New Radiator

Hello, just thought that I would share with you the problems of obtaining and fitting a new rad to my L-series.

There are many sites advertising new rads for next day delivery on the web but when you check, the prices are different. I ordered one which took a week to arrive and was the wrong rad anyway. I sent it back and am still awaiting refund. Eventually obtained one from UK carcooling www.carcooling.co.uk which was twice the price advertised and late arriving. Its now fitted and seems to be OK.

I don't know how many L-series engined Freelanders were made but there must have been thousands of them. Why is it suppliers always pretend that they have never heard of them and always try to persuade you that you must have a TD4!

Happyhippo said:

Hello, just thought that I would share with you the problems of obtaining and fitting a new rad to my L-series.

There are many sites advertising new rads for next day delivery on the web but when you check, the prices are different. I ordered one which took a week to arrive and was the wrong rad anyway. I sent it back and am still awaiting refund. Eventually obtained one from UK carcooling www.carcooling.co.uk which was twice the price advertised and late arriving. Its now fitted and seems to be OK.

I don't know how many L-series engined Freelanders were made but there must have been thousands of them. Why is it suppliers always pretend that they have never heard of them and always try to persuade you that you must have a TD4!

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I always go to a radiator repair/recondition mob, they can either repair with a new core etc or give one off the shelf reconditioned with a guarantee.

Dont know why you allowed them to charge you so much if it was advertised at half that, where's yur balls.

In reference to the td4 bit I guess they cant believe anybody would be stupid enough to buy anything other than a td4. Most freelanders are pushing up daisys anyway total crap so they are.

Hummm, the fact that the L series suffers fewer known issues than the TD4 isn't relevent then? Sorry to dissappoint but there are thousands of FL1s out there that are going strong. Mine included!!

Darmain said:

Hummm, the fact that the L series suffers fewer known issues than the TD4 isn't relevent then? Sorry to dissappoint but there are thousands of FL1s out there that are going strong. Mine included!!

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Thats the spirit, I'm just teasing you part of being on here, all the other forums are crap.

I agree that this forum is very good, but the thick skin is definately a requirement.

However, I do find it odd that the Freelander gets so much stick from the other Landrover owners. It seems to me that the Freelander is quite a capable off roader. No its not as go anywhere as a Defender but with care it does well, even the tractor drivers have commented that they were quietly surprised as to how the lighter Freelanders manage when out laning. Also, I note that the other models in the landrover range are not infallible either. I have heard an independent mechanic state that the only 'good' landrover is the Defender......

Darmain said:

I agree that this forum is very good, but the thick skin is definately a requirement.

However, I do find it odd that the Freelander gets so much stick from the other Landrover owners. It seems to me that the Freelander is quite a capable off roader. No its not as go anywhere as a Defender but with care it does well, even the tractor drivers have commented that they were quietly surprised as to how the lighter Freelanders manage when out laning. Also, I note that the other models in the landrover range are not infallible either. I have heard an independent mechanic state that the only 'good' landrover is the Defender......

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I guess somebody has to get picked on, and the freelander seems to be the runt, however I have to say on one of the outings in our club they stated that part of the route would not be suitable for road tyres and freelanders.

On a positive note tho, if it aint so good at offroading then I guess that adds that bit more skill element into the outings, if it was easy then it would not be fun.

And yes they all break, some more than others, join in on the fun here and enjoy what you have, no need to have thick skin there is no malice intended.

As to why would you buy an L-series the answer to that my friend, is that there was no such thing as a TD4 in March 2000, when I bought it. Its the second L-series freelander I've owned making a total of 150k trouble free miles covered. Its needed some preventative maintenance but never let me down (still on the same clutch). Its been a great wokhorse and is used for towing large trailers regularly. I have to say that given the opportunity I'm not sure I would choose a TD4 over the L-series anyway. I think the TD4 is way too complicated and fragile for a Land Rover and is no quicker, and its less fuel efficient than my chipped L-series. As to the K-series, if they had never produced it they might have been able to salvage the green oval. At the time the Freelander was the best compromise SUV available and was comfortable to drive on road. It has been copied by many manufacturers. Driven well, it has phenomenal off-roading capability providing you take into account the limited ground clearance. I've even seen one embarass a depender in muddy conditions.

As to my original question are there any experts who can tell me how many L-series were produced and what proportion were exported?

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to production numbers, except that its is logical to assume that there were more TD4s produced.

It is good to hear the words of a satisfied Freebie owner and I agree that with good maintenance the L series is a reliable lump, making the Freelander a useful car. Thats how I would classify mine.