when you get one with a auto box have the fluid drained and refiled by somebody that knows what they are doing as you can easily mistake the brake band bolt for the filler plug i believe I always leave mine to a auto gearbox garage and they do it for about £40 which should be done every 60,000 miles fail to get it done can result in the gear box wanting a mend .just to note my wife and I have had freelanders for 21 years that how long the wife has had her 1800 i have had two in that time and still love them .

archman said:

As I am still learning, the L-series? That is the diesel before the bmw engined TD4? Am I correct?

Click to expand...

Yeh. Its a Rover engine and full of character. It is the most reliable engine in the Freelander stable and offers the same sort of economy as a manual TD4. In fact the 1.8K Series in good condition will give you the same economy on a run after you take the price difference between petrol and diesel into account.

It is though also quite noisy and sluggish - did I say character? Think tractor.

Its origins date back to the engines in the old MGB and it was developed on and had a common rail system added together with another cylinder to become the TD5 in the Discovery II & Defender. It was planned that the TD4 would be developed from the L Series, but BMW bought Rover so they bunged in the M47 instead. When Rover got its independence that work continued and was about to be released in cars as the N Series, but it all went tits up. This L/N Series engine is still being made in India in original 8 valve direct injection form and 16 valve common rail.

archman said:

That sounds promising for the freelander 1 comfort wise.
As I am still learning, the L-series? That is the diesel before the bmw engined TD4? Am I correct?


Thanks, I suspect the days of usable cars for a few hundred pounds are well gone though
Out of interest, is the head gasket a reasonable job in the freelander? I am not thinking so much the job itself (I know roughly what it involves), more access when in situ, that sort of thing?
I have to admit a broken VCU does not worry me, sounds like a reasonably easy job plus I always budget at least £500 for unexpected issues when buying a car. I guess it would become more of an issue if a locked up VCU then caused damage elsewhere, eg diff, IRD? Is this likely and, if so, how easy would this further damage be to detect?

Click to expand...

Head gaskets are easy to replace if you’re handy with a spanner and socket set. There are a few things to check - the most important being whether the alloy head has lost its hardness, but otherwise fine and actually a number of helpful guides on line!

VCU failure tends to ruin the IRD, which would be the worse and most expensive scenario. Often sellers will remove the drive shaft and convert to 2WD to cover this up - so ensuring your prospective purchase is still AWD is very important!

PS I have a 3-door too - a great summer family runabout in summer!

thanks. So it sounds like the TD4 is still the best option for me but a 1.8 would not be out of the question. I'll definitely be checking propshafts
I think I will have to drive a auto to see if it would suit me.

As rob_bell has said the 1.8 petrol is not a difficult motor to work on and well within the DIY ability. They have slightly better performance that the L series diesel but then the L series is a better tow car. I'm well into motor DIY with mine and am exploring some interesting head/motor mods. Parts are not that expensive and readily available. I'm not experienced with diesel engines but I may guess that they could be a might bit more technical if you want to pull the motor apart. That M47 with the auto would handle off road forays better than a manual - the auto will help with the lack of a low range. The V6 in good nick would be very good - a big increase in power and that auto box... but thirsty! Tyres: I run A/Ts about 90% of the time. But for the more interesting byways I have a set of M/T's I put on.

I look forward to see what you decide on.

Hmm.. well, I have discovered there is a pretty decent offroad course near me so maybe I really do need to look at autos.
btw. Ignoring the negative comments I made about 3 doors, is there any difference in the internal space/boot between the 3 and 5 doors? Also does the 3 door (removable hardtop) make it more noisy on the road?
I've noticed a couple of 3 doors that might suit me so I guess I should keep my options as open as possible. (and I don't really hate 3 doors, just a preference for 5)

Boot and wheelbase is the same, just doors are longer on a 3 door.

andyfreelandy said:

Boot and wheelbase is the same, just doors are longer on a 3 door.

Click to expand...

excellent. Thanks.

