Tests new Freelander 1 owners should do on their car

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GrumpyGel said:
Something has just come up again that doesn't really fall into the category of tests for new owners, but is such a big safety issue that I thought adding it here worth while...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/brake-pedal-goes-to-floor.333703/

There is a little pin that holds the rear brake shoes in position. This can wear/corrode and let go. The shoe shifts position off of the cylinder and results is catastrophic loss of brake fluid - no brakes work. In a previous report it happened to someone when they were braking on a motorway.

Most braking on Freelander is done by the front discs/pads, so the rear brakes can go a long time without replacement. If there is no sign of fairly recent rear brake replacement, I think it advisable to renew them even if they appear to be working correctly and not failing MOTs. At least remove the drums and examine all the components for wear or corrosion.
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I park on a fairly steep hill so God help me.

Will be replacing soon it's on the to do list.
 
I too, would really like the main points to be collected up and put into a "sticky". I'd also like to add one - a creaking noise from the back when letting the clutch out. The infamous chassis fatigue crack problem!
 
GrumpyGel said:
You may have a point :)

However, to labour a point, and show those newbie Freelander owners how great these cars can be...

As I say, I didn't appreciate the 3 steps above and trashed my car's IRD. The only other faults I've had is the ABS pump (twice), a leak back pipe and a headlight. That's not bad for 7 years motoring and 80,000kms for a car that's now 18 years old and up to 180,000kms. I haven't even had to replace any bushes, links, window winders, locks or bearings other than regular belt maintenance (L Series). It has been worked a lot harder than most cars and regularly driven on tracks that shakes fillings from teeth. If it fell to bits tomorrow, I couldn't blame it, but I know (hope!) it won't. She's a good old girl.

I should add that the clock doesn't work, I have the full compliment of fish tanks and the rear passenger door doesn't open from the outside some times - but they were like that when I got the car - just haven't had the time to fix them yet :D:D:D

Edit: Had it 9 years now and it still refuses to go wrong.
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I've now learn the test of the rear subframe can be important. Seems to crack on many of them now, uneconomically to fix.
 
Hi thank you.
I know I ended up in that thread before scrapping my other freelander. This is not an easy fix for me, I was unwilling to do the job for no reason at all.
Just seemed a bit too much, when welding is required I usually scrap the car.
 
websun said:
Hi thank you.
I know I ended up in that thread before scrapping my other freelander. This is not an easy fix for me, I was unwilling to do the job for no reason at all.
Just seemed a bit too much, when welding is required I usually scrap the car.
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Fair enough. I won't pretend it's an easy job! Like you, when a car needs welding, I usually think its days are numbered, but this is a bit different, in my view. Usually, when they need welding, it's because they're rusty and even though not all of it might need welding *now*, the rest won't be far behind. Once you start, every subsequent MOT is likely to find another rusty bit. However, in this case, it's a fatigue crack rather than corrosion. It's just a poor bit of design where a bit of the vehicle's structure wasn't up to the loads that it was supposed to withstand. With a decent re-work to strengthen it and spread the load over more of the chassis, I wouldn't expect to have to do it again in the car's life. The rest of my Freelander is remarkably rust-free - which is why I decided to go ahead and do this job. I'd have thought that a welder might do the job for a few hundred quid.
 
Colthebrummie said:
When I bought my freelander 1 in September with only 69000 on the clock. I noticed when reversing with plenty of steering lock, the transmission tightened up considerably to the point of nearly stalling. After reading about the vcu issues on hear, I took it to my local 4x4 Indy, and asked them to check it. They said it was ok and stiffening up when reversing was normal. Nevertheless, I got Bell engineering to fit a recon vcu and new bearings. It is still very stiff on full lock and I often feel as if the rear wheel has ridden over a obstacle in the road this is usually accompanied by a cluncking noise. I'm pretty sure something catastrophic is going to happen sooner or later but apart from that it's a good car.

Col
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I'm getting the same thing in reverse on full lock. I bought the car a year ago and it looks like the viscous unit has been changed as well as the rear drive shaft. How long ago is anyone's guess because in Spain parts always look newish!
 
4bi4 said:
I'm getting the same thing in reverse on full lock. I bought the car a year ago and it looks like the viscous unit has been changed as well as the rear drive shaft. How long ago is anyone's guess because in Spain parts always look newish!
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You can't tell the age or how well the VCU is performing by looking at it. If you're getting a braking effect you want to be doing the 1 wheel up test and getting a recon VCU if necessary.
 
VCU units always look like new unless they have been scraped on rocks. The paint on them is very tough and will look perfect no matter how old or rusty the car.
 
GrumpyGel said:
These points have been written so many times, I just want to put them in a thread by themselves so a link can be used rather than typing them out each time! This relates only to Freelander 1 vehicles.

Freelander like all cars can have many different faults. Lights can stop working, leaks can occur, engines can run rough etc etc - they just need to be fixed as with any car. Generally I've found my Freelander to have fantastic reliability and have suffered very few faults.

