Freelander 1 4WD decision

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TimMc

New Member
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8
Location
Buckinghamshire
Hi,

I have a nice Freelander 1 with the 1.8 petrol engine. I have spent quite a lot of time and money sorting out the head gasket and it runs well now. However, twice the prop shaft has failed and so I run it as a 2WD. I’d really like a 4WD as we live on a small holding but am wondering if it’s really cost effective. My mechanic tells me the whole thing is shot and a fools errand. Is it worth it or time to get another car? All views very welcome, thank you. Best wishes, Tim.
 
It depends on what you mean by "propshafts failed". I've never had one fail, or know of many that have given any trouble at all. The propshafts are just lumps of metal that rotate to drive the rear wheels.

Are you meaning the VCU?, which is between the front and rear propshaft. The VCU can go stiff over time, but doesn't "fail", although it's bearings can go noisy. A stiff VCU will destroy the IRD or rear diff or both.
The VCU only goes stiff if odd tyres are used. If correct tyre maintenance is done, then the VCU generally has a very long life.
 
Well, it really depends on budget. To sort the whole thing properly head to tail will prob cost you a few hundreds. You need a recon vcu, prob an ird but you can get an used one providing it's alright then the rear diff, again you might get away with an used one. Change oil on both ird and rear diff and seals. Then there's the labour if you are not doing it yourself.
Prop shaft itself does not fail, it's the vcu that stops the show and brings ird and diff to the grave with it. It's a consumable item that supposed to be changed every 70k miles but almost nobody does it since "it runs fine"
 
And yes 4x identical tyres :) Those are rare birds in England's woods, my house mate works in a busy tyre shop and we have our own statistics.
 
If that is gone and only that you will get away cheapish, get a bell engineering recon one (don't bother on fleabay) + mounts and good to go.
 
You need a proper diagnosis of what's wrong with the transmission, as stated, the three main components are the vcu and its support bearings, the IRD and the diff. The vcu and IRD are the weak links in a freelander that hasn't been looked after properly. A good 4x4 specialist will be able to advice you. Freelander 1.8 k series are pretty cheap secondhand, this may be a more economical alternative to having everything replaced. I was quoted £2000 or thereabouts to replace the vcu, bearings and IRD when I first got mine. I had a recon vcu and bearings fitted by Bell engineering, a new set of matching tyres and left the original IRD on the car. That was two years and 20,000 miles ago and all is well.

Col
 
TimMc said:
The IRD is broken in this case
Click to expand...

Ok. So it sounds like it's been used with odd tyres, which caused the VCU to stiffen. This then overload the IRD, so it's output pinion has stripped, as the crown wheel thrust bearing collapsed.

So to fix this, you're going to need a replacement IRD and a reconditioned VCU, and 4 identical tyres.

Or just continue to drive it as a FWD.
 
Nodge68 said:
Ok. So it sounds like it's been used with odd tyres, which caused the VCU to stiffen. This then overload the IRD, so it's output pinion has stripped, as the crown wheel thrust bearing collapsed.

So to fix this, you're going to need a replacement IRD and a reconditioned VCU, and 4 identical tyres.

Or just continue to drive it as a FWD.
Click to expand...

Thank you for explaining it to me so clearly. I also don’t have the propshaft any more, so it doesn’t sound like a cost effective solution. I’m thinking the two wheel drive option is best or simply replace the car
 
TimMc said:
Thank you for explaining it to me so clearly. I also don’t have the propshaft any more, so it doesn’t sound like a cost effective solution. I’m thinking the two wheel drive option is best or simply replace the car
Click to expand...

If you don't have the propshafts (what happened to them?) , then you'll need to get those too.

If you can find all the components you need on Ebay for sensible money except the VCU, and you can do some of the spanner work yourself, then it's possible to do on a tight budget. However if you buy new parts and pay to have them fitted, then the cost of fixing it will exceed the value of the vehicle.
 
Nodge68 said:
Ok. So it sounds like it's been used with odd tyres, which caused the VCU to stiffen. This then overload the IRD, so it's output pinion has stripped, as the crown wheel thrust bearing collapsed.

So to fix this, you're going to need a replacement IRD and a reconditioned VCU, and 4 identical tyres.

Or just continue to drive it as a FWD.
Click to expand...
//\\ sounds like the diagnosis and options.

Hopefully the read diff is fine - so for 4WD you're looking at about £1K of recon IRD & VCU from Bell Engineering...

http://www.bellengineering.co.uk/freelander-1-products/

You can get yourself a cheap set of props from e-Bay or a scrap yard - it won't matter about the VCU and its bearings - you'll use that as the exchange with Bells - but check the CV and UJs are in serviceable condition - they usually are.

Swapping the IRD out is a 'proper' job, but I did it on my own and I'm an armchair mechanic (wasn't event hat before the IRD went :) ) Its heavy but basically like mechano, tons of bolts to undo to get it off and then do back up when the replacement goes on. Installing the props is an easy job, plenty of people take them off for the summer then reinstall for winter.

Before embarking on this, you could check the crown and pinion gears on the IRD, if they are OK, you could recon your IRD with a recon kit for under £200 for the parts - but labour will knock that price up if you have to get someone to do it. If the gears are worn/broken, then a recon unit is the only sensible choice.

Or, as you know and said, you can stay 2WD. Mine been like that since I rebuilt my IRD.
 
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