I have the same debate with my wife, if a car breaks down for whatever reason, she instantly wants rid of it, & wants a new one. It’s lovely having a new car for the (hopefully) peace of mind, but I like to fix my cars myself in the event of a problem, it gives me greater confidence when I’m driving it, & a sense of accomplishment. I think it’s a man thing. She has a new car ( an Audi Q2, 1.0 petrol, it is a good car with a great engine ) & I have old motorbikes & cars as my transport / enjoyment.
I also hate shelling out big deposits on new cars, paying loads every month, then losing loads of cash at trade in time.
The FL1 facelift models are better looking & more modern inside, but the FL1 are really good value for money now. Parts are cheap & they are generally an easy DIY fix. Other than the head gasket, the 1.8k doesn’t seem to have as many engine running problems as the diesel, it is heavier on fuel than the diesels, but local councils are threatening to penalise diesels in their low emission zones & even to park one in town at some point.
The diesel/petrol debate aside, the 5 door is more versatile but both have loads of room inside front & back, it’s a shame the boot wasn’t a bit bigger. I’ve carried all sorts in mine & I just get long loads in by dropping the back window.(I can’t understand why LR didn’t design it so the key closed it by turning it one way (as it does now) & opened it by turning the other, it would be much easier to use it.)
The 3 door has the advantage of the removable top if that’s your thing.
One of the only downsides is the road tax at £340, & I’m not sure if the 06 plate cars ( after 23.3.06 ) fall into the even higher bracket.
If it does go wrong there’s loads of advice on here & You Tube & the net, loads of spare part suppliers, & loads of custom parts available if you want to modify it to your own taste or requirements.
You already seem to be aware of the pitfalls, & what to look out for.
I like manual boxes but the autos are better for off roading I believe, especially with the torque of the diesels. The bigger throttle body does seem to be a good mod on the 1.8k, although I haven’t done it. Some guy on here recently remapped his 1.8 & reckoned it transformed it, so it might be worth trying.
Good luck with the search, buy wisely & you’ll love it, but obviously buy the wrong one & you’ll wish you’d never seen it - but that could be true for any other car.

If you like getting your hands dirty then I think they represent good value for money. If you don't then unless Lady Luck is very kind to you you will be spending more money than you want getting things fixed - speaking only for the Freelander 1 TD4 mind.

Remap doesn't sadly transform the 1.8 - but it does change the character: it now feels like a big, 4-wheel drive MG ZR! The handling however, remains very much FL1 LOL!

My usual exhaust place has lost its manifold fabricator. So I may look into buying a second hand 4-2-1 manifold for an MGF or ZR and fit that instead: these manifolds really seem to aid low-end torque. Or if Simpons' can do a system without breaking the bank, I may look into that...

PS, if looking to go to pay-n-play days (I wholly approve) and do more green lanes, then consider a lift kit. The sump guard is for ever skimming the raised sections between wheel ruts and the two bar ends up being a plough. I think I'll aim for a 30mm lift as it is the least disruptive as an installation and hopefully doesn't make the driveshaft angles too extreme... (note that 40 and even 50mm chassis lift kits are also available!)

Personally? Buy a Rav4 and don't look back.

Q: Am I being daft getting a freelander?

No

lynall said:

Swap the word freelander to the words Land Rover in your original question and the answer to the question is yes
The sensible answer is do what your wife wants, then when it goes wrong it’s not your fault!

Click to expand...

A wise man, the trick is making her believe it was her idea, win win

I think I am favouring the TD4 over the 1.8. While I am capable of doing a head gasket etc, I am not convinced I want the hassle, ditto manifold changes etc. On the other hand if a nice example came up then I guess I would not turn it down.

P38-DFX said:

Personally? Buy a Rav4 and don't look back.

Click to expand...

That is still an option

archman said:

I think I am favouring the TD4 over the 1.8. While I am capable of doing a head gasket etc, I am not convinced I want the hassle, ditto manifold changes etc. On the other hand if a nice example came up then I guess I would not turn it down.

That is still an option

Click to expand...

We did and never looked back. Had two MK2's and they've been faultless.

P38-DFX said:

We did and never looked back. Had two MK2's and they've been faultless.

Click to expand...

So's my Freelander. Its been so good, I've only needed the 1.

P38-DFX said:

Personally? Buy a Rav4 and don't look back.

Click to expand...

Is that your opinion or personal experience?

I've just bought a project house in Spain and I'm needing to buy a tipbitch 4x4 that I'll ship out for a few months to save on car hire but also something the missus will drive.
Jimny, freelander or rav4 are currently on the list as I only want to spend 2k max then I'll bring it back to the UK and sell it so it's got to survive a 1500 mile mad dash door to door then get parked up at alicante airport....

In my opinion the 1.8 K is the one to avoid mainly because of the gearbox, not only are the ratios from 1-4 all wrong the shifter action is junk...

better off with an Auto and even they can have issues..

Henry_b said:

In my opinion the 1.8 K is the one to avoid mainly because of the gearbox, not only are the ratios from 1-4 all wrong the shifter action is junk...

better off with an Auto and even they can have issues..

Click to expand...

Same box in my diesel - the PG1. Its the Tomcat spec in the diesel (so it can do 150 ) but essentially the same and the linkage/action definitely is. Not the best, but I don't find it to bad.

TD4 has the Getrag manual box.