Hello all, I hope you have all had a good Xmas.
I was doing well until the bloody car started playing up.

This is possibly part of an old issue I’ve discussed before but I didn’t address it as I felt I could live with it.
Anyway.
When the engine is hot but sometimes when it’s cold, pulling away in first causes all sorts of juddering until you get going then it’s fine through the gears.
I’ve lived with this for a while but last week I was driving up a steep hill dropped down a gear and The car responded with a bang. Next thing is that it sounds like a tank in low gears under strain.
It’s feels a bit powerless too yet revs normally.
As I was a long way from home and when past 2nd it’s all ok I drove home the 200 odd miles.
This was fine except in 1st and 2nd. Which is still drove ok but was very noisy, it sounded as if it loose gears with a knocking. I could feel it vibrate under foot.
The clutch when released causes the car the lurch forward in all gears.
This has become worse now as you can hear this sound and feel the vibrations in all gears especially when pulling away or on a Hill. It still drives ok but now always judders on pulling away in first.
I had a new clutch fitted 16 months ago and this is when the judder started. And I had a new IRD fitted about 9 months ago a 2wd unit from bell.
I still have the prop fitted.
Ideas on a post card. I think it could be the thrust bearing is duff and Has now gone.

Could it be anything to do with the vcu and prop bearings ? im no expert and new to freelander ownership
but it seems like a common problem with those symptoms.

It’s been converted to 2wd so the prop doesn’t have a purpose anymore. It’s not driven by anything

Adam Gorsuch said:

It’s been converted to 2wd so the prop doesn’t have a purpose anymore. It’s not driven by anything

Click to expand...

It is, the rear axle will turn the prop just as fast as it used to when it was driven from both ends. So the support bearings can fail, although there is probably a lot less stress on them.

I’ve taken off the prop today. Zero change. Still sounds like I’m driving a tractor. Off to the garage tomorrow

Is this engine or transmission? Not quite sure whether it is one or other (or both) from your description - probably me being dense... LOL

Not the engine. I’m sure of that. It’s in the garage now, just waiting on the diagnosis

Gulp - okay, fingers crossed for you!

Sounds like new clutch fitted on old dual mass flywheel

Sorry for the late response. Been away for while. Got the car back at the last month. It had snapped yet another engine mount bolt. Causing the mount to rub on the drive shaft. The Mechanic said it was due to me cross threading it last time. I’m dubious as it still judders in first but that’s an ongoing issue prior to this one.
I have removed the prop and had the mount replaced with a new genuine one, the mechanic stated it was a pig of a job to line them up properly.
Last summer is changed the lower mount tie. But I have noticed there is still a minor knocking when I pull away but it’s very quiet. How much movement should the engine have sat sat in the bay? No prop fitted I can rock it by hand. I get the feeling the lower tie bush is slack.
Also how often do you guys change your drop links? I seem to have to change mine every 4-6 months. I’m buying them off eBay and they are bearmach parts. What’s the best brand to get as these seem to be rubbish.
I’m going to France in April in this car and really want to ensure that I’m not gonna have issues abroad.

I changed one drop link in ten years of owning a Freelander I V6

I fitted Bearmach drop links last year. Now I have a knock... I’ll check them, but increasingly suspicious these may be culprits!

Who was the original supplier of these @Nodge? Delphi?

I believe you have the 1.8 K Series?

I have an L Series which uses the same (I believe) gearbox (slight differences but essentially the same), clutch and engine mounts (slight differences in model years).

For a number of years I have had a judder when pulling away from rest. Sometimes its really severe. If I rev the engine more than I normally would, the judder is reduced/eliminated. The clutch does not slip at all and gear changes are fine.

