Freelander 2 (LR2) Rattle From Engine Bay On Start Up

Hi All and a happy new year to you all, just wondered if anyone had experienced this, I have a late 2007 FL2 and it’s developed a rattle from the engine bay on start up, the rattle stays for a bit whilst idling but after about 2 mins just disappears, I popped the bonnet and it seems to be coming from the belt side of the engine bay but couldn’t see anything visibly loose, I don’t hear the rattle anymore after it’s gone until it’s started from cold again, any ideas, cheers guys

That could be tricky to find. However it's worth taking a look at the crank pulley, as those can de-laminate. Also check the condition of the drive belt for condition too.

Thanks for the reply Nodge, I mentioned it to my neighbour who’s a diesel mechanic albeit mostly on HGVs and he sucked air through his teeth and said yeah rattles are almost impossible to source, just wait until something breaks, which although said a bit tongue in cheek was a bit un-nerving, I did have a canbelt kit fitted in early 2018 so that should be ok, can idler pulleys make a rattling noise, I did watch a video on YouTube where the guy changed his idler pulley because it started making noise

Just found a fairly old thread with someone with exactly the same noise and someone said it sounded like the alternator clutch pulley, does this sound right to you, what would be the implications of fixing that

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic25472.html
this is it and the noise/rattle he mentions is exactly the same as mine

When were the belts last changed and was the water pump done at the same time. What mileage is the Fl2
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Remove the auxiliary belt and check tensioner and all pulleys for play.

Timing belt should be changed 150,000 or 9 years, personally i would not let my belt do such mileage before changing, 120,000 or 8 years.

I changed the belts when i purchased my FL2 back in 2017 with 105,000 miles as i had no proof of them being changed before hand.

auxiliary belt

my money is on the alternator - try turning off the aircon to reduce load see if it cures it. My own was bad Yesterday in the frost, it cleared as soon as i turned off all the heaters....

So I know for certain the belt was done in January 2018, they simply printed on the invoice cam belt kit, I personally think they probably didn’t do the water pump, at that time the vehicle was 10 years old n 67k, it’s now on 80k, if it is the alternator bearings is it ok to drive for the time being, I mean it’s not going to be a problem where the pulley goes, the belt comes off and the engine is wasted, I must admit it might be pure coincidence but I have just bought another battery because the previous battery was struggling to start the car, it did start every time but it was struggling you could tell, the alternator does seem to be putting out around 14.5v so it seems to be charging ok, I’ve done lots of work on my FL2 in the past but just don’t feel confident taking that belt off, it feels like a proper make or break if I get it wrong

New noises are always worth investigating, if you dont you just know something expensive is going to fail!

hi,sharmanator43.i have had 3 batteries in 4 years due to struggling to start, every time they check the old one they say the cranking amps
are low. alternator says 14.3-14.4 volts so bought a battery and alternator tester which says battery is ok and so is the alternator according to the tester.
so i am wondering if the starter could cause the problem and drawing too much current when cranking. if anyone can shed any light on this
i would be extremely grateful cheers.ps. my alternator rattles on occasions.

ian mitchell said:

hi,sharmanator43.i have had 3 batteries in 4 years due to struggling to start, every time they check the old one they say the cranking amps
are low. alternator says 14.3-14.4 volts so bought a battery and alternator tester which says battery is ok and so is the alternator according to the tester.
so i am wondering if the starter could cause the problem and drawing too much current when cranking. if anyone can shed any light on this
i would be extremely grateful cheers.ps. my alternator rattles on occasions.

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Recent thread on here ref fl2 needing extra battery earth leads, worth a search.

lynall said:

Recent thread on here ref fl2 needing extra battery earth leads, worth a search.

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thanks for the reply lynall,i have fitted the extra lead,but it is heavy gauge wire, would this cause a problem.

ian mitchell said:

thanks for the reply lynall,i have fitted the extra lead,but it is heavy gauge wire, would this cause a problem.

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Electrically no.

lynall said:

Electrically no.

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cheers,

Rattles can be narrowed down by taking off non essential belts.
Also listening though a piece of pipe, using it like a stethoscope on various parts, be aware that they are moving and can chew up loose clothing, jewellery or anything else.

J_D said:

Rattles can be narrowed down by taking off non essential belts.
Also listening though a piece of pipe, using it like a stethoscope on various parts, be aware that they are moving and can chew up loose clothing, jewellery or anything else.

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Difficult on the FL2, as the same belt drives all ancillary components.

sharmanator43 said:

I’ve done lots of work on my FL2 in the past but just don’t feel confident taking that belt off, it feels like a proper make or break if I get it wrong

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The drive belt is pretty easy to remove or replace, as it's just held on my the tension of the tensioner.
You simply back the tension off against spring pressure, and the belt goes loose.
Make a drawing of the belt routing, as it's not obvious, once the belt is off.

However it might help identify the cause, if you get a helper to start the car, while you look at the belt with a torch.

as nodge said
just to re-iterate its an aux belt - no harm will come if it breaks or falls off.

SWalker said:

as nodge said
just to re-iterate its an aux belt - no harm will come if it breaks or falls off.

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Hope that's true for F2.

On an L Series F1 the aux belt coming off kills a lot of engines. It gets caught up in the main pulley and dislodges the cam belt.

SWalker said:

as nodge said
just to re-iterate its an aux belt - no harm will come if it breaks or falls off.

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So long as you stop driving the car the moment the belt spits off.

Am I mistaken because I thought the FL2 had one belt and as well as doing water pump, aircon, alternator it also does the cam shaft