jamesmartin said:

engine but probably both

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I corrected your last post and highlighted your silly mistake.

but was it worth it t

Alibro said:

Good luck with your K series. Don't know what it is about them but many folk here like them.

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They are a nice wee engine, but have two faults (at least in a Freelander). They are about 20% under powered for the weight and size of the vehicle, and they will overheat in seconds if the coolant level falls. 10 seconds later the HG blows and the engine is cooked with the head likely stuffed. Keep it full of the right coolant and it will last OK.

Tony Reeves said:

They are a nice wee engine, but have two faults (at least in a Freelander). They are about 20% under powered for the weight and size of the vehicle, and they will overheat in seconds if the coolant level falls. 10 seconds later the HG blows and the engine is cooked with the head likely stuffed. Keep it full of the right coolant and it will last OK.

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I'm not so sure about 20% under powered. At least not for normal driving, for towing then yes definitely but for normal driving they are fine. I had two K series Freelanders and I would rather drive them than the diseasils I have now.

Hi there, ah ok so how do I check which it is? The euro car parts site offers a few diff ones. Mine is a 2002 and I believe the facelift version.
Thanks

Ross Tait said:

Hi there, ah ok so how do I check which it is? The euro car parts site offers a few diff ones. Mine is a 2002 and I believe the facelift version.
Thanks

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Which what is?
Oil? 10w40 semi.

The guys on the MG forums like the Magnatec 10W40 but I guess any good quality (probably not Cheapo Eurocarparts) oil should be OK.

Any modern 10W40 semi will exceed the spec that Rover specified back when the Freelander was built.

Ok cool I will go with the 10w 40 semi think I'll use the extra one I ordered with some wynns to flush her out then fill her with the 10w40s. I'm hoping to start doing it tomorrow if not Sunday . Got everything including the forged steel rule at the ready
Thanks again

After replacing my HG I used a flush with some cheapo 10W40 for 10 minutes or so (whatever was recommended on the bottle), then more cheapo oil for a few hundred miles before replacing with good quality oil. I was concerned there was still some of the flush in the engine after the flush so did another oil change very soon after.

Yeah it's a good idea to get as much of the flushing agent out as possible. After I rebuild the engine I'll be using wynns oil system flush (purple can) great stuff, will drain that then put the 5w40 fully synth (stuff I ordered by mistake) in as it's lighter it'll help flush some more, run it for an hour then drain it, fill with 10w 40 semi and fit a new filter, will repeat oil and filter after a month so it's super clean on the dipstick and inside . I'm baby sitting a van at a garage right now but hope to get started on the freelander today, fingers crossed the heads not mutilated when I remove it cos a used replacement is £55 up here. Anyway wish me luck

Cheers

Hey folks, just thought I would throw an update in here. It's been a while since I was gonna sort the freelander but business was busy and until recently I didn't have time. But I have finally got round to it and I'm actually at the rebuild stage and hope to finish it tomorrow. I do still intend on doing a write up with some pics to help peeps out in future. I've done the oil rail upgrade aswell so barring the thermo relocation it'll cover it all. Mine was particularly mingin inside and I found some really bad casting work on the head that I had to sort with the dremmel and a drill. I've used the full head set so stem seal replacement will also be in it. Anyway I shall return soon with the product
Cheers

Great work, I've have been there myself but was lucky enough to catch the HGF early so didn't need to skim the head or rebuild it.
Hope you used a high quality head set as I've heard of cheap stem seals leaking within a few months.

Hey, yeah thanks I believe it's a decent set I have. I was unfortunate and got her after the previous owner had driven it for two months whilst loosing water every day. Mine was warped by about 2/3 thou in various places but it's sorted now. I bought an aftermarket head set and bolts but found the liners mostly level so had to buy the elastomer head gasket separately but I got an elring one so should be good. It's all nearly finished but the rain has beaten me today. It'll be finnished and running tomorrow weather permitting so when I have all the pics I'll start the write up on here. Bar taking the pistons and crank out I've virtually rebuilt the whole engine so it should be a handy guide for some people. I've been a mechanic for 16 years so people might find some of my tricks for the job helpful. Tbh I've known a lot of valve stem seals to leak because of improper fitment, not because they are in wrong but because people sometimes forget to oil the valve stems themselves before refitting. Failure to oil the stems causes the new stem seal to "grab" the valve stem, the first time that valve is opened and it goes down the seal which "grabbed" on the valve bends down with the valve and allows the valve stem seal spring to simply pop off thus loosing its security/grip on the valve stem. The new seal will keep oil up for a while but once it's started to wear a bit the stem seal centre hole gets bigger and the lack of spring will allow oil to run down the valve and into the combustion chamber. If you look at an old stem seal and a new one prior to fitting you'll notice a 1-3mm size difference in the centre hole hence a seal without a spring will work for a while. This may not be the case for some or any of the people you have experienced but I've seen it happen tens of times in the trade with newbies. It's an easy mistake to make and it virtually always causes what I've described on at least one/two cylinders.
Anyway I'll get the info up soon as I'm done.
Cheers