A few issues with my Freelander

Fellas, all this rivalry is needless, because as we all know:

I just read all 12 pages of the HGF thread.

Well. That's ruined my morning . But then if they really were that much of a nightmare and not worth the effort then no-one here would be driving them, so there must be some love for the K series and a way to fix it's problems.

In the HGF thread, several failure-rate-reduction-mods (doesn't really sound like there is a definitive "fix") were suggested:

New MLS HG
New oil Rail with shim
Pressure relief thermo
Post shutdown water pump

Sounds pretty smart, if the goal is to keep this sucker as cool as poss at all times. The good news is that mine had a new HG at 92k, and it is now at 111k with now reported problems thus far. I don't know if it was the MLS HG, but I'd suspect so as you'd probably have to try to get the old style one. I don't know whether it has the oil rail fitted, what should I look for to tell?

I'm pretty sure there is a leak in the coolant system somewhere, but the hoses are not in tip top shape and the circlips are rusty. The pressure thermo kit would replace all this anyway, and I expect Jubilee clips would be the way to go rather than circlips. The guys I've been buying my bits from have the Thermo and Oil rail, but where do i get hold of the new pump?

At the end of the day, I am getting the car for the price of the replacement parts so even if I sell it I'll still break even at the very least. I don't mind delicate machines that need love - means you take better care of them and that means that they sometimes end up better than a so called "reliable one."

Like a lecturer said to me once; "I wish you all had dyslexia, because the dyslexic students get the most support and end up writing the best essays." Guess that might apply equally to cars with dicky engines...

Will.

Not really that delicate I did all the above to mine and it pulls like a train. You do have to keep an eye on the fluids etc.. but it'll keep going and deliver lots of power.
Peeps only come on to these forums when their car is broken, so there is, on the face of it, a high instance of hgf in Freelanders on here. In reality if the car has been looked after it'll be just as common as any other motor.
Read the searches and prepare the FL and it'll work as it should.
The only way to tell if you have an uprated oil rail is to take off the sump and have a gander.

Best of British to you

That's good to hear! I suspected as much, I really do hope I can turn this into a reliable car.

Is this the recirculation pump you're talking about? And can you get aftermarket versions of the Thermo and Oil rail?

Will.

Don't know about the pump, i've not gone that far tbh, the thermostat and oil rail can be sourced aftermaket

to replace the oil rail the head needs to come off as the head bolts bolt into this to "sandwich" the engine.

http://www.lrseries.com/shop/product/listing/4314/3305/7/LCN000140L-OIL-FEED-RAIL-ASSY.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=freelander+thermostat+upgrade

Oh and i never said owt about reliable, it is a Land Rover

As a footnote, and an important one, use this part code for your thermostat as it is the best one to use in a K-Series

PEL500110 - Grey is 82° With Light Spring (K4 engines)

Hehe yes reliable is not really in LR's vocabulary, but we do our best. Maw Solutions has the pumps in and I spoke to them this morning, they were really helpful and when/if it passes its MOT I'll get ordering some of this fancy gear. I have the receipt for the HG change from the previous owner and I'll look at the parts list to see if the new oil rail was fitted.

But the thermo and pump look like they would go a long way in keeping the engine happy, so I may not fit the rail for now if it hasn't been done - unless it's essential.

Will.

OH goodie this debate again and again

yep like a broken record

If this has been covered then please point me in the direction, search functions, like rover engines, are not always reliable. I did read the sticky and although it was very useful there were a few things that I've still not got my head around. If they've been covered elsewhere then I'll happily read them and keep this thread short.

Will.

Same story as with all Land Rovers.

A little TLC goes a long way towards reliability!

type your search in the box at the side of "Welcome WLJayne" in the top right corner

Now that I've got an idea what to search for I've come across a few useful threads. I'm piecing the picture together, slowly. Looks like all these mods will really help. Cheers for the help matey .

Ok found some really useful info and I've got a really good idea of how to go forward now. It seems that the Facelift models were all fitted with the Remote Thermostat as standard, but not the Pressure Release Thermostat which will need to be fitted.

the remote thermostat is a pressure relief thermostat.

it will have three hoses fastened to it and be located in front of the rad to the right.


the one used is a cream colour, but it is better to use the grey coloured one PEL500110 it has an opening temp of 82 with a weaker spring.

Ah great thanks, I'll get one if it hasn't already been done. Last thing to consider is the pump, opinion seems divided on this. I can totally see the logic of sticking one in an Elise that does alot of track because of the massive heat soak you'll get when shutting down after lots of high revs. But, in a Freelander I don't know whether heat soak will be as much of an issue, maybe someone here knows better. However even with the EWP and controller I'd still be well under budget so I'd do it just for peace of mind.

Man, this isn't a simple issue is it? Even if I did all this, there's no guarantee that the HG wouldn't fail due to liner drop or what not. But with proper maintainance and checks the chances are slim I think. It's worth the effort.

Will.

heat soak is a MAJOR issue .

that EWP is the one.

it doesnt matter how well you look after it - sequential HGF is a common occurance - just down to luck .

i try not to rev mine past 3k revs til it's warmed up and then when driving i do not stray over 4k revs, unless in short bursts like overtaking.

it does depend on your particular engine.
mine has just gone to 100k miles and only had the hg fail once.

some had them go 5 times in the first year.

liner drop is fatal and scraps the block.

fit the pump if you can afford it, every little bit helps i suppose

Sage advice from you both there, the whole cooling caboodle it is then. I don't drive like a maniac, and I don't think I'll have any problems staying within the rev range you suggest, Freelaner.

Now this is totally speculative but even the block did kick the bucket, presumably it could be replaced and the the other parts re-used? Obviously that's not the sort of thing that's even worth thinking about if you're going to pay a garage to do it, but perhaps, just perhaps, it would be worth doing as a DIY job with the right tools and knowhow? Cheaper than a whole new engine and you could overhaul it at the same time :crazy_driver:.

Will.

It's certainly not beyond the realms of possiblity for someone with a bit of nouse and the right tools

It may not come to that but you never know.

there are far too many on here to completely write these engines off as total crap but they were innovative at the time (and the power to weight hasn't been matched since)

That's good to know. I'm not a qualified auto mechanic, but in my line of work I've learned not to be afraid of diving in and following instructions with hands-on jobs involving what seem like incomprehensibly complex systems. If you take it one step at a time, don't rush, and always do your homework before starting - I've found there's very little you can't attempt.

I will have saved well over a thousand quid of labor at a garage when I'm finished with all the work I'm doing to this car. Might as well see how far I can go with it .

Will.