Geminidawn

Many thanks to all it gives me a few more options to try before I give it the death sentence. I have to admit the Cat that was put in was not top of the range but it did come with a two year "guarantee". Choices for parts are limited for a vehicle of that age over here, I was lucky to find a Cat that would fit as most places stopped stocking them. I can't see how the Cat would be responsible for the high ammounts of hydrocarbons and unburnt fuel coming out the exhaust though?

I have a 99 Freelander 1.8 Petrol that keeps failing the NCT (same as MOT) on emissions. The Hydrocarbon readings and fuel consumption is through the roof and it sets off the carbon monoxide alarm as soon as it drives into the test centre. It seem to be overfueling all the time. Here what has been done so far: New Catalytic Converter New Lambada Sensor New Cooling Temperature Sensor Ner Fuel Temperature Sender New Sparkplugs Twice tested at Landrover diagnostics center no faults show. Yet it still fails to pass. Has anyone any ideas because I'm all out and I'd hate to scrap an otherwise perfectly good vehicle because of it.

Fantastic, you learn something new every day. I believe you can make you own "Bio Diesel" though, out of used filtered vegetable oil and a couple of other additives. I spoke to a guy once who did just that, but he said the effort wasn't worth the savings. With modern fuel prices I'd say that's no longer the case, kinda wish now I paid more attention.

Thanks,I'm not that fussed really anything to cut down the running costs. Just according to someone who knows more about engines than I do said that not all diesels are suited to bio or other fuels and he wasn't really sure if a '00 Freelander Diesel was one of them. So I decided to post a thread here to see if anyone else knew.

I just managed to sell my Freelander 1.8 Petrol and I have been offered a 2.0L Diesel at a reasonable price the only way I'll take it is if it'll run on vegetable oil or bio diesel easily enough without too much messing around. Anyone got a good idea about this kind of thing?

I was watching a programme on Discovery Turbo about the sale of second hand cars when the problem regarding the back window of the early Freelanders was mentioned. This was news to me. As it happens due to water ingression the motor seems to short and the back window comes down automatically, as a result the poor family mutt ends up in the middle of the M1 at 60 miles an hour. Luckily I don't have a dog but my Freelander has developed that problem, every time I hit a bump the back window opens. Is there any set way of dealing with it or should I just go about surrounding the motor with dams and baffles?

Farecla is pretty well known in the auto trade for its cutting and polishing compounds a lot of which bled into the marine market Farecla saw the opening and developed a marine range of products which are available online or at any good chandlery. You may not have to go that far I'm sure there is an auto equivalent down at the local motorfactors that is just as good and easier to get, I just use the Gel-coat Restorer because I know it dose the job well and it's something I always have in abundance. Whatever you use make sure it is fibre glass friendly. Good luck with it!

Farecla is pretty well known in the auto trade for its cutting and polishing compounds a lot of which bled into the marine market Farecla saw the opening and developed a marine range of products which are available online or at any good chandlery. You may not have to go that far I'm sure there is an auto equivalent down at the local motorfactors that is just as good and easier to get, I just use the Gel-coat Restorer because I know it dose the job well and it's something I always have in abundance. Whatever you use make sure it is fibre glass friendly. Good luck with it!

You might be onto something there, whatever it is I am sure the custom wiring job is not working as it should.

Thanks for your input, the coil was tested and more than one battery was tried, the batteries were healthy taken from running vehicles.

No the fuel is fresh. All the old fuel dumped and the tank cleaned. New fuel filter too.

Yes the old fuel pump seized up so I got a replacment. It's working fine.

Not something I would advise, all plastics and polyester resins used in fibreglass are derived from oil and all plastics will break down under UV eventually, unless the product is designed to give the fibreglass a protective coat it will probably only accelerate the break down process. Oil and fibreglass is a great big NO NO in my trade.

