Light blue smoke and lack of power going forward

Hi.

I switched off my TD4 Mk1 when I came home from work and checked the water level in the expansion vessel. it was low so I topped it up. Let the engine run with the cap off for a minute then stopped the engine, replaced the top and went around squeezing hoses to make sure that no air was in the system. So far so good so left the car for the night.

I came to start it this morning to take it for and MOT and while the engine runs OK their was no real power getting to the wheels though it would move forward. Once I got up to speed it was OK ish. When I stopped for junctions I would have the same issue all over again.

The hill decent light and TC light are on all of the time but I've had that for a year or two and it goes away when the brake pedal is hit hard so tonight I changed the brake pedal switch for a new one and cleared the ECU fault codes even though no fault are showing.
Still the two warning lights are on.
What I have noticed are when moving forward and revving up there are clouds of white to light blue smoke coming from the back, (perhaps the exhaust). At slow speed there is a noise from the back like something stuck in the tyre.
Also there is no gear position displayed on the dash in any position and when selecting gears at standstill it crashes into gear with a thud.

The strange thing is that driving in reverse is fine and there is plenty of torque. Please don't say drive everywhere in reverse.

While it was in for MOT the engineer said that everything under the car seemed OK and he checked with his diagnostic and it was showing the TC fault but he couldn't go further because his diagnostic is not geared up for Landy issues. H suggested going to a specialise gearbox company in town.

A few weeks ago I had to drive the car with a broken bottom front suspension bracket for a mile and this could have put a strain on the front offside driveshaft.

So to summarise:

• TC and Hill decent lights on all of the time.
• No gear position sensor.
• Lack of torque in forward drive.
• Smoke from the rear.
• Clunking in to gear and getting more violent with it.

What can it be and would it be expensive to fix?

I may have disturbed a sensor cable last night when faffing with the water hoses but the gear change seems so violent for that unless something is depending on that cable to keep gear selecting in order.

Please help.

Kind regards

Sounds like a gearbox solenoid (2/4 duty solenoid causes harsh changes) or an electrical connection problem to the gearbox. I'm thinking the vehicle is sluggish because the gearbox is in safety mode, and locked in 4th. The dash isn't showing which gear is selected and the HDC lights are on.

Additionally how can it pass an MOT with a warning light on the dash, because it should fail.

Thanks.
Very nice MOT man who took pity on me when I drove it in and told him of the fault. He did mark it as an advisory though.

You need to get the codes from the gearbox TCM, so you know what's up with it.

Thanks to all of you that replied.

I took it to a 4x4 specialist and they fixed the turbo boost hose that had a leak in it and cleared some faults and they said no loose connectors but they could not check the solenoid, they suggested a gearbox specialist, charged me £48 which was quite reasonable for the time spent but the gearbox is still poorly.
Car can achieve 50 MPH at 2500 revs and the gear changes are so clunky it's becoming quite an art-form to change gear.

It's still got no gear position readout on the dash and the TC & HDC lights are still illuminated.

My friend who knows a bit more about cars than I do said check the transmission fluid level but it's quite a job for me without proper facilities.

How much would a decent reconditioned gearbox be anyway?

Thanks

Hi Chaps.

That's it Iv'e had enough. I've put my Freelander 1TD4 on Autotrader and good luck to the next guy who wants it.

Thanks to all anyway.

Did you check the gearbox level ?

mediaseller said:

Hi Chaps.

That's it Iv'e had enough. I've put my Freelander 1TD4 on Autotrader and good luck to the next guy who wants it.

Thanks to all anyway.

Click to expand...

Where are you. If it's a close enough to me, I might be interested.

Hi.
I've not got the facilities anymore to do oil checks on the auto gearbox so every time I have to take it to the repair shop even though I know what a lot of faults are. I assumed the 4x4 specialist had checked for the oil level when I asked them to check the problem.
Topside of the car I can do a lot of repairs when it's not raining. I live in Denby Dale near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire if you are interested.

Thanks

mediaseller said:

I live in Denby Dale near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire if you are interested.

Click to expand...

That's too far from me, to nurse a broken gearbox home.
Sorry