However, the way the Freelander transmission works is unlike most cars. If not cared for, it will often destroy the transmission with a good chance that it won't be economically viable to fix. However, there are some simple things that should be done to stop this happening...

1) Does your car still have its prop shafts installed? If you look under the car, you will see the exhaust running from the front to back, but you should also see 2 prop shafts separated by a 'device' supported by 2 bearings - this is the Viscous Coupling Unit (the VCU). Are these bits there?

These props run from the "IRD" at the front to the rear differential and provide the drive to the rear axle to make the car '4WD'. If they are missing, your car has been converted to 2WD and the following points do not apply.

2) Are all the tyres the exact same make and model and pumped to the same pressure? You do not necessarily need to know why, but it is vital that they are. If they are not, you need to change as many as needed to make sure they are. It is by far the best practice to replace all 4 tyres at the same time, but if 2 tyres have been replaced, they need to be on the back wheels - ie the tyres with the most tread should be on the back wheels. Essentially all the tyres need to be very near to exactly the same circumference. The only way to ensure this is to use tyres from the same manufacturer as different ones, although they may be the same (for example) 195/80R15 spec, will have different characteristics.

3) Is the VCU to tight? Over time the VCU (described above) will get to tight - it will not be as loose as it needs to be to allow for those slight difference in tyre wear and cornering differences between wheels. You can immediately detect if this has occurred if when turning corners the car feels like it is applying the brakes. However, problems can occur before you feel this sensation, so the VCU should be tested. This can be done using the "One Wheel Up Test". You jack 1 rear wheel up, put a 32mm socket on the hub nut in the middle, strap a bar tot he socket's ratchet and a weight to the end of the bar. You take the time it takes to turn 45 degrees from "1:30 to 3". To get accurate timings use a bar of 1.2m and a weight of 5kg. You are looking for a time under 1 minute. It has been said that LR recommend that the VCU be treated as a "service item" and replaced every 70,000 miles. However, there's no documentation to back this up plus some fail before this and others last much longer, so testing the VCU is the only sure way of knowing how it is performing. You can buy replacement new GKN VCUs or reconditioned ones. Only buy reconditioned ones from a reputable supplier as there have been many scams with recon VCUs over the years.



These are simple tests that all Freelander owners should be aware of and perform regularly. If your car is failing the tyre or VCU tests, you should resolve them as quickly as possible, or remove the prop shafts until you can.

There is lots of information on LandyZone, and the internet in general, about how the Freelander transmission works. If you read it, you will understand why these tests are important.
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Great Post.
I have a 2L TD4 and recently started feeling slight vibration that wasn't there before, checked all mountings, bearing play, even tyre weights then caught this thread. did one up wheel test with 1.2m bar and 5KG weight. took over 6 minutes to drop from 45 degrees to horizontal!! My un-expert opinion tells me the VCU has virtually seized so can't drive the car in its current condition as understand this can screw everything that is expensive. Can i remove rear prop just until i find a replacement VCU
 
Yes, look for Mondo Mode on the forums for more information. Also, check out Bell Engineering for VCU refurbishment. They have a good reputation around the forums.
 
Hoops said:
Great Post.
I have a 2L TD4 and recently started feeling slight vibration that wasn't there before, checked all mountings, bearing play, even tyre weights then caught this thread. did one up wheel test with 1.2m bar and 5KG weight. took over 6 minutes to drop from 45 degrees to horizontal!! My un-expert opinion tells me the VCU has virtually seized so can't drive the car in its current condition as understand this can screw everything that is expensive. Can i remove rear prop just until i find a replacement VCU
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Good on you for looking into the problem :D

Yeh, as said, the props can be removed. I'd take the whole 2 props and VCU off as a single unit. Its the sort of job that might take you a little while, but only takes 1/2 hour once you've done it a few times.

Its the sort of job that's a lot easier with more room under the car, but you don't want to much cos the bits are heavy and you need to get them down to the ground with minimal fuss. If I'm not using my inspection pit, I drive the car up onto blocks on 1 side. Then loosen the accessible bolts where the rear prop joins the rear diff and front prop joins the IRD. Then roll the car forward (or back) a bit and do the remaining bolts. Lower the props 1/2 way down onto supports (eg wooden blocks) as you don't want to over extend them. Then trolly jack under the VCU for support, remove the 4 bolts securing it via its bearings and lower.

The bolts (definitely on the IRD forget about the diff) are torx head so much easier if you have torx sockets - I did it OK with regular hex sockets the first time, but can damage the bolts I suppose.

Some people remove the props permanently, but that 'may' be a MOT fail now so if you are stopped by plod or have an accident could be an issue and you should tell your insurance company the car has been modified. If its only off for a couple of days - you can make you're own judgements on that.

When you come to replacing the VCU, there's a great, often used, video showing how to separate the props from the VCU...

 
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