Hello, my name is Colin, I live in County Durham and I've just joined the forum today. I'm after a bit of advice and would appreciate any help you can give please!
I have the option to buy a diesel manual 07 reg Freelander 2 with around 85,000 miles on the clock for a very good price (2K). The reason it is so cheap is because it has a broken exhaust camshaft - snapped at the fuel pump end of the shaft, just behind the last valve cam (so the end cam and the fuel pump drive are now separate from the rest of the shaft which remains in place in the engine).
I've had a look at it and it obviously hasn't had a hard life - the paint and bodywork are great and the underside is undamaged although the major components are a little rusty as you would expect. However, the vehicle has been standing for around 14 months and the brakes look rusted solid. In addition, the battery is dead and wont hold charge, so I can't ascertain if there are problems with any of the electrics.
I was thinking along the lines of getting a local landrover independant garage to fit a secondhand engine with lower mileage (about the same price as the car) that I can source, but I was wondering if a 2010 engine is compatible with an 07 vehicle?
In addition, are there any other problems that could crop up after standing for so long? Fuel lines clogged perhaps etc.
I suppose I'm basically just trying to get the whole project costed but I need to be aware of possible contingencies that I need to allow for. Many thanks for your help! Colin.

Some light reading for you:

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic10702.htm...aft+broken
http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic17292.htm...aft+broken
http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic13837.htm...aft+broken

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Hello Bob and thanks for the reply. I had actually already googled the problem and come across the broken camshaft thread previously, but thanks for mentioning it. I must say, its uncanny how some of the photos are almost exactly identical to the ones I took last night when I went to have a look at it! I'll try to upload them when I get chance.
Colin.

Don't buy another engine.
Just replace the camshaft with the updated one and enjoy the car.

Thanks for taking a look Alex - I was about to say the same!  10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Hello Alex,
The owner did get an independant Land Rover specialist to start to strip down the engine to determine the problem and that's when he found the broken camshaft. He was told that the original engine would never be satisfactory as shards of metal (presumably from the break) would have entered the oilway system and would cause problems further down the line and the only way to avoid this would be a VERY expensive total dismantle and rebuild. I must say, this does sound a little far fetched, as surely any metallic debris would be caught in the oil filter or just settle in the bottom of the sump? He was quoted about £13,000 for a new engine by Landrover!
From my limited knowledge, I understand that the camshaft was upgraded in 2008 - is it the case that the new improved cam will fit in the original head? If so, this may be the best way forward.
I had though that by buying a newer second hand engine with less miles on it, I could save myself lots of potential problems but perhaps this is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut!
I think the thing that is now worrying me the most is what other problems and faults may have developed simply because it has been standing for so long!
Thanks, Colin.

The head itself is unchanged aiui and the new camshaft is a straight swap.

I guess it's not impossible that fragments of the camshaft will cause problems later, but I'd say it's by no means certain and a risk well worth taking to get an FL2 for £2K! And you always have the option of a second hand engine later if necessary.

14 months isn't that long for a car to stand. You may need to replace the disks and pads, but they may well just clean up after a few miles of use (depends in part on what state they were in to start with, and exactly where the car has been standing). Handbrake linkage may need a bit of lubrication. And it sounds like you need a new battery. Tyres should be fine unless they've been allowed to go completely flat. Other than that I wouldn't expect too many problems. I know of a Nissan which was left to stand for 2-3 years when its owner was ill. After he died it passed to a relative and is still running around today. New battery was all that was required.

Hello Pab, thanks for the reply. I consulted with my local independant land rover fixer last night and I'm pretty sure I'll go ahead and buy it. Thanks everyone for your help and advice and I'll keep you posted with how I get on.
Best wishes, Colin.

I believe that there were some injector differences with cars with stop/start technology around 2010 and more in 2011 with the lower emission version so it might be necessary to have the corresponding ECU (or mapping) to go with a replacement engine. That said I once rebuilt on old tractor that had all sorts of nasties in it (like sand in the oil and bits of piston rings missing) and we just ran it with new oil for a few minutes and changed the oil and filter and it was OK. Basically you haven't got much to lose. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

That's it! I'm going to buy it and will be in touch with the seller this weekend. Once I've picked it up, I'll get the engine assessed and then take it from there. I've been having sleepless nights already and I'm not even an owner yet!
Best wishes, Colin.

May I give a few comments.
.
I bought my 2010 freelie 2 years ago with a wrecked engine. I've a post on here about how I changed my engine for a replacement very easy and straightforward out the top leaving all services still connected / piped up AND leaving the gearbox in the car. HOWEVER if you were to follow the LR method it's 300% crazy as you dismantle just about everything at the front end .
.
I fitted a later spec engine but fitted a my sensors and injectors etc to avoid compatibility problems.
.
I bought my new engine for £1800 and broke my old engine for parts getting £900 back.
.
If you end up taking the head off and find piston damage then it IS an engine OUT job to remove the crank balancer module before undoing big end caps. There is a sandwich plate to remove before there us room to extract the balancer module. The gearbox has to be removed to allow removing the sandwich płate ......
.
HOWEVER don't let any of the above stop you buying the car.
.
Nearly forgot .... Always remove rust from brake discs before driving other than a few metres for loading to your trailer. Rust is skin harder than steel and will polish rather than get wiped clean; then you get hammer brakes!
.
Kind regards from Fred
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

The camshaft design was changed twice. Use the last revision, LR021914
As pab said, they are both a straight swap.
And for a 2K chance to take, change the camshaft and you'll still have down the road the option of an engine change, IF something happens.
Just take the car to a careful, known and trustful mechanic that will treat the operation with responsibility, especially when looking for the shards. Anyway, the bottom of the engine should be dismantled to also look there for some shards, as there are the balancing shafts with a lot of toothed gears.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/tra...G4Leqw0mDA

Ummmm....just had a rethink having re read from the top.
.
Alex is 100% right that the balancer has to come off as there are wide helical gears inside.
.
As the break is after the last valve, there can't be any piston damage so no need to remove the head.
.
On mine I first removed the tin sump to reach the big ends and found that the balancer shaft assembly would not jiggle out from the sandwich plate. Having undone one big end and seen the mess I just bolted it back together.
.
Memory tells me that if I had ground / power filed a little metal from the sandwich rim and balancer castings that it should jiggle free and drop out.
.
So as Alex reccomends if you find a mechanic who uses commonsense and ingenuity then you've every chance of a low cost repair with little real dismantling.
.
Good luck and keep us posted.
.
Kind regards from Fred
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

As above. Even in scrap value you would/could probably get your outlay back easily if all else fails. Foraging near Gaydon....
——————————————
MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Hello again,
I've read the comments and noted them all. Like you say, its worth taking a chance for the money. Hopefully, I'll be picking it up next weekend. We plan to go round it and remove each wheel one at a time to free the callipers. What is the best way to remove the rust from the disks afterwards please?
One thing to mention; the break is actually BEFORE the last cam - it appears to have gone across the bearing surface which is a bit of a worry as I don't know what state the bearing shell in the head will be in. Still, we will see!
I DID ring up about a second hand engine that had only done 38K but I've decided to sit on my hands and not lash out for the time being. It was from an auto anyway - not sure if it would have been compatible with my manual box? Would it have been possible to just unbolt the converter and attach the manual box? This is academic now, but I'm curious to know!
Thanks, Colin.