MOT failure. Is it worth carrying on?

Hi. I bought a 2nd hand Freelander 3 years ago. I have so far spent about £3,000 on a new brake system, viscous coupling and Lord knows what else. But for the past 2 years no problems and it has been running like a dream. I took it for its MOT and it failed badly on all emissions, and (I hardly dare confess this...) the garage had to put 2 litres of oil into it, and it had no water in it either. My question is, what damage might I have done (no oil light on, no engine noises, no smoke, nothing appeared wrong at all when I drove it to garage for its MOT). The garage are going to have a good look at it this week and he made mutterings about a new engine. What do you think I might be looking at price-wise, and more importantly, should I continue with it or wave a tearful goodbye and get a second hand KA??? Any advice welcomed. Thanks x

Hopalong said:

Hi. I bought a 2nd hand Freelander 3 years ago. I have so far spent about £3,000 on a new brake system, viscous coupling and Lord knows what else. But for the past 2 years no problems and it has been running like a dream. I took it for its MOT and it failed badly on all emissions, and (I hardly dare confess this...) the garage had to put 2 litres of oil into it, and it had no water in it either. My question is, what damage might I have done (no oil light on, no engine noises, no smoke, nothing appeared wrong at all when I drove it to garage for its MOT). The garage are going to have a good look at it this week and he made mutterings about a new engine. What do you think I might be looking at price-wise, and more importantly, should I continue with it or wave a tearful goodbye and get a second hand KA??? Any advice welcomed. Thanks x

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What age is it and which engine does it have? How many miles has it covered?

2 litres of oil missing from the engine and no coolant, dare I say 1.8 ? with hgf ?

Optimus Prime said:

2 litres of oil missing from the engine and no coolant, dare I say 1.8 ? with hgf ?

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Does sound a touch K-series to me.

Only you know whether it's worth it to you to shell out for a new head gasket or possibly new lump if them liners have slipped.

**** it off down the scrapper and buy a ford fiesta.

Thanks for the replies. It is a V reg, so 1999, and it has 80,000 miles. It's 1.8. I am disabled and need the height to get in and out of a car, this was perfect for me, so I really do want to try and save the vehicle if I can. What sort of damage do you think I did? Thanks for any (useful!) replies.

Hopalong said:

Thanks for the replies. It is a V reg, so 1999, and it has 80,000 miles. It's 1.8. I am disabled and need the height to get in and out of a car, this was perfect for me, so I really do want to try and save the vehicle if I can. What sort of damage do you think I did? Thanks for any (useful!) replies.

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The very low oil really is a worry with this as it will starve all moving parts of lubrication as well as quickly burning/carbonising the oil there is. To have such low oil then either there was a leak or the engine has already been burning a fair amount. Next you will most likely have head gasket failure even if you originally started out with just a small coolant leak these engines cannot take any overheating & will pop the gasket. As yours had no water it will have run much hotter than intended. Your only realistic option is another engine (budget around £400) & then you'll have to get it fitted. You should also take the opportunity of getting the uprated head gasket & new timing belt fitted to your replacement engine before it goes in to the car.

Not exactly cheap & you may prefer to sell it on ebay & buy another preferably diesel or if you really love the car go for it & keep an eye on those levels in future. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Here's some examples lurking on ebay at the mo.

This ones reasonable mileage
LANDROVER FREELANDER /MG/ ROVER/1800 K-SERIES ENGINE on eBay (end time 18-Jun-10 10:15:53 BST)

anothe reasonable mileage unit but feedback not brilliant re delivery
LAND ROVER ENGINE 1.8 PETROL on eBay (end time 28-Jun-10 13:27:54 BST)

his ones cheaper but it's still a gamble
Engine land rover freelander 1.8 petrol on eBay (end time 18-Jun-10 21:17:24 BST)

Originally from an MGF so may need sump swap but 60 day warranty (is it enough though)
Mgf / Freelander -1.8k series Distributor Engine on eBay (end time 16-Jun-10 17:32:53 BST)

Same seller, MGF engine but lower miles also 60 day warranty
Mgf / Freelander -1.8k series Distributor Engine on eBay (end time 09-Jun-10 17:41:58 BST)

Beast o Bodmin said:

**** it off down the scrapper and buy a ford fiesta.

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Hopalong said:

Thanks for the replies. It is a V reg, so 1999, and it has 80,000 miles. It's 1.8. I am disabled and need the height to get in and out of a car, this was perfect for me, so I really do want to try and save the vehicle if I can. What sort of damage do you think I did? Thanks for any (useful!) replies.

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They did a taller Fiesta, called the Ford Fusion:

Ford Fusion (Europe) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Worth looking at?

Thanks for all the advice and help. I think I now know what I am looking at. The body and interior are in perfect nick, so I think I am going to try to save it, if at all possible. I don't do many miles these days..but, oh! the comfort! It's worth the world to me! This is a great site, I wish I had discovered it earlier. I will let you know how it all goes. Thanks again for the help. x

There just maybe an outside chance that the motor (despite having very little oil and coolant) is serviceable, if it seemed ok, before you took it for its MOT.
Clearly, if it was overheating or knocking / rattling then you would have been aware of this, and assumed it was dead, or at least, beyond repair.
Make sure that the garage are not trying to 'pull a fast one', get it serviced, air filter etc etc, and it may get thru the emissions.
Dont quote me on this tho!!
Good luck.
Russ

If you get the engine replaced or reconditioned, there's still a high chance that it will happen again with the 1.8 K-Series. These engines are notorious for head gasket failure, even at low mileage. They are largely responsible for giving Freelanders a bad reputation. I've only had my Freelander since April, and it has already been to 3 different garages for various different problems. They were all surprised to hear that I got rid of a trusty old BMW for a Freelander. Then again, I can't go off road in a 3 series without looking like a numpty.

Mine is a Freelander TD4. It's the diesel version with a 2.0 BMW engine. The engine is said to be relatively reliable. Despite that, it still has a number of things that are prone to going wrong. (some of which have already gone wrong!) Do you really want to add an engine (1.8 K-Series) to the list of things which are prone to going wrong? I personally wouldn't. Ofc, any engine can go wrong. But the K-Series 1.8 is just asking for trouble. If there was a Samaritans suicide helpline for car engines, the 1.8 K-Series would definitely be hogging the line. If someone said it's one of the worst engines in the world in terms of reliability, I don't think it would be an exaggeration.

If I were you, I'd get rid, even if it turns out not to be a HGF. (Head gasket failure) The newer Toyota Rav 4 and also the Nissan X-Trail offer superior reliability to that of the Freelander.

Despite having said all of that, I do actually like my Freelander. We've developed a love hate relationship. That said, I wouldn't get another and my next bird on wheels will be one with less health problems.

Hopalong said:

Thanks for the replies. It is a V reg, so 1999, and it has 80,000 miles. It's 1.8. I am disabled and need the height to get in and out of a car, this was perfect for me, so I really do want to try and save the vehicle if I can. What sort of damage do you think I did? Thanks for any (useful!) replies.

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Low oil - potentially minor wear on some engine parts

Low coolant - best case, venting coolant cap, leaking inlet manifold, periphery leak on the hoses/rad.........worse case hgf.

When were the levels last topped up?

I'd get it serviced and keep an eye on both levels, before jumping in.

What emissions did it fail on? A simple service and change of oil and air filter may be all thats needed.

cheap cat on 1.8 are useless-if you need to change it get one with at least a 2 yr warranty

We wish you well 'hopalong' and hope that it doesn't turn into a money pit for you as these things can - unfortunately.

Let us know how you get on.

Thanks everybody for your help. Freelander now back on the road; no engine damage, new cat, lamda sensor and coolant temp sensor, full service, MOT and re-test fee, £388 the lot, Bargain! Now, repeat after me...every Sunday you will check the oil and water. Every Sunday you will check the oil and water. Every....
And keep reading this website, of course!! x

Hopalong said:

Thanks everybody for your help. Freelander now back on the road; no engine damage, new cat, lamda sensor and coolant temp sensor, full service, MOT and re-test fee, £388 the lot, Bargain! Now, repeat after me...every Sunday you will check the oil and water. Every Sunday you will check the oil and water. Every....
And keep reading this website, of course!! x

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Good job, always get a second opinion from another garage, or check with the k-series fans on here beforehand

Bravo old chap; that'll show those Nay-Sayers

Hey, that's a result!! Brilliant news. The K series lives again......
Russ