Marty157

Member
Hi all, had my freelander 1.8 six months and even still have a little skin left on my knuckles. I've noticed the engine struggling for power a little and it's noisy through the revs. I'm wondering if the cat needs replacing, looks like it's 4.5 years old and done 30,000 miles on the current cat. Can anyone advise if this is typical symptoms and life of a cat or should I be looking elsewhere. Thanks
 
A good cat should last longer than that, but if it was a cheapie?
Thanks, Thats the line I was thinking, seems like it should have more life in it. I've had the fuel pump out, I don't think it's a fuel issue. It does drive ok, just seems to need a bit more wellie to get it shifting through the gears and it's pretty noisy. I'll keep scratching the head
 
Could be your hydraulic tappets not getting enough oil pressure and pumping down. Are you using the right oil, oil filter OK, any sludge under the filler cap?
 
Is it engine noise or exhaust noise? Have you looked for a hole else where in the exhaust?
 
Thanks, Thats the line I was thinking, seems like it should have more life in it. I've had the fuel pump out, I don't think it's a fuel issue. It does drive ok, just seems to need a bit more wellie to get it shifting through the gears and it's pretty noisy. I'll keep scratching the head
Could be your hydraulic tappets not getting enough oil pressure and pumping down. Are you using the right oil, oil filter OK, any sludge under the filler cap?
No sludge, using Mobil 2000, oil and filter changed in August along with coolant change done by me. It's had a head gasket just over a year ago, no loss of coolant, I think the hg is ok. A couple of weeks ago, it wouldn't start, when it did, it ran as if a misfire, I switched off and came back a few hours later to investigate and it started ok but the power loss and noise have started since. I thought fuel, and took the pump out and and put a new filter in but it's not made any difference. The pump is a Landy pump 3 years old (I have the old owners service docs). It's drivable, but I can notice the diffence to how it was driving. Idling it just sounds a little clicky, if that makes sense, isles ok but doesn't sound quite like typed like an angine to idle.
 
No sludge, using Mobil 2000, oil and filter changed in August along with coolant change done by me. It's had a head gasket just over a year ago, no loss of coolant, I think the hg is ok. A couple of weeks ago, it wouldn't start, when it did, it ran as if a misfire, I switched off and came back a few hours later to investigate and it started ok but the power loss and noise have started since. I thought fuel, and took the pump out and and put a new filter in but it's not made any difference. The pump is a Landy pump 3 years old (I have the old owners service docs). It's drivable, but I can notice the diffence to how it was driving. Idling it just sounds a little clicky, if that makes sense, isles ok but doesn't sound quite like typed like an angine to idle.
Bloody auto correct
 
It shouldn't make any difference to the power but Magnetec 10W40 is the oil all the MG guys go for. Anything lighter could cause rattles.
 
What year is it? The older ones (pre 01 I think) have a distributor cap and rotor arm which would be the first place I'd look for an issue. Other than that then normal things like spark plugs and leads and if still giving trouble then coil packs.
 
What year is it? The older ones (pre 01 I think) have a distributor cap and rotor arm which would be the first place I'd look for an issue. Other than that then normal things like spark plugs and leads and if still giving trouble then coil packs.
It's a 2002, I have to admit, I haven't had the spark plugs out yet. I'll give that a try. The exhaust system looks sound apart from the catalyst section which is pretty rough, one of the brackets has rusted through and the heat shield has rotted off, made me wonder whether it's had a hard life.
 
I've had a couple of K series and they were good going cars but can be kinda noisy over 4k rpm. An 02 will probably have two coil packs which plug directly onto two of the plugs with two short leads going to the other plugs. I changed my coil packs and found a big difference to performance.
 
I've had a couple of K series and they were good going cars but can be kinda noisy over 4k rpm. An 02 will probably have two coil packs which plug directly onto two of the plugs with two short leads going to the other plugs. I changed my coil packs and found a big difference to performance.
Brilliant, thanks, I'll give that a look, definitely worth a try. It was driving really well, I'd just like to get it back there.
 
When mine lacked power / performance I replaced the plug leads, dizzy cap and rotor ... eventually turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. However I put a new pump in as well.
Plugs new/ in good order? Correct grade of fuel? Air filter clean / in good order?
 
When mine lacked power / performance I replaced the plug leads, dizzy cap and rotor ... eventually turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. However I put a new pump in as well.
Plugs new/ in good order? Correct grade of fuel? Air filter clean / in good order?
The fuel pump is making a hum but I'm not sure if it's just because I'm noticing it or it's always done it. I might end up replacing it yet.
 
If the filter was an aftermarket make, I'd try that first. I've seen them block very quickly. I've also seen a poorly fitting replacement filter leak at the joints with the pump. Any drop in fuel pressure will cause power loss at wider throttle positions.
Plug and coils can be another area where power is lost.
However if you noticed the drop in performance after the filter change, that's the place to start when investigating.
Could the clicking sound be the injectors? They make a soft click when operating. However if the fuel pressure is low, they can click loader than normal.
 
If the filter was an aftermarket make, I'd try that first. I've seen them block very quickly. I've also seen a poorly fitting replacement filter leak at the joints with the pump. Any drop in fuel pressure will cause power loss at wider throttle positions.
Plug and coils can be another area where power is lost.
However if you noticed the drop in performance after the filter change, that's the place to start when investigating.
Could the clicking sound be the injectors? They make a soft click when operating. However if the fuel pressure is low, they can click loader than normal.
Thanks for the info. I took it for a run this morning, on the way back it cut out, it started again but ran rough for 30 secs then was ok, I also noticed a bit of hestitancy at high revs. I think I'm going to change the fuel pump and go from there. I'll see what that does
 
An '02 K-series will be running a MEMS 3 ECU and will therefore be EOBD/OBD2 compliant. See whether you can download any stored error codes and also look at the live data feed. Coil backs can be troublesome and become more so when warm...

I don't have a strong feeling as to this fault - it'll boil down to a methodical fault finding session :)
 
I've ordered a new fuel filter, I'll try that, just in case. If no go I'll try a new pump. I will check the plugs etc in the meantime. It seems a bad place to put the pump in the tank, perfect for getting crud in there when you remove it!
 

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