So…. Darling friends of the big wide web for Freelanders! Thought that I would give another update in Auntie Emma’s tale of woe!

I must repeat at this point though that I still love my FreeDeux and it isn’t her fault that we are still not able to get out together…

The last information I gave you was after finding that there was no compression on No 1 cylinder. It’s hard to describe the polar opposites of feeling going from. ‘Yayyy! Done it’, to, ‘Sugar! What have I done wrong’… Worst than that, was the dread that all the recent work needed to be unwound and the purchase of new seals and gasket sets just added to my misery. However, mind over matter and all that, so after giving myself a talking too and telling myself to get a grip, (I do that a lot...) I looked at the problem with a little more logic and a lot less emotion.

It couldn’t be the cylinder, pistons or rings, that just didn’t make sense so it had to be something with the cylinder head, timing, valves or tappets. I had had the head skimmed, not the cheapest option but I was confident that this had been done properly. It couldn’t be the timing, because as we know, there really is only one way to set it up on this engine. I had the tools and they had been applied, the crankshaft was locked, the camshafts at the rear of the engine were locked with the tool and the cams at the front end attached and locked with the two-piece tool as well. There are a number of excellent You Tube videos with this 3.2 i6 engine, (including the identical Volvo B6324S as used in the XC90, S80 II, V70 III, XC70 and XC60).


&t=678s

LR2/Volvo i6 3.2 special tools:


https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...%20kit.jpg


9997262 Aircon bracket aligning tool https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...20tool.jpg

9997265 Timing Plate Oil Seal Seating Tool
https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...20tool.jpg


That then leaves the valves or tappets. OCS Winchester, who skimmed the head, also recut the valves and because the exhaust valve tappets are mechanical, (unlike the inlets, which are hydraulic), they needed to be adjusted, as the head is now thinner. I understand that there are two methods, the first, is to shorten the valve stems by the amount removed from the head and check the gap is 0.45mm plus or minus 0.05mm. The other alternative is to purchase new cup tappets with thinner shims. On these tappets the shims are not replaced, the whole thing is changed. In truth, the latter would have been my preferred option but I was told that it was more effective to adjust the valves themselves and OCS had the right equipment to do this. I provided OCS with the specifications, taken from the workshop manual.

The engine started but it was obvious that there was something wrong. Therefore, no journeys were made and I would say that the engine ran for about a total of ten minutes.

At this point I considered my options. It isn’t possible to just replace the head; it must be replaced with the valve cover as they are a matched pair. They come up occasionally on eBay in the USA, (again mainly Volvo). Incidentally, I had considered a complete engine swap, buy a used, import and then in slow time strip and remanufacture it. The problem is shipping and importing… An engine costing less than $400 (a little over £300) would cost… £1673 plus import Duty, and Vat on the total amount!!! No wonder Cameron Diaz had all those engine parts in her carry on in the film Knight and Day…


A cylinder head and valve cover from a wrecked Volvo came up for $300 with eBay’s Global shipping at only $29! I bought this and patiently waited. The tracking showed its journey across the USA until it got to eBay’s Global Shipping. The short story is that the item was then rejected as being restricted and dangerous. It was on the basis that it was an engine part having or having been in contact with oil or fuel. Worse was to come because eBay Global Shipping (Pitney Bowes) condemned the head as being too dangerous to ship and scrapped it. They refused to return it to the seller or have an independent inspection or allow another company/shipper to collect it. Honestly it beggar’s belief. I started thinking of all the things that could be more flammable that a cylinder head and valve cover that didn’t contain oil, other than a trace. The seller confirmed twice that it contained no oil, the outside had been blast cleaned and had been off the vehicle for some time. I argued that the fuel in the aircraft’s wings was much more of a risk, that it wasn’t electrical, had no batteries and that the flashpoint of a trace of old engine oil inside a heavy metal part was not in itself likely to spontaneously combust no matter how hot the cargo hold at 37,000 ft got… I think that the flash point for engine oil is about 200 degrees Celsius… with auto ignition around 400 degrees Celsius… Compared to Jet A1 it’s a lot more stable… I would love to meet the jobs worthy gits who set that rule in motion, the destruction of a perfectly good machine part and the absolute refusal to help their customer.


