L666BES

Member
Hi,

1. Just wondering if anyone is aware why the rear bumper on my Freelander is greyish in colour and the front one is jet black, were they designed like this? Where the previous owner has spilled petrol down the bumper being lazy is even lighter grey. Can this be rectified, and if so, what is the easiest way?

2. Has anyone tried the latex tubing modification where it is slotted inside the tubular part of the door seals to pack it out to give it a better / tighter seal when they are closed. Apparently, it's a more snug fit, and the doors don't rattle as much when they are closed??

3. Looking at these two photos, should this pipe which is part of the air intake to the air filter box be connected to anything?? Looking at it, it looks like something is missing off the end of it?

Thanks in advance.
air intake 1.jpg
air intake 2.jpg
 
re #1 sounds interesting, do you have the product name and details?

#2 I believe the earlier models 1998/2000 had grey plastic bumpers. Several people on here have coloured them black though. Do a search of this forum and I'm sure you'll find details on that.

#3 That appears to be the air intake. From there it descends to a resonator box before rising up to your air filter box...
 
Hi htr,

Thanks for your reply.

The modification for the door seals was something I picked up on Youtube. The video title I saw was named Door Seal Modification Ford Super Duty. Its an American guy doing it on his truck / car. By the looks of it, its some kind of latex surgical tubing, with a can of silicone spray to lubricate the tubing to slide through the door seals. Looks really interesting, and the results are great, the doors clunk shut as they would when the vehicle was new. Take a look, you'll find it interesting, I'm sure.

Thanks also for the information regarding the bumpers, and the air intake pipe. I think I'll invest in a couple of bottle of black bumper restorer or back to black, see how they come up.

Thanks again.
 
Be careful if you think about painting the bumpers. Someone has painted the back bumper on mine before I got it and its all flaking and peeling.
 
Hi GrumpyGel,

Thanks for your reply.

It's just one of those things that's bugging me about the car. From the front of the car, it looks fairly new. From the back, the car looks really dull and older than it should do.

I think I'll try some back to black, or black bumper restorer and see how I go on with that. I see a lot of Freebies driving around, and they all seem to look dated with the greying bumpers. Fingers crossed, i'll sort it this week, and then it's on to the latex tubing to make the door seals fit tight.

Cheers Mate.
 
If the car was made before 2002, the bumpers were grey. They were changed to being black after this year. I suspect the likelihood is that a previous owner replaced the front bumper at sometime, putting a newer black one on instead. Probably better get a matching black rear one from a breakers.

Jim
 
If the car was made before 2002, the bumpers were grey. They were changed to being black after this year. I suspect the likelihood is that a previous owner replaced the front bumper at sometime, putting a newer black one on instead. Probably better get a matching black rear one from a breakers.

Jim
This^^^ get the matching arches too ;)
I'd not mess with the door seals. If the doors are rattling. They are either out of adjustment or some internal item is loose. I've never had any actual door rattles due to bad adjustments but plenty from loose bits inside the door.
 
Some people recommend using a hot air gun to blacken the grey bumpers. Just be careful not to get too hot.
 
Lemon and heat is the current favourite for getting the plastics back to black. I use a tyre gel bought in 5 litre cans, works wonders and stays that way for days.

As for rattly doors, check the check straps on the rear doors. I had an odd rattle on the passenger side and the rear door is missing the check strap bracket causing the rattle. Now to track down the odd squeak and clunk ...
 
Thanks for your replies 4BeeBee, Nodge68, Alibro, and PepeTheMule.

It's really great to join a forum and people actually reply to questions.

My model is a 2002 on a private plate. I had the upgraded HG, water pump, coolant, oil, filters and belts replaced middle of last year. What a fantastic job the guy did too, came all the way from Derby, and did the whole lot on my driveway in just a few hours. Fantastic price too!

The wheel arches are as black as the front bumper, so it leads me to think that the rear bumper may have either been replaced, or its been parked with the rear of the car in direct sunlight most of the time.

