Just had a call from them. Its running, just about. Fuel injectors were completely blocked. And now a grand total bill of £654

Picking up later today, and spending the afternoon crying about spending that much money

I'm a little puzzled ... What's the connection of injectors with the fuel rail pressure anomalies read by you? ...

Honestly not sure. The injectors were fully blocked so not sure what would have caused the low pressure in the fuel rail from that.

All the old diesel was flushed out the system too.

A little annoyed they didn't refit some of the crash shields and engine cover etc, but I guess they would leave it in the same state I left it really

Many thanks for the update. Do you mind asking them about the abnormalities in fuel rail pressures and if they did anything else. The only reason I ask is I’m in exactly the same boat with my Freelander 2 and I’m scratching my head as to where to go next. I am starting to get some fuel in the fuel rail which comes out when I crank the motor over but the pressure is way too low. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Luke,
If i have to go back at any point ill ask, but otherwise you maybe best taking yours to a garage and have them investigate.

As Alex mentioned, its weird that a blocked injector would cause the low fuel pressure warning in the first place. But from other peoples advice on these forums, a load of reading, and multiple friends and RAC guys looking over it all. There are a quite a lot of other issues that it could also be.

Now things are back working, ill go do another OBD pressure reading and see what it says just out of interest for you. But if your is still cranking and not starting, then i would work through the same tests ive mentioned throughout this thread.

Fuel filter
Bleed fuel lines
Fuel pump
Fuel regulator
Crankshaft sensor
Camshaft sensor

If its possible, you would be best off doing some sort of pressure test to see whats what. But the Diesel specialist garage did this, (aparently with a £30k+ machine so im told), so not sure what best to advise other than some of the above.

mdis89 do you know how the injectors got blocked ?

Could the fuel system have been primed from the wrong side of the filter and allowed dirt into the system?

Have you ever used injector cleaner in your fuel? ive got some Wynns injector cleaner and was wondering whether to use it as preventative maintenance. Jules

Injectors have their own mesh filter in the "input" side. So I have doubts that some dirt will pass their mesh and block ALL injectors.
I've used Wynns solution and is a good one. Positive results.

Honestly, no idea how they got blocked.

Unless they wernt blocked when it first originally broke, and by me replacing the Fuel Rail and Fuel Pump with used parts then blocked them further?

Thats the only vague justification i can think of, other than. It was in a bad condition when i got it just over 12 months ago...

A few garages mentioned to not use the "cheap" diesel from say a Morrisons garage etc, as that can be really poor quality etc, but surely not enough to block all 4 injectors?

Ive never used any cleaner, however recently got some Redex, so will add a little of that in when i next fuel up, see if it helps just keep things a little cleaner.

---

Just generally with Freelander 2's - Are there any specific years/models/mileages to avoid, that are known for issues? (EG, i read the 07 diesel is known for the cam breaking). Or alternatively, any year models that are more reliant than others?

Remembered one thing...

The injectors have a hydraulic chamber inside.
On the injectors' return circuit, just before the junction with the return from the pump, there is a special valve that is keeping a pressure of 10 bars on the return rail and on those hydraulic chambers, pressure needed for proper operation of the injector. This valve also needs to be checked.

A little bit of intel on the injectors' hydraulic chamber, quoted from the manual:

The injector body contains a stack of piezo-electric crystals mounted above a control piston. The piezo crystals are actuated by a supply voltage from the ECM. The control piston is separated with a hydraulic chamber that acts to operate the needle valve via a domed piston and control drilllings. The hydraulic chamber compensates for temperature changes within the injector assembly, and also allows the injector to operate with a constant reaction time, even after numerous operations. The hydraulic chamber eliminates the requirement for contacting moving parts within this type of injector. In other types of injector these contact parts will wear, increasing the reaction time of the injector and subsequently affecting the engines performance and emissions.
CAUTION: If injectors are removed it is important that the injector is handled correctly to prevent the hydraulic chamber from emptying. DO NOT shake or drain the injector, as this will drain the hydraulic chamber and may cause the engine not to start when refitted. ALWAYS cap the open connections and maintain the injector in an upright position and must not be laid on the side or shaken.

I am in the process of replacing the hose that runs from the filter to the pump. I noticed that it had been letting in a bit of air before I rebuilt the head but not enough to stop the car from running but I do want to rule it out as the problem. I was really careful with the injectors when I removed them by putting them in individual zip lock bags and cable tying them to a board I rigged up specifically for them in to keep them in an upright position . Once the hose arrives I’ll spend some more time bleeding the system thoroughly and report back.

Rail pressure abnormalities

As I had mentioned before if the ECM see a response outside of the norm it will cause either the Injectors to switch off or it will take control of the rail pressure to prevent engine damage by either over or under fuelling.
Live data is also old data, it tends to run between 2 and 4.5 seconds after the event !
When I take Can diagnostic classes looking at live data in comparison with scope info, the delay in live data is shockingly running well behind
Scoping fuel pressure problems now & fully understanding the way the system works is vital.
A garage can ave a 30k piece of diagnostic kit but it still wont fix the problem.
Technicians now really need to have a full understanding of how and why each and every system works!
The fragility of these injectors can never be underestimated as I had mentioned in an earlier post in this section.
a 2 micron particle is now enough to seized an injector, hence the importance of quality fuel filters.In the trade I notice a trend to buy the cheapest with a " That will do " mentality ! when you take the cheaper ones apart you would understand.
Quality parts will save a fortune long term.

As Alex has said the fact that the late Piezo injectors need 10 bar return pressure is 100% correct and the very reason why Injectors must never be " Cracked off " whilst running or cranking as the return pressure is used to close the injectors.
Hence if an injector is Cracked of whilst running the potential is for the injector to remain open and hydraulic lock a cylinder.

There are still so many garages that crack pipes whilst running its very worrying.
Im glad its now up and running for you. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

So a little worried, as when the car initially broke down about 4-5 weeks ago, it just turned over a little more than normal, but always eventually started up.

Its been a couple of days since the injectors were cleaned, and geenrally driving around. Completely fine.

However, that very first start/fire up of the day... It seems to hesitate, or again turns over a little more each day then fires. Quite a lot of blueish coloured exhaust comes out, but it does fire up.

The rest of the day, starting up is completely fine. But its just when its been left overnight and the first one of the day.

It could be that its been sat idle for so long and its just crap getting out of the system? (but ive been driving round ok).
Just a little worried that the same issue is going to happen again over this next few days/week or so.

Any idea's, or preventitive measures to keep it firing up smoothly?

I've seen a situation where that 10 bar pressure valve was malfunctioning and those were the symptoms, like you said.

Also seen some discussions on Russian forum, where someone had removed that valve.
Happy bunny a couple of days, thinking that was a redundant device, but then, the car was failing to start.

So....

I can report back with a bit of good news! My mechanic recommended I persevere with attempting to bleed the system as he said they can problematic to get all the air out after they have been sitting around unpressurised for a while. So I went and bought an air driven brake bleed kit as I wasn’t convinced that the hand bulb and hose I had been using to draw the fuel up from the tank was working all that well. After attaching the brake bleed kit and drawing a good quantity of fuel through the fuel filter I then also sucked the fuel through on the return line from the filter housing until I could see that most of the transparent lines were full of fuel. I then hit the starter and she started!! I can’t be happier!!

I bet it feels like Christmas in your house! Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.