TD4 Loss of Power

Hi to all freelander owners, Until recently my 2000 Freelander TD4 had been running like a dream but now it has become very sluggish. It takes an eternity to build up any decent speed and when it hits a hill - forget it even the artics thunder past. One of my mates suggested that it might be a problem with an air flow meter. Does anyone know how much these things cost to fix and also if there are any independent garages around Glasgow who could do this as I expect a franchised dealer will charge an arm and a leg. Many thanks in anticipation.

Hi Paul,

Yes, your mate is most probably right, I had the same problem with my MAF (mass air meter) but was fortunate enough it was during the "special" warranty period, so I only had to pay for the labour and LR took care of the part. (Special warranty means that I got my Hippo in January 2001 with the, at that moment, official warranty of 1 year. However since October 2001 LR gave in Belgium also the 3 year warranty, so all cars bought in 2001 before October, the start of the 3 year warranty period, got also 2 extra years but only on parts, not on labour. During that period I had my MAF replaced, also my fuelpump located in the fueltank under the right passenger backseat as well as my radiator, lucky for me LR decided to grant this "special" warranty). Anyway even though it only took 20 mins to replace I checked around (for future reference) and found out it is a Bosch item which seems to fail rather frequently in other cars such as VW Golf etc.. as well, many of these VW owners now go to Mercedes and buy a MAF of the make "Pierburg" which is mounted in their CDI's, this Pierburg seems to do the job as well (difference is that a Bosch costs over 200€ without installation where such a Pierburg costs around 75€...) I further checked down on this and found that the Pierburg model (apparently they have only one model) suits also for BMW 320d (and the Td4 engine is the BMW M47 engine, so ..) Itmight be worth to check out the options on this, might save you some money ??

On my same request as yours I was advised on a Belgian forum to try out the Pierburg instead of the very expensive Bosch as VW owners do, with success. Also one guy with a BMW 320d did so and was successful, so ...
Don't know the prices of Bosch and Pierburg in Scotland but as they are that different around here they should be at your end as well I guess, and Pierburg is the make Mercedes uses so you should be able to get to it.
(Also saw that they were rated as being more reliable than the Bosch ones). Good luck with whatever you decide and take care.

P.S.:
When I had these problems I kept driving around without knowing what the f.... was happening until one day I entered the motorway and got almost hit by a truck as the car slowed down rather than to pull up, that was scaring the sh.. out of me so I drove straight to the garage and there the foreman drove the car for 20 meters and diagnosed it as MAF failure, as said it took only 20 mins to replace whereafter it ran like a dream again.

We had loss of power after an engine overhaul. The Freelander took 34 seconds to get to 60 mph, and struggled to make 60 on a steep motorway hill.

Nothing as expensive as an air mass meter.

Simply a perished vacuum pipe running to the turbo. Took 5 minutes to sort.

It could of course be a slowly self-destructing rubbishy freelander problem that will cost you thousands - but I'd check the basics first.

Hope you get it sorted.

Widget said:

We had loss of power after an engine overhaul. The Freelander took 34 seconds to get to 60 mph, and struggled to make 60 on a steep motorway hill.

Nothing as expensive as an air mass meter.

Simply a perished vacuum pipe running to the turbo. Took 5 minutes to sort.

It could of course be a slowly self-destructing rubbishy freelander problem that will cost you thousands - but I'd check the basics first.

Hope you get it sorted.

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Right, that's why I added the info. re the Pierburg model, just in case...

Hi Guys, i seem to be having the same probs; no apparent power boost, inching forward on the motorway, not going over 70 and up hill is a struggle. I have two questions about this...

1. it seems to alternate between working and not working - the first time it happened I stopped at a gas station to get some coffee, car stood there for a couple of mins and after I came back and pulled up the car was fine again! tried the trick one other time and it worked again. - can you give me some advice on what the problem most probably is?

Secondly - where is the vacuum pipe located, just to rule that one out, I'd like to check but don't know where it sits in the engine. I know where the MAF is though.

oh and mine makes a funny noise as well, especially when the engine is cold and I drive it for just one or two blocks and switch it of. sound like a long groan , vacuum cleaner noise etc... definately not the fan or something like that..

ok.,, your strange noise is most probably your fuel burning heater, located nearside front wing ,they do make a strange noise when cold,

lack of power could be several things, the airflow meter is a known problem, its located Lhs of air filter box,you have to remove the engine cover to gain access to it , try disconecting it first, also your injectors may be dirty , try some injector cleaner in the tank,, the vaccumm pipes are prone to rubbing together causing leaks, check them all especially the ones around the turbo

also you erg may be stuck , its worth removing it and giving it a good clean as they really get clogged up

let us know how you get on good luck

paulre177y said:

Hi to all freelander owners, Until recently my 2000 Freelander TD4 had been running like a dream but now it has become very sluggish. It takes an eternity to build up any decent speed and when it hits a hill - forget it even the artics thunder past. One of my mates suggested that it might be a problem with an air flow meter. Does anyone know how much these things cost to fix and also if there are any independent garages around Glasgow who could do this as I expect a franchised dealer will charge an arm and a leg. Many thanks in anticipation.

