Prospective not gay freelander owner

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Obviously if you want 22 responses in an hour to your buying a Freelander thread - you put on all your Disco/Tratter bravado and call it a gaylander - cept you don't actually get any answers!

Because of this, you should definitely buy it as it will turn out to be a £0.99 grommet and will give you many years trouble free, and expense free, motoring :)

However, the fact its had a "recon" engine and subsequent HG failure tells you something. The K Series will always throw HGs. How well they are repaired will determine how long till the next event - poor repair 100 miles, good repair (with knowledge of repairing K Series HG and done properly) 60K miles.

When buying a Freelander - I recon you should always budget on a recon VCU. With a K Series, you should also budget for a HG. I've never done one, but people on here say its simple enough to do - just take advice on the right type of HG to do. I suppose that assumes though that the head is strong and straight and the liners haven't moved.

I'm also sure that parts for the K Series are cheap and there should be plenty sitting in breakers yards - if that place in Pease Pottage is still there, they must have loads of them!

So if you're buying any Freelander, you should allow about £200 for a recon VCU. It it turns out that the one you get is OK - that's a bonus.

Others can say how much a HG fix will cost.

As for its current problem - don't believe anything the seller says. Also look underneath to see if it still has its props attached (front to back axle with VCU in the middle) - if they're not there its been changed to 2WD and, once again, don't believe anything the sellers says unless he comes out and says "the transmission's shot to pieces". If they're missing, you've got to budget at another £1K for recon IRD/rear diff - unless you want to chance breakers - or get lucky and can fix it for less.

BTW - the back of a Freelander is a lot smaller than a Disco. If your misses is throwing in bails of hay - make sure they fit first. If she ever tows the pony in a box, steer clear of the 1.8, go for the TD4 with an auto box.
 
Obviously if you want 22 responses in an hour to your buying a Freelander thread - you put on all your Disco/Tratter bravado and call it a gaylander - cept you don't actually get any answers!

Because of this, you should definitely buy it as it will turn out to be a £0.99 grommet and will give you many years trouble free, and expense free, motoring :)

However, the fact its had a "recon" engine and subsequent HG failure tells you something. The K Series will always throw HGs. How well they are repaired will determine how long till the next event - poor repair 100 miles, good repair (with knowledge of repairing K Series HG and done properly) 60K miles.

When buying a Freelander - I recon you should always budget on a recon VCU. With a K Series, you should also budget for a HG. I've never done one, but people on here say its simple enough to do - just take advice on the right type of HG to do. I suppose that assumes though that the head is strong and straight and the liners haven't moved.

I'm also sure that parts for the K Series are cheap and there should be plenty sitting in breakers yards - if that place in Pease Pottage is still there, they must have loads of them!

So if you're buying any Freelander, you should allow about £200 for a recon VCU. It it turns out that the one you get is OK - that's a bonus.

Others can say how much a HG fix will cost.

As for its current problem - don't believe anything the seller says. Also look underneath to see if it still has its props attached (front to back axle with VCU in the middle) - if they're not there its been changed to 2WD and, once again, don't believe anything the sellers says unless he comes out and says "the transmission's shot to pieces". If they're missing, you've got to budget at another £1K for recon IRD/rear diff - unless you want to chance breakers - or get lucky and can fix it for less.

BTW - the back of a Freelander is a lot smaller than a Disco. If your misses is throwing in bails of hay - make sure they fit first. If she ever tows the pony in a box, steer clear of the 1.8, go for the TD4 with an auto box.

Mostly OK with that, except a modern HG properly fitted and coolant never allowed to drop should last for the rest of the life of the engine. If they don't get cooked at all then a modern gasket should not deteriorate.

Also, crank sensor may well be the problem and if the battery is a bit tired or sluggish then it won't generate enough signal to trigger the ECU. Check it is not loose, and also that the shielded cable is properly intact.
 
If your missus is only using it for driving to and from the horse's, then at £650 it's worth a punt. K series engines are easy to work on.
But if you want to move hay bales, or a horse box about, get a TD4 as @GrumpyGel says. Alot more grunt and less chance of cooking the engine.

As for calling it a gaylander :(. Not all of us want huge off roaders or mud pluggers jacked up on daft suspension kits.
They're very practical cars, that will happily cope with most weather conditions in the UK. Have a drive, you might be pleasantly surprised;)
Mike
 
Unusual for a 1.8 K not to start within a revolution. Difficult to say what the problem is. If no crank signal, it won't start. Once started, the engine position is determined by the cam position sensor - but it shouldn't be down on power.

If down on power with poor starting, I'd be doing a compression test.

