Freelander 1 V6 Engine Replacement

davidsmith1307 said:

Rave is the official service manual. Download and cherish.
http://www.landroverresource.com/

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Thanks David. Downloading now.

Awesome pics Nodge. Your work is very well documented! I just finished watching the 45 minute video from British Atlantic on replacing the thermostat and coolant hoses. My head is blown! I didn't realise there would be SO MANY connections. When I watched Jasco's video on replacing the engine, that looks easier!

Nodge, everything I need to do to my engine you've already done before and as you're an expert in engines, I'd be more than happy to pay for you come and help me! That way I know the job is done properly. I can pay your train fare / petrol and an overnight stay in a hotel and a little extra if you'd consider it.

It would be cheaper to ship the car to me. I have all the tools I need to get the job done in a couple of hours.

Thats an idea. I'll have to look into it. As the engine is knocking (did you hear it on my video?) if I was to go to such lengths, should I just swap the engine? I'm afraid that if I replace the thermo and pipes, it's only a matter of time before the engine goes. Then I have to start all over again :/

When I started the car a few months ago, a mechanic friend of mine said it sounds like the crank casing could be cracked? Upon turning of the key, the engine revs higher than normal before settling back down. These are things to consider.

I'll call Foundry 4 x 4 again tomorrow as I didn't hear back from them today on the parts. I know I could just buy the thermo housing but if the whole top end of the car has to be removed for access it makes sense to replace all the associated hoses just so that's one whole job complete. Hopefully it's a reasonable price.

That RAVE manual is STILL downloading! wow!

It covers all the LR vehicles up to the Range Rover P38, Disco 2 etc.

When replacing the thermostat, I've read that the plastic pipe in which it is connected to is very brittle and will probably break when removing the thermo. If I could't get hold of the complete hose service kit, what would be the minimum parts you'd recommend for this? Just the thermo and plastic pipe?

This , this and possibly this?

It's perfectly normal for the KV6 to start up and run at 1300 to 1400 Rpm before settling down to just under 1000 Rpm after a few seconds. That's completely normal.
I very much doubt that the block is cracked, they're tough as old boots. I've only heard of a handful of KV6 bottom end failures and all of those were abused in some way.
However, by design, the K series will not tolerate low water levels around the liners. Low water causes the liner to expand, popping the head gasket very quickly indeed. The thermostat must always be replaced with a new elbow and straight pipe. All pipes are susceptible to ageing, going brittle in the process.

Top tip if disconnecting lots of connections. Write what they are on masking tape and stick it on the cable, then cover it with sellotape. If you don't I guarantee by the time you go to refit everything the masking tape will be unreadable. Also take a photo with the label visible before disconnecting it.

Photos are very useful. Luckily the electrical connections on the KV6 will only fit in the correct places. As long as pictures are taken, everything is pretty simple. The inlet plenum takes most connections. There are about 8 or 9 different sensor or actuator plugs to disconnect. There are 4 or 5 pipes of various sizes too. This is just to get at the engine below. It looks a lot but it all comes apart quite quickly.

Wish I still had my V6. Too many faults for me to tackle in the space I had, but if it came back now in the same state I'd be grinning.

Nodge68 said:

I've only heard of a handful of KV6 bottom end failures and all of those were abused in some way

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+ 1 they dont like abuse one bit.

I had one go on my MG ZS 180, large hole in block and I've still got half a piston I uses as a paperweight in the kitchen, bought the car from of a nissan dealer of all places, and it had been proper boy racer'd with big MG stickers down the side and neons underneath ( they soon went in the bin) , it had only done 26k as well, but had full service including belts. I suspect previous abuse as I dont thrash cars in the slightest.

Not the only ones. I had a Vauxhall Carlton (yes, really) that snapped a con-rod and punched holes around the crank cas the day after I got it. Dealer tried to say that it was down to my driving. The fact that I was driving to a funeral at the time meant I wasn't feeling very boy-racer.

Parts ordered. Thermostat in Housing, Thermostat O-Ring, Elbow Pipe and Straight Pipe. £55 delivered. Hopefully have them early next week. I'm definitely going to have to carefully number / name (where I can identify them!) and photograph all the connections. Still can't believe how many there are! Really hope I don't coc* it up!

The one thing that's worrying me the most is when I watched the step-by-step video by British Atlantic, there is a bolt at the back bottom part of the engine. The guy on the video uses a special grabber type tool to place it in then finishes it with a long bar adaptor. I don't have one of those so hope I can get in there and not drop the bolt!

Do you have a link to the video?

Here you go David -


It's a fantastic video. The guy makes it sound like its a walk in the park!

I do admire the Americans positive attitude and hands-on approach to repairing things. I dread going to local garages. Here it seems anything more difficult than changing brake pads, you seem to get the sharp intake of breath followed by the head shaking and then the 'it might cost you a bit for that mate'.

That's a brilliant video. Pity more companies here that are trying to sell repair kits wouldn't do similar videos.