👍 If it ever stops raining I'll go out and have a look. Is it possible to diagnose a timing belt slip visually? I have the timing belt cover off, are there alignment marks that can be seen? Sounds like a heck of a job. With hindsight would you have looked at swapping out the engine if you...

I'm not sure if it has swirl flaps, is there an easy way to tell? It's a 60 plate so it will be between September 2010 and April 2011, it's quite possible it doesn't have them. If it doesn't have them do you think it's likely I'm looking at a valve issue? Sounds like you had great fun with...

That's what I feared :eek:. I had no idea what swirl flaps were but I've been working my way through this thread and I've got a bit better idea now. If I'm going to be removing the head should I remove the swirl flaps and mechanism as well? I haven't removed the head from a car engine before so...

UPDATE: Now that the torrential rain has passed over I could get out and check a couple more things on the car this morning. The first thing I did was to try rotating the crank shaft again. I had moved it a few degrees previously to check for engine seizure but today I tried to rotate it all the...

The battery isn't particularly old. I think I'll try two batteries in parallel just to make sure that there's enough CCAs on hand. Starting hadn't been a problem (even in cold weather) until the engine just stopped while driving last week. The crank appears to rotate, the timing belt is intact...

Apologies if you've seen this over on another Freelander forum but I'm just trying to broaden my coverage and hopefully find a solution. Last week my wife was driving our 2010 FL2 auto when the steering went heavy, the brakes lost effectiveness and then the engine cut out. She tried to restart...

I have exactly this same issue with my 2010 FL2. I'm going to try cleaning/replacing the crank sensor, then I think I'll give Dr Tranny's a try and see what happens. My juddering went away for a couple of weeks after the AT oil was changed which makes me think it's not engine related but I'm...

Many thanks weemac. It's only for a couple of hours and I'll have the seats back in again so no worries re MOT etc. I'll go and disconnect the battery and make a start. Cheers

Hi All, I have to pick up some bulky items and as I don't have a trailer or roofrack I thought I would just whip out the seats (except the driver's seat of course!) to make enought room for the stuff. The rear seats are easy enough but I am just wondering if it is safe to drive the car without...

OK, sounds like good advice, thank you. The Haynes manual recommends Texaco S5 75W/90 for the IRD. In the interest if getting the job done this weekend will any 75w/90 gear oil be suitable? And what quantity do I need, can't find quoted that in Haynes? Given the price difference between the...

Apologies for not updating for a while. Christmas, a house move and kids changes of schools etc meant that this took a back seat for a while. I decided in the end to persue the garage for a full refund. Sent various letters via RM Signed For and Tracked but none were ever recieved. Began to...

Thanks for all the great info guys, much appreciated. I kept wavering as to whether or not to return the car or just to push the garage for replacement parts etc. When I woke up this morning I made the decision to persue the refund (the garage aren't playing ball but we'll see how that pans...

Yeah, the diff is still there and it's quite clear (even to me!) that there are parts missing. It was just that Trading Standards said I should try and obtain documented proof that they were all AWD/4WD etc. The car 'seems' pretty good otherwise but I do fear that if I persue them and get them...

Hi All, First off, I'm not a mechanic - I know almost enough to be dangerous so please bear that in mind when I tell you my tale! Just bought a 54 plate Mk.1 TD4 SE with only 87k on the clock. All seemed OK driving it so I bought it. I then decided to do an oil and filter change myself (almost...