Hi All in Landy Zone,

I was wondering if anyone out there would know the symptoms of a dodgy diff?

I have noticed that when I am manouvering at slow speed and tight turns that my freelander struggles a bit, and if I roll it backwards and then turn again it seams to bind and almost stop the car. Is this a symptom of a diff in need of a good oiling or maybe a steering problem? Any clues would be helpful.

thanks
Slippy

I had the same problem myself on my 1.8Xei after 60,000 miles. in my case it turned out to be the fluid coupling seizing up. Cost me £700 to put right.
Couple of things to note,
My car is a 1999 model, the garage told be they fitted an newer version of the fluid coupling that had an extra mounting bracket to help distribute the load better across the coupling, and therefore the problem shouldn't re-occur.
Also, I didn't get it fixed strait away and it blew the transfer box up - cost £1300
Also, the first symptom that showed itself was that after a drive, when I parked it up, the rear of the car would make creaking sounds as the springs were slowly allowed to unwind.
This may not be your problem, but the best advice I can give you is to get it to a specialist ASAP. Leaving it will only cost you more.

this goe out to both of you really all freelanders drag its a charcteristic of the vehicle i push more freelanders than most normally 1.8 they are harder to push than a disco, there is no extra mounting bracket only 2 brackets 1 front 1 rear of the coupling held up buy 2 10mm bolts at each bracket which also houses bearings which have been inproved, also what springs unwind? where are they?and its a IRD unit not a transfer box,did you know that the freelander really is a front wheel drive car with about only 25% power going to back wheels until wheels slip and the coupling oil gets hot and then engages giving equal drive,a small amount of knowledge is dangerous not being rude but a lot of people scare people on this site with head gaskets split liners and so on just trying to give the facts as they are .

hi tigapiglet,is it normal for freelanders to slow right down as if braking when turning into a parking place say?

Yes freelanders will drag a lot when i reverse of my ramp and turn hard left the car stops and you need a lot of power to push it back this is normal though and they do drive great off road recently done another of road day and i was quite suprised were the freelander would go matched the disco2 only got 50mm difference in ground clearance.

thanks tigapiglet thats put my mind at rest on that one
cheers

Hi All,

Thanks for the info and tips.

I have had my freelander sorted out, nothing wrong with the diffs. I recently had the whole propshaft assembly chaged and decided a full service was a good idea. I had all the oil changed wherever possible, ie gearbox, diffs, final drive, etc. Also had break system flushed and that made a huge difference in breaking!! The car is now sound and I am one happy bunny.
Even the drag when cornering at slow speeds has lessoned a wee bit but now I know it is normal I will stop worrying.
Thanks to one and all for your responses.
Goes to prove, a bit of knowledge is good but also can be a danger. I am so glad I spent so many weekends as a teenager pulling cars apart and putting them back together. Also glad I don't just take any garages "expert opinion" at face value.
Always worth a second opinion or a thorough investigation of your own to check these things out!

I own a 1998 Freelander 2.0 XEDi which I have had for two years. Vehicle has a full Land Rover service history and has never had any problems until 2 months ago. At this time I noticed a slight oil leak from the rear and the sound of transmission noise. The Land Rover dealership diagnosed a failed rear differential which was replaced at the same time as the 96,000 mile service. Total cost about £1700.
2 months later and only 1,800 miles since service and repair by Land Rover and the car became undriveable on the motorway and had to be recovered at my own expense. Land Rover dealership diagnosed a failed IRD unit. Cost £1200 to replace. Dealership explained that as these are two common failures on the early Freelanders it could be that the viscous coupling had also seized. The dealership wanted to replace the IRD unit and it was only when I asked them to conduct the test on the viscous coupling as documented on Ashcroft-Transmissions website that they found it had seized. Total Price for new IRD and coupling £1900?
I am currently in dispute with the dealership as clearly they know this is a common fault and at time of rear diff failure they should have checked the viscous coupling and did'nt. For the sake of about a further £700 for the viscous coupling I would have prevented the IRD unit from failing.
Land Rover UK deny that there are any faults with their parts and the dealership state that the experience of their service technicians would have spotted a seized viscous coupling. I beg to differ as it was only the service manager who knew of the Ashcroft test of raising one wheel off the ground and trying to turn the wheel.
Dealership are not admitting liability and wouldn't accept my offer of paying for the viscous coupling, labour and VAT if they fund the IRD unit, labour and VAT.
Trading standards advise that I have a good case under The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 as they hadn't serviced my vehicle with reasonable car and skill.
May have to pursue this matter in the small claims court for the sake of £80.
I absolutely love the car but this has been a horror story!

