So, it’s a bit long winded but I’ll begin! We had until very recently, a beautiful 2007, Freelander HSE, TD4 since 2017. She’s never really had any major problems. Two weeks ago, she just broke down at the side of the road. We took it to a nearby Land Rover garage near Sheepscar, (not the main dealership), Leeds, to be told that it would need to be looked at over the next few days because they were busy. About 5 days later, they came back and said that it has what they call the “death rattle” needs new engine, and it would cost too much to fix. We should write it off. I then sold her for £450. As an off the road vehicle not working at the moment. On the advice that it was going to be too expensive to fix her. The gentleman that bought her, said that he has fixed her and it was just the tappets. My argument is why couldn’t the garage assess/pick up that it was the tappets? Even if it was £1500 bill, which I know is more than the car is worth, I would’ve happily paid it to keep her on the road. I just feel that we’ve been given duff information And it just feels like they haven’t even looked at the vehicle properly which is quite sad as we’ve been using that garage for many years. We sold her reluctantly on the garage’s assessment. We will get another one. It just has left a bit of taste in our mouth. I just don’t understand why the garage didn’t work out it was the tappets And does anybody know what it would have cost to fix the tappets, rough estimate. thank you.
Duff info from Garage
- Thread starter Majtam
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GrumpyGel
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On such a major decision, its probably best to get a 2nd opinion.
Easy with hindsight, especially if that advice comes from someone you trust.
Presumably it is a Freelander 2?
Easy with hindsight, especially if that advice comes from someone you trust.
Presumably it is a Freelander 2?
The rule with a major decision is to get a second opinion.
Tappets won't cause it to stop running, it'll just be noisy as is just valve train wear.
There are plenty of things that stop these engines from running, however few are particularly expensive or difficult to diagnose?
Why do you think it was worth so little? Have you checked the prices of good condition HSE models of similar years and miles.
Garages quite often give silly repair quotes if they can't be bothered to do the work. It's more profitable to service cars, rather than tie up a service bay and a technician for many hours on a big job, so they'll often give a "take it somewhere else quote", likely assuming you'll get a smaller outfit to repair it.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you really should have made more enquiries before letting it go for a fraction of its true value.
Tappets won't cause it to stop running, it'll just be noisy as is just valve train wear.
There are plenty of things that stop these engines from running, however few are particularly expensive or difficult to diagnose?
Why do you think it was worth so little? Have you checked the prices of good condition HSE models of similar years and miles.
Garages quite often give silly repair quotes if they can't be bothered to do the work. It's more profitable to service cars, rather than tie up a service bay and a technician for many hours on a big job, so they'll often give a "take it somewhere else quote", likely assuming you'll get a smaller outfit to repair it.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you really should have made more enquiries before letting it go for a fraction of its true value.
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Yes, we realise that now and hindsight is a wonderful thing. We’re going to get another one soon. Lesson learned. Thanks for your answers.
How do you delete a thread now I’ve got some answers thank you
I don’t think you can delete them I’ve answered my own question LOL I’ll keep it up here in case anybody else experiences the same issue. Thanks for all your replies. Much appreciated. We were going to get a new freelander or Defender soon anyway. Lesson learned.
Anaconda
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Don't worry about deleting it, might help someone else.
You know where we are when your new purchase goes wrong.
Alteredtech
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Hi,
The TD4 on the FL2 is pretty solid, the engine come from Peugeot and it not prone to faillure.
So the garage didn’t give any cote, except it cost too much. And don’t doubt it offer you a little money get you rid of the car !
I hear that a lot of time, it’s old car, doesn’t worth to fix the air conditioning … we can get you new tires and do the service for you.
The TD4 on the FL2 is pretty solid, the engine come from Peugeot and it not prone to faillure.
So the garage didn’t give any cote, except it cost too much. And don’t doubt it offer you a little money get you rid of the car !
I hear that a lot of time, it’s old car, doesn’t worth to fix the air conditioning … we can get you new tires and do the service for you.
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That’s a bit of a negative reply LOL!! , but I know you guys are here. Thanks.
Yes, but the hydraulic parts don't wear. The tops of the valves wear on these, especially if oil changes aren't done on time. Because the valves wear, the hydraulic tappets run out of adjustment, hence the noise.
This is typical valve wear at 120k with questionable oil change frequency.
I have seen the rockers shift sideways and act against the spring retainer. If this happens the collects jump out and it'll drop that valve, which will stop the engine. However that's normally a bit more terminal for the engine, but thankfully it doesn't happen often.
Western Slope Rover
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If you buy another Land Rover, you've not learned the lesson.
Anaconda
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Not really, I would like to say realistic rather than negative.
Anyway, regardless of that do stick around and show us your new purchase when you get it.
The garage didn’t buy the car from me I’ve had to sell it privately. That’s the end of this thread. Thanks.
So the guy who bought the car from the op saying it was just the tappets was telling a few porkies, as it was not quite the quick fix he suggested??
Alteredtech
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If the buyer fix the car for almost nothing, he will never tell. He doesn’t want to deal with a seller asking for more money.
If it was a crank sensor, then it would have been a £30 fix for an OE replacement.
As you would know, rattling tappets wouldn't stop it running, it'd just be noisy.
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