So…. No replacement cylinder head then.


Back to having contact with the engineers… I’m sure that everyone would agree that there is only one course of action and that is to strip down the engine again. I discussed this with OCS and they agreed to take a look at it.

This meant that I would return to France, a journey of twelve hours, and bring the part back to Winchester. I achieved this in just over three days and was amazed at just how quickly I was able to do it. That was over a week ago. I’m afraid that my meeting at OCS wasn’t a particularly friendly one. The gentleman I first spoke with absolutely refused to give his name and walked off. Fortunately, I was eventually able to speak with the guy who had worked on the head originally. I was told by Mr No-name that it was my fault because the timing had been set wrongly. My reply was to explain that on this engine that isn’t possible if the correct tools are used. This isn’t a case of marking the flywheel getting out a timing disc or strobe light but simply setting the special tools, locking the parts in place and there is literally only one way they will go together. He was having none of it. The engineer also stated that the head had been damaged and suggested that it looked like it had been dropped. I just kept repeating the same thing, it had been collected by me, driven down to France, (by me) and fitted to the car by… Me! It had not been dropped, banged, scraped or abused in any way. Fitting had been completed using an engine hoist and balance bar. I confess that after another twelve-hour drive and lots of caffeine I was probably a bit techy, maybe factious and yes probably belligerent. I hate being treated like an idiot. Mr no-name demanded to know who had fitted it and when I replied, ‘Me!’ I could feel his eyes rolling as he departed.

I waited a few days and knowing that the bank holiday was approaching I called them. I was advised that they will look at it today… The long weekend came and went and I contacted them again, to be given the same answer as well as being told that the head was so damaged that they had had to strip it all down again. Wow! Now I was considering looking for bucket shop seat to the ‘States and getting a part myself… Later on, I got a call that two valves were bent and needed replacing. In exasperation I said that maybe this was because the gaps were too small and in effect the valves too long. That’s why No two cylinder had a bent valve, (I saw it was stuck when I removed the head) and that the number one-cylinder valves weren’t fully closed. The elephant in the room is that if this had trashed the head, pistons, conrod, block it would have effectively written off the car. Yes, I was mad at the thought of that. I reminded them that I had paid to have the head skimmed, the valves recut and the clearances adjusted and that it was likely that the gaps had been set incorrectly – meaning the valve stems too long. No, I was informed it would be the other way - too short. Another confession I kind of lost my patience at that point. IF YOU SKIM THE HEAD YOU MAKE IT THINNER, therefore, THE VALVES WILL BE TOO LONG, if the tappets can’t be adjusted… EEEEK!

Honestly this really is the short version. So, after another call I was advised that these valves are not available… Humph! One call to Britcar and a chat with Sean/Shaun I ordered two new exhaust valves. They will be sent directly to OCS. I have delayed my return to France for another week.

It is frustrating to be presented with additional costs for valves and of course gasket sets, seals and blanking plates as well as not having the use of the car now for a year.

My next dilemma is if OCS present me with a bill for another 300 or so quid for work that should not have been needed. I can only think to pay it then claim it back through the small claims court. If I refuse to pay then I’m sure that they will refuse to give me back my cylinder head.


Why does this have to be soooo complicated?

On the plus side this waiting around has given me an opportunity to get back into the full nut and bolt restoration of a Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California and despite having stripped down the two cylinder heads the tappets have been adjusted perfectly oh and the timing is spot on!



Emma x 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

I have to admire your persistence with your car. Most mere mortals would have thrown a match in it (joke obviously). I’m afraid I am no help to you as this all goes completely over my head, whoosh. Good luck and I’m sure you will get it resolved.

Aww thank you GGB

I can understand that but you see with me it's love and true love lasts a lifetime, (apologies for quoting Love Actually). It has been frustrating and there are times when I yearn for my Jaguar or even the Transit van we had or maybe even our old Morris Traveller (ok maybe not that bad)..

The biggest frustration is knowing that when the car is working as she was designed to then I will be a happy bunny again.