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hi the same thing happened to paid for diagnostic test found out the fuel regulator+sensor assembly had gone total cost568.00 in total

Hello John T, many thanks for your awnser! i've looked up several other threads about getting to and cleaning the MAF, i'm quite confident to give that a go now (thanks Will!).

Where are the vacuum pipes located? How many are there and how can i recognize them? are the all attached to the maf for example??

Forgive my ignorance, but what is an erg?

Will put some injector cleaner in the tank next time i fill up, thanks for the tip!
Will also have a look at the engine breather, as clogging there can have severe consequences, as I've seen here -> Land Rover Freelander Club :: Onderwerp bekijken - Bericht aan alle Td4 eigenaars - filter motorontluchter

Will replace all the filters and the oil as well. MAN i'm going to be busy on saturday! are these good filters, do you think? Freelander TD4 filter kit engine service on eBay, also, Land Rover, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 30-Dec-07 18:32:50 GMT)

hmhulshof said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what is an erg?

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Hi hmhulshof,

Het is feitelijk EGR hoor (Exhaust Gas Recirculation).

It's located on the right hand side of the engine when looking from the front. (That famous big L-shaped rubber tube has it's left handside fixed on the EGR valve housing). Took a picture of it but with the engine cover on, so pictures taken "blind", have made a compilation of two to show how the EGR valve/housing looks like, it has also a small vacuum pipe attached to it (you can see it partially on the left hand top corner of the pic).

Willo is correct about the pierbourg being a more reliable maf than the Bosch one . . . .however you need to mod the cowling to get a good fit, also its parameters are not the same as the Bosch so gives the siemens computer different mvs to get over this hiccup fit a rover Ron's mafam as this kicks in the corrections ,for more info on this go to rover rons web site as he runs through the pierbough mods on there. . . . .just fought i would mention it as I'm a very clever space man. . . .

will ,,,the vacuum pipes are the small black pipework going to various places, once you start looking you will identify them,, approx 10mm diameter,

best tip i can give you , is remove the sump gaurd and top engine covers and systematicaly check them all, looking for signs of chauffing , get right under the engine to look at the turbo boost control solenoid, it really is just a case of following each pipe
also, remove the egr valve and give it a good clean, and make sure the valve is seating

Hello Will, many thanks, or should i say, hartelijk bedankt!

Is the vacuum valve of the ERG attached to anything? should it have a certain length? and is that the only vacuum valve i should have a look at?

Many thanks again!

Hallo Will, Hartelijk bedankt! and John T many thanks as well.

Ok, im going to clean the ERG as well. can i use the disc break cleaner for that as well, any sensitive parts i cannot touch?

Just one more question about the vacuum pipes, apparently there are more than one; one is attached to the ERG. should that pipe be attached to something else as well? if not how long should it be?

How many vacuum pipes are there in total and where are the located.

One more Q about the MAF; is easier to get the whole thing out as shown attached and clean it then, or is it necessary to undo the screws and clean it internally (because of other threads i saw how tricky it can be to loosen these "special torx").

questions, questions, questions many thanks guys!

the problems with the MAF,is they drift out of specification, cleaning them makes no difference,,,,as mentioned by our rocket engineer ,,,, look on rover rons web site , you will get a better understanding of the problem,

the special torx screws, ,,cut a slot with a hacksaw then use a screwdriver,

the EGR exhaust gas recirculation valve , is not a sensitive device, its basically a valve operated by a vacuum, it recirculates (on decelleration )dirty oily exhaust gases into the air box, its worth cleaning it, as it become restricted with crudd , i run my td4 with the vacuum pipe disconnected and blanked off, ,

another sensor, that has not been mentioned, is the MAP,, manifold air pressure, which is located in the plenum chamber, , maybe be worth removing the air box and checking this , you will see that the air box is very dirty,this sensor although reliable ,could become blocked

the vacuum pipes ,, just use your eyes, you cant miss them , and there are quite a few, i found the one going to the egr had rubbed worn a hole causing a leak,

Hi John T, many thanks again. are you sure for the MAF bit? on the site it says it can suffer from sensor defects: 75ZT HOME

I have the TD4 BMW engine.

Will clean the ERG and have a good look around for any other vacuum pipes!

Muchos Gracias!

thats what i said ,,, , the MAF drifts out of specification,,,,,and may need replacing or fit one of rons devices,, you will find the maf to be clean, as it sits in the filtered air side,
i can recommend rons synergy unit and pierburg maf ,a great investment ,

dont forget the injector cleaner first, ,,its cheap and easy , and if you have never used any before you will notice the difference

what mileage has your engine done ?

Hi John T, i currently get about 420 miles out of a full tank. this is reduced drastically though on the motorway, then i get about 370...

sorry milage, doh! it is now on 96K

what mileage has your engine done ?

hmhulshof said:

Hi John T, i currently get about 420 miles out of a full tank. this is reduced drastically though on the motorway, then i get about 370...

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