hard starting and running rough on idle

I have been chasing a fault for ages that has gradually got worse this year. My freelander 1 td4 has been a struggle to start, Also more often than not it runs very lumpy on idle. When starting when she does fire there are plumes of grey smoke that is quite embarrassing. Even if i get the engine hot then leave it for about 30 mins it will not start again and takes at least 5 to 10 tries.
Sometimes after driving it runs spot on.
No codes or MIL. Earlier this year got new battery and replaced the starter motor as i think it had finally given up due to the hard work it was doing.
This weekend i finally got to do some testing
Return leak back test was better than expected, All seemed to displace similar volumes. Also while on idle i worked through removing the plug from each injector and the tone of the engine seemed to change the same every time.
I have managed to borrow a diagnostics tool from a neighbour so i could finally look at the fuel pressures.
Without the engine running this particular diagnostic tool would not present any data so i could not see what the initial precrank pressure of the lift pump was.
However while the engine was hunting badly it seemed to show quite a fluctuation in pressure on the HP side (from 23541 and LP 367.5 to 30705 and LP 368.9 kpa. When reved to 2000rpm the pressure was in the region of 66529HP and 344 LP.
In the period where the engine seemed to become stable at idle the pressure was 27635 HP and 369.2 on the LP.
Dont know if the dip on the pressure when the engine is revved to 2000RPM is acceptable
The borrowed diagnostics tool was a Icarsoft I930
Any ideas will be gratful
Not sure how to add photos yet but will try and add some later
thank you

Just been doing more research. The gray white smoke could be down to the fuel pump low pressure but would like feedback on my readings first to confirm that . I looked at doing the regulator refurb 6 months ago but never got round to it. While the air intake was off I looked at it and it looks a rather well oxidised case. Read somewhere they can crack. However there does not seem to be any sign of the fuel hitting the under tray. So will go with a refurb of the regulator and see if that makes any difference

jointlywise1 said:

and LP 368.9 kpa.

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i think that's ok for idle .. [ 'n pump should not be noisy ]
[ i'd have to recheck via reading a newish lp.pump regarding the higher rpm .. on or off engine load
anyhowz .. if you've not done so,
check the fuel rail sensor plug n *harness for signs of corrosion.
[ * in that corrosion can creep up the wiring. ]
be a known fault on Fl1/td4's , and LR do offer an upgraded plug and harness.
.

Thank you for the feedback. spent this evening doing a refurb on the fuel regulator. Just started it and it seemed to start within 2 goes, much improvement on the 10 or so times. I am going to try it tomorrow to make sure it was not a fluke. The hunting still continues though so it might be a trip to the specialists unless i can remove them myself. I have heard a few nightmare stories of things going wrong but will try and see if on will budge. Not happy with doing all together as the engine will cool down too quick to give me that advantage. Also i was thinking of a little plus gas to aid the removal i assume any additional help will be a good thing.

Started up tonight and the white smoke filled the road. Looking in the mirror it was bad. Drove it until hot and it started to clear. However still a slight hunt on idle now and again. Is this representative of injectors that it gets better when the engine gets hot. I was wondering if there was anything more sinister like a blown gasket as i have been loosing water, however there does not seem to be air erupting into the holding bottle not that i have been looking for it.
Does anyone have the experience if a blown gasket

Just concluding this thread. I attempted to remove the injectors by dosing with plus gas. i did this for about 2 weeks before i finally found time to start the removal. At first all studs were stuck fast but finally i got movement on numbers 1,2,4 studs. i gently unscrewed them until it got too tight, then left them for a day just going back and tweaking them slightly every night. No 2 became noticeably free and i could remove this by hand , however 1 and 4 got to the extents of their threads but the injectors showed no signs of being free. No 3 was just not going to budge, i actually twisted off the torx part which i have read is a common occurrence. Next i acquired a slide hammer, i did not remove the top of the solenoid but placed a piece of tensioning steel wire under the inlet port. I tried for at least an hour on each injector in the dark over the next couple of weeks but still no luck. I have now had to come to the conclusion that 2 and 4 will not budge. To sum up i had 1 and 4 half out but stuck, 2 was loose and ready to come out but 3 was not moving for anything. Oh yes and out of complete desperation i tried to crank the engine over to see if i could get any movement by pushing them out, this had no results. Last decision which i thought about very long before actually going through with it was to scrap the poor lifeless thing. It saddens me to say that i sent it to the scrappy today, very sad occasion as the bodywork was so good.
Needless to say this will be my last post and many thanks to all the help and encouragement that you all have given me in getting this far with a very rewarding experience.

Rather drastic solution.

Scrapping a vehicle which will sell for £500 to £1000 isn't at all a wise move.

I reckon it would have cost at least 800 to 1000 to get the stuck injectors out. Lot of bother to remove head to take to a specialist as it could not run , then to get the head skimmed before I put it back. At least 3 injectors to replace those stuck in. I think that was a right decision. On top of that the brake lines were an advisory on the last mot so this was also a concern. Thank you for the feedback

It wouldn't have cost anything like that much.
A properly equipped garage will be able to remove stuck injectors in 20 minutes tops.
Scrapping a perfectly good vehicle for niff naff and trivia is just wasteful, especially as the FL1 is now being sort after as they are easy to repair at home by a competent DIYer.
I wish I could afford to just throw a vehicle away for no good reason.

Note to others.
I can usually find a spare head or parts to keep a F 1 on the road at a very small cost. I have a spare TD4 engine with a failed crank and the above vehicle could have been repaired with the head off it for less than £50.

Also, please mention before you scrap, I cannot now find vehicles in good enough condition to repair, they are really rare !

Prices are now rising and a good TD4 will fetch 3 to 4k. There is a 35k miler on ebay for 7.5k !!

andyfreelandy said:

There is a 35k miler on ebay for 7.5k !!

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That's what I paid for my - at the time - 70k miler ten years ago!