We have a couple of other motas, one is a baby Merc, French registered and bought for local use in France but I have been using it to come back and to the two places. it does the job but it isn't FreeDeux.

We also have a Toyota Auris Hybrid, Uk reg, purchased new and that too isn't a Land Rover although it does have all the possible bells and whistles that were available, is very comfy, quiet and as an Sportbrake bags of room. Prior to that we had a Prius and despite the bad things that people say we had it for ten years from new and it too never let us down on a single occasion.


The reason for my posting , apart from venting!, is because I'm never really certain that I am following the right pathway and wonder if I have missed anything.


So to anyone who has been reading my diatribe I would like to say Fank Yoo!


E x

https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...019-01.jpg

https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...019-02.jpg 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

The blue film is to protect against bird poo as it sits in the barn, although nothing can prepare you for the things an owl can exude!!  2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

Last edited by Emma Scully on 9th May 2019 6:35 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Emma, you have been tenacious in your efforts to get to the bottom of your issue, I really feel for you.....and also a you scare me slightly, I also have an i6 Nah, it is a very reliable and robust unit but you seem to have found a way to break it don’t worry I kid you, it sounds like small problem has turned into something 90% of the population would have given up and walked away from, good on you for staying in there.

Look forward to the next instalment as it sounds like you had it licked and then was scuppered by bad engineering (possibly) by your supplier.

Best of luck matey. Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Hi David,

I know I gone and broke it! You do raise a good point though because despite my whinging it was my fault to start with by driving after the temperature climbed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve metaphorically kicked myself... Why didn’t I just stop and take a look at the catastrophic burst hose. Maybe when all this is sorted I will feel a bit more confident to use Alex’s dash upgrade with a more progressive temp gauge.

There is an up side to all this, I have replaced almost everything I’ve touched… Hoses, Belts, pulleys, sensors, pumps, alternator, starter motor even a new engine loom. And I absolutely know that the cooling system is clean and filled with the proper coolant. I know that the oil is first rate and again all clean, the same goes with filters (K&N). All the bolts are either new or in good shape and have been coated. Even the valves will be in as good as new condition, new timing chain and tensioner, thermostat and a shedload of other things. If I add it all up it would still be much less than a later model and at least now I know what the engine is like. Previously I had the haldex and transfer box serviced, wheels are new, (the original for snow tyres although the tyres are still good). New discs, brakes and new battery.

Hey and if you ever need any of the things, I’ve mentioned I do have all the ones I took off. Some of them didn’t seem that old.

Ex 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

Don’t worry I did the same (although I was young and dumb then ) with my lovely Dolomite Sprint back in 1978, whipping along the dual carriageway with sunroof wide open (webasto full length cloth of course) , the Sprint engine was renowned for overheating occasionally and this one did......the temp gauge read normal because all the water had decided to evacuate the cooling system and all,it had to read was hot air! I only found out what had happened is when I slowed to pull off and heard the loud banging of big ends and rumbling mains......not heard at 70(officer) mph with Led Zeppelin at max.

That was painful.

Thanks for the offer......but not wishing to jinx anything I will say nothing about the reliability of my i6 presently  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Ooooo! Dolomite Sprint! even the name sounds like sex! I know that it isn't quite topic but, and despite the mutterings of Clarkson et al I've always loved British cars. We have had 2 MG Maestro's and the turbo version really was in a class of its own. We also had two MG turbo Montego's, one petrol one diesel, the latter gave over 150,000 trouble free miles and was only written off after a truck reversed into it. We had Mini's, Maxi's an 1100 and a 1300GT! I look at some of the cars today and can see a great deal of the innovation created by British manufacturers.

I appreciate that following WWII Great Britain was financially destitute and had a real make-and-mend philosophy. Other countries were much more fortunate in receiving International aid and funding to rebuild their manufacturing infrastructure and so were able to benefit immediately from the newer, more efficient manufacturing process.

The light alloy heads are standard now in modern cars but the technology leap was inspired by British design. Science has developed it further both in terms of metallurgy and more efficient heat transfer methods, (including i6's highly efficient low volume high velocity cooling). Right up to the point where there is no more fluid...