Last year it failed its WOF (MOT) on the engine mount (top engine side mount). I bought a Bearmach replacement - the first time I've used Bearmach. On removing the old one it looked in perfect condition. Comparing the old with new, the old original one was a lot stiffer, the Bearmach one a lot softer. I installed the new mount and the car immediately vibrated like crazy. I tried centralising the engine but could not stop the vibration - it was terrible. Interestingly though the clutch judder completely disappeared - so I had a car that accelerated much more smoothly, but vibrated alarmingly. In the end I took the new mount off and put the original back on. The vibrations stopped (was like driving a Rolls Royce after all the vibration) - but the clutch judder came back. After only a few weeks on the Bearmach mount was showing a lot of wear. It was as if it was to soft and had been squashed by the weight of the engine making it rub against the angled down part of the mount.

I would say that replacing the mount was reasonably straight forward. The engine has to be jacked up quite a bit to clear the bolt which was a bit alarming with everything still connected. The job is a lot easier with the lower tie bar removed as the engine rotates more with that still in place.

So - I don't know if any of that helps you or not and how much of it applies to your K Series (which will be a lot lighter I believe than my chunky L Series).

I'm running 2WD - but with the props connected. I'm sure keeping the props in place does help dampen the engine some what. My car is 19 years old, I've owned it for coming up 8 years and never had to replace a drop link. If I do ever need to change them - I know what brand I won't be buying!

rob_bell said:

I fitted Bearmach drop links last year. Now I have a knock... I’ll check them, but increasingly suspicious these may be culprits!

Who was the original supplier of these @Nodge? Delphi?

Click to expand...

Delphi were a Rover LR preferred supplier. So many suspension components were made and supplied by them, including lower arms, drop links and the shocks.

I've had Bearmach drop links knock straight out the box.

Sounds like the OPs FL1 is suffering from clutch judder, which is quite common if the clutch hasn't been lubricated correctly when fitted.

The last drop link I had to cut off as the nut had stripped part of the thread and would only undo so much.
I’ve done a search and found that it seems to be a common issue this clutch judder and has been knock to cause mount bolts to snap. That could explain why this has happened twice now since I had the clutch fitted last year.
Quick fix ideas?
I think it will need to go back to the garage and have the box removed for some more investigation. This needs to be done sooner rather than later as a trip to Disney is coming up and I’m driving. :-(
I’ve ordered a Delphi drop link to replace the worn one I now have. I can now also hear another new noise. I swear my ears are starting to play tricks on me

Exactly what clutch was fitted. If I had a garage fit a new clutch, I would buy the clutch, and watch them take it out the box n fit it.

The PG1 box judder is caused by incorrect lubrication of the splines and the clutch bearing contact patches. Often correct cleaning and lubrication of the cluch assembly is missed when fitting a replacement clutch.

I did buy the clutch and give it to them to fit. It’s going back tomorrow anyway. I’ve asked him to strip it back and have a good look, I want the car running with no issues before I go to France. It shouldn’t be causing this issues. Hopefully it shouldn’t need replacing just like nodge says, cleaning and lubricating correctly. I have a clutch bearing and a main seal so may get him to change those as well. Getting tired of this car! May have to go back to an Alfa next time, less issues

As I say, I had severe judder moving from rest. Fitting a new one of these stopped it...

https://www.lrdirect.com/KKB102480-Bracket-Engine/
https://www.lrdirect.com/KKB102480-Bracket-Engine/
Mine's a '99. The same part for a MY01+ car is this...

https://www.lrdirect.com/KKB103190-Mounting-Engine/
https://www.lrdirect.com/KKB103190-Mounting-Engine/
The issue was solved immediately by fitting the mount and came back immediately I put the original back on - so it did have an affect. I don't know if yours is suffering the same problem - but you mentioned problems with your mount - so its very coincidental!

The 2nd time I did it, it probably only took 30 minutes to swap over and the early part is only £17 for a Britpart part to see if it helps. The later one starts at £40 so quite a bit more costly to take a punt on.

I've also hear that leaking oil that gets onto clutch plates can cause this. I also wonder whether a sticking release arm (precursor to seizing!) could also cause it.