Hi,

I'm new to this forum and need your help with an issue that we have on my daughter's 2007 Freelander 2 S TD4.
When we got it last year it was overdue an oil change. We then changed the oil and filter and straight away had the oil light coming on at idle, only going out over 1200 RPM. After another oil & filter change to effectively flush the engine out a bit (All using Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start 5W-30 A5 and Bosch filters) I eventually resorted to renewing the oil pressure sensor and replacing the oil pump with a new one. It all went away and ran fine for several months.

Until a week ago when the oil light came on when out driving (with the engine hot) and staying on. I tried it and initially found the light going out when over 2000 RPM but then it just stayed on.

I got it home and had a good listen with the engine hot and then after a cold start. It all sounds just as it should with no knock, bangs, smoke, etc. So, on the face of it, no significant damage seems to have been done.

Since then I have replaced the oil and filter as before, checked the filter installation and carried out an oil pressure test with a new test kit. That's when I found the following.

On initial start up I had about 6 bar at idle with a slight movement of the needle on the gauge.
This reduced to about 1.8 bar with a very steady needle when the engine had warmed up. I couldn't fully warm it up on the road due to the front end being removed for access. I mention the needle movement as I understand that a pulsing needle would indicate possible main bearing wear. So far so good.

When I increased the revs to 4000 RPM, the gauge went up to over 6 bar with a very shaky needle.
From what I have read, the pressure should only get to about 3.5 bar at 4000 RPM when the engine is warm so I think I might have an issue somewhere.

While the front end is off and I have good access, I have cleaned up some slight oil leaks from the plastic pipework below the turbo (intercooler pipework ?) but the oil levels inside were not excessive and I will also be looking at doing the same to the air intake line about the injectors where we have a slight leak from the left hand side above the oil separator system. (replace the jubilee clip at the joint ?)

What is puzzling me is how I get a low oil pressure warning with apparently high oil pressure.

Also, does the high oil pressure indicate something more sinister going on inside the engine ?

Has anyone had any similar experiences ?

Any thoughts would be welcome.

I am not familiar with the Diesel engine but is there an oil pressure by pass valve that might be sticking? 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 Boxbrownie,

As I understand it, the relief valve is built in to the oil pump so is effectively brand new. But please tell me if I have the wrong.

I believe that it is set to relieve pressure at 8+ bar.

If it was sticking, would that result in low pressure rather than high ?

As I said, it's a bit of a puzzle.

As I said, I am not familiar with the Diesel engine, some oil filters have relief valves in them also. 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

The Freelander 2 TD4 2.2 Engine oil pressure should be:-

At 1750 rev/min 1.6 bar/160 kPa/23 lb/in2
At 4000 rev/min 3.1 bar/310 kPa/45 lb/in2





The oil pump creates a maximum oil pressure of 6.5 bar (94.3 psi) at 4500 rpm, with a delivery rate capable of 50 liters (53 US quarts) per minute. A pressure relief valve within the oil pump outlet protects the oil pump and lubrication system components from system over-pressure. The valve will open at approximately 8 bar (116 psi) to relieve excess oil pressure, directing the relieved oil back into the oil pan.

Possible Causes High Oil Pressure Are:-

A Blocked Oil Passage/Gallery
A blocked oil passage can cause serious damage to your engine. If the passage remains blocked for a long period of time, it denies the necessary oil lubrication to the engine. A clear sign that a blocked oil passage is causing a problem could be an oil leak at the cam assembly. Another name for this leak is lifter tap.

A Faulty Oil Sending Unit
This malfunction is what causes high oil pressure in vehicles most often. You can assume that your oil sending unit is faulty if your gauge constantly reads abnormally high or low levels of oil pressure. Moreover, a sporadic and seemingly random blinking of your oil light might be a sign of trouble.

Now, troubleshooting your oil sending unit requires a multimeter. Turn it to the resistance range and see if your result is 240 ohms. If it isn’t, your oil sending unit is the culprit.

