Freelander Project IV (Bertie)

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I just spent most of the evening cursing Land rover stupidity. :mad:
First job was to install the new rear diff poly bushes. I reversed the car up a pair of ramps and had the job done in an hour or so. Very pleased at how easy it was, they fitted perfectly and the only hard part was getting the old ones out but a bit of bashing with a hammer and chisel sorted them out. I've no way of knowing how long the poly bushes will last but the car is a weekend toy so not too worried.
These are the bushes I ordered and very impressed with the quality of the fit. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322335536965?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
After fitting the bushes I started the job of replacing the fuel filter. OMG what a crappy design. It is just in front of the rear D/S wheel beside the pump and held in place with a couple of crappy brackets. One of the brackets holding it came out easily but I ended up just bending the other one out of the way and pulling the cradle out.
That's when the diesel started pouring everywhere! :eek: One of the fuel connections came out by itself as I pulled the cradle down but I just shoved a bucket under it and carried on. It was a bit awkward getting the all the connections off but then getting the old filter out and the new filter in was even worse. What a stupid system, someone deserves a smack in the mouth for designing crap like that.
So like I said at the start, several hours of cursing later and it was all back together so now I can use the car again without worrying about the diff supports falling apart or the fuel filter clogging up. :)
 
Ever since fitting the lift kit and extending the rear trailing arms Bertie has been a bit like myself, i.e. he's a bit creaky at the rear :p. I expected as much since the rear bushes are well past their sell by date (like myself) and are now being pushed into slightly unfamiliar positions.
As has been pointed out to me it would probably be fine if I were to loosen off the rear suspension bushes, settle the car on it's wheels and re-tighten them, however it's a Land Rover so it isn't that simple. The rear wishbone suspension arms are attached to the hubs by a long bolt which goes through two bushes and holes in the lower part of the hub. These bolts are seized solid to the bush metal inserts so when I try to turn the bolt, all I'm doing is trashing the bushes. :( Even after spraying liberally with Plusgas over two days no joy. At the moment I have nothing to replace them with so I just loosened all the bolts that I could, settled the car on it's wheels and tightened them again. At some stage in the future I'll probably have no choice but to replace the bushes but it seems a little less creaky for now.

After tightening everything I took Bertie out for a test drive and while doing so I set up the video to record the boost gauge. I'm still not sure if Bertie is a little sluggish sometimes so I took this video showing RPM and boost at the same time. The first clip is accelerating in first and the next two are in second. Each time the boost drops off suddenly at 3500rpm even though I revved out to over 4000rpm. You can feel the boost dying too so I'd like to get this sorted if possible. I'm thinking boost control solenoid, anyone think it might be something else or maybe even perfectly normal? I have already replaced all the boost and vac hoses so don't think there is a leak but might try to put a few psi into the system and check it out.
Anyway here is the video.


I had the Icarsoft i930 in the dash at the time to try and see what it was showing but unfortunately it isn't really legible here. I might have another go in daylight to see if it's any better.
 
Mines automatic so it will be different, but that drops off alot compared to mine. If I stick it in Sport and boot it there's virtually no drop off between gears and it tops out around 4000rpm.
I would check the boost solenoid actuator as it seems to be 'letting go' early.
Mike
 
I use Bluetooth OBD dongle and Torque on my Droid. It will record video and overlay the live data on screen too. This makes it easy to study the data later on the comfort of the sofa.
Looking at your vid. My TD4 is much faster to accelerate than yours. Mine is auto, but does have a synergy set to 8. I would be checking all the vac hoses and making sure fuel pressures are correct.
 
Skinny Mike said:
Mines automatic so it will be different, but that drops off alot compared to mine. If I stick it in Sport and boot it there's virtually no drop off between gears and it tops out around 4000rpm.
I would check the boost solenoid actuator as it seems to be 'letting go' early.
Mike
Click to expand...
The boost seems to be all over the place if I put the boot down. Sometimes it will perform as shown and other times it will give 0.5 bar or less. I think I'll order this http://www.brit-car.co.uk/product.php/464866/0/ If I can't find any other cause but will do some testing first.
 