Even the much-slated quartic steering wheel was an innovation that had merit, unfortunately because of lack of investment and the use of old tooling dating back to the war the car was adapted to fit the too large engine and the monster but inefficient heater. The original concept of the Allegro was mashed down by mis-management and crippling inefficiency and of course British Leyland became the butt of everyone's jokes. The Allegro has been named the worst car in history but I'm sure my memory isn't that bad and I remember some cars which IMHO were much worse. But I'm rambling!


BTW David, I love your line about let me know if I have offended you - so I can do it again!


I don't think my car is jinxed, because as you say, it was a simple thing. Maybe I would have been better off just replacing the head gasket, the pressurisation wasn't that dramatic and maybe that and some, 'Liquid Steel', would have been enough. I just felt that as I was embarking on such an involved project that I might as well replace everything along the way. A more experienced person or mechanic would have been much more selective and in truth I have wasted time and money on things that didn't need it.


There's another side to this, I mentioned previously that I had purchased a new Seat Alhambra, I can only say that it was disappointing. Maybe because it came after the Jaguar but the self-adjusting steering wasn't very good, (it wouldn't hold the lane even on French toll roads) and the automatic headlights still dazzled oncoming drivers, It was comfy but I saw no benefit from the adaptive suspension and when I realised that this car was using a litre of oil every 600 miles I had enough and so returned it. There were other things that either didn't work properly and I got fed up with taking it back and getting some silly story as to why it didn't work in the way it was advertised.

I wanted a car that would make me feel special again. It all probably sounds like I have pots of money but this isn't the case and the previous car had cost far too much. It would have been nice to go to Hunters and buy a new Land Rover / Range Rover but I couldn't do that. In any case we already had other cars. I wanted something which would eat up the miles and kilometres, be good for towing trailers, (Ifor Williams TT105 and BV85) and well, have some kind of style. Not quite a Chelsea Tractor mentality because we do have snow and do live in a farmhouse. Like the Jaguar I wanted something aspirational.

FreeDeux gives me all that and more, Harry and Jack love her and so do I!

Emma x

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 Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Hello you lovely people, time for another one of Auntie Emma’s updates!

It’s all too easy to start this with a whinge so I must be careful not to come across as, ‘Landmoaner’…

So, first of all I can’t say enough that I love my FreeDeux and owning one has been an aspiration just like it was with the Jaguars. I don’t think that that will ever change. Secondly the ongoing problems are not the fault of FreeDeux or Land Rover.
At the risk of repeating ad nauseum, the fault lies squarely with me. When I first noticed the temperature gauge climb, I should have stopped immediately and not have tried to get to the nearest garage. Then I should have appreciated the scale of the burst bottom hose and not attempted any further drive as I could see that the coolant going in was coming out just as fast.

Maybe I should have done more studying and instead of then going on a major repair and refurbishment, simply replaced the blown bottom hose. I would have then been able to check if the head gasket was leaking and/or whether the head had warped. That was in May 2018.

Yesterday I completed the third rebuild…

The anticipation of getting, ‘The Best Mota By Far’, back on the road was enormous! (Sincere apologies to Defender owners).
I have already described the events after the last rebuild. The cylinder head had been pressure tested and skimmed, valves refurbished and new stem seals put on. After that rebuild the was no compression on No 1 cylinder. After stripping I saw a bent exhaust valves on No 2 cylinder. I returned back to Blighty visited the engineer and they promptly accused me of putting the head on incorrectly… I was also told that the only way this damage could happen was if the timing was incorrect. I disagreed and the man accusing me of such poor work promptly walked off, leaving me standing outside the workshop. However, another guy, (this time in overalls) came out and despite repeating that the error was mine, as well as saying that I had dropped the head and dented/ scored it he agreed to take a look at it.

I should mention that I brought the head back with the cams attached to the service tool attached to the back of the cams. I explained that this along with the crank locking tool can only be placed on one way due to the offsets. There is simply no other way to set the timing on this engine. I even sent links to the excellent YouTube videos on this engine by the Volvo guy:

&t=813s

After a week I contacted them again and spoke with the engineer who told me that they were unable to get any valves for this engine and they would need to be specially ordered. I contacted Britcar and ordered them immediately, (from stock), and had them delivered to the engineer. I could go on but I’m sure that you have the idea that I was just seen as a difficult customer and, (obviously), an incompetent amateur who had bodged the work.

