Freelander TD4 2004 Vibrations and juddering

Hi guys and thanks in advance for any advice given.

I'm having the following issues:

• When I rev to about 2000-25000rpm there is a bump every second ish which seems to be coming from drivers side front (I can feel the seat bumping). This is noticeable revving from stationary but in 1st and second gear I can steel feel the bumping. I have recently changed fuel pressure sensor and harness due to another issue so shouldn't be anything to do with that.
• Smelly exhaust fumes particularly noticeable when stationary
• Recently in 2nd and slightly in 3rd gear above 2000rpm i'm hearing a constant noise a bit deeper than the turbo whistle.
• The temperature gauge is not getting up to the middle line like it used to.

The landy has just had an oil change and the garage over filled it by about 600ml which I had run for about 50 miles before draining today.

Gee, do you save up problems.

Is the bumping road speed related or engine speed related?

Have you looked for exhaust leaks?

Need more information on the noise. Again is it engine speed or road speed related?

The thermostat is stuck open. Either replace it or do the Renault 5 thermostat mod.

Nodge68 said:

Gee, do you save up problems.

Is the bumping road speed related or engine speed related?

Have you looked for exhaust leaks?

Need more information on the noise. Again is it engine speed or road speed related?

The thermostat is stuck open. Either replace it or do the Renault 5 thermostat mod.

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Thanks for your reply. There’s a certain threshold of problems before I start to look into them because theyre every week at the moment! Have looked into the mod and may fit a new thermostat but was holding back just in case someone thinks something else is causing it. The bumping is engine speed - I can rev stationary and hold at 2-2.5k and it will start bumping. The noise is road speed and really only happens in 2nd or third noticeably. Also I have looked for leaks but the smell is coming from the normal exit from the back box - thought overfilling might have caused this but still smelling...

I gave all the problems here just in case they’re linked

So by bumping, do you mean that it's misfiring?
Does it do this when driving, or just when the revs are held at 2 - 2.5K Rpm? There is what's known as the 2K misfire on the M47R (TD4) engine. There's various thoughts on the cause and cure, but none are definitive. Having the engine running below optimal running temperature definitely won't help, but I doubt it's the cause.

Incidentally my own TD4 suffers from the 2K misfire.

The noise when moving could be a multitude of things, but start with know causes first, like tyres (all identical with least worn on the rear), VCU and IRD.

Nodge68 said:

So by bumping, do you mean that it's misfiring?
Does it do this when driving, or just when the revs are held at 2 - 2.5 K Rpm? There is what's known as the 2 K misfire on the M47R (TD4) engine. There's various thoughts on the cause and cure, but none are definitive. Having the engine running below optimal running temperature definitely won't help, but I doubt it's the cause.

Incidentally my own TD4 suffers from the 2K misfire too.

The noise when moving could be a multitude of things, but start with know causes first, like tyres (all identical with least worn on the rear), VCU and IRD.

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It could be a misfire - what i'm feeling is under the driver's seat somewhere and it is every second on the dot it almost feels like a pump or a heartbeat but it is bumping the seat when I hold at 2-2.5k even when stationary and not driving. Surely if it was the drivechain this would only happen when driving and not stationary? There has been a vibration in the car which has been getting worse again under driver's seat and i'm wondering if it is related to the bumping.

cbfks said:

It could be a misfire - what i'm feeling is under the driver's seat somewhere and it is every second on the dot it almost feels like a pump or a heartbeat but it is bumping the seat when I hold at 2-2.5k even when stationary and not driving

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It could be a misfire, which is causing the engine to shake about, possibly allowing the exhaust to strike something underneath?

cbfks said:

Surely if it was the drivechain this would only happen when driving and not stationary?

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I've not mentioned a drivechain as there isn't one, except in the engine.

cbfks said:

There has been a vibration in the car which has been getting worse again under driver's seat and i'm wondering if it is related to the bumping

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Have you checked the simple and most likely items like tyres, VCU and IRD, as already mentioned. There's no point assuming something that's not there, before doing the basic checks first.

Nodge68 said:

It could be a misfire, which is causing the engine to shake about, allowing the exhaust to strike something underneath?


I've not mentioned a drivechain as there isn't one, except in the engine.

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Apologies, I meant transmission. If it is a misfire is this related to anything like the low pressure pump? I've seen your video on the smoke and whilst I get the same I also get that bumping on the drivers side. Can a misfire really be that consistent to cause a bump every second? When my fuel sensor went it was more all over the place not every second.

Nodge68 said:

Have you checked the simple and most likely items like tyres, VCU and IRD, as already mentioned. There's no point assuming something that's not there, before doing the basic checks first.

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I have checked the ird/vcu and tyres. I did this when I first got the landy because I had other issues with juddering. Everything seems OK in that department. Cheers

cbfks said:

Apologies, I meant transmission.

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Anything unusual while moving is generally drive train related, this includes rumble, thumping, grinding and squeaking. So anything that is only there when moving is to with the transmission.

cbfks said:

If it is a misfire is this related to anything like the low pressure pump?

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Not if the engine has power when moving the vehicle. Low pressure fuel pump issues show up when fuel demand is high. Revving an engine while stationary puts very little demand on the fuel system.

cbfks said:

I've seen your video on the smoke and whilst I get the same I also get that bumping on the drivers side.

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Mine has improved from a smoking point of view from when that video was done. Mine does still misfire though when lightly loaded, but I just ignore it.

cbfks said:

Can a misfire really be that consistent to cause a bump every second?

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If you have a failed injector, then I'd expect a misfire every other engine rotation, which is many times a second. However if an injector fails to inject 1 in 10 times, then the misfire would seem slower. If listen to my video carefully, you'll hear it missing, but at irregular intervals.

cbfks said:

I have checked the ird/vcu and tyres. I did this when I first got the landy because I had other issues with juddering

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I'd check the propshafts and VCU damper, as those can cause vibrations when moving.

cbfks said:

It could be a misfire - what i'm feeling is under the driver's seat somewhere and it is every second on the dot it almost feels like a pump or a heartbeat but it is bumping the seat when I hold at 2-2.5k even when stationary and not driving. Surely if it was the drivechain this would only happen when driving and not stationary? There has been a vibration in the car which has been getting worse again under driver's seat and i'm wondering if it is related to the bumping.

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Engine mounts loose or rubber compound come adrift from mounts?
Has the vehicle ever been in a shunt that could have twisted the body causing misalignment?

Rank Amatuer said:

Engine mounts loose or rubber compound come adrift from mounts?

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The lower engine tie bar bush is a classic weak point on the Freelander 1.