Freelander 1 TD4 Engine Stutter Hesitation

I have recently got myself a Freelander TD4 53' Plate but have started to notice that it has an engine stutter (almost feels like a misfire) it feels very hesitant (under constant speed or under acceleration) and it makes a clacking noise when it does it (if it was a petrol engine it would be a pinking like noise). I have read several threads and got very confused as to what it could be so wondered if anyone has experience exactly the same thing? My temperature guage also doesn't ever usually read at half way always at a quarter although saying that today when I took it out on a long run on a motorway the guage did move up for a very sort period of time to the half way point! I would be very grateful for any guidance, thank you.

The stutter could be many things.
It's probably not related to the low temperature reading tho. This is normally down to a knackered thermostat. Long job to replace it I'm afraid. See my thread for details of its replacement:

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/td4-thermostat-replacement-the-way-to-do-it.166331/

what mileage is it on .. ?
and do you have any history of what's been taken care of on it ..

e.g know when the fuel filter had been changed last .. ?
was the low pressure pump ever changed ?

the maf sensor ever changed ..

injectors ever been replaced ..

the fuel rail sensor plug/socket pins checked for corrosion ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

any of the above could cause 'hesitation' or 'stutter'

have a read thru these:

td4 engine faults :
http://tuning-diesels.com/75Zt/R75faults.htm

about the 'maf' sensor :
http://tuning-diesels.com/75Zt/R75maf.htm

any other engine symptoms along with 'hesitation' ?
e.g exhaust smoke ,, starting issues .. ??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

temp gauge reading issue might be engine coolant thermostat stuck ..
or .. maybe .. a faulty coolant temp. sensor ..
i'd guess the thermostat be more lilkely ..
other folk here probably know better than i on that issue ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and it makes a clacking noise when it does it (if it was a petrol engine it would be a pinking like noise).

Click to expand...

be known as 'diesel knock' ..
older type diesels ( not common-rail .. engine management types ) do it as a matter of course ..

in the td4 ( and other common rail types ) it be a symptom of a fueling issue ..
most probably ..

Thanks very much for responses, it has done 116,000 miles and has a full service history stamped book but sadly not a comprehensive list of items replaced, I think it will probably be a case of replacing the items one by one and seeing how I get on. Replaced the maf sensor today but no change so can cross that one off my list. Thanks again, much appreciated.

Sorry forgot to add it does puff out some smoke when I first start it up which appears to be blueish in colour, thanks.

I'm no expert but I've seen other threads on here where injectors caused smoky startup and lumpy running. Maybe someone more experienced could confirm.

have started to notice that it has an engine stutter (almost feels like a misfire) it feels very hesitant (under constant speed or under acceleration)

Click to expand...

something Else to consider would be a stuck/sticking EGR valve ..
they get sooted up over time .. the valve gets all clogged up ..

if your going to keep the vehicle(s) .. i.e. TD4's diesel ..
best to get rid of the EGR valve altogether .. replace it with an egr-bypass unit ( easy d.i.y. job )
engine will run better .. mpg will increase .. and there will be one less thing to go wrong ..