Freelander 1 Smokey Engine Heater

Now the colder weather has returned I've started to notice an established 'feature' of my 2005 TD4 which I'd forgotten about all about during our long hot summer. And that's the amount of smoke that comes out of the diesel-fueled engine-heater exhaust after a short run.

I was filling up with fuel today about a mile after leaving the house and I was getting some funny looks as smoke wafted across Sainsburys forecourt !

So my question is whether the smoke can be reduced in any way ? Or can the heater be disconnected so it doesn't come on ?

If it's smoking lots, then it sounds like the combustion chamber is sooty and needs cleaning.

Pulling fuse 5 will stop is working, but will make the heater less effective and make the engine heat up slower.

Thanks Nodge68. I did wonder if there was a fix for the smoke rather than disconnecting it completely.

I guess the next question is - how do I clean the combustion chamber ?

BeerHunter said:

I guess the next question is - how do I clean the combustion chamber ?

Click to expand...

Not easily really. You need to remove the FBH and strip it down. Scrap out all the accumulated goop from the combustion chamber and reassemble the unit and refit it. It's a long and dirty job, which is why it's often neglected.

Apparently you can run it on kerosene as a cleaning solution as it's less sooty and so will help clean it a bit, but nothing beats a good physical clean. Besides my kerosene heating boiler needs annual cleaning, which kinda disproves the kerosene theory.

I did mine a couple of years ago and it's burning clean and smoke free, except for a little bit at shutdown.

Link below from R40 club on how to clean FBH once you have it removed from the car, which is bumper off job.
https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=1888173&postcount=1