Heating in 2.5V6 2001 Freelander 1

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Freelander1-2001-2.5V6

Member
Posts
10
Location
Pakistan
Hi
Just bought my first landrover despite all advice against it. Its a beautiful 2001, Freelander 1 with a 2.5 V6 petrol engine. Its in good shape and the mileage shows at 75K km.
First drive (30km), I noticed the fan running really hard, at around 60km, i noticed the temp gauge go up very close to tbe red line. I turned off the engine, let it cool and when checked I saw the expansion tank to be empty. I filled it up and the problem went away.
I had read about the heating problem and got it checked from the local LR Dealership before buying. Took it back the next day and as per their suggestion, got the expansion tank and cap replaced, air and fuel filters changed, timing belt changed. Drive experience changed significantly. I can feel the kick now.

However, the temp gauge did go up again during the test drive on day 3. I noticed bubbles in the expansion tank too. The LR guys are not sure if thats a temp gauge problem or Head Gasket.
Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this.
BR/LR Nube
 
The expansion tank was empty, the temp is high and now you're seeing bubbles in the expansion tank. When it's up to temp and you're seeing the bubbles, are the hoses rock hard?

Where did you buy from?
 
In my experience. If the KV6 is run without coolant in the expansion tank, then there's the very real possibility that a head gasket has failed. The head gasket is very thin and susceptible to damage in seconds, if there's no coolant around the liners.

I'd get a sniff test done, and go from there.

It won't be anything to do with the temperature sensor.
 
Thanks for suggesting a way forward. Just spoke to tge LR guys and they think its an issue with the fan. The temp where fan should kick in, it stays off. The fan doesnt kick in unless Air conditioning is turned on. They have put fan off of ECU and on direct for now and ran the car for 25 mins and the temp is maintained at 61 degrees. They will do a longer road test tomorrow. If the temp is maintained it will confirm their diagnosis. The ECU controlled functioning of the Fan will require a new component or fan.

Does this make sense.

Also can you point to some resource/post which has guidelines to sniff test.
 
61c is too cold. At this temperature, your heater will blow 'warm' at best. In the winter the cabin will be cold.
This has nothing to do will bubbles in the system.
 
Regards a sniff test the garage can do this with their exhaust gas analyser or they may have a dedicated tool. You can buy chemical kits from eBay etc that change colour, I've got one and it works fine
 
The normal running temperature for the KV6 is around 95°C, mine ran at 99°C all the time, unless I got in traffic, when the temperature went up to 105°C within seconds. 106°C is where the ECU turns the fans on slow speed, so mine used to cycle the fans between slow speed and off, about every 30 to 45 seconds, which is pretty representative of normal KV6 operation.

The fans won't come on below 106°C, unless the AC is on, at which point they cycle on and off, based on the AC system's cooling requirements.

I can't remember the exact temperature at which the fans increase above slow speed, but 112°C rings a bell.

There's an easy test for the fan controller on the FL1, which consists of unplugging the CTS, at which point the ECU will implement a high temperature strategy, and put the fans on full speed, it'll also put the temperature gauge needle at maximum and flash the overheat light, if there's one fitted.
 
Thank you everyone for your support. I am really glad to learn that the land rover community is strong and supportive. I guess we all feel the pain and joy of owning a LR.

After much deliberation and practically no input from the local LR dealrship, I have decided to replace the Head Gasket and Thermostat (when we opened we learnt it was removed by one of tbe previous owner). Also change the timing belts in the process. Just ordered the items from ebay and luckily someone will bring them over to Pakistan by this weekend.

Wanted your advice if I should get these replaced by Land Rover Dealership or use my trusted old mechanic. Please bear in mind that we dont have many freelanders in my country and my mechanic has not had a chance to do this on a LR. He has done these replacements on several other models probably 100s of times. Im not sure if this is a complicated job. I got hold of workshop manual which has the engine schematics. Is there some manual/video on parts replacement? Especially headgasket?

