up either in first or reverse gear. This gets quite bad even if the clutch is engaged very slowly. Sometimes after a big judder the Downhill assistance warning lamp comes on and if the engine is switched off and left for a few minutes then restarted, the light has gone out and no judder! Any ideas please? Something to do with idle control valve?
1.8 engine judder
- Thread starter Osborne
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GrumpyGel
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My L Series diesel will judder (big time) when moving off from a stand still. Not sure if its any better or worse when its hot. It uses the same PG1 gearbox and clutch.
It is definitely the clutch, it can't really be anything else although poor engine mounts will make it worse - ie top mount(s) or tie bar.
I find that raising the revs a bit more than I feel is 'natural' before lifting the clutch solves the problem - ie the higher the revs before engaging the clutch the less the juddering. I say 'natural', but I must admit to not lifting the revs by much often (which does give the judder). My clutch isn't very 'progressive', I've burnt it a couple of times towing, and its probably not in the best of condition.
There has been talk on here of maybe a leaking main seal letting oil get on the clutch plate can also cause this.
It is definitely the clutch, it can't really be anything else although poor engine mounts will make it worse - ie top mount(s) or tie bar.
I find that raising the revs a bit more than I feel is 'natural' before lifting the clutch solves the problem - ie the higher the revs before engaging the clutch the less the juddering. I say 'natural', but I must admit to not lifting the revs by much often (which does give the judder). My clutch isn't very 'progressive', I've burnt it a couple of times towing, and its probably not in the best of condition.
There has been talk on here of maybe a leaking main seal letting oil get on the clutch plate can also cause this.
Hi and thanks for reply. I am confused as when engine is cold it runs as smooth as s new car! Then the juddering starts and I have tried putting more revs but it’s just worse. It’s odd how it seems to be linked to the downhill control light and the symptoms disappear. The clutch also is 1000 miles old.
Henry_b
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mine did that, oil on the clutch plate was the cause.
GrumpyGel
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You could lift the rubber gaiter (on the gear stick) and make sure the wires on the HDC switch are not shorting in any way and turning on the HDC.
You could also pull the wire from the 1st gear switch on the gearbox to make sure HDC can't be enabled. If it fixes the juddering in 1st but continues in reverse - you know it is HDC causing the problem.
Thanks not sure why it is intermittent if oil is leaking to clutch plate?
Thank you that makes sense. After the replacement engine was fitted the HDC lamp constantly lit up and I could not work out why. I adjusted the free play in the throttle cable and that fixed the problem for a while. Then the juddering started..
Clutch judder on the PG1 box is common. It's caused by the the plate and or release bearing slide, not correctly lubricated or dirty, causing binding when the pedal is released.
The only cure is to strip the box off, replace the wearing components and thoroughly clean the gearbox splines, and clean the bearing slide too on the nose of the box too. Both splines and box nose then need careful and light lubrication with a moly based grease. Doing this will result in smooth clutch engagement. Almost nobody does this job correctly, which results in judder shortly after a new clutch is fitted.
The only cure is to strip the box off, replace the wearing components and thoroughly clean the gearbox splines, and clean the bearing slide too on the nose of the box too. Both splines and box nose then need careful and light lubrication with a moly based grease. Doing this will result in smooth clutch engagement. Almost nobody does this job correctly, which results in judder shortly after a new clutch is fitted.
Thanks for the reply but does that work with the fact that some of the time it works very smoothly. The problem is only intermittent but terrible when it does apoear
It's not uncommon for it to work smoothly when the clutch is cold, but the splines or release bearing to bind up once hot. Seen it many times, and it's always down to dirt causing sticking, or lack of lubrication. Once judder has started, it marks the plate and it continues until the plate wears smooth on the cold cycle.
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