Freelander 1 Any Freelandera with L series diesel left on the road?

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lynall

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Asking as was doing some research into perkins prims, and started looking for cars with said engine fitted.
Maestro van none left that I could see, maybe classic sales
Montego none left, same as Maestro, maybe classic sales
Rover 600 two on ebay
Freight rover/sherpa 1 on ebay
Early freelander, none on ebay
 
Mine's still turning in sterling service and used as our daily and family tour bus (that service temporarily suspended as borders shut :D )

I'm sure you won't have to look to far or long to find one - have a look on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace, for example...

www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/302237037828897/

Having said that - I just had a look on marketplace and there are very few pre 2000 cars. They look to have been scrapped!

Don't forget as well that the L Series was also used in the 200 series Rover.
 
I think it is going to be one of them engines that fades into history without people noticing.
 
lynall said:
I think it is going to be one of them engines that fades into history without people noticing.
Click to expand...
They are still made, fancy VD? ....

https://autoportal.com/newcars/icml/extreme/vd-di-7-seater-bsiii.html

Rover developed the L Series to make it a common rail engine under the G Series banner with 8 or 16 valves...

https://www.aronline.co.uk/engines/engines-powertrain-2000-2005/

Almost got it to production and was a good engine by all accounts, but then Rover collapsed and the engine was sold to the Indian outfit. The Indians produced and sold it as a common rail and direct injection and the 8 valve DI is presumably very similar to the old L Series.

Plus, of course, the TD5 engine used by LR is a common rail 5 cylinder version of the L Series. That is though deceased.
 
GrumpyGel said:
They are still made, fancy VD? ....

https://autoportal.com/newcars/icml/extreme/vd-di-7-seater-bsiii.html

Rover developed the L Series to make it a common rail engine under the G Series banner with 8 or 16 valves...

https://www.aronline.co.uk/engines/engines-powertrain-2000-2005/

Almost got it to production and was a good engine by all accounts, but then Rover collapsed and the engine was sold to the Indian outfit. The Indians produced and sold it as a common rail and direct injection and the 8 valve DI is presumably very similar to the old L Series.

Plus, of course, the TD5 engine used by LR is a common rail 5 cylinder version of the L Series. That is though deceased.
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Cor blimey that 7 seater is a looker!

Never heard of the G series.

TD5 is not common rail, it is a PD pump deuse engine.
 
Hi lynall, I've had an L series Freelander1 from new. It's now 20 yeas old and has done c.160k miles. It suffered aux belt failure which wrecked the engine at about 135k but after a tip off from guys on this forum, I was fortunate to be able to purchase the last brand new crated engine which I fitted to great effect! IMO this engine after some mild tuning is at least as good as the average M47 and certainly generally more reliable. The vehicle has general use and also towing big trailers and has performed well. Fuel economy is not its strongest point although with careful normal use can get 400 miles per tank. It's still going strong and has suffered most of the known problems at least once and in some cases several times! (I now renew the aux belt at least every year) If the cam belt cover had some simple mouldings which prevented the snapped aux belt being trapped behind the crank pulley this problem would become a mild irritation rather than an engine wrecker.

Looking at the performance figures for the G series, they don't seem much better than a chipped and tuned L series. Although I guess better emissions is what Power Train were aiming at. The L series has that blend of simplicity and smelly performance which makes it ideal for a Land Rover! Long may it continue to clatter.
 
lynall said:
Asking as was doing some research into perkins prims, and started looking for cars with said engine fitted.
Maestro van none left that I could see, maybe classic sales
Montego none left, same as Maestro, maybe classic sales
Rover 600 two on ebay
Freight rover/sherpa 1 on ebay
Early freelander, none on ebay
Click to expand...

You can add Rover 200 and 400 to that list. There's a few of those on there, but they'll use a Bosch electronic fuel pump.
 
Hi GrumpyGel, now that is noisy! At least you now know why they were fitted with an attenuating cover to the engine. It is much quieter with it on!

I findthat my L-series is very noisy when cold but once it's warmed up is considerably quieter and in fact after a long run, not much noisier than a TD4.
 
Happyhippo said:
Hi GrumpyGel, now that is noisy! At least you now know why they were fitted with an attenuating cover to the engine. It is much quieter with it on!

I findthat my L-series is very noisy when cold but once it's warmed up is considerably quieter and in fact after a long run, not much noisier than a TD4.
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lol yeh - the cover makes a big difference - and the under tray and those side plastic pieces. I don't mind the noise it makes, sounds like a 'proper' tractor engine :D Does get quieter once its warmed up though.

Its good starting from very cold. Even when its down to -7 and covered in frost or snow, it always starts quickly. I find it has good power from cold as well. I had a D1 V8 before the Freelander and a D1 300TDI before that. On a cold morning, it was quicker to walk the first 1/4 mile than drive the 300TDI.

Always good to see you on the forum - I like to keep up with how your L Series is behaving :D Over the years I've been on the forum, there must have been 3 or so L Series that have thrown the fan belt and committed harry carry - always sad. Not so much L Series activity on here either these days.
 
kernowsvenski said:
I'm seriously behind the times then. Does Ford still own Jaguar?
Click to expand...

JLR or Jaguar/Land Rover are owned by Tata Motors, which is an Indian conglomerate!

I actually quite like the Dacia Duster. While it's not as good as the FL1 off road, it does pretty much everything else the FL1 can do, and is similar in size too, only better on fuel. They're also really cheap and pretty reliable, even though it's based on a Renault. :eek:
 
I had a Series 2 SWB fitted with one of those Perkins out of a Montego if I recall correctly. It was fun to say the least with a top speed that series 2's were never meant to attain particularly with drum brakes all round :eek:. Fuel consumption was brillliant though easily getting 35+mpg. Should have kept it with the prices that Series 2's get now but then again I also remember the cart sprung ride, the FL wins hands down on that.
 
L-series was also fitted to the MG ZR diesel... and were frequently tuned to within an inch of their lives, but seemed to thrive on it :)

Yes, I remember reading about the G-series. It would have replaced the BMW diesel found in MG Rover passenger cars. Would have been a better performer than the M57R too... Such a shame the company was allowed to die. :(
 
I still have an L series Freelander on the road as my daily. 175k miles and still going. Planning to change the Turbo for a Rover 25 variant over summer as I think the current one is starting to fail and I have one spare from my old L series Rover 25.
It leaks oil somewhere around the power steering pump and has done since I got it four years ago. It's not enough to really worry about. Keeps the Aux belt from rusting!

Messed around with an EVRY mod last year for a bit, but unplugged it for now as I don't think it was very healthy for the engine without other changes.
I might play around with some larger injector nozzles, turning the turbo boost up to 19psi and activating the EVRY mod again. But at the moment I would prefer it to be reliable and slow. Also starting to notice that those engines are getting rarer, so I would like to keep mine going as long as possible.

I also have another L series Rover 25 which is my current 2nd car.

I do like those engines. I have even considered putting one into an old series build if I ever went down that route. But by the time I get around to that I expect I will go electric.
 
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