Any suggestions on what to watch out for as i saw some posts where people has suggested that it should be handled with care.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

BR/Haroon
 
Doing the HGs on a KV6 isn't an easy job. The crankshaft must never be rotate while the heads are off, or the liners lift and the seal fails. This then requires the whole engine be stripped down to reseal them.
The belts are another minefield, which need practice and understanding of the process.

The manual says you need special timing tools for the timing belt, which is strictly correct, although I've managed to do it without them.

Hope all goes well with the repair.
 
Hi guys. So the gasket and timing belt was successfully replaced. Engine fired up but is missing. Apparently compression in piston 1 and 3 is not correct. My mechanic thinks that the pistons should be replaced.

Can someone guide me with the colour coding.
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-LFB10179020L
He wants crankshaft bearing (shells) size 0.5. Can't find the translation for the colour codes mentioned in the link above.

Can someone also guide what components are required while replacing all pistons and is the a kit/set that I can order to get all parts.

He requested for the following:
1- Liner O-Rings set.
2- Crank shaft bearings (shells) size 0.50
Began bearing??
3- Connecting rod 1 piece
4- Main seal set.


BR/Haroon
 
It's unlikely to be a piston problem, as the KV6 engine doesn't suffer piston, ring or bore wear, unless it's done huge miles.

Are the valves sealing correctly?
 
Yes, the valves are sealed properly. Thats what I have been told. Apparently the piston is loose in the bore and compression is not as required. Can over heating do this? The original problem it had was engine heating. The mileage on the meter shows 76k (could be tempered). Whats huge mileage?

Going back to the question earlier, is there a mapping of the colour codes for crank shaft /Began bearing set. Colours are listed on the following link with sets.
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-LFB10179020L
 
Freelander1-2001-2.5V6 said:
Apparently the piston is loose in the bore and compression is not as required.
Click to expand...
How loose? Got any measurements? The piston will be loose in the bore, as it's aluminium, which expands when hot. It's not uncommon to see 0.5 to 0.75 mm of gap between the piston crown and bore.

Got the compression figures in PSI?
Freelander1-2001-2.5V6 said:
Can over heating do this? The original problem it had was engine heating.
Click to expand...
Overheating could damage a piston, but that would be obvious. Normally overheating causes the liner to expand, making the head gasket fail. The coolant erupts from the tank when the HG fails, the driver stops, hopefully before scrapping the engine.
Freelander1-2001-2.5V6 said:
The mileage on the meter shows 76k (could be tempered). Whats huge mileage?
Click to expand...
The KV6 pistons are good for 200k miles, if oil changes are done on time.
 
Hi Nodge68,

Sorry for delayed response. My mechanic's father was not well hence no work on KV6.

The PSI is apparently 25 and 50 in the two pistons diagnosed with problem. Where as the rest are close to 200. Numbers can be tad different as he mentioned it a few weeks back.

I would like to order the pistons set but still cant figure out the color code for Big-end bearings and their shell size.
https://zinref.ru/avtomobili/Land_Rover/130_00_00_Freelander_1_manual2002_english/095.htm
 

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May be worth checking if the compression goes up with a bit of oil through the spark plug hole. It will settle and seal around the rings, and if the rings are the cause of the leak the reading will go up.
Lot of work to be guessing though. I would think piston and rings wear over many miles and compression loss is top end.
Why 2 low compression? Is there a timing issue? (May be nodge can direct you how to check)
 
HI,

Thank you for kind advice. I found another mechanic who specialises in Land Rovers. When discussed with him, his view was that it could be a timing issue. Since we replaced the timing belts along with Water pump when we opened up the engine for head gasket. We did not have the specific tools for timing belt replacement so we followed a video tutorial and there is a possibility we didn't get it right. But probably its worth exploring along with the seal along the rings before I spend the money on pistons and rings replacement. Ill tow the car to his workshop on Monday.
 
You don't need the tools to get the timing close enough to run well.
The most important thing is to change the 2 link (short rear) belts, and use the timing marks on those to align the timing on the main belt.
If the link belts are timed correctly, and the flywheel is locked, then the main belt timing can be set with good accuracy.
 
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