A Broken Oil Pressure Relief Valve
While pressure relief valves do not usually get stuck, they can malfunction occasionally. Now, the trouble is that you cannot troubleshoot a valve while it is working. What you need to do is remove it, clean it, and put it back in the engine.
In case the oil pressure reading remains unchanged, you need to look for the cause of the problem somewhere else. However, if the pressure reading returns to normal, you solved your problem.

A Dirty Oil Filter
Clearly, a dirty filter cannot supply enough oil to the engine. Filth and debris accumulate and eventually clog the filter. This can lead to an increase in the temperature, which in turn can cause high oil pressure

Oil Quality
Choosing an oil with the wrong viscosity can affect the overall oil pressure in your vehicle. For example, the occurrence of high oil pressure upon oil replacement might mean that the oil you are using is too thick. The reason for this is that the oil is simply too thick to reach every part of the engine.

Miscellaneous Causes
Other reasons for high oil pressure might involve a damaged oil pump or worn bearings etc;

Hope you get it resolved soon, good luck.

Hi,

Thanks AJ918 and Boxbrownie for you help. I really do appreciate it.

I'm thinking that a blocked oil way us going to be the favourite as we do also have the leak up top around the PCV housing.
In which case, is it a strip and clean of the top end to fix it or flush through with a flushing oil ?

Hi to all,

Has anyone done a cylinder head removal with the engine "in situ" ?

I'm going to talk to a local independent LR specialist today to discuss options but also considering taking this on myself as I am a reasonably experienced home mechanic.

With it all apart, I thought it could all be "decoked".

Any thoughts ?

derek900r wrote:

When we got it last year it was overdue an oil change.

Hi,

Initially it did make me stop and think. It had LR service history up to for most of it's 65k miles but the last service point was missed. As it had only done 8k miles over the last 3 years, the last owner thought it wasn't worth changing the oils. I personally don't think that's a good idea but it was cheap enough to take the risk and do a prompt oil change.

It has been suggested to me that I try a flush through with some good quality flushing fluid before I go in for the engine strip.

Anyone got any recommendations for doing this ?

Yes, a lot of people think like that chap. Unfortunately 8K miles in 3 years is exactly the scenario when more frequent oil changes are required as the engine is probably doing lots of short trips when cold - high wear rates - high oil degradation. The oil should have been changed yearly IMO.

Regarding flush. AFAIK you pour a bottle of oil flush into the engine. Run the engine for a while and then do an oil & filter change. Jules

Before going in for an engine strip, I decided to try flushing the engine.

First, I used STP "Professional" engine flush and added it to the still relatively clean Castrol Magnatec that I had in the engine. After about 25 minutes of high idle (1500 RPM), I drained it out.

Then I renewed the oil filter and flushed again with a CarLube product (oil and cleaning agents).

After about 30 minutes running at 1500 RPM I drained that out. It was a nice dark colour so had picked up a reasonable amount of muck.

Another new oil filter and a fill of fresh Castrol Magnatec.

On went the oil pressure test kit and warmed up the engine again.

The results were exactly the same as what I had at the start. It still runs nicely with no smoke, squeaks, rumbles, knocks, etc.

At this point I had a cuppa to try to decide what to do next.

I took off the air intake pipework above the engine to clean it out as some oil had leaked out on to the PCV unit. I'm going to change the clips to jubilee type tomorrow. I found a fair amount of oil in the pipework as I did when I cleaned out the pipe between the intercooler and turbo.
Could this be a high crankcase pressure that is confusing the oil pressure readings ?

Clutching at straws a bit here but want to check all other options before putting her in to the operating theatre.

I cant see how any blockage in the PCV or EGR systems would cause high oil pressure.

Your original problem was the oil pressure LOW warning light coming on.
In my experience high oil pressure is a rare occurrence.
Are you sure the oil pressure testing unit is accurate - has it been tested against a normal engine ? Jules

Had this a couple of times on other (petrol) engines and it was a stuck pressure relief valve both times. Don't know where the valve is on this engine but I would make it no 1 suspect. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Error FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Past master wrote:

Had this a couple of times on other (petrol) engines and it was a stuck pressure relief valve both times. Don't know where the valve is on this engine but I would make it no 1 suspect.