After 2001 Freelander plastics are all nice and black, apart from the wing mirrors that is.
Berties mirrors were a dull grey colour so over the hols I decided to do something about it. on my last car I used Carplan back to black but that is only ever a temporary solution so on Bertie I decided to have a go at spraying them. This is them before.
20161226_221007_zpsgz6hevap.jpg

during.
20161226_220941_zpsn9ecjiue.jpg

And after.
20161227_125148_zpsvjpfhoef.jpg

20161227_125223_zps28a3u3r5.jpg

I used my new favourite spray paint, black stone chip and the result is great with a nice texture and hopefully hard wearing.

Noisy Fuel Pump
Since buying Bertie I've been very conscious of the demented bee sound coming from the LP fuel pump and been a bit concerned it could give up the ghost anytime. Tonight I did some checks with my i930 and found it is a little low on tickover giving between 387 - 390psi. That is only a few psi lower than my other Freelander but at 3k rpm it is a full 40psi lower at approx 340psi when the other car is showing 380psi.
New Bosch fuel pump ordered.
 
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Are you sure the pump pressure shown in Psi? It's normally shown in Kpi, which is a much realistic pressure.
340 Kpi is a bit low at idle. My TD4 runs fine showing 360 Kpi at idle. At full power RPM it drops to under 340 Kpi, but still runs fine.
 
Someone sprayed the door mirrors on mine too - and only residue of that paint/ lacquer remains stubbornly attached. Sadly it doesn't look nice :( Hope yours lasts a lot better Ali! :) Stonechip is pretty flexible - so should be good for this purpose?
 
rob_bell said:
Someone sprayed the door mirrors on mine too - and only residue of that paint/ lacquer remains stubbornly attached. Sadly it doesn't look nice :( Hope yours lasts a lot better Ali! :) Stonechip is pretty flexible - so should be good for this purpose?
Click to expand...

Someone did the same to my mirrors. They now look crap, so will get Alibro treatment when the weather improves.
 
Nodge68 said:
Are you sure the pump pressure shown in Psi? It's normally shown in Kpi, which is a much realistic pressure.
340 Kpi is a bit low at idle. My TD4 runs fine showing 360 Kpi at idle. At full power RPM it drops to under 340 Kpi, but still runs fine.
Click to expand...
Hi Nodge
Yes I changed the setting in the i930 to show psi
Idle
20170103_203848_zpsuhnfvh9y.jpg

3k rpm
The numbers jump around quite a bit so these may not be that accurate.
20170103_204427_zpsogtkydvp.jpg


Nodge68 said:
Someone did the same to my mirrors. They now look crap, so will get Alibro treatment when the weather improves.
Click to expand...

I probably should have used this first
http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk...hesion-promotor-600ml-aerosol-upol-2579-p.asp
But hey ho, the stone chip is easy to put on and like Rob says is pretty tough and flexible. It also covers chips and scratches really well so any issues in the future can be fixed easily.
 
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The low pressure is shown in Kpa. 389 Kpi is just over 56 Psi. The LP should be 50 to 60 Psi. Not 389 Psi as the I930 is showing.

I used to use Autopaints in Brighton when I was in the restoration game, living in the southeast. They were in Portland road iirc. They were good guys and very knowledgeable.
 
Last edited:
Nodge68 said:
The low pressure is shown in Kpa. 389 Kpi is just over 56 Psi. The LP should be 50 to 60 Psi. Not 389 Psi as the I930 is showing.

I used to use Autopaints in Brighton when I was in the restoration game, living in the southeast. They were in Portland road iirc. They were good guys and very knowledgeable.
Click to expand...
LOL, Well spotted mate. The manifold and High pressures have psi after them but the low pressure doesn't so it is approx right after all. It's a bit misleading. :confused:

upload_2017-1-4_21-3-29.png


Only thing is when at 3k rpm the low pressure was a little low.
20170103_204427_zpsogtkydvp.jpg


so below 50 psi
upload_2017-1-4_21-6-38.png
 
When the new pump is installed I'll recheck, then we'll know if the pump was causing trouble. I'm guessing it is probably a cheap after market one that was replaced 30 or 40k ago as the car has 140k on it.
 
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