Fuel tank cradle

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Well the new cradle is on. Along with a new exhaust that was rusted to f*** as well.

Replacing the cradle is not a job for the feint hearted so unless you have a super duper ramp and multiple jacks 'n' stuff, get a friendly garage to do it for you. My local lads did it and charged me two hours labour and that included the fitting of the new exhaust system too.

Oh I filled the bl**dy thing with WaxOyl before they put it on.

Result.
 

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Cradle Crap, yet another mastermind design from LR :rolleyes:

Nothing a pipe bender and crude welding couldn't solve,

when the time comes I'll be making a modded one from alum tread plate (in two parts)................purely for ease of fitment
 
I have to admit I am gobsmacked that such an important piece of structure is made of such p*ss poor material. I know in terms of manufacturing and assembly line installation its easier to fit a single part with four bolts that two parts with eight bolts, but Land Rover scored a humdinger with this thing.

Ah well.. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
 
WilkoUK said:
I have to admit I am gobsmacked that such an important piece of structure is made of such p*ss poor material. I know in terms of manufacturing and assembly line installation its easier to fit a single part with four bolts that two parts with eight bolts, but Land Rover scored a humdinger with this thing.
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True, I think it falls within 'Miscellaneous category' in the Freelander 1 faults poll ;)
 
myotherworld said:
has there been any progress/ up dates with this?
is anyone making them and if so how much?
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I'm working with a company down south on these and waiting on a reply from them with ideas for improvement/simplifying before I go into prototyping with them. They're building an overlander demo, and the intention is to supply them with everything inc a new cradle, many eyes are better than just mine
 
That doesn't look to bad in the photos, all that was any good on mine was the frame work which was surprisingly solid to say how bad it looked, just the plates that had totaly rotted away.
 
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SimonM said:
Having recently bought a Freelander with 166k miles on it and no record of the VCU having been changed, and with a vague feeling that it might be a bit tight (one wheel up test, reversing on full lock), I thought that I'd whip the old one off and get it checked out.

All went well, except that I found this when I was under there :eek:

So - Does anyone have a spare fuel tank cradle or know where I can get one? As I last resort I can use even a rusty one as a pattern to get one made I suppose...
photo_zps7df30e62.jpg
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I wish mine looked as sound as that! One of the tubes has rusted half way through. Its on the list of jobs to do. I didn't notice intil I was under last week checking IRD oil.
 
The tubular bits that seem to give the cradle real strength are pretty solid so I think I have some breathing space........ .

I cleaned it up with a wire brush - a lot of the thin steel is gone and the rest is following. Painted with some Hammerite give it another coat later I think it will last for a few months for sure.

touch wood.
 
18 months ago had a local metal shop (they make gates) make one up for me using an old one as pattern 160 euros including galvanising.+IVA
 
SES88 said:
I'll get mine up in the air early next week and have a look at mine, i know its rusty, but need to see how easy it'll be to get it off the car.

I'm a sheet metal worker, and run my own fabrication business and will be happy to churn them out alongside the other things i'm doing for the freelander. Problem is, unlike suggested, its not simply a case of doing it on the back of a fag packet and using scrap metal, as the cradle is designed to support the tank and has a load of swages in for a reason, to give it strength.

I do have access to all the machinery required though, guillotine, brake press, tube benders etc.

If i can get some numbers together of people who need/want one, it will give me an idea of where i'm pricing, as obviously making 10 works out cheaper than making 2.

The cradle will have probably been 0.8-1mm originally, steel is a lot stronger than you think, especially with all the swages in, more than adequate to support a full tank of fuel with that design. Going thicker will make it too heavy and too expensive, but it does need a little extra protection on it to deflect debris away.
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I would have one
 
we have just changed mine of my 2006 td4 auto hse mine was in a right state I had a trip last weekend and had to fill up and I heard a crack come from underneath
and yes it was collapsing luckily a few weeks ago I brought one and give it a few coats of hammerite but we were fighting the weather today but we still did it and there is no way I could have done it on my own with my back I will post a picture of my old one tomorrow I held the tank up with a ratchet strap and I wish I had taken photos but it was raining and I did not want to ruin my camera.
 
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