Lumpy Idle

I have a Freelander 2003 that has a lumpy idle when warm. I've had the Throttle control valve, Map Sensor & Lamda Sensor replaced. Still the same and driving me crazy. When I say lumpy, its like the car is vibrating and slightly missing. Anyone got any ideas?

Have you cleaned the air and fuel systems? Filter, EGR, injectors etc

lbenning said:

I have a Freelander 2003 that has a lumpy idle when warm. I've had the Throttle control valve, Map Sensor & Lamda Sensor replaced. Still the same and driving me crazy. When I say lumpy, its like the car is vibrating and slightly missing. Anyone got any ideas?

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Try an injector leak off test to rule out the injectors.

Guys, Thank you for your replies. Not used a Forum before and didn't really expect anyone to help so really appreciate your ideas. To clarify the situation, my nephew works for a garage and is carrying out the work. He also has the relevant computer analysis machine which he hooked up to the car. He says that the injectors are all firing at the same pulse rate and that he has changed the air filter and put Fuel cleaning solution into the petrol. He says the car does not have an EGR, but was unsure what you meant about an injector leak off test? could you explain this a bit more. It's a shame becasue I love the car but at this point we've tried so many things I dont think it will every be sorted , Again much thanks for you help!

ooops, previous replies relate to diesels as a lumpy idle is fairly common on them.

Assuming the ignition system has checked out OK it might be a good idea to do a compression test.

Hi Chaser,

OK thanks, i'll ask him to give that a go. such a shame I'm no expert. Might have to get my hands dirty and start looking myself, getting interested in why it's doing it now and I'm the sort of person who can't let it lie.

Thanks

Sorry, I was thinking diesel too. Should've read it more carefully specially the throttle body bit.

Coil packs are guilty of causing mis-fires.

Otherwise, could be looking at possibly a failing(or failed) head gasket

To be fair I should have mentioned it was petrol, would have made life easier for everyone if I had. We've tried all the things mentioned apart from the coil pack. This is next I guess. If its not that, I'm going to take it to a main dealer as I really do want to resolve this becasue I love the car and want to be happy with it. I'm always dubious about taking it to a main dealer because they always like to charge for extras, but hey, I guess they have the tools and I want it right so may have to bite the bullet.

Got to say, really suprised with the feedback you guys have given, really much appreciated and I'll let you know the outcome too.

Many Thanks.

Maybe one last question, It does vibrate and is very lumpy, you can feel it under you backside, I guess this is abnormal right, I'm not just imagining things? I would expect being petrol it should be pretty smooth when ticking over?

Yes, should be silky smooth when its running fine

Based on others experiences you should be wary of the dealers otherwise you could be paying for their guesswork while they try this and that at your expense. Make sure they stay in touch with you every step of the way.

coil pack is the way to go
try getting some from a breakers they are the same as rover /mg
but they arn't cheap, also a good set of plugs make all the differance

Thanks mate, I'll keep going at it then... becasue its lumpier than camels back at the moment

I have a pair on Egay just now if you are interested...

See my sig for a link to them

Hi Everyone.

It's been a while as I have been getting several things looked at and replaced. I thought I may as well go the whole hog and just replace the head along with everything else you could when doing this job. So the vehicle has now had new coil packs, new head, cam belt, sensors... I've even replaced the coolent bottle which had a crack in the neck.

first the good news... Thanks god. it now finally ticks over very smoothly and is a lot quieter when driven. Very happy with this.

The last PROBLEM!!
I now have 1 last very frustrating issue. The car is jerky/jumpy when I am driving it. It is not all the time, say 50%.. but when it happens, the car just feels horrible. Anyone had this before?

Bare in mind i've now got new sensors on virtually everything, new head, coil packs.. the lot.

my initial thoughts are that it could be fuel releated??? Pump or maybe cables.

Anyone got any thoughts

Many Thanks in adavance!

my money is on the CTS (coolant temp sensor) located on the thermostat housing. unplug it with the engine running and the fans should kick in if all is well. if not, then they are about £7 from best of british

Thanks Ste220... unfortunately, Thats been replaced.

However!!!.. I think I have located the issue in a round about way... and just need some help to maybe locate the exact part..

After reading articles on the web and talking to an engineer, everything points to the transmission.

Sometimes, as you can imagine, its hard to explain exactly what you are experiencing, even to yourself . After reading several articles I found one that matched my experience, which is that its more of a soft vibration throughout the car... bit like an unbalanced rear wheel. But I've had all the wheels balanced.

I get it at between 30 - 50 mph and if I take it out of gear it seems to subside.

If it is trasmission, and based on my very bad description, could anyone point me to what area of the tranmission is likely to cause this? Perhaps someone else has experienced this? I certainly see some cars in the US that have similar issues from new.

I've had loads done to the car and its lovely other than this, so just hoping I can get this sorted.

Im wondering if it would be best to open a new thread as this is a different problem

Thanks in Advance