This is absolutely depressing

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WildOne

Active Member
Posts
107
Location
Sydney, Australia
Me and my cousin are attempting to install a new clutch in a L series turbo diesel freelander there is one bolt stopping us and its one of the hidden bolts the closes bolt to the block there is a oil pipe going to the turbo that is in the way of getting a socket onto the bolt and there is just no where to spin a spanner or socket there is just no room to do anything

we attempted to remove the IRD box but again there is one hidden bolt that we cannot access to remove the IRD box

me and my cousin have spent over 15 hours on trying to get this clutch out its turned into an absolute nightmare i am contemplating scrapping the car for $200 i just bought it for $1500 this will happen if i cannot get this clutch out

we have one last option that is to remove the entire engine, gearbox, IRD box all in one go is this possible? i only have one lifting rig on the left side of the engine (facing the engine looking under bonnet) is there meant to be two lifting rings?

are there any complications i may run into or anything i should know about before we attempt this?

Thanks guys without a forum like this i wouldn't know what to do i am pretty depressed at the moment as i have 2 weeks to get a road worthy before it runs out
 
I’ve done a Td4 clutch, not an L-series, but in general:

I recommend you focus on removing the IRD. Once the prop is off and the coolant lines disconnected, I remember two brackets, then four bolts holding it to the gearbox. Which bolt is hidden?

One problem I had was that because I had the front jacked well up, the engine/gearbox had sagged towards the bulkhead, hindering access to one of the IRD bolts. A ratchet strap to bring the engine back to a more ‘normal’ position sorted that.

How about some pictures?
 
Hey fowl21, the whole ordeal is a kind of a catch mate to remove the gearbox u need to remove the IRDto remove the IRD u need to undo the right IRD mount (sitting in car) u have no access to the upper bolt because the mount is in the way and there is no way of getting your hand into the bolt

i think this L series engine was designed to be pulled out whole than disassembled its just ridiculous to pull apart while the engine is in the bay, my cousin has over 30 years experience working on cars and i have around 20 years we have never came across a situation like this

the turbo and all its piping are in the way too no way of removing the turbo due to the back lower bolt on the turbo manifold being angled in and no way of attaching a socket either short or long or even on a extension bar and no way to use a ring spanner due to how close the turbo is to the firewall

its just one incredible miss fortune nothing is panning out so that whole engine is coming out but i need to know what i need to remove as i have never done adiesel turbo i need to know what needs priming and so on before restarting
 
Have you removed the subframe? If not then do it. It's only a few bolts.
Once the subframe is out of the way lower the engine a few inches and hopefully you'll get enough access.
At least that's how I did it on my K series with the same IRD and gearbox.
You need to remove the IRD before the gearbox
 
Thanks Ali i suggested to my cousin we remove the sub frame but he said we still will not have access to that one hidden gearbox bolt, i think i will remove it tho and see how i go
 
WildOne said:
Thanks Ali i suggested to my cousin we remove the sub frame but he said we still will not have access to that one hidden gearbox bolt, i think i will remove it tho and see how i go
Click to expand...

It's the IRD you're concentrating on for now. You can remove it with the subframe in situe by lowering the engine but I found it easier with the subframe removed.

Edit: I never took an IRD off a L series but lots of folk here have done it so there must be a way.
 
WildOne said:
Thanks Ali i suggested to my cousin we remove the sub frame but he said we still will not have access to that one hidden gearbox bolt, i think i will remove it tho and see how i go
Click to expand...
For reference, I did my Td4 clutch over a weekend, starting Friday evening and finishing Sunday afternoon, on my own. And I’m just a tinkerer. If two experienced men are having this much trouble, there’s got to be a reason.

The engine/gearbox is designed to come out from below, for which you’ll have to remove the subframe anyway.

I did assume you’d removed the subframe already. No wonder you’re having trouble - pop it off and all will become clear ;)
 
Hang on here.

