New toy with issues

Hi everyone,

Just picked up a freelander 2006 td4 100,000k apparently the clutch was changed at 90,000.

Anyway it's having a few issues. It smells extremely bad when sat at traffic. Like a bad exhaust smell coming from the rear obviously.

Also it's like a vibration plate when pulling away and you really have to rev it to get it going. Pulling away up hill is literally insane you have to rev the hell out of it and ride the clutch or it stalls.

I'm obviously going to looking into changing the wheels for some off-road looking ones it has standard alloys on atm. As it's silver I'm thinking black steelies can anyone recommend some? And some tryes?

I've blanked the egr and it's had the oil breather done.

I may lift it I may not depending how I feel as I'm not sure yet.

Thanks,

Adam

Are you sure its an exhaust rather than clutch smell? Reason I ask is I'm wondering if it's got a warped flywheel, which is constantly scuffing against the clutch in traffic, and the high point is causing the intermittent pickup leading to vibrations you talk about.

On a more happy note, if you are looking for offroad tyres, the biggest you can fit that clears the arches, and more importantly doesn't catch on the underside of the shock absorbers spring seats is a 29" overall diameter tyre, this gives you 3 commonly available sizes to choose from, the narrowest 29" tyre being 205/80/16, the next size being 225/75/16, and the widest being 235/70/16. I've personally run the last two of those sizes on a freelander 1 on standard 16" alloy wheels without spacers or lift kit, I have since lifted the vehicle and fitted spacers. Wheel spacers give you more room under the springseat for bigger tyres, but I think you'd run into issues with the tyres catching bodywork with anything bigger than a 29" tyre. Also worth noting is that on its standard 26" diameter tyres, the freelander speedo runs ~10% slow, fitting 29" tyres bring it to being bob-on.

Lifting a hippo doesn't gain you any extra room for bigger tyres as the lift kits go between the suspension strut top mount and the turret on the vehicle, the distance between the which springseat and the hub doesn't change during a lift. Camber and Toe angles do alter as a result of a lift, you can get camber bolts, and many reputable sellers such as muddy mods include them in their kits along with the necessary extended flexible brake lines. When you lift a freelander, as the track rods are behind the hubs, when the hubs go down relative to the body, the distance between the rack and the hubs increases, but the track rods remain a fixed length and pull the back of the bubs inwards causing toe out and generate wayward handling. Before lifting the vehicle make sure you free up the track rod adjusters and get the tracking done. The standard track rod adjusters have plenty of thread to compensate for the increased toe-out arising from the lift kit.. The same thing happens at the back, but to a much lesser extend, and generally the back adjustable links seize solid beyond the point of recovery, maybes worth replacing them at the same time so you can get proper alignment done?

As for the silver freelander and black wheels, have you considered gunmetal wheels? This is one of my favourite pics of a freelander, it's not mine, but I think it's been built very tastefully, and I think that the gunmetal wheels look awesome against the black.


For comparison here's a silver freelander on black wheels:

Anyway it's having a few issues. It smells extremely bad when sat at traffic. Like a bad exhaust smell coming from the rear obviously

Click to expand...

you might be smelling the catalytic converter
i had that once .. when i 1st got mine ..
and i know it were not the clutch [ similar odour ]
it went away after i started using a fuel additive
which i know can alter the cats' efficiency ..

Also it's like a vibration plate when pulling away and you really have to rev it to get it going. Pulling away up hill is literally insane you have to rev the hell out of it and ride the clutch or it stalls.

Click to expand...

that might be a dodgy maf sensor .. or in need of cleaning
disconnect the maf 'n see if it runs better
[ the ecu will use a default maf map ]
could also be that the fuel rail sensor plug/socket needs cleaning
[ a known issue on the fl1 td4's ]

could be caused by other issues as well ..

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I've blanked the egr

Click to expand...

did you fit a egr-delete unit .. ?
or modify the factory egr ..

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`s`

Thanks for the replies.

I fitted a full kit yes.

