Freelander gearbox change from manual to auto.

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Muskett

Muskett

Member
Posts
62
Location
East Sussex
So I've decided to get another Frelander 1 TD4 3 door. Mental sure but they do what I need.
Last one I've finally bust. A 2001 Auto with full Mud Terrains and thick atermarket aluminium sump guard. Well it was super cheap and seven years later now in negative equity with the brakes lines gone. In truth the bodywork is beaten and rough as heck as its been used as a works/farm truck.

The question is if I buy a 2005 facelift manual how difficult would it be to put the older auto gear box in? I have the donar parts so its just time mechanics??? Is it easy enough? Is anything Freelander easy enough? Anyone done it? What do you guys think?

I like the auto as I have an injured back and manual changing gear is painful. Autos are hard found and some come with stupidly expensive Road Tax £565!!!! Manual ones are two a penny, and I like the look of the 2005 facelift ones.
All input appreciated. Sure its mad but....
 
But where would the fun be in that?
The Autos drive really well. Due to my back I can't use a Defender, well maybe the new one if I win the lottery.
 
Muskett said:
But where would the fun be in that?
The Autos drive really well. Due to my back I can't use a Defender, well maybe the new one if I win the lottery.
Click to expand...
I suppose if you get you're kicks out of solving electrical issues, then go for it.

I'd imagine the engine ECU needs to know its got an auto box attached and whether its in gear, so you may need to swap the ECUs, then you need to swap the CCU or imobilisation ECU, then you have to consider keys. Then you have to consider the dash - does anything on there relate to auto? Then you have the ABS ECU, that needs to know about 1st and reverse gears. Those bits that have been swapped will be different generations between 2001 and 2005 - eg the ABS is different setup, so will other stuff need swapping over?
 
As stated, you'd basically be looking at engine and gearbox swap plus dashhout loom and ecu's to swap, be as well putting it into a 1.8 freelander that can be had for ten a penny. Sorry! :-(

So, about those brake lines...
 
Muskett said:
Sounds like its a silly idea then? My bad. Some iseas are great but not really practical. Had to ask.
Click to expand...
It is technically possible to do. However you'll need the donor components from a compatible year FL1, in this case a facelift. There are a lot of electrical differences between an early FL1 auto and the facelift auto.

Why not just keep looking for an auto facelift. That's what I did, and I found one eventually. You just have to be prepared to pay about 50% more for an auto, over a manual.

Oh and I still needed to replace the brake lines on mine a couple of years back. It wasn't an issue, taking about half a day and only costing about £60 in parts. ;)
 
Seems there is a lot more changes made for the Facelift than I thought.

Its the 3dr that I want which are far rarer as an Auto. I can find a manual easily enough. I thought I'd found an Auto but it lands in the £565 Road Tax bracket, which means the vehicles can't do a "cheap year". These were only made for another six months or so, and then it was the Freelander 2 with no 3dr open back. The ones earlier than April 2006 weren't made for that long either, so never easy to find. I don't mind paying the extra for the Auto but not double whammy Road Tax hike that can go with it. Just a pitfall quirk of Government road tax policy that takes the fun out of buying one of the last Facelift 3dr Autos.

Off road are the Autos considered better?
 
Muskett said:
Seems there is a lot more changes made for the Facelift than I thought
Click to expand...
The Facelift make more use of the now ubiquitous CANBUS system, than the pre-facelift model. Swapping the actual gearbox and engine are is the easy part, as mechanically they're the same. The data communication system which the ECUs communicate by changed over the years, which makes the conversion "challenging". There are 6 ECUs throughout the vehicle, which all talk to each other over the data BUS. The communication system changed, as did the harnesses which linked all the ECUs together. This is the stumbling block you could have to overcome.

I've not looked into such a conversion too deeply, as I think it's less work to simply buy the vehicle with the spec you want.

Nothing is impossible, but it's easier to buy instead of build. ;)
Muskett said:
I thought I'd found an Auto but it lands in the £565 Road Tax bracket, which means the vehicles can't do a "cheap year".
Click to expand...

Look for a facelift between a 53 plate and a 55 plate, as those are cheaper to tax. I'm sure my 05 SE is £325 or something. I just pay by DD, so don't really know what it costs in one lump sum.:oops:
 
Nodge68, thank you for that. I'm getting my head round it all now.
£330 is a whole lot better than £565? And thats the rub of the one I found, liked, but would annoy me every year/month. Will have to keep looking, but might just get a tidy £1K or so gear shifter while I look. I generally keep my cars until scrap/uneconomocal to repair/money after bad.
The Freelander is third car for use when I do my Deer Warden/ Emergency work, plus the forestry and off road. Saves bottoming out my better road cars.
Frankly the Freelander does off road well enough and are cheap enough too. Thats with add ons like full Mud Terrains and Rock sliders. I can't do Defender with my back, and its probably why I have a bad back with the amount of time I spent in Army ones.

Thanks again all.
 
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