Freelander 2 (LR2) [FIXED] LR2 Suspected Turbo Failure

Vinny73 said:

What's the turbo "cartridge"? The actuator?

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It's the internals of the turbo like the below. Much cheaper to replace that than the whole turbo usually.

HaggisMuncher said:

Called this morning and they've just called back.
They're still waiting for the part (my understanding is that they're looking to replace the turbo cartridge instead of the entire turbo).
However, they said before they take the turbo apart, they want to do some more inspecting as he's not 100% sure it is the turbo (I told them this the first time I took it there!)

Getting slightly worried with this place as the first time I took it there for a diagnostic, the guy said it was the turbo.
When I took it there last week, I said I wasn't sure it was the turbo and I think it's a charged air leak instead and asked if they could do a smoke test first and that if there are no leaks then I'll be happy to go with their recommendation.

I don't think they've done the smoke test yet or if they'll do it at all but starting to sweat a little about them potentially throwing parts at the issue instead of correctly diagnosing it.

Will get a call tomorrow with more info

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Have you fix it? What was it?

alexandrucuciureanu@yahoo said:

Have you fix it? What was it?

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Nothing yet.
Went to the garage as they're not very good at calling with updates.

Was told the turbo has been sent off for repair and I could possibly have the car back by Monday but no guarantee.
I'll give an update as soon as I find out either way if it fixed the issue

Vinny73 said:

What's the turbo "cartridge"? The actuator?

Click to expand...

Update for anyone interested.
Definitely feel scammed right now.

Told it was a turbo cassette that needed replaced.
They sent off the turbo do be rebuilt.
Now, after they've installed the rebuilt turbo, they're telling me that there's something wrong with the "electrics" and that the last person did a "gypsy job" on the electrics (whatever that means) as the turbo rebuild didn't actually fix the issue.

So, in conclusion, they didn't do any diagnostics, so the car had low boost and assumed it was the turbo that was damaged but they're insisting on continuing to diagnose the issue (albeit likely to still charge me for the turbo rebuild)

Don't know what to do with this car anymore.

Updated again.
Just picked the car up, the guys there were pretty decent and didn't charge me labour.

They've rebuilt the turbo, replaced the actuator, taken off the DPF, have said the EGR valve is clean.

They still can't get to the bottom of it. I did ask if he checked the intercooler for a leak but he said I'd have black smoke out of the exhaust if there was a leak there (not sure if I would though).

The car now runs a lot rougher, actually and worryingly, there's a part off the engine that was apparently broken but he didn't have the replacement to fit.
@Nodge68, any idea what the part no. for this is? It's a vacuum operated actuator. A google search just throws up turbo actuators


Next thing will be to get the intercooler off and check for splits.

HaggisMuncher said:

Updated again.
Just picked the car up, the guys there were pretty decent and didn't charge me labour.

They've rebuilt the turbo, replaced the actuator, taken off the DPF, have said the EGR valve is clean.

They still can't get to the bottom of it. I did ask if he checked the intercooler for a leak but he said I'd have black smoke out of the exhaust if there was a leak there (not sure if I would though).

The car now runs a lot rougher, actually and worryingly, there's a part off the engine that was apparently broken but he didn't have the replacement to fit.
@Nodge68, any idea what the part no. for this is? It's a vacuum operated actuator. A google search just throws up turbo actuators
View attachment 291155

Next thing will be to get the intercooler off and check for splits.

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That is the vacuum actuator for the swirl flaps. Later cars didn't have them, some earlier car owners remove the swirl flaps as a preventative measure against them coming loose and entering the engine, resulting in damage to the pistons, valves, head and so on.

Nodge68 said:

That is the vacuum actuator for the swirl flaps. Later cars didn't have them, some earlier car owners remove the swirl flaps as a preventative measure against them coming loose and entering the engine, resulting in damage to the pistons, valves, head and so on.

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Thanks for the clarification.

I don't know what they've done to the car but now it idles ROUGH.
Car door vibrates when open level of rough idle.

Has even less power than it did when the codes were cleared before it went in - I think there's a bigger leak somewhere now as it's very noticeable when under load. Loud hissing noise worse than before. I'm leaning towards intercooler now but can only get the car to bits at the in-laws and I'm not keen on driving it as it is in that state.

HaggisMuncher said:

Thanks for the clarification.

I don't know what they've done to the car but now it idles ROUGH.
Car door vibrates when open level of rough idle.

Has even less power than it did when the codes were cleared before it went in - I think there's a bigger leak somewhere now as it's very noticeable when under load. Loud hissing noise worse than before. I'm leaning towards intercooler now but can only get the car to bits at the in-laws and I'm not keen on driving it as it is in that state.

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Sounds like they've screwed something up. The boost hoses don't need to hold pressure at idle, so a leak makes no difference when idling. Have they left a sensor unplugged? You said they've removed the DPF, this will upset the ECM as it's calibrated to only work correctly with a DPF installed.

Nodge68 said:

Sounds like they've screwed something up. The boost hoses don't need to hold pressure at idle, so a leak makes no difference when idling. Have they left a sensor unplugged? You said they've removed the DPF, this will upset the ECM as it's calibrated to only work correctly with a DPF installed.

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I second that.
The engine bay was a bit of a bombsite in terms of disconnected hoses etc.

I've added a video of the engine at idle, which I hope is an easy solution.
Another video of the car while deriving, I appreciate the wind noise but you can faintly hear quite a bit of air escaping

I'm torn on whether I should take it back to them so they can address the engine issue at idle.