The protective coat on the laminated fibreglass back is a gel-coat, same as the laminating resin but bulked out with chalk and pigment, in this case black. The only problem with dark gel-coats is they really come under attack from UV, as a result of this the chalk migrates towords the surface and gives it that faded dusty look (hence most fibreglass boats are white). The best way to counteract this is using a "Farecla Gel-coat Restorer", you can get it with or without wax (matt or gloss) I prefer with the wax as it gives the gel-coat a layre of protection against further attack. Apply it by hand using a damp cloth and a T-cut action. That will cut through the residual chalk and bring back the original colour. We use it in the marine trade on a regular basis with really good results.

Got the cooling system flushed out and working. Just brought the Freelander on it's first 100mile run after the re-start now it's running as smooth as could be. A great big thank you to all who posted for the sound advice it would of been a very different story otherwise. Now if I can transfer some of what I have learned about fuel injection to the other LR there may be a chance I'll get that nemesis started aswell. Thanks once again!

Chances are it has, changed the oil and oil filter, fresh fuel and the engine is running smoothly but it is overheating.

Got it started The petrol was most definately off, seperated the fuel line and filled a 60ml syringe with fresh fuel and the enging sprung to life while the fuel pump emptied the tank into a couple of 5gal drums. The engine was slow to turn over not because of a low battery as I thought but a very stiff alternator. Once the Alternator was freed up it was like it never stopped. My only concern is that the fan dosen't seem to come on so the enging heats up pretty quick.

I think you might be right I got a good spark, firing in the right order, air and fuel in the cylinder heads, it fires ocassionally but dies just as quick, other than poor quality fuel I can't think of any other reason why it's just not sustaining ignition. Regarding FridgeFreezer and Jules thanks for the advice I'll be changing the the oil and the oil filter as soon as I can get it running and warmed up

The wheels were seized solid and took a lot of work to get the freed up. It's not starting as easy as I expected though. The engine is turning freely enough but soon it either drains the battery or floods the engine, once in a while it springs to life but dies just as quick. The petrol in the tank is old and the tank is 3/4 full, I can't buy any octane booster here so it was suggested that I just top it up with fresh fuel which I did but I don't know how effective that will be.

True, it's getting delivered to the house by a recovery vehicle.

I just got back a '99 Freelander from the fuzz, it went through a whole stolen/recovered ordeal that went to court three times. During which time it stayed at the back of the cop shop and was laid up untouched for two years. It was in perfect working order when it was driven into the pound now that all the paperwork has cleared I'm free to take it. Only problem is it's growing a whole eco system of it's own, the tyres are deflated, the wheels are solid and I don't know what precautions to take before I try to re-start it as I may be doing more damage than good. I took the battery out and tested it, it seems to have survived, it was suggested that I take out the spark plugs and spray in some WD40 and leave overnight as the oil would of drained from the cylinder heads. Is there anything else I should be looking out for?

About the same as yours, over a year. I wish it was that simple. Everything in the engine was stiff to start with but since re-wiring it was oiled and serviced, on saying that not everything will run as freely as it should until it runs warm for a while.

It's a hybrid so it's a custom wiring job. Since it was built there has been no end of electrical problems so I just had it re-wired recently, I can only imagine that there are still a few ghosts left in the machine. When we first turned it over there were some pops and bangs and there was petrol on some of the sparkplugs that were removed for inspection. The relays were checked and found to be ok. Whether if something has blown since it wouldn't suprise me, there is a lot of tracing back to do both electrical and mechanical. I thought there would be a simple answer to this problem guess I'll have to leave it to someone who really knows what they're doing.

No it is a manual just that the wheels are solid. However I've since heard from the guy who sorted out the electrics and he said the problem may be with the main injection solenoid and wants to take another look at it before I start pulling it apart.

Unfortunately this is not an option, where the engine was a bit stiff to begin with the wheels are absolutely solid but that is another days problem. Back to what FridgeFreezer was saying I'm looking at the fuel distribution, sparks and electrics seem to be ok and the cylinders are getting fuel but I wonder if the fuel distribution is working as it should, some of them too much and some not enough. I'm going to remove the fuel rails and injectors as soon as I get a new O ring kit ordered in. What is the best way of testing the injectors without having to bring the vehicle to a diagnostics centre (which is 50 miles away)?