Freelander 1 Freelander 1 problem. Jerks on idle. AND cuts power when high temp.

Hello guys! I am a proud and happy owner of a Freelander 1.
I have a problem for almost 2 years now, which nobody resolved. When on high temperature (around 101-102) it "cuts" power. I can't accelerate, it vibrates heavily and sometimes it even switches off. (problem no1). I used to turn on the AC, so the temperature would not go above 90 and NOTHING happened. It was almost perfect.
Last 3 months I have ANOTHER, even bigger problem. It seriously jerks and vibrates when idle. It seems to me like a "power" problem. Like it lost the timing, or it misfires. Now, it is almost undriveable. I ve asked 2 mechanics for that and even if we did some things, it won't get fixed.
So, it gives me an error Error code P0340 indicates a malfunction with the camshaft position sensor A circuit.
We ve started by changing the multipliers, the spark plugs, the map sensor, and I m not sure if we did even more things (I have to check the book).
Thing is that nothing really helped. I have to point that this new thing is more when idle or accelerating and not when I have more than 3000 rpm. *so, in my opinion this kinda eliminates the fuel injectors. In my humble opinion this is something "power" related. Really hope to find someone with the same problem or with a new perspective, because I m really out of ideas and hopeless.
Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Freelander 1.8 ? Petrol engine ?
The engine is know for overheating.
The fuel pump is know for having issues.

Does the cap distributor has been changed ? Can cause a lot of misfire.

Does it start on the button ?
When it finaly start do you have a stable idle ?

For codes, erase then read again. If someone unplug a sensor the fault will stay for an eternity.

Alteredtech said:

Hi,

Freelander 1.8 ? Petrol engine ?
The engine is know for overheating.
The fuel pump is know for having issues.

Does the cap distributor has been changed ? Can cause a lot of misfire.

Does it start on the button ?
When it finaly start do you have a stable idle ?

For codes, erase then read again. If someone unplug a sensor the fault will stay for an eternity.

Click to expand...

Hello! Yes, 1.8 petrol!
It's not overheating (not anymore at least). It used to when I bought it, and the problem was the controller of the ventilator. I ve changed it and it seems to work as supposed to. (at 100C it turns on the ventilator, it cools it down and repeat!). I ve never noticed more than 103 even when in highest traffic during the summer.
Fuel pump has almost 140000 km, but would have a problem on idle? or it would have a bigger problem (even staling) when over 3000rpm? (on load).

I don't think I have a cap distributor, at least, I can't find it. (It's a 2003 edition).
MOST of the times it ignites instantly, yes. But after a "crisis" (let me call it that way so we can understand each other) it may take 2-3 tries to start, and you can smell that it has not properly burned petrol.

Even if erased, it shows it again. (Not sure if a recurring problem or not erased properly).

karavidas said:

Hello! Yes, 1.8 petrol!
It's not overheating (not anymore at least). It used to when I bought it, and the problem was the controller of the ventilator. I ve changed it and it seems to work as supposed to. (at 100C it turns on the ventilator, it cools it down and repeat!). I ve never noticed more than 103 even when in highest traffic during the summer.
Fuel pump has almost 140000 km, but would have a problem on idle? or it would have a bigger problem (even staling) when over 3000rpm? (on load).

I don't think I have a cap distributor, at least, I can't find it. (It's a 2003 edition).
MOST of the times it ignites instantly, yes. But after a "crisis" (let me call it that way so we can understand each other) it may take 2-3 tries to start, and you can smell that it has not properly burned petrol.

Even if erased, it shows it again. (Not sure if a recurring problem or not erased properly).

Click to expand...

If it's been overheated, have you done a compression test? These engines don't tolerate overheating, as it results in head gasket failure.

The P0340 code means it needs a new cam position sensor, which are known to fail. This sensor is only use for starting, so if it fails once the engine gets hot, it won't effect the running.

Nodge68 said:

If it's been overheated, have you done a compression test? These engines don't tolerate overheating, as it results in head gasket failure.

The P0340 code means it needs a new cam position sensor, which are known to fail. This sensor is only use for starting, so if it fails once the engine gets hot, it won't effect the running.

Click to expand...

the previous owner (8-9 years ago) had overheating problems. So I had back then. I ve found the problem and fixed it. Also I replaced the head gasket, and I ve trimmed the (excuse my bad English, but I have to search for the correct word) engine cover.
So now I have 2 problems. One when it gets hot, and one even when it's cold.
The second one is more "emerge" to solve because it makes it undriveable. It trembles and vibrates when I start the engine. Now, of course the first thing I did was to check if the gasket has a problem (typically I would see it overheating, or I would see the oil have "bubbles").
I have to make a compression test, but honestly, those problems started more than 4-5 years after the overheating problem. (and the temperature is monitored when the engine runs).
Another thing I forgot to mention is that it sounds like it "misfires" I mean I have around 800-850rpm, it loses and goes around 680-700, it trembles and gets back..

So the cam position is not the solution (for either of the problems) because the trembling happens even in hot (no2) and the "power cut" when hot is not because of this part.
Now, a difficult question. Given that I ve changed some things, and honestly I can't find anything. (mechanics won't help either. the second one was just looking at it, like he waited for a miracle to happen), could that be a failure of the engine control unit? Could that be my case?