Freelander 1 Heavy vibration between 1700 and 2000 cured !

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Joe_H

Well-Known Member
Posts
1,486
Location
Brit in Northern Portugal
Hi all,
Finally ! - we got to the bottom of the oft' reported symptom of a quite heavy drive train vibration between 1700 and 2000 rpm (on an L series diesel)
There has been much talk on here and other places about egr valves / map sensors etc etc.
Some have found that removing the boost (turbo) from the circuit 'cures' the problem but also makes it as slow as a slow thing - yes, because you are reducing the torque. EGR (on an L series) reduces power especially if the egr is not 100%!) so 'replacing' a 'removed' egr will likely reduce power - hence torque - hence masking the issue.
As for MAF sensor - on an L series diesel, the MAF ONLY controls the egr - nothing else. so nothing at all to do with that if the egr is removed.

Well, here is what definitely cured mine.

NEW CLUTCH ! - the issue is clutch judder.
The L series develops max torque at about 2000 rpm. Any issues in the clutch will cause a judder that is felt through the whole drive train. With mine, I also had a leaking rear crank oil seal - which certainly didn't help matters clutch wise.
You could see the blue marks on the flywheel and cover plate. - the driven plate was in fairly good condition.
We fitted an OEM clutch and new rear oil seal and sleeve. 100% cured.
There was absolutely no evidence of clutch slippage at all.
Engine was out for a block leak at the back under the exhaust (core plugs changed) - so decided to have a quick gander at the clutch.. glad I did, the vibration was driving me crazy.
Hope it helps someone. ALWAYS use a quality clutch I think is a good adage. Also, any slight rear crank oil seal issue and your existing clutch is probably screwed. Usually, you would not know unless you check ! - if you have the dreaded heavy vibration in high gears from around 1700 to 2000 which then seems to clear above 2000 - I am 100% confident this will be your issue.

Joe
 
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Interesting! I do get a little vibration in the range you describe - low revs/higher gears - but not a lot. The car's done over 100K miles now and I believe its on the original clutch - so could probably do with replacing fairly soon. Its also dripping a little oil that I've not been able to identify the source of. It does have some 'foam' type material in the area where engine and bell housing mate up - not sure what this is, but it is fairly soaked in oil - maybe the crank seal is weeping.

I'll have to pull my finger out and get 'Kay' on the road so I can take 'Elle' off the road for a bit for some TLC :)
 
Hi GrumpyGel,
No, I didnt change the flywheel. It was ok apart from slight blueing. Just the whole clutch assembly and rear bearing seal housing (comes with seal and special sleeve for crank.
I believe the same issue happens on td4's and some have found issues also with the dual mass flywheel. The SMF on the L series is ok.
I think that the engine is always going to lack grunt a small bit under 2000, but it should not vibrate through the car (as if you were in too high a gear) - before the 'cure' - in 4th gear driving around country roads at 45 - 65 km/h was right in the 1700 - 2300 band and was a nightmare below 2000. Now it is a pleasure.
Mine is also high mileage (210,000 Km).
Now I only need to sort out the annoying slight whine at anything over 100 Km/h ! :( .. changed diff for second hand one - improved a lot but did not cure (Mind you - all parts here in Portugal (second hand) tend to be very high mileage as the cars go on forever body-wise (no rot)) - so second diff may not be so good.
Just ordered one of the electronic stethoscope kits with 6 wired probes so will hook up the diff, vcu bearings, ird input etc etc.
I am a bit loath to swap out parts unless I am sure of where the issue is. Hopefully the 'scope' will be a huge help.
 
Hi GrumpyGel,
No, I didnt change the flywheel. It was ok apart from slight blueing. Just the whole clutch assembly and rear bearing seal housing (comes with seal and special sleeve for crank.
I believe the same issue happens on td4's and some have found issues also with the dual mass flywheel. The SMF on the L series is ok.
I think that the engine is always going to lack grunt a small bit under 2000, but it should not vibrate through the car (as if you were in too high a gear) - before the 'cure' - in 4th gear driving around country roads at 45 - 65 km/h was right in the 1700 - 2300 band and was a nightmare below 2000. Now it is a pleasure.
Mine is also high mileage (210,000 Km).
Now I only need to sort out the annoying slight whine at anything over 100 Km/h ! :( .. changed diff for second hand one - improved a lot but did not cure (Mind you - all parts here in Portugal (second hand) tend to be very high mileage as the cars go on forever body-wise (no rot)) - so second diff may not be so good.
Just ordered one of the electronic stethoscope kits with 6 wired probes so will hook up the diff, vcu bearings, ird input etc etc.
I am a bit loath to swap out parts unless I am sure of where the issue is. Hopefully the 'scope' will be a huge help.
Rot is not an issue here either, but generally Freelanders still don't make it to 200K KMs - as most of them over here are V6's and their engines die!
 
