Freelander 1 Freelander Smells hot...

Hi,
I've read through many threads on here and I think this might be the best place to get some advice.

I have a 03 1.8 petrol freelander and I love it. Last month the engine management light came on. I plugged in fault finder and it told me that the issue was a fuel one- either a clogged pipe, sensor or the fuel filter. I rolled my eyes and cancelled the light, popped some redex in the tank and it stayed off for a while.

During this time I have had my front brakes and discs changed as well as putting on four new tyres.

The engine light was intermittent so I have kind of ignored it. But I have noticed that the car on the outside smells hotter than it normally does.

So when the light came on again today, I took it to (brace yourselves) kwikfit. They had a look and didn't see a thing. They could smell the hot smell, but the oil was fine, the water was fine, (no froth or slodge) and the temperature was fine too. After 45 minutes of looking and prodding they came away scratching their heads because they couldn't find anything wrong. The engine management light was an oxygen sensor and they suggested that maybe the engine was running a bit rich because of it. But I was thinking that if that was the case, shouldn't it smell of petrol? I would liken the smell to hot metal or hot coolant.

The clutch has always been a bit on-the-way-out but Ive had the slave cylinder replaced and the clutch is working like a dream. The garage said there was nothing mechanical wrong with the car that they could find.

Has anyone had anything similar to this happen to them? the hot smell. Am I to worry about it or to ignore it like its been suggested i should?

The engine management light was an oxygen sensor and they suggested that maybe the engine was running a bit rich because of it.

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hot cat ?
( wild guess .. )
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No point in taking it to Kwik fit, they change tyres and exhausts and don't do those very well.

It's most likely to be the fuel filter clogged. This is very common as the filters are never changed. It could well be running lean, which will make it smell hot. So I'd be changing the fuel filter or complete pump first.

I thought that too- but wouldnt that read on the diagnostic check?

It won't necessarily show up unless you look at the live data from the O2 sensor or and fuel trim value. If the trim is a positive value of more than a few %, then this will show the mixture is lean and the ECU is lengthening the injector puses to keep it in the lambda window.

next question- if its the fuel filter it wont hurt to drive it about until its fixed will it?

im-going-to-kick-my-car said:

next question- if its the fuel filter it wont hurt to drive it about until its fixed will it?

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Not really as the pump is at risk of damage.
The pump is cooled by the fuel flowing though it. The pressure regulator is in the tank along with the pump and filter. Pressurised fuel passes through the filter, through the regulator and on to the engine. Any fuel over that required by the injectors simply returns to the tank into the pump housing.
So if the filter is blocked, the pump is working harder to pump the fuel through it, but isn't flowing sufficient fuel volume to cool the pump.

Ok. thank you- you've been brilliant. I'll get it booked in first thing next week and get it sorted. Might as well get my oxygen sensor fixed while Im there (cue giant eyeroll)

Arrgh! Fuel filter...I have had one on hand for a year. I haven't got the nerve t take the pump assembly apart to do the job I just know that prying the plastic housing apart will lead to breaking the rotten thing
meaning a big bill for a replacement assembly. Judging by the amount of fuel my V6 goes through fuel flow isn't a problem! We now have the highest petrol prices in North America so that is not a good thing

Just whacked out the Haynes manual inspired by your post... yeah I wont be attempting this myself either lol

My 1.8 has had that hot metal smell on a couple of occasions but not the engine light. I had just thought it was cos it was a hot day and I had driven it a bit too hard. I doubt if my car has ever had a proper service in the last 10 years. How often should this fuel filter be cleaned?

Col

Colthebrummie said:

My 1.8 has had that hot metal smell on a couple of occasions but not the engine light. I had just thought it was cos it was a hot day and I had driven it a bit too hard. I doubt if my car has ever had a proper service in the last 10 years. How often should this fuel filter be cleaned?

Col

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From memory it's supposed to be changed at 60K miles but never are.

Nodge68 said:

From memory it's supposed to be changed at 60K miles but never are.

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Almost certainly hasn't been done then. I bought it with 68k on the clock and the servicing was sketchy from about 40k. It's now on about 74k

Col

Hot coolant smell, is the coolant level stable or slowly dropping?
smell inside could be a heater core leaking - check for a damp mat...
smell outside could be the coolant expansion tank / cap failing. Any staining on or below that coolant tank?
Or the radiator failing, use a good LED torch and check down the side tanks on the rad - check where the tubes connect the side tanks

The coolant level is stable- I actually had to have the coolant expansion tank replaced because the cap had failed. At first I thought it was the main water tank leaking until a closer inspection showed it was that.
Im going to run with the fuel filter first and then sob into my cuppa if it turns out to the the radiator failing instead. Although the engine temp is also stable.
Fingers crossed!

Hi Everyone following this thread!
I thought that I would keep you updated with whats what. I took the car into the garage today and had the code re-read. It came up with 4 faults, but my pretty awesome mechanic decided that we would start with the oxygen sensor and see if the other faults were connected to that. Amazingly that worked. It was a p0135- O2 sensor heater circuit malfunction, which I guess explains the hot smell. Now its fixed I have the general old landrover engine smell again that we know and love.

Thank you so much for everyone that helped here- much appreciated

Rich in Vancouver said:

Arrgh! Fuel filter...I have had one on hand for a year. I haven't got the nerve t take the pump assembly apart to do the job I just know that prying the plastic housing apart will lead to breaking the rotten thing
meaning a big bill for a replacement assembly. Judging by the amount of fuel my V6 goes through fuel flow isn't a problem! We now have the highest petrol prices in North America so that is not a good thing

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Is that progress? My old crate, open bonnet unscrew filter and replace. No history on mine so will change soon, opened valve underneath filter and loads of water came out.