The query regarding the doors made me question them, as the car I had before this was a Rover 75 Connoisseur Tourer. The doors on that shut firmly, its just the the freelander doors sound a bit "tinny" when I close them.

Unfortunately, I have the dreaded broken door checks on the rear doors as the previous owner was too lazy to keep them greased or didn't use the rear doors much, one of which has started to cut into the door pillar. Maybe I can remove them and get them either riveted back, or welded in some way. Advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for all your help guys.
 
Thanks for your replies 4BeeBee, Nodge68, Alibro, and PepeTheMule.

It's really great to join a forum and people actually reply to questions.

My model is a 2002 on a private plate. I had the upgraded HG, water pump, coolant, oil, filters and belts replaced middle of last year. What a fantastic job the guy did too, came all the way from Derby, and did the whole lot on my driveway in just a few hours. Fantastic price too!

The wheel arches are as black as the front bumper, so it leads me to think that the rear bumper may have either been replaced, or its been parked with the rear of the car in direct sunlight most of the time.

The query regarding the doors made me question them, as the car I had before this was a Rover 75 Connoisseur Tourer. The doors on that shut firmly, its just the the freelander doors sound a bit "tinny" when I close them.

Unfortunately, I have the dreaded broken door checks on the rear doors as the previous owner was too lazy to keep them greased or didn't use the rear doors much, one of which has started to cut into the door pillar. Maybe I can remove them and get them either riveted back, or welded in some way. Advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for all your help guys.
I can't remember how I removed the broken door stay on mine but at the time I had the door card off. I think it unscrewed from the outside and fell into the door. I had to put it in the vice and thump it with a hammer to free it up, then welded the stay back into the door frame. Take a look at my thread for photos
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/looks-like-ive-done-it-again-doh.293904/
 
Thanks for this Alibro,

The passenger side is the worse one of the two back doors, it's got to the stage where you have to start yanking the door as the check strap is so restrictive.

I've got one of the rear door cards off at the moment looking for one of three window faults. Passenger door window makes a noise, no movement, so possibly a snapped cable. Rear passenger side, no noise or anything, so possible motor failure. I've got a window motor from my old Rover 75, cables are snapped, but motor works fine. Hopefully, it might fit my Freebie, it looks very similar size and shape.

The rear drivers window however is a mystery. When I press the window switch on the centre console, the motor makes a noise, but the window doesn't move, and yet, when I press the switch on the door, nothing, no noise or anything. I'm wondering if the glass could somehow be jammed shut. By the looks of it, the water spiller has never been removed, so it's possible it could be a faulty switch in the door.

I'll have a mooch at the link for the photos regarding the check straps that you have provided, I'm sure they will be of great use to me.

Thanks again.
 
No worries mate, we like to help each other here so we all benefit. There are videos on youtube showing how to replace the cables which you can get for a tenner so you don't need to spend £35 on a new regulator. I did one rear window and it wasn't too hard.
In my case one of the rear doors got so stiff the metal retaining bracket in the door frame broke away. I had to re-weld it after freeing up the stay.
 
Thanks for that Rimini-Scott, that's another option for me to look at. Just waiting for some decent Manchester weather to arrive to get all my exterior jobs done now. I won't hold my breath though!! lol.
 
that air intake should have a grill on it .

Hi Teddywood1, just wondering. I have looked all over the net to see what sort of grill the air intake should have over it, but can't find a picture of anything. If it's possible, could you take a picture of the one on yours so that I know exactly what I'm looking for.

Cheers Pal.
 
Hmm, a bit of a dilemma. Spoke to a guy in a local place today regarding trying to get the rear bumper black again, and as soon as he spotted where a previous owner has spilled excess petrol down the bumper and its turned into like a bleached look, he said, "you can't do anything with that, you'll never get the fuel staining out of the bumper."

If that's the case, it looks like I may have to either mooch around a breakers for another, or get it refurbished in some way.

Ohhh, woe is Me!:mad:
 

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