Wow !, I would 'guesstimate' that 90% of ALL vehicles in Portugal are Diesel ! and certainly in freelanders, probably 98% are diesel.. I have never seen a 1.8 or v6 petrol here.
Diesel is about 25% cheaper than petrol here.

My local freelander specialist had over 20 vehicles in a few weeks ago - EVERY single one was an L series Diesel .....
 
The worlds perfect garage :) If Carlsberg did garages.....

Ah, but only if it were true my friend.... :)
Seriously, EVERY Freelander I see here is an L series - and there are LOADS of them... they are ubiquitous.

How do you go on with your V6 units, I bet they are superb when working correctly ?

Are both yours V6 units or are they 'Oilers' ?

I love the quote on here somewhere - "When the world is in the nuclear winter (caused by Donald Trump :() - there will only be two forms of life left on the planet - the cockroach, and the L series Diesel." .................................... ;)
 
Are both yours V6 units or are they 'Oilers' ?
I switched to Freelander because the cost of running a D1 V8 was seriously impacting on our lifestyle - so, nope I don't run a V6. I run a "NZ New" L Series and the components sitting in the garage form a K Series that's similarly NZ New.
I love the quote on here somewhere - "When the world is in the nuclear winter (caused by Donald Trump :() - there will only be two forms of life left on the planet - the cockroach, and the L series Diesel." .................................... ;)
Couple of good observations there, lets hope they are not ever tested!
 
I switched to Freelander because the cost of running a D1 V8 was seriously impacting on our lifestyle - so, nope I don't run a V6. I run a "NZ New" L Series and the components sitting in the garage form a K Series that's similarly NZ New.

GG, what do you mean by NZNEW ? - :) - is that units you have 'collected' for transformation, if so, where did you get them from ?

I would love to do an AUTO conversion on mine I must confess........ *do not even know if the L series oiler ever had an auto ????*

So, are you also 'stocking up' on 'spares' for the future haha ? - I cannot help it - it is so ridiculously expensive to buy ANY vehicle here that it makes perfect sense.
I could buy a 20 year old 'nissan' 4x4 with 350 K Km on the clock for >5 grand (WHAT !!?? yes !!), or, a 20 year old shogun for 10 grand... seriously - the prices are totally mind blowing. It makes the flandy seem dirt cheap !.

Not much hope on a Pajero (In Spanish it means ****£R !!!!) so - as you can probably imagine - not TOO many found there way over here.... (tum te tum te tum)

My bride's fiat 6 year old fiat Panda is a bargain compared to ANY 4x4 oiler here...

I have spent over 4K euro on my Flandy and have absolutely no regrets. here (in Portugal - it is a bargain!)
 
No, NZ New simply means that it was sold new in NZ as opposed to being imported 2nd hand. Probably about 2/3rds of the cars on the road here were imported at about 5 years old from Japan. Obviously most of them are Japanese makes, but Euro makes also come in 2nd hand. The Japanese must have a tendency for petrol Landies as most of them coming in from there are V6. "Traditionally" most of the Japanese make 'trucks' coming in have been diesel (eg Hilux Surfs and Navaras), but even these are looking to be more petrol engines these days. The NZ new ones though are almost all diesels.
 
No auto for the L series I'm afraid. The auto box was only available fitted to the TD4 and V6 engine.
I loved my V6 except for its thirst. Fuel consumption aside, the V6 is the hot hatch of the Freelanders.
I now have a TD4 auto and find it ok, if a little slow. It tows well and fuel consumption is more realistic.
 
Did I read that the V6 injectors are capable of dispensing 1.5l/min of dino-juice? It's worth it though as the smiles/gallon figure is very high.
 
Did I read that the V6 injectors are capable of dispensing 1.5l/min of dino-juice? It's worth it though as the smiles/gallon figure is very high.
I measured injector throughput of 1.61 litres a minute on my 220 Bhp ZS180!! A Freelander V6 flat out could drink something like 1.4 litres a minute. Thats a scary 4 Mpg or something. I did have Torque show something similar when towing a heavy trailer up a 1 in 4 hill, flat out in second!
 
No auto for the L series I'm afraid. The auto box was only available fitted to the TD4 and V6 engine.
I loved my V6 except for its thirst. Fuel consumption aside, the V6 is the hot hatch of the Freelanders.
I now have a TD4 auto and find it ok, if a little slow. It tows well and fuel consumption is more realistic.
Just wait till you get your hands on a synergy, it'll make your v6 feel like a snail. :D
Mike
 
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