Near the bottom of this page you can see how I did it. I was lucky (or stupid) enough to have another Freelander so had a spare under tray to use as a template.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-project-iii-audrey.299738/page-6
As for the rust spot, ah, well, Mmmmmm, yes, don't like to say it but.
Told ya so! :p
At least it hasn't crept out past the handle. I'm in the process of respraying my whole rear door after sorting out several rust spots. Word of warning though, if you try to remove the boot door handle to fix it, be prepared to repair the handle cause the bolts will have rusted badly and will probably break on you or the plastic supports will fail.
 
I used the existing alu' frame. I made a cardboard mock-up and trimmed and shaped it 'til it was right. Then I had L brackets welded either side on the frame. The alu' plate itself was a find at the metal recyclers! I asked the young fella there to keep an eye out for a sheet of plate for me. When this plate came in from a dead rally car he put it aside for me! £15 ($30 NZ)! It wasn't wide enough so I had a piece welded on either side matching the brackets. Then the leading edge was given a gentle curve... done! :)
I said else where that I've a couple of mistakes. The 'cutout' for the exhaust in centred and it needs to be about 50mm towards the left.

The plate comes of easily with just four bolts. But I still have to take the frame off to get enough space to get at the oil filter.:(

I've just fitted my rear end under protection today, sounds dodgy! Again a large piece of scrap 6mm cheater plate £15. I made a cardboard mock up again, cut it to shape... had it bent up at the engineering shop, drilled air/drain holes... Done
 
Looks great! :)

I may look to do something similar when my attention turns to sorting the transmission. :)
 
A good bank holiday weekend, with some time spent on the Kilo-Hippo-Delta. Actually invested quite a lot of time, but seemingly not a huge amount to show for it.

The block face is now cleaned. (I used a "plastic padding" body filler applicator to remove the remnants of the old MLS gasket for this as the blade I used for the head lead to some very small scratches on the corners of the block that I wasn't at all happy with. Scratches are well away from the critical sealing areas, so no harm done I hope.) I also checked the liner stand proud. Fortunately, none are below the block's face - but all four liners are flush, with no stand proud above the deck face. I won't be using an MLS gasket - so either a standard type elastomeric, or perhaps a "blue" Payen (BW750) gasket.

Approx 6 litres of oily coolant drained from the sump. Lovely. Now decanted into cans and ready to take to the local council depot for safe disposal.

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The engine tray is now removed. Not difficult at all - all the cable ties etc. just seem to me to be making a mountain out of a mole hill? I haven't put the alloy under-tray back on - I can see that being a little more "fun" ... ;)

The old oil filter put up a bit of a battle: it broke my strap tool which only succeeded in denting the casing before it failed. I had to improvise then, and used a medium-sized G-clamp on it - using which I could get enough purchase and leverage to get it free. A fresh filter has been fitted for when the engine is re-filled with oil (and a cleansing agent).

I have disassembled the original head, so now have 8 inlet valves, 8 exhaust valves, 32 collets (each valve has a pair), 16 valve springs and caps in a spares tray, so I can rebuild the replacement head, swapping any bent valves before sending it away to be skimmed.

I also investigated why the reversing lights weren't working. The gearbox switch is mullered. Will order in a replacement with all the replacement seals and gaskets.

I still haven't measured the old stretch bolts to determine whether they can be re-used or replaced - so that is on the to-do list. But I am pretty much at the point that the engine can be rebuilt once the head is ready :)

I also inspected the front brakes - these look to have been replaced recently - minimal disc wear and a decent amount of material still on the pads. Once the car can be driven off the drive, I'll check the operation of the rear drums and the hand brake mechanism - but I still suspect that the VCU needs replacement.

Oh, and I've been leaving the windows open in the hope that the chemical warfare odour in the interior will slowly fade. It's proving remarkably resistant: I ended up putting the run roof stowage pouch in the washing machine, as this was still off-gassing noxious odours despite being hung on the washing line all week!!!