I really like the first Pic of the freelander and have them exact alloys. Didn't realise how good it looked gun metal so thanks for that I'm deffo going down the gunmetal route.
I'll look into tyres now with them sizes you have given me so thanks.
Yes I'm really not sure what to think I have changed the maf and it's still the sun. Very sluggish in first until it gets warm. Me and my dad call it the "bone shaker" in first gear and the hill starts are very very annoying like I said having to ride the clutch to hell to make it off from standing start.

If the clutch fitted was a cheap nasty one (quite likely) it could be causing the jumpy start. Or it could be the DMF is knackered.
I had a K series that the clutch had been replaced before I got it and my wife complained it made her look like a learner driver, I had to replace it again with a good quality one to fix the issue but it had a sold flywheel so no issues with DMF.

Jayridium said:

Are you sure its an exhaust rather than clutch smell? Reason I ask is I'm wondering if it's got a warped flywheel, which is constantly scuffing against the clutch in traffic, and the high point is causing the intermittent pickup leading to vibrations you talk about.

On a more happy note, if you are looking for offroad tyres, the biggest you can fit that clears the arches, and more importantly doesn't catch on the underside of the shock absorbers spring seats is a 29" overall diameter tyre, this gives you 3 commonly available sizes to choose from, the narrowest 29" tyre being 205/80/16, the next size being 225/75/16, and the widest being 235/70/16. I've personally run the last two of those sizes on a freelander 1 on standard 16" alloy wheels without spacers or lift kit, I have since lifted the vehicle and fitted spacers. Wheel spacers give you more room under the springseat for bigger tyres, but I think you'd run into issues with the tyres catching bodywork with anything bigger than a 29" tyre. Also worth noting is that on its standard 26" diameter tyres, the freelander speedo runs ~10% slow, fitting 29" tyres bring it to being bob-on.

Lifting a hippo doesn't gain you any extra room for bigger tyres as the lift kits go between the suspension strut top mount and the turret on the vehicle, the distance between the which springseat and the hub doesn't change during a lift. Camber and Toe angles do alter as a result of a lift, you can get camber bolts, and many reputable sellers such as muddy mods include them in their kits along with the necessary extended flexible brake lines. When you lift a freelander, as the track rods are behind the hubs, when the hubs go down relative to the body, the distance between the rack and the hubs increases, but the track rods remain a fixed length and pull the back of the bubs inwards causing toe out and generate wayward handling. Before lifting the vehicle make sure you free up the track rod adjusters and get the tracking done. The standard track rod adjusters have plenty of thread to compensate for the increased toe-out arising from the lift kit.. The same thing happens at the back, but to a much lesser extend, and generally the back adjustable links seize solid beyond the point of recovery, maybes worth replacing them at the same time so you can get proper alignment done?

As for the silver freelander and black wheels, have you considered gunmetal wheels? This is one of my favourite pics of a freelander, it's not mine, but I think it's been built very tastefully, and I think that the gunmetal wheels look awesome against the black.

For comparison here's a silver freelander on black wheels:

Click to expand...

A couple of other points worth mentioning.
Lifting a Freelander pulls the rear wheel forward by around 15mm (with a 50mm lift kit) due to the trailing link pivoting down from it's mounting point, I lifted a Freelander a few years ago and lengthened the trailing links to counter this although it was not really required. I just thought it looked better.
The other bigger issue is lifting a Freelander will shorten the life of the the front drive shafts and if they fail the MUST be replaced with OEM. Aftermarket drive shafts are always suspect but with a lift kit they will give a horrible vibration on acceleration. Guaranteed.
If you still want to go ahead I made a How To here.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/how-to-fit-a-50mm-lift-kit.307452/

Yes I'm really not sure what to think I have changed the maf and it's still the sun.

Click to expand...

so .. new maf be e a genuine bosch ??
asking as most other makes that are described as 'suitable' for the td4 .. simply are not
and it often involves eff-all torque at lower rpm ..

Very sluggish in first until it gets warm. Me and my dad call it the "bone shaker" in first gear and the hill starts are very very annoying like I said having to ride the clutch to hell to make it off from standing start

Click to expand...

exactly like mine. .... ... prior to fitting an egr-delete unit ..

