Freelander 2 (LR2) Bad exhaust smell

I had the turbo replaced a couple of months back and since then when I start it there is a strong smell of oil/exhaust all round the car and through the vents. I got the garage to check for leaks etc but they found nothing. I was wondering if it could be injectors? Can anyone think of anything else? Its fine when its warmed up.

Also its difficult to start in the cold. I put an extra battery cable to the engine and it turns over much better with that.

Is there any smoke when starting from cold?

Mine smokes quite a bit when it's not been run for a while, which I'm putting down to valve guide oil seals.

Stv123 said:

Also its difficult to start in the cold. I put an extra battery cable to the engine and it turns over much better with that.

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Does it start before the starter times out?
If so, then it's acceptable, but could be due to failed glow plugs.

If the starter times out before it starts, then there's an issue.

Yes smokes when its cold but I wouldn’t say its excessive for a diesel.

It takes several attempts to start in the cold. Original heater plugs and battery fitted by landrover 2 years back

Stv123 said:

Yes smokes when its cold but I wouldn’t say its excessive for a diesel.

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What colour is the smoke?

Stv123 said:

It takes several attempts to start in the cold.

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Does the starter time out before it starts? The PTM only allows a cranking period of 10 seconds, before timing out.

mine only cranks for about 3 seconds then you have to press the start again

Stv123 said:

mine only cranks for about 3 seconds then you have to press the start again

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That's not long. It's no wonder it doesn't start. Mine definitely cranks for 10 seconds, if it doesn't start, which I think is normal.
Mine starts in a couple of seconds though, but needed fair bit of cranking, after I rebuilt the engine.

need a scan to see what is going on - could be a low oil/ fuel pressure sensor triggered cutting things short - something like that
Is this with your finger held on the go button or short press and release?

When you press start to turn on the electrics it will heat the glow plugs if it's needed, like when its cold. You can switch on and oft the electrics several times in a row to get it to put a bit more heat in, to help very cold starting. Does that make yours start easier?

Solved, just had the glowplugs changed and only 1 out of the 4 was working. Last set were original LR parts fitted by a LR dealer just 2 years and 2 months ago (about 25000 miles) just out of warranty. I would expect them to last longer than that!

Hi guys can you have a look at this and tell me your thoughts. Cheers

Stv123 said:

Hi guys can you have a look at this and tell me your thoughts. Cheers

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Looks ok. Well done. A higher spec resistance meter would probably measure the glow plug resistance ok.

Hippo said:

A higher spec resistance meter would probably measure the glow plug resistance ok

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As I understand it these meters use a higher voltage and although I pulled fuse 1, I would not like to take out the ecu. Also I don’t have one. The indicator can be made for about £6 so brings it inside most peoples budget and I don’t think it can cause any damage?

A simple test light can be made, using a 21 Watt bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire.
A DMM won't measure accurately below 3 or 4 Ohm's, but that would still show there's a circuit, which a failed glow plug won't.

Nodge68 said:

A simple test light can be made, using a 21 Watt bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire.
A DMM won't measure accurately below 3 or 4 Ohm's, but that would still show there's a circuit, which a failed glow plug won't.

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I think a lightbulb is probably more accurate than my dmm. The glow plugs appear to be very inaccessible, is there an easy way to test them individually? By measuring the current I can now tell how many of them are working. If any are out they would all get changed anyway when it goes for its next service.

The only real way to access the glow plugs, is to remove the inlet manifold first.
A simple 21W test lamp can the be used between the battery + terminal and the glow plug center terminal. If the light lights, the glow plug is functional if there's no light from the bulb, the glow plug is dead.
However given that access to the plugs is so poor, it's easier to simply replace them, while you have access.

You could also test the current of the plugs, but as they're on a common feed, you'd need an Amp meter with at leas a 50A capacity.

Nodge68 said:

The only real way to access the glow plugs, is to remove the inlet manifold first.
A simple 21W test lamp can the be used between the battery + terminal and the glow plug center terminal. If the light lights, the glow plug is functional if there's no light from the bulb, the glow plug is dead.
However given that access to the plugs is so poor, it's easier to simply replace them, while you have access.

You could also test the current of the plugs, but as they're on a common feed, you'd need an Amp meter with at leas a 50A capacity.

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Unfortunately my days of pulling engines apart are long gone. You see I am disabled so if it needs pulling apart it goes to the garage. By the time you have paid the labour you would just change them anyway. My aim was to detect faulty glowplugs without pulling the engine apart. Another way would be to change the engine wiring harness so that I could clip my clamp meter over individual glow plug feeds but then it would be silly not to change them all anyway as you said.

My dc clamp meter goes to 200A and the tester I made has a fsd of about 60A