I would tend to agree with others that it's probably not a bad vehicle, as it has a lot of service history with a main dealer. The reason the main dealer probably didn't know about the VCU problem is that by the time it reaches the 70k-100k milage, most owners are not paying through the nose for main dealer servicing. The fact one of your previous owners did, gives some indication that they cared for the vehicle.

If the propshaft is still in situ, and there are no nasty noises in the drivetrain it could be ok, even with the different tyres on it. That was the gamble I took when I bought mine. (I'd looked at so much other rubbish out there, the one I ended up buying had different tyres from back to front. What I did was take the prop off shortly after buying it, and saved for new set of 4 tyres and swapped a recon VCU in. With the prop off, it doesn't matter about the tyres)

Check as much as you can works at the time of purchase, budget for some preventative maintenance when you take ownership of it, and you'll probably have a decent vehicle, and just in time for the nasty weather too!

A propshaft off is not necessarily as bad as many here say. Some owners discover the support bearings are shot causing rattles etc. They then remove the propshaft and leave it off because for most of us 4wd is not that important and they can't be arsed replacing the bearings. The seller will probably come out with the old "uses less fuel" chestnut to justify his/her laziness but for the canny buyer this is just a bargaining tool.
In these circumstances the IRD and diff will be fine and if the propshaft is still available you can even test the VCU with a couple of big screwdrivers. If you can turn it then your on to a winner.
All that said, if the prop shaft isn't available then run a mile.

BTW my latest Freelander fell into this category and the propshaft came home in the boot. If I'm wrong about all I've just said I'll let you know but I'm pretty certain it'll be fine.

I think this thread is a mini caricature of car buying and ownership - with a Freelander bent!

Ultimately any car can have problems, no matter how well you investigate it before buying. After putting up with my last Disco's many faults for far to long, and spending far to much money on it, I decided enough was enough and it was time for a change. I found a smart looking Mazda Proceed Marvie at a reasonable price - but it was in Nelson which is a 5 hour drive away. So I agreed with the seller on a price, subject to me coming up and taking it for an AA inspection, and that inspection coming back OK. So, booked it in for its test, arranged a free hire car that needed relocating back to Nelson and off we go. The AA inspection came back saying it was as near perfect as you'll ever get - no problems at all. So paid the money and our Land Rover days were over...



3 weeks later, in the middle of f**king nowhere on my way to walk the fantastic Milford Track, the engine disintegrated and the car was eventually sold for scrap! The Disco was kept on the road for another couple of years before switching to Freelander.

That is not to say of course that you shouldn't take every precaution when buying. If it has had the props removed - you need to decide whether it is still good value - if it is being sold cheap, then that's why and is it still decent value for money - it may be. I've been running my Freelander for 3 years in 2WD - I love it - it goes anywhere a "normal" car goes with perfect reliability and economy and without the possibility of the transmission chewing itself up if a tyre loses some air pressure. I know the car well, I know its capabilities with its TC etc and I still take it down the river bed fishing - I've never got stuck - but I've seen plenty of 4WDs horrendously stuck there because they "can go anywhere"!

When mine "went bang" though - I did a full rebuild of the IRD and reinstalled the props/VCU but removed the crown gear from the IRD - most will just remove the props - I didn't trust an IRD that had seen such a catastrophic event.

If the props are still on it have another reverse on full lock - I'm sure your mind will imagine all sorts of problems with the car while you are doing it, but try to get a balanced view. Also check the tyres. If all appears OK, you are probably OK for a 2 hour drive home where you can do a 1 wheel up test to confirm everything. If there is some doubt on the 1WUT, you can remove the props until you get a decent VCU fitted.

I had to laugh at the Guy Salmon response to the VCU - absolute ****s! They would sneer at a Landie owner taking their car to a "grease monkey" for repairs and servicing - but they are obviously much more dangerous because they are supposed to know what the are talking about, but are in fact just grease monkeys themselves - what value does that full LR service history actually have? Probably about as good as the AA report on the Mazda I bought!

Nodge68 said:

I said handbrake slightly (now edited). I do agree with your description though.
There is a slight braking affect when on full lock. There was a TSB about this very thing, when the FL1 came out. This slight braking effect is normal and nothing to worry about. As to why Bell insist that it's a fault is beyond me. Unless they are touting to sell more VCUs.
Here's the TSB that covers this.
http://www.myfreelander.co.uk/Transmission/transprobs1.htm

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Hi Nodge, I don't know why you feel the need to keep trashing Bell ?
If you read their information, they do not say anything different to the land rover bulletin - 'a slight resistance' is NOT feeling 'tight' or as if the brakes are binding.
Bell's info is perfectly clear and informative.

Joe_H said:

Hi Nodge, I don't know why you feel the need to keep trashing Bell ?
If you read their information, they do not say anything different to the land rover bulletin - 'a slight resistance' is NOT feeling 'tight' or as if the brakes are binding.
Bell's info is perfectly clear and informative.

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The problem with Bell's Joe is that they will not acknowledge any tests other than the ones they use to sell VCUs - indeed they trash the 1WUT. I've consulted qualified engineers and all of them believe the 1WUT is as good at testing the VCU as Bell's test on a workbench - which is their test most ultimate - better than turnip tests or reverse full lock.

Nobody on here questions their VCUs - they are good units. Their work is good, and by all accounts, so is their customer service. They get the respect and recommendations they deserve on here for that - but that does not have to mean you agree with everything they say.

Joe_H said:

Hi Nodge, I don't know why you feel the need to keep trashing Bell ?
If you read their information, they do not say anything different to the land rover bulletin - 'a slight resistance' is NOT feeling 'tight' or as if the brakes are binding.
Bell's info is perfectly clear and informative.

Click to expand...

I'm not going to get into a long winded debate over information on there website. Other than to say Bell debunk our own OWUT, yet test VCU's with a simple torque over time test themselves. Which is as far as I'm concerned, is hypocritical.
Don't forget that Bell have a vested interest in debunking any test that adds extra service life to a VCU. Simply because they would sell fewer recon VCU's.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for supply and fit of VCU's however. Should a replacement be necessary.

Double post.

GrumpyGel said:

The problem with Bell's Joe is that they will not acknowledge any tests other than the ones they use to sell VCUs - indeed they trash the 1WUT. I've consulted qualified engineers and all of them believe the 1WUT is as good at testing the VCU as Bell's test on a workbench - which is