The engine issues seem to resolve when accelerating though - could it be the flapper actuator that's causing this issue at idle? He told me the flaps were set to fully open, I'm wondering if the engine is getting too much air at idle?

The engine doesn't sound to be running on less than 4 cylinders. Have any air path sensors been changed, like MAP, MAF, IAT, EGR valve, or turbo actuator?
If anything from the air path has been replaced, then an air path calibration needs to be carried out using suitable diagnostic equipment.

Nodge68 said:

The engine doesn't sound to be running on less than 4 cylinders. Have any air path sensors been changed, like MAP, MAF, IAT, EGR valve, or turbo actuator?
If anything from the air path has been replaced, then an air path calibration needs to be carried out using suitable diagnostic equipment.

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Actually, they did say they replaced the MAF and MAP sensors or they said they tried new ones, not sure if they kept them in or went back with old ones.
Good shout though, I'll go back to them and ask the question in the morning.

I have a few more videos from just now. It sounds like there's air leaking even at idle which I never had before.

Also, would you mind sharing a picture of your inlet manifold where that actuator is? (I ended up fitting the old actuator back until I can find a replacement - if it is in fact broken)

The manifold itself though, to me looks like it's been broken

Here's the underside of the vacuum actuator and the crank it operates. The plastic does look broken, but that's correct if compared to the cuts on mine. If the crank is missing, air will leak out the manifold. It's held in by a metal clip, and sealed to the manifold with a simple O ring.

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I'm not impressed with the quality of the workmanship, they can't even connect a simple breather hose correctly.

Nodge68 said:

Here's the underside of the vacuum actuator and the crank it operates. The plastic does look broken, but that's correct if compared to the cuts on mine. If the crank is missing, air will leak out the manifold. It's held in by a metal clip, and sealed to the manifold with a simple O ring.

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View attachment 291176
I'm not impressed with the quality of the workmanship, they can't even connect a simple breather hose correctly.

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Thanks.
The crank isn't missing on mine, they just removed the actuator and put a screw in the vacuum line.
I ended up reinstalling it again as a broken part is better than just having random hoses flapping around the engine bay.

They told me they had tried new sensors and that didn't fix the issue - not sure if they left the new ones in or not.
They did put a new turbo actuator on as I've got the old one still.
I'll go back to them in the morning and ask if they replaced the sensors/to give them to me.

Do you know how much a recalibration would cost from LR? There's a dealership close enough to me that I could limp there

If it's leaking air from the manifold area, it's possible they damaged the seals, or didn't fit new ones.

Nodge68 said:

If it's leaking air from the manifold area, it's possible they damaged the seals, or didn't fit new ones.

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What would be the easiest way to check? I'm assuming spraying water on it isn't a good idea?

HaggisMuncher said:

What would be the easiest way to check? I'm assuming spraying water on it isn't a good idea?

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Spray something like WD40 around the joints. If the manifold in drawing in air, it'll take the WD40 with is, and produce smoke from the exhaust. If it's blowing air out the manifold, the leak will be harder to find, so removal might be the only way to check for issues.

Nodge68 said:

Spray something like WD40 around the joints. If the manifold in drawing in air, it'll take the WD40 with is, and produce smoke from the exhaust. If it's blowing air out the manifold, the leak will be harder to find, so removal might be the only way to check for issues.

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Hi again.
Thought I'd give an update on the car.

Took it back with regards to the poor idle. They said that it's likely the exhaust output of the turbo - they didn't have a replacement gasket to add on after rebuilding the turbo (which I find hard to believe as the turbo isn't an LR part)

One thing to note that the mechanic did say that his scan tool shows the DPF as being deleted on the software but the DPF is actually still connected to the car He believes the previous owner opted to delete it instead of replacing a faulty DPF. He thinks the DPF is full which is causing back pressure on the turbo preventing if from spooling up and as such, leak through the joints of the exhaust side of the turbo.

I'm not sure how much of that can be correct as I got a DPF full message just before I drove to the garage this morning - managed to clear it after a few mins though. Either way, he did suggest I remove the DPF altogether, however, 1. I'm concerned about emissions tests and 2. I'm not fully convinced it IS deleted in the software and that maybe his scan tool isn't comprehensive enough for LR sensors?



Looking at the actuator they installed in this picture, it looks like it's the wrong version (mine has a black cam, this one looks to be the silver version, as below:




What turned into hunting for a simple air leak is now looking to be more complex and with one garage already unable to fix it after loading up the parts cannon, I'm getting a bit concerned moving forward

Update for anyone that finds this after encountering the same issue with their Freelander.

Still not resolved.
To date, I've done the following:

1. All boost hoses replaced
2. Cleaned MAF and MAP sensors
3. Turbo rebuild
4. Intercooler replaced

I'm at a loss for where to go next.
I'm starting to suspect a leaking EGR or intake manifold, could even be leaking exhaust manifold.

The one thing I haven't done yet though, is have the new turbo actuator recalibrated - I'm going to go to the place the garage sent my turbo to get rebuilt in the first place directly.
Failing that, it's looking more likely that it's getting sold on or scrap yard.

If you've changed anything in the air path, then it needs an air path calibration before proceeding. These engines need proper calibration when anything is changed, as the ECM doesn't have default settings, and isn't self learning, so any new items need to have there parameters set with a suitable diagnostic tool.

If you've changed anything in the air path, then it needs an air path calibration before proceeding. These engines need proper calibration when anything is changed, as the ECM doesn't have default settings, and isn't self learning, so any new items need to have there parameters set with a suitable diagnostic tool.