Anyone else got some advice, horror stories or be able to help me find evidence that this is a very common problem on the early Freelanders which clearly Land Rover know of the faults but deny ?

Thanks

Good morning to all, I have just noticed a sharp clunking noise developing when I go from forward to reverse; it sounds like a prop joint, loose flange or possibly the rear subframe moving on its mounts, at worst it maybe in the rear diff unit. I am a very experienced mechanic and will no doubt trace the fault by close investigation but as I am not fully familiar with the Freelander TD4 (2001model) I was curious to know if anyone else had experienced this type of fault and if it maybe a known regular problem. I would be pleased to hear from anyone that has experienced the same problem. Thanks in advance.

Well iv been the unlucky owner of a 2001 TD4 es for just 10 wks and seem to have experienced all the problems possible on the drive side of things... So what id really like to know is:- What the hell were Landrover thinking of when they designed the drive train on the freelander...its crap. you know i was talking to a landrover garge yesturday and the guy said..well you know if some one has used tyres with differant amounts of ware on them is can realy damage the vcu or ird !!! how often is it that at some point in the cars life we have to put a new tyre on cos of a puncher or somthing.... So what the hell were they trying to achieve! And the one i bought had Only had 48.500k on the clock...One unhappy freelander owner...

There's lots of stories similar to the above on the web. When the vcu starts to fail (seized or locking up too early) it puts more stress on the transmission, same thing as transmission windup. This has the effect of knackering either or both the rear diff and the ird (fixed ratio transfer box). It's a common problem. Some vcu's have been reported to fail open circuit (not the dodgy ones sold by you know who, that’s a different matter). Either way regular checks of the condition of the vcu is needed, or at least suggested by those in the know. All main dealers will be aware of vcu/ird/rear diff problems. LR changed the ratio’s on 2002 model year onwards to try to solve the issue. All v6 and td4 models have the new ratio’s. All models with vin number higher than YA999999 have the newer ratio’s. The problem can still happen, but should be less often as the ratio of front to rear wheel, is reduced.

On the tyre issue raised above, the owners manual states tyres should be changed in sets of 4. If this is not possible, then do so in axle pairs. I know it dunt have axles… Further to this, the Freelandering rule of thumb is to fit newer tyres to the rear. This reduces stress in the transmission. Effectively, the front tyres turn faster than the rears. Putting larger diameter tyres (or the same size tyres with more tread left) at the front will put more stress on the transmission. Also the vcu is likely to lock up sooner, and more often. Hence tyres will more tread go on the rear.

Further reading to help with the above problems, and any new or soon to be new Freelander 1 owners:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/definitive-freelander-vcu-testing-thread-99163.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/freelander-everything-you-need-know-46437.html

That mad hat man's good in he...

Vincisailing said:

Good morning to all, I have just noticed a sharp clunking noise developing when I go from forward to reverse; it sounds like a prop joint, loose flange or possibly the rear subframe moving on its mounts, at worst it maybe in the rear diff unit. I am a very experienced mechanic and will no doubt trace the fault by close investigation but as I am not fully familiar with the Freelander TD4 (2001model) I was curious to know if anyone else had experienced this type of fault and if it maybe a known regular problem. I would be pleased to hear from anyone that has experienced the same problem. Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the diff mounts, normally its the front one of the 3 to go first.