Finally, I scrubbed the driver's seat clean. It was covered in a nasty shiny/ greasy black residue. Yuk. But now the interior looks pretty presentable - albeit will some wear on the driver's seat edge and bolster.

I've so far resisted the temptation to go on eBay to buy the roof bars (not supplied on the "S" model in 2001), leather seats and 17" sport-line wheels... But it's not stopped me looking! LOL ;)
 
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From Eliseparts.com - £120 delivered complete top end seals kit, including Payen BW750, cam seals, cam cover gasket, exhaust and inlet manifold gaskets, valve stem seals... Anywhere cheaper? :)
 
Actually that's very good - it includes the water pump and cam belt as well. £142 delivered (standard delivery).

Thanks Nodge! :D
 
I had lots of fun when changing the HG on my first K series. I used a nylon scouring pad to clean the block and head up as like you I found a blade too scratchy.
You say you're using a cleansing agent, I used one too as my engine was so badly clogged with crystallised oil, probably due to neglect in the past. I put in some cheapo oil with the cleaner, then flushed it out and filled with magnatec but changed it again a couple of thousand miles later.
 
A scotch rite pad or similar is a great idea for cleaning the block :)

I agree: I do think flushing the engine in this case is a good idea. I rather suspect that the sump is full of congealed gunge and oil. So cheap oil and a flushing agent it is, then a fresh filter and oil and should be good to go! :D
 
A scotch rite pad or similar is a great idea for cleaning the block :)

I agree: I do think flushing the engine in this case is a good idea. I rather suspect that the sump is full of congealed gunge and oil. So cheap oil and a flushing agent it is, then a fresh filter and oil and should be good to go! :D
I don't know how useful it was but before I put the good oil in I deliberately left the drain plug out while pouring in a litre or two of cheap oil to try and push through a little more of the flushing agent. I didn't like the idea of some of the flushing agent still in the sump mixing with my good oil.
 
That's a good suggestion, thanks :)

How long did you leave the engine running with the cheap oil/ flushing agent?
 
That's a good suggestion, thanks :)

How long did you leave the engine running with the cheap oil/ flushing agent?
Run the engine for 10 to 20 minutes with your flushing oil in the sump. Then drain it while the engine still hot (filler cap off). Obviously watch out for scalding ;)
This will take out most of the sluge with the deluge of oil.
I would do another oil/ filter change after 1000 miles or so, to clear any last remnants.
Do the same with the coolant ;)
 
Run the engine for 10 to 20 minutes with your flushing oil in the sump. Then drain it while the engine still hot (filler cap off). Obviously watch out for scalding ;)
This will take out most of the sluge with the deluge of oil.
I would do another oil/ filter change after 1000 miles or so, to clear any last remnants.
Do the same with the coolant ;)
Just like Nodge said but it might be worth putting your hose into the header tank and wrapping a cloth around the top to try and flush the coolant out.
 
10 litres of oil purchased, complete top end gasket set ordered.

Replacement gearbox reverse switch was delivered the day after I ordered it, but when I came to fit today, I found it was 1.8mm too long, so the switch was continuous engaged until 5th gear is selected.

Three solutions:
1. Rob a spare gearbox of its reversing light switch
2. Space replacement switch out with a spare sump washer, or
3. Shorten plunger of replacement switch by 1.8 mm

I chose option 1 and will feed back to the swich's supplier.
Annoying how a 5 min job can take four times longer than planned!

I also replaced the pollen filter this morning. Pretty straightforward, and worth doing as the original was pretty horrid!

Tonight I'll hopefully get the valves out of the replacement head to see how many are actually bent(other than the two that have obviously had it)
 
Just had a look at the faulty rear seat back rest release. Pretty clear what the problem is: the cable end has come free of the release handle!

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The other side seems fine:

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Pulling on the cables releases the latch, and the rear seat folds as it should. Stowing the seat more completely reveals a new mountain of dog hair... Yet more cleaning ahead!

Does fabrese work in cars?
 
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