All the talk of Turbo being in the way.... need to remove subframe....

I have an L Series and I removed the IRD simply by unbolting it!

All the bolts are accessible - no need to remove anything else. I used a standard, 25 year old, Halfords socket set with plenty of plenty of extension bars and a pole to go over the ratchet arm to give leverage to crack the bolts. None of the bolts were overly difficult to access, all had straight direct access - although on some of the bolts, the ratchet was a long way from it with the extension bars. A couple of the bolts had very little rotation on the ratchet - literally 1 click at a time with an extension pole over the handle, but once cracked and loose, the pole was removed and more rotation was available.

The IRD was dropped between engine and subframe, then lifted back up through the same gap for fitting. If you're changing the clutch, you may be able to just sit it on the subframe.

The biggest aid to getting the IRD off (other than extension bars for the sockets) is plenty of room under the car. I'm fortunate to have an inspection pit in my garage. I would think that having the car raised only at the front and at an angle would not be ideal. Without an inspection pit or lift, I'd recommend something like the HippoRamps to raise the whole car up - I've driven the car onto concrete blocks before. I'd be warey of putting the whole car on axle stands as you need to put a lot of force into cracking the bolts and I'd be afraid of it falling off with you under it!

DSCF3603.jpg
 
Good on ya GG. I knew you'd sniff out an L series thread sooner or later. :p
I agree you don't need to take off the subframe but I found it easier if I did. I think it might make getting the gearbox out easier anyway.
On the TD4 and I think the K series, lowering the engine a few inches helped too.
 
Gel how did u reach the right side IRD top mount bolt the whole mount is in the way i think the only way to access this one bolt is by removing the sub frame u can slide a ring spanner up thru the gap in the mount but u have no way of moving it without the ring spanner hitting the mount
 
WildOne said:
Gel how did u reach the right side IRD top mount bolt the whole mount is in the way i think the only way to access this one bolt is by removing the sub frame u can slide a ring spanner up thru the gap in the mount but u have no way of moving it without the ring spanner hitting the mount
Click to expand...
Can you post some pictures of the mount that's in the way? I'm struggling to work out what mount you're struggling with. The L series is one of the easiest IRDs to remove, along with the K series. The TD4 then the V6 are the hardest of all, as the IRD bolts are pigs to get at.
 
Its over 5 years since I did the IRD on my L Series, so can't remember all the detail. I didn't remove anything other than the props. The coolant pipes obviously need disconnecting, the lower tie bar removing and the drivers side hub swung away so the drive shaft can be pulled out and swung (sort of) out of the way. In fact, in my mine, if anything was to be removed to make the job easier, it would be the drive shaft rather than the subframe because it did get in the way trying to extract the IRD. Pretty sure all the bolts came out with the socket set, maybe a spanner was used - can't guarantee it.
 
Here are pics of the drivers side IRD mount or end mount bracket there is a bolt up inside the circled area, the engine bay picture shows no access to the bolts from the top and one picture circled shows a socket still on the last gearbox bolt but its unassailable
 

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WildOne said:
Here are pics of the drivers side IRD mount or end mount bracket there is a bolt up inside the circled area, the engine bay picture shows no access to the bolts from the top and one picture circled shows a socket still on the last gearbox bolt but its unassailable
Click to expand...
All you have to do is remove the tie bar and it will be accessible. There's a bolt through that bracket and one through the bracket on the subframe and the tie bar will come away. Be careful the engine doesn't swing when you do it, but its got to be removed anyway to get the IRD out.

Unless I'm missing something.

PS: Thanks for the porn :)

Edit: If the engine is on its 2 top mounts, it won't swing much, but as you have probably removed these mounts and have the engine on a hoist, if may do.
 
Last edited:
If you click on the 2nd link in post #9 the first photo shows the tie bar and bracket removed.
As Nodge and GG say it's one of the first things to do.
 
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