QBDoctor

Member
So hello everyone.

bought my first Land Rover a couple of weeks ago - a Freelander 1.8 on a 52 plate. Before that I had a cheeky little Sportrak but it was dying from rust in the chassis and the loom was disintegrating - it was too far gone for me to bring back to life on my drive so I had a harsh word or two with myself, wiped a tear from my eye and moved into the 21st century with a 2002 Freelander.

Obviously I did my research online and lurked on the auction sites looking for a prime candidate and pretty soon I found a car with a complete service history at a price that left me money in the kitty for any problems it might throw up once I'd bought it. Went and viewed the car - externally very good, no rust underneath, clean inside, all the switches & buttons work. Test drive reveals only a near side rear wheel bearing to be grumbling a little. Service history shows a head rebuild at 65K (LOL) but the car is at 100K & no record of VCU replacement. However the IRD shows no symptoms of damage so they want £1200 & I say £900 & I've bought it :)

Drive it 50 miles home - all good. Over the next week I notice it loses a bit of coolant - hmmm. I should add that I did a sniffer test before I bought & it passed. Anyhow, it's using a bit of coolant. Of course the temp gauge sits bang in the middle at all times & the fan works fine. The original expansion tank had micro fractures around the neck - hoping this was where the leak was I replaced the expansion tank. This didn't solve the problem. However, the nice clean expansion tank + cap did reveal something. First time I took the new cap off I found deposits of a copper coloured substance speckled on the cap seal - so an new HG set + uprated oil rail + head bolts is on the way + cam belt + water pump is on the way - ROFPMSL, honestly.

Next, about a week after purchase the TC and HDC waring lights started coming on & off on the dash apparently in relation to braking events - checked the brake light switch (disassembled, cleaned contacts, reassembled) to no avail - noted that brake lights continue to function normally regardless of the TC & HDC warning light status. Have run OBD and it reports no codes though I am aware that cheap units cannot access the ABS ECU, hence I diagnose an ABS sensor fault perhaps related to the aforementioned "grumbling wheel bearing".

So I have 4 new wheel bearings on the way too, and I'm fitting the new VCU tomorrow, because all of this is much easier than fixing up a knackered old Sportrak on your drive you know



I suppose that's a lot about my vehicle & not much about me so here's some other stuff - I used to be a teacher & before that I was a philosopher - now I'm free to do what ever I feel like given that I have a wife & 2 kids to take into account - these days I work a lot with various tools & materials but I don't really make any money from it.

Cheers
Simon
 
I like Gaylanderers :eek:

given that in an ideal world what we'd all have is a fully restored pristine Series 1 and that the Disco looks (in my opinion) like a Welsh Dresser on wheels the Freelander seems a stylish entry level option - and it's blue :p

Cheers
Simon
 
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Welcome aboard! Sounds like a typical 1.8. Good luck with it. No doubt it'll be a good'n once your finished with it.
 
Thanks for the welcome.

I did the VCU & replaced the brake pedal switch - no more warning lights on the dash ;)

A mechanic friend is helping me with head gasket replacement - as part of this we took off the coolant rail & found a complete thermo in the housing to the water pump - this despite there being a remote thermo fitted - is it correct to have two thermos fitted, should the thermo in the old position have its core removed :confused:

Cheers
Simon
 
...A mechanic friend is helping me with head gasket replacement - as part of this we took off the coolant rail & found a complete thermo in the housing to the water pump - this despite there being a remote thermo fitted - is it correct to have two thermos fitted, should the thermo in the old position have its core removed...

by the application of reason I have decided that whoever left the old thermo in is a dick & I have de-cored it & refitted it so now I just have the remote thermo in the circuit.

Head gets back from the shop on Tuesday or Wednesday so by Wednesday evening at the latest I should be doing this :frusty: when I find that it still has a coolant leak or this :5bcheers2: when it all goes back together & runs sweet as a nut :rolleyes:

Cheers
Simon
 
Welcome to the forum.
wave.gif
 
like this :5bcheers2: when we put it all back together & it worked perfectly & I drove it home

like this :frusty: after the MIL came on later that day

like this :5bcheers2: after we made the MIL turn off (O2 sensor)

like this :frusty: after the MIL came on again later that day

like this :5bcheers2: after we finally made the MIL turn off for good (vacuum leak)

I accept the wisdom of those who anticipated that this would be demanding of my financial & emotional resources - those warning are apt if you don't like messing about with machines.

Happily I went into this with my eyes wide open but not my wallet - a brand spanking new head for a k series 16v is remarkably cheap. I didn't have the skills or knowledge to do the work myself but rather than pay a mechanic to do it I paid one to teach me how to do it. As a consequence I got a rebuilt to a higher standard than would have happened if I'd just paid someone to do it because I was there closely observing, asking questions & participating. I also got the knowledge & skills necessary to do the job myself (my 318i is in my sights now, and after that my Mk1 Golf GTi) - to me this represents outstanding value. You really pick up so many great tips & tricks working with an experienced professional mechanic

Anyhow, thanks again for all the welcomes :)

Cheers
Simon
 
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In case yer interested - done me HG mid-December - absolutely no coolant or oil loss in the last 4 months ;)

Cheers
Simon
 

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