Nodge68 said:

It won't be the head gasket, as the L series doesn't suffer those.

First off, when were the timing belts last changed?
Retarded timing will cause lack of power, sluggish starting and smoking.

The dip stick is an odd one, but the bluish tint isn't from hot oil, as oil can't get hot enough to blue metal. It's probably from the manufacture of the stick, when it was punched out and cut to length, as they're made of spring steel

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Frankt546 said:

the timing belts were changed roughly 12k ago

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Nodge68 said:

Was the fuel pump belt changed at the same time?

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Nodge68 said:

It won't be the head gasket, as the L series doesn't suffer those.

First off, when were the timing belts last changed?
Retarded timing will cause lack of power, sluggish starting and smoking.

The dip stick is an odd one, but the bluish tint isn't from hot oil, as oil can't get hot enough to blue metal. It's probably from the manufacture of the stick, when it was punched out and cut to length, as they're made of spring steel

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GrumpyGel said:

I think that if the pump timing belt was so far out (stretched/slipped) to cause problems, then it wouldn't start.

The L Series does blow HG in Rover cars, but does not look to be an issue in Freelander setup. With no loss/contamination of coolant/oil though, this is unlikely the issue.

Is there any kind of 'tuning box' installed on the engine? If there is, I'd be taking it out and putting it back to standard first.

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GrumpyGel said:

I think that if the pump timing belt was so far out (stretched/slipped) to cause problems, then it wouldn't start.

The L Series does blow HG in Rover cars, but does not look to be an issue in Freelander setup. With no loss/contamination of coolant/oil though, this is unlikely the issue.

Is there any kind of 'tuning box' installed on the engine? If there is, I'd be taking it out and putting it back to standard first.

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lynall said:

What does the exhaust gas smell of?
If it makes your eyes water then it is unburnt fuel.

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Frankt546 said:

just done a test got the old man to rev it and it does make my eyes water! could the pump possibly be pumping in to much fuel as I made it run off a wine bottle full of diesel yesterday and it sucked up the whole bottle in a minute flat

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lynall said:

Not as simple as that as most engines suck up way more fuel then they need, any excess is returned to the fuel tank.

If the exhaust fumes stink of fuel then you have a timing issue as mentioned above, or you have a fuel injector fault.

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Frankt546 said:

I found out the injector pump gauze filter was clogged with crud causing fuel starvation it’s running perfectly now. I am going to do full fluid flush and filter change.

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