£650 might be a bit too expensive for this one... but still worth buying as it is easy to work on, and easy to DIY. Potentially a good project :)

(At the right price)
 
Thanks for the replies, talked to the seller today at length, his reason for sale seems genuine, and knows little about cars. (I did grill him about it, he didn't know what prop-shafts were...) He loves the black 2 tone leather seats and is concerned it might need a hoovering... Apparently AA man went through it and tried a few roadside fixes, concluded it was the crank sensor which he obviously didn't carry so didn't do.
As for the 'gaylander' thing, I'm only joking, you lot are a bit touchy about it! I actually quite like it and would be happy to drive it. @GrumpyGel she wants it to go to the yard not chuck hay in or tow (she would use mine for that rare occasion) so 1.8 is ok and @doriz I sussed the pic thing, here it is-
Screenshot_20161125-101841.png
Screenshot_20161125-101835.png
 
Thanks for the replies, talked to the seller today at length, his reason for sale seems genuine, and knows little about cars. (I did grill him about it, he didn't know what prop-shafts were...) He loves the black 2 tone leather seats and is concerned it might need a hoovering... Apparently AA man went through it and tried a few roadside fixes, concluded it was the crank sensor which he obviously didn't carry so didn't do.
As for the 'gaylander' thing, I'm only joking, you lot are a bit touchy about it! I actually quite like it and would be happy to drive it. @GrumpyGel she wants it to go to the yard not chuck hay in or tow (she would use mine for that rare occasion) so 1.8 is ok and @doriz I sussed the pic thing, here it is-
View attachment 111468 View attachment 111469
Nice colour, is that L’Orèal Pearl Blonde Casting Crème Gloss from their Glossy Brownies Collection?

TBH I wouldn't go by anything the seller says - whether he comes across as genuine or not. Check yourself if it has props fitted - ideally jack (just) one of the rear wheels and see if it turns freely - with Freelander you shouldn't be able to turn it unless you give if all your weight and a huge push - and then it would only turn very slowly (there will be a bit of movement as the play in the diff/IRD is taken up). Mine has props, but I've removed a gear in the IRD to drive the back axle - so it looks 4WD - but it ain't..

I'm not sure if the crank speed is shown in live data on an diagnostic tool. You could put an LZ call out for someone with a i930, Freelander Hawkeye or similar in your area to read it while you turn it over. A standard ODB reader won't help. It would confirm the sensor's shot.

Check out the price on a crank sensor - or get 1 (or 2) from a breakers. Understand you'll probably have to replace the VCU and a good chance on the HG (std for all Freelander & 1.8s). You can't drive it, so you don't really know what the engine, clutch, gearbox, wheel bearings etc etc are like. What are the tyres like? If all 4 do not match - proceed with extreme caution.

If you're happy with the risk - offer him £400 - take it or leave it - maybe a bit less if you're not to sure on things. Its got the roof rails which is a + and the bumpers are nice and black, another +.
 
Well I think you have sufficiently put me off buying it so thanks for all the advice. I'll keep looking for a disco, at least I know what to look for.
 
Well I think you have sufficiently put me off buying it so thanks for all the advice. I'll keep looking for a disco, at least I know what to look for.
You fool! If it had every possible problem with it - it'd still be a better buy than a Disco! :D:D

Go on - you've got us all excited now - offer him £300 - get a crank sensor and see if it starts. If it don't, sell it on.
 
You fool! If it had every possible problem with it - it'd still be a better buy than a Disco! :D:D

Go on - you've got us all excited now - offer him £300 - get a crank sensor and see if it starts. If it don't, sell it on.
No point really, it's up to £510 on bids.£650 is 'buy it now'. I thought it was a bargain with a £25 easy fix, all others around that price or less are HG failures or blown pistons but the Mrs wants a car that works, not another potential money-pit sitting on the drive in bits...
 
Hi chaps, looking at an 04 1.8 kalahari for the Mrs, looks in very good nick. Seller (he lives in brighton.....! and hardly uses it) says it has had recon engine and head gasket done, however it has a starting problem. AA told him that its the crank sensor. Struggles to start (battery now flat) but when it does it apparently drives fine. "Struggles to start but when does is slightly underpowered on tick-over" he says. I can only assume he means poor idle. What do you lot think?
A lot of "poor idle" in Brighton!
 
I think I'll still go and have a look. I'm certainly not naive but I also know that not everyone selling a car is a lying tw@t, out to rip everyone off. I will still check it thoroughly for issues mentioned.
Curious to know though, why so many people on here think £650 is too much, even if it really is just a crank sensor and everything else is fine. I've seen "fully working" ones of that age going for a lot more. I'll be taking a trolley jack and a set of jump leads. I even thought about getting a crank sensor and chucking it on before I buy it. That way it's cost me £25 to find out the truth rather than £650. And if the seller doesn't like that idea then he must have something to hide (in theory)
 
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