I finally got the head back but on collecting it was told that I had in fact put the cams in the wrong way. Another disagreement and a repeat of previous statements. I was then told I had mixed up the cams… But…. Out of the goodness of their hearts they had reskimmed the head (due to me damaging it), replaced the valves and set the tappets. (I had given them printed documents from the official LR workshop manual). The simple truth is that I was just happy to get the head back. For the record though, the head was place back on the block using an engine hoist, It was transported in my car and was never dropped or banged of scraped...

So… Auntie Emma and Harry and Jack, (two whippet brothers) sallied forth back down to the Auvergne.

I should mention that I am amazed at you guys being able to do this job in a day, it took me nearly three days to strip it and nearly five days to rebuild, (including lots of tea and reading the manual).

However, I saw that the cams were now mixed up and the locking tool was now upside down and had been tightened so much that I had to put it in a vice to loosen the 21mm bolts. I know that they should never be so tight as they risk crack the rear of the cam. The inlet cam on the LR2 is a two-lobe affair to allow for Variable Length intake (I think), a combination of extra oomph low down and economy? They had set the inlet cam to the exaust tappets and the exhaust to the inlet. I really should have thought about this more but I confess that I was on a mission to have FreeDeux back in use.

The cams were fitted in the correct place (again)and way and the timing set properly (again). I even made a tool by welding an old sparkplug to a length of threaded bar and put these in no 2 and no 5 cylinders to press the head on the cams before putting in the 60 cover bolts. All this time I kept thinking that the engineer may well have made a mess of the job again and despite all the information I had provided that he had ignored me and done his own thing… No, that couldn’t happen – could it?

So yesterday… Battery connected, spin the engine…. Straight away I knew it wasn’t right. I had cranking but no firing. Fuel pressure good at the fuel rail, spark on the plug but the engine just turned over too quickly… A compression test on No 4 confirmed no pressure.

They really had ignored me again and mixed the cams up.

So now I have a head that has been skimmed twice, valves that have been cut incorrectly and now a need to strip everything back again. After one year and three months I am back to square one… Maybe in a worse position….

Humph!

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I am speechless.....the so called engineering company your using sounds like a bunch of complete tossers!

They seem to be getting basic engine building inside out, I’d be tempted just to forget them regardless of any monetary reasons and find somebody else.

Maybe the local Early Learning Centre might have some more competent engineers available  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Hi David
,
Thanks, I hadn’t thought of the early learning centre, and a good idea because even a wooden cylinder head would be better than the one I have now!

I agree that there is no point contacting the engineer again, it would be a waste of a phone call just to listen to someone tell me that I got it wrong and I should have taken it to a proper garage… Even photographing everything, putting nuts and connectors in separate bags and marking everything, including every tappet and valve doesn't stop them from messing it up....


I wonder if there are any of our American cousins reading this? I wrote previously that I can buy a cylinder head and valve cover from eBay.com. They offer global shipping but it gets blocked and then destroyed when it gets to Global Shipping because, “It may contain or have been in contact with fuel or oil”…. I have argued that there is a far greater risk of fire or explosion from the fuel in the aircraft’s wings than in a 30kg lump of alloy and steel but they were having none of it. I could use another shipper like UPS as they would ship the head but the seller wants a USA address. I would pay everything upfront including shipping, taxes and duty. Any takers?


Emma x 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

Nothing available over here through some of the Volvo forums maybe? Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Hi David,

sadly no, there are a couple of full Volvo 3.2 engines for sale on eBay in Germany over £2500, but there is a LR2 head for sale on eBay in the USA. It's such a shame that their Global Shipping are so inflexible.

A new head from Britcar and the other JLR factors all want over £3000 for a new head.

But I search almost every day!


Emma 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0
2011 Jaguar XF 3.0
2007 LR2 i6 3.2 HSE
1980 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 California

What a saga, I admire your tenacity, I really would have binned it before now  Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)