Help! Freelander TD4 starting problems

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boby72

New Member
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Hello all.
I have a freelander sport TD4 and I'm desperate. Maybe someone can help me.
The main prob is a lot of white smoke when starting (only when the engine is not cold, because when it's cold and the spark plugs are working the car starts ok). It's a nightmare. When it's cold outside in the morning time I have no problem, but after 3 or 4 hours, it takes a long time to start and lots of white smoke.
I take it to the mechanic and he changed a lot of stuff: fixed the injectors, change one injector, EGR valve, changed several hoses, changed all the spark plugs, the spark plug relay, changed the Crank Breather Filter, oil filter, fuel filter, ail filter, etc. So lots of money but the problem is still there. The mechanic said, after grab the bills, that the problem is mainly the amount of cinder/ashes inside the engine. He suggested to open the engine to clean it up, but it's a very expensive thing to do. Besides, he's not a guy to rely on.
Do you know something to clean the engine? Any suggestion?
 
If your mechanic charged you for changing Spark Plugs on a TD4.....

..... firstly I'd go get my money back
..... secondly I'd get a mechanic who knows somthing about DIESELS !!!


edit - I assume you mean Glow Plugs
 
Last edited:
Starts ok cold when glow plugs work but hard to start when warm?
Sounds like a camshaft sensor failing?
Hope all the other work was really necessary, would have though this should have been checked earlier tho'?
 
I agree with mark2 on the sparkplug issue! if it runs ok from cold then poor from hot it could be the crankshaft position sensor hope you get it sorted let us know i j :)
 
Thanks for your replies. You all are a big help.
Yes, my car has glow plugs,sorry. The crankshaft sensor? Can I change it myself? Is it an easy thing to do?
Do you think that the ashes inside the engine can create such a big mess? It can be possible? And...can be cleaned?
Thanks again for your help.
 
The Crankcase sensor is located behind the starter motor on the front face of the engine. When the engine fails to start when warm does the engine management light come on? It might be worth putting the car on the diagnostic which may confirm your problem. I.J
 
Thanks Ian for your help. No, there's no management light or any difference with the usual starting. I took the car to check on the diagnostic twice and nothing. However both places were not land rover official stores, so maybe in one land rover place the diagnostic would be more accurate. what do you think?
It's a pity because I love this car but this problem is driving me crazy.
 
Boby don't give up on the Freelander yet! The crankcase sensor looks a pig to get to but it could also be a fuel delivery problem. Has anyone else on Landyzone come across the same problem? I would contact your local Land Rover Service Department and explain the symptoms and what repairs have been done let me know how you get on I.J
 
Well the car is already at the land rover service. I explained all the probs and all the stuff that has been changed. Keep my fingers crossed!!
 
boby72 said:
Well the car is already at the land rover service. I explained all the probs and all the stuff that has been changed. Keep my fingers crossed!!
Click to expand...


Hopefully by now you got it sorted mate. I have very similar issues, but I think mine is an electrical problem too, I have lost all intrest in her now. So last resort is the dealers. It spent a wekk at a garage and Deisel "Specailist", no fault found. plainly obvious something is wrong!!!!

What was your little niggle afterwards?
 
Well friends, after three weeks I'll explain my last adventures.
I took the car to the land rover service. They connected it to the computer and found absolutely nothing. The manager told me that the issue in my car is very hard to find and if they try to find it, it would cost me looooots of money. That sentence scared me. They told me that the camshaft sensor is OK, otherwise it would have come out on the test. I insisted on find the way to have the glow plugs operating everytime I'm trying to start the engine (not only when it's cold) and they told me (off the record) they cannot do that kind of works but it wasn't a bad option.
I took the car and I went to another mechanic (the 6th mechanic). He's like a car hacker and it was my only and last hope. After three weeks he called me to tell me that it's impossible to fix. He insist on a injector failure, but all four have been checked several times. I insisted again on the glow plugs, but he doesn't know how to do it. So I have my car again, same problem, less money in my pocket, I can't sell it, I can't keep it this way. Bad situation.
So next step is.....the ashes? the glow plugs operating eternally?
Thanks for your cooperation.
and Cox325, thanks for the mail, I lost the interest a long time ago.
 
Quote: I insisted on find the way to have the glow plugs operating everytime I'm trying to start the engine (not only when it's cold)

LR were right, it cannot be done without reprogramming the ECU. It uses signals from the coolant temperature sensor to activate the glow plug relay. The glow plugs are never actuated when the engine is warm.
 
But I just want to use the glow plugs everytime, as the old cars did, just to start my car everyday. It's a very sad end for such a nice car. I'm fed up with this matter. Thanks for your reply anyway.
 
boby72 said:
But I just want to use the glow plugs everytime, as the old cars did, just to start my car everyday. It's a very sad end for such a nice car. I'm fed up with this matter. Thanks for your reply anyway.
Click to expand...
stop moaning and just mod it ,and let us all know how it works and how to do it ffs, , , , , ,
 
How many miles has the engine done? What EXACTLY has been done to the injectors and by who.

Provided the glow plugs are operating as they are intended to then any modification will only be a workaround to overcome the real fault causing the poor starting.
 
It still sounds like a camshaft sensor, although could it be the fuel pressure sensor?. Didn't they bring out a modified harness for this for something like it was chaffing against something or oil contamination and it then caused poor starting.
 
Car has 103.000 km already. The 4 injectors have been checked 3 times by three different mechanics. One of them found a fault in the injector number 1 (using the computer) and replace it (700€) but nothing happened and nothing changed.
One of the mechanics (of the magnificient six) tried once to connect the glow plugs directly to the battery and then tried to start it and...voila! the car started great, no smoke. He tried it afterwards but this time with no tricks and...smoke again and bad start again. What is happening then?
Now, I have received a phone call of my mechanic telling me that we can make a test with one timer in the glow plugs. The point is: everytime you start the car, the glow plugs are working for 7 seconds, whatever the warm or cold the engine is. In this way, the glow plugs are working separately from the ECU. What do you think?
 
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