Rover! Rover! Rover!

The Freelander from 2001 had the "modified" K-series engine. The cylinder head castings were revised, and they don't appear to be so prone to headgasket failure.

So, your model year should be fine.

Honda automatic transmission failures are rare, but do happen.

Most problems are due to poor maintenance, rather than manufacturer decects. I've stripped auto boxes down, where the ATF, meant to be a transparent red, is a grey-black mixture. When checking the level, it's bad practice to use tissue, or any rag that isn't lint-free. These tiny fibres will eventually clog up the tiny ATF passages in the valve body. Automatic transmissions are very sensitive to dirt.

The first symptons are a reluctance for the transmission to up-shift, and as more damage is done, it'll actually remain in first, even when the car's doing about 40mph, albeit very noisily.

The other factor is wrong fluid being used, the automatic transmission in most FWD cars is made up of 2 sections - the automatic sextion, which contains the planetry gears, hydraulic governor, as well as the valve chest. Then the differential section, which contains the crownwheel and pinion. These 2 sections tend to use seperate fluids - ATF for the auto section, and manual gearbox oil for the differential.

The differential will still run if a small quantity of ATF is accidentally introduced. The autobox however, will NOT tolerate gearbox oil!

The differential is seldom checked for oil level, as there's no dipstick, and needs to be checked by removing the level plug midway up the casing. The exact location will vary from car to car, but it's very important. If the level's correct, the gear oil will be just about level with the opening, with the plug removed, and the car on level ground.

A lot of "mechanics" fail to check this, either because they're ignorant of it's presence, or just can't be bothered. If it runs low / dry, the differential will overheat, to the extent the heat will destroy the seals that seperate the 2 different fluids, and they'll mix, with disastrous results.

If you're not mechanically minded, and you don't do a lot on your car yourself, please, locate the differential level inspection plug, and check it at least once every 2 months, don't presume your mechanic checked it at the last service. Check the ATF level on the dipstick too, and use a lint-free rag. The ATF must be checked whilst warm, with the selector lever set to park, with the engine idling. If the ATF colour looks darker than the regular red, then something'D wrong.

If it's brown, then the clutch-bands are burning. They can be replaced, and the ATF flushed, and re-filled with fresh fluid of the *correct type.

If it's grey, then it could be more serious, as the "grey" is actually minute metal particles, caused by vital internal part failure. These will be the planetry gears, and will require the auto transmission to be removed, and refurbished.

* ATF types vary. They all tend to look the same colour, but they are different! There's Dexron, Dexron II, Dexron D and a whole lot of others. Never top up your car with anything other than the manufacturer's recommended type!

Current Mercedes-Benz, Audi and a lot of BMW's no longer have the traditional "dipstick", to check the ATF level. But, it still needs to be checked, just because the dipstick's disappeared, doesn't mean the level doesn't need checking!

I'll see what I can find. Will be later in the day though, just off to work now.

Siena, one quick question: What can be done when the engine oil alert on the dashboard refuses to go off and keeps giving a beeping sound intermittently?

This problem has persisted on a 1997 Passat sedan and there doesn't seem to be a solution. It first appeared when the oil switch got faulty. That was replaced, and a full service was done. Yet the oil alert still keeps beeping. Why?

Viperman,
I am not a mechanic, but four of my friends bought the freelander 1.8 brand new in Nigeria, before 50k miles engine failure and one gearbox failure as well,  their opinion its useless.

One of my friend in the UK had one same problem engine failure, the car is a lemon, the guys hear have some recourse through trading standards and the dealers on the warranty.

I know thats not the case in Nigeria, and if anybody has dealt with Coscharis i have and i can tell you competence is not a meal served regularly their.

 Just to give you more insight with tales of woe on the freelander, check this out  http://www.freelanderheadgasket.co.uk/

If its very recent, go do a transmission service(drop pan and change filter(s))

If its been doing it for a while, you might still salvage it.Which everway, do a servicenow or get ready to pay big/huge money for repairs

Remember to use correct fluid as per owners manual.

Viper, Komekn has said it all.

As I've stated in previous Rover threads, the Rover K-series engines are NOT durable. The heads get extremely porous, and lead to head gasket failure.

I have seldom had to do a head gasket replacement on the K-series motor, without having to have the cylinder head resurfaced, sometimes, so badly distorted, a replacement cylinder head has been required.

The 2,5 V6 is even worse, it's still derived from the I4 1,8L K-series motor, and has a worse reliability history.

Unless it's a diesel-engined model, (BMW-sourced) I wouldn't touch one. From 2001>, the cylinder head castings were improved, but not perfect.

viper i own a 2002 infiniti qx4, wonderful car, reliable, but a gas guzzler

Thanks for the advice.


Please where exactly are these oil pressure sensors located? Can you refer me to anywhere where I can get some pics.?

. . .And here's a diagram, showing both switches in relation to the oil filter housing. . .

So, your car is the 2,771cc V6 30V. Engine code AMX, ATQ or BBG.

First 2 engine types are 193hp, the BBG is 190.

If the battery's disconnected, and reconnected, it will always still start, just tha the ECU and throttle body will be out of sync, so the car'll either idle very high - at about 1,500rpm, oscillate between 800 and 1,500rpm, or not idle at all without your foot on the gas pedal. It'll also have a very snatchy drive too.

A decent code reader can cost between £75 - £300.

You can also do a manual reset, which involves loading up the engine over a fair distance. So, you stay in top gear, but low speed, so the engine "labours". The ECU then "learns" the original settings of the throttle body. Sometimes, you can stay in a low gear, i.e 3rd, and drive so the revs are at about 5,500 - 6,000rpm. Noisy, and you'll need to cover a longer distance before the ECU and TB are in sync.

Siena,

Thanks a million! I have actually changed those switches twice, when they started leaking oil initially. The leakage stopped, but I guess the wrong switches were used.

Will do a thorough check again and try to get the right ones.

Thanks once again.

@siena,

 , when u saw d car in d oda thread , hope it was ok

Nkc, the car was ok, looked pretty clean too.

ALL,  especially @ Siena,  I would suggest a forum to be created with a new subject title in AUTO folder to address issues such as what Siena had beed doing/had just done.

or what do u think , 

Siena, I suggest you create the subject so you can serve your people better.

cheers