What have you done to your Freelander today

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The Mad Hat Man said:
I thought I had. I asked the questions. Unfortunately I didnt ask the right questions...... and it was a long time ago. so did Trewy and quite a few of us, not short on knowledge or spanner wielding.

Hence why it is wise to tell others, in the same way disco owners are always warned about rust...
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well thats great,but others like them,i have always liked the mk1 upgrade so i bought one,i know about the probs with them,the same as i knew about the probs on my other landy's.if it breaks then it gets repaired.:)
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
yu dont think £6k in repairs in 6 months is excessive?
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yes of course i do,but others have not spent anything like that.i can understand your dislike of it because of that,but let others decide as to what to buy without saying negative things all the time.give them your experience and how you overcame those problems.ps why did you spend that amount,surely common sense dictates that you stop throwing good money after bad??.
 
gemsdad said:
yes of course i do,but others have not spent anything like that.i can understand your dislike of it because of that,but let others decide as to what to buy without saying negative things all the time.give them your experience and how you overcame those problems.ps why did you spend that amount,surely common sense dictates that you stop throwing good money after bad??.
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I state things as I see them - there are major design problems in the Freelander. A buyer may or may not have them, but they aught to know about them.
I overcame the problems by spending a lot of money, until common sense prevailed and I sold it.
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
I find that comment, coming from you, astounding!:eek:

I am well aware that "one swallow, a spring doth not make". However my decision is not based purely on mine. I believe, as mentioned previously, that it is not the individual car, and yes you can get lucky, but the inherent design which is flawed. This has been exacerbated by poor build quality to make a bad vehicle.
These failings can, to a certain extent, be reduced, by constant vigilance, but care and a good maintenance schedule will not eliminate all potential catastrophes!
If you are prepared to pamper it like a prima Donna; check all fluids every time you go out in it, check the drive train monthly and are prepared to do some fairly major work on it yourself, or have deep pockets, then it is ok; but you must go into Freelander ownership with your eyes open.
You have seen the number of noobs come on here, tearing their hair out.
I, for one, want a reliable daily drive that I can jump into and drive, without having an apoplectic fit every time I hear a new squeak or noise.

I am also not talking about general wear and tear. Normal wear and tear does not include subframe mounts ripping out. The weakest point in the dive chain destroying the rest of said drive train. A sensitive and temperamental cooling system which measure coolant temperature after it's been cooled! Those are all basic design faults.
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While I do agree with an amount of what you said, the Freelander isn't all bad. Checking problem areas regularly does help reduce a majority of common ailments. Obviously no amount of checking is going to prevent the chassis rails failing at the subframe mounts but it's a relatively easy fix. If the VCU is changed at 60 to 70 K then that pretty much eliminates IRD and diff problems provided tyre instructions are adhered to.
Having the thermostat on the return is pretty common practice these days. Manufacturer's are under pressure to provide more economy and lower emissions, this also means tighter controlled engine temperature which stats in the return provide.
There are problems with the Freelander, some by design others by use of inferior parts, the latter probably caused by cost cutting owner not caring about the product on sale.
I've spent many years working on Freelanders most of which is routine maintenance. I've owned 5 myself over the last 10 years, all K series, used as daily drivers, none have suffered drive train problems.
The only engine problem encountered was with my V6, that was HGF caused by a leaking thermostat O ring allowing the coolant to drain and vapour lock. Thanks goes to the bean counters for cost cutting, making the stat out of plastic instead of the alloy stat Rover originally designed!!
 
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The Mad Hat Man said:
I state things as I see them - there are major design problems in the Freelander. A buyer may or may not have them, but they aught to know about them.
I overcame the problems by spending a lot of money, until common sense prevailed and I sold it.
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Agreed, people should know about the Freelander transmission problems. As has been said though all cars have their own problems and design faults - if you listen to Top Gear the Hilux is indestructable, but there's 1000's of 2.4 diesels on the road over here and they go through cylinder heads like tyres.

What really infuriates me is that Landies are renowned for their 4WD/traction capabilities and in the Freelander it is exactly that which is a major design problem. Major Fail. Personally, I think the benefit of permanent 4WD is negligable in general road use so wish they had just put a "Engage 4WD" lever/switch into the system for when its icy or you're off-road.

Other than that the diesel Freelanders (especially Rover diesel) are awesome. Very reliable and economical - take your pick of cylinder head, overheating, thurst problems with other variants :(

If your prized Freelander does turn its transmission to iron filings, the costs should be put into perspective. Its 200 for a VCU, 150 for a bearing/seal kit, 300 to get them fitted - so 650 quid all up - plus about 40 bolts for you to undo and then reassemble. So, comparable to a clutch replacement - if viewed through the same rosey coloured spectacles that think old cars were built better than new ones.

Anyway, what have I done today... done a 1 wheel up test, rotated my tyres, checked tyre pressures, realised I'm running 2WD, then pcked up best part of a ton of gravel for my pond....

PondGravel.jpg
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
Hence why it is wise to tell others, in the same way disco owners are always warned about rust...
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and long may you do so too :)

it's just a car like any other and not the hideous money pit it's generally painted on here.

I, for one, have enjoyed Land Rover ownership even though it's crippled me financially but the same can be said for other LR models too ;)
 
Well I finally bought some A4 stainless bolts to fit my engine undertray properly. I always thought it had been bashed up on the passenger side as it was higher that side, but last time I ventured underneath for a recce I noticed that the bolts were missing on the other sides front and it was drooping... Anyway, now need a nice day to get under an sort it.


Has anyone fitted new bolts with 'standard' normal size heads on instead of the smaller Landyspec ones to the front?
 
Fitted half leather, half alcantara seats from a late fl1 to mt 2000 td4.

So much more comfortable and supportive than the old original cloth seats.

Just need to get the heated seats working now!!!

Chris
 
Spacemonkey... said:
Well I finally bought some A4 stainless bolts to fit my engine undertray properly. I always thought it had been bashed up on the passenger side as it was higher that side, but last time I ventured underneath for a recce I noticed that the bolts were missing on the other sides front and it was drooping... Anyway, now need a nice day to get under an sort it.

Has anyone fitted new bolts with 'standard' normal size heads on instead of the smaller Landyspec ones to the front?
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I've only refitted the standard bolts, but, regardless of type, I can guarantee they will be a bugger to fit - which is probably why they were missing in the first place - someone previously gave up :)

The fitting process will involve lots of pushing of the bumper/valancie bit from lots of different angles and levels of frustration to line up the holes. At least that is the process on mine! Mine has a bolt either side and an empty hole either side! Been like it since I got it, and when I've taken it off and refitted, I've contemplated not even refitting the 2 that's there and just let the front rest on the floor :)
 
GrumpyGel said:
I've only refitted the standard bolts, but, regardless of type, I can guarantee they will be a bugger to fit - which is probably why they were missing in the first place - someone previously gave up :)

The fitting process will involve lots of pushing of the bumper/valancie bit from lots of different angles and levels of frustration to line up the holes. At least that is the process on mine! Mine has a bolt either side and an empty hole either side! Been like it since I got it, and when I've taken it off and refitted, I've contemplated not even refitting the 2 that's there and just let the front rest on the floor :)
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I've no trouble fitting mine at all. The V6 uses 2 less bolts than the other models which I'm sure makes the job easier.
 
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