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any other symptoms...
like exhaust smoke ..
hard starting ..

no leaking vac hoses ?
i.e. that will effect turbo operation ..

no leaking intercooler hose ?
[ black smoke be a giveaway ]

fuel rail sensor plug / socket clean ?
[ a known issue due to water ingress causing corrosion }

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`s`

Actually now you mention it when I purchased the td4 there was a receipt for two new drive shafts 100% non standard as they where about £45 totally for two.
Although I doubt fitting drive shafts would cause the poor hill starts.
The maf was off a running breaker unplugged it does run better though so maybe that's suspect.
No leaks or smoke at all just the fowl smell from the exhaust at the lights.
Once on the motorway it runs like a dream.
I've also just noticed two tyres are different on the front which I have read is a big no no.

I have not checked checked the sensor but from reading its the correct colour? Dunno why that rings a bell hmmm

The maf was off a running breaker unplugged it does run better though so maybe that's suspect.

Click to expand...

if it's the proper bosch maf for the td4 ..
i.e .. bosch maf: F 00C 2G2 029

remove it .. [ they're torx bolts ]
get some of this spray ..
[ important .. as it leaves no residue .. crucial for maf cleaning ]
https://wd40.co.uk/specialist/fast-drying-contact-cleaner/

spray the air ducts of the maf sensor ..
on the bosch maf .. there are 2 ..
1 is an 'S' shaped duct ..
the other .. a straight duct on the side

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i had a bosch maf with all of 4 miles on the clock
that .. was removed from the engine and stored in an unsealed box for a year ..
on refitting it .. the engine ran like shyte .. bugger-all torque at lower rpm
so cleaned it .. as above .. bingo .. all low end torque restored ..

can only surmise the sensor surfaces had degraded by sitting in an unsealed box

in short .. low .. or no .. signal from maf sensor to the ecu ..
means ..
the ecu will not allow more fuel to be injected ..

the qicker the air [ preferably cold air ] moves across the sensor
the quicker will be the response from the engine to go-pedal demand from the driver ..
hence this mod ..
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/intercooler-problem-mod.126484/
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a straight thru exhaust back box also helps ..
as does a 'synergy2a' tuning module .. or a competent re-map ..
a re-map be easier on the hi-press fuel pump 'n suchlike ;-]

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I have not checked checked the sensor but

Click to expand...

easy to unplug n clean the plug pins with the above contact cleaner ..
voltage be very low thru that sensor ..
only takes a small amount of grime / corrosion to screw up engine performance

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https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/75-zt-td4-fault-diagnosis.203935/

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-td4-m47r-manual.296006/
i've just checked that .pdf download ..
virus scanned 'ok'
reads fine my pdf reader app
note be some small diffs ..
from a certain date the td4 uses an external under-wheel arch low press. fuel pump
and no in-tank pump
and .. the td4 uses a variable vane turbocharger

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maybe keep in mind .. re. fl1 / td4 ..
the larger the wheels ..
the more important 'engine low end [rpm] torque' .. and 'low end [rpm] response to go-pedal demand' .. be ..
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and i dare-say .. tuning it for better low end drive-abilty .. engine smoothness ..
be less stressful on clutch .. n the whole drivetrain ..
'n easier on mechanical internal engine parts ..
just my p.o.v. ;;--]]
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[ edited to add ]
and in addition to the 'sticky' forum thread ..
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/what-to-lock-for-on-freelanders.163164/#post-1620217
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good luck ..
` s `

Thanks for the great reply. As a auto electrician I have decent contact spray but to be fair like the look for the wd40 range I'm using loctite atm.
I will do the coolant mod when I can afford it looks like a worthwhile mod.
I'm swaying towards replacing the flywheel and clutch more and more mind but I will 100% clean the maf and see what happens as that will obviously save me a wedge.
I'll also clean the sensor wires.
Loads of good info there. So my main priority is sort out the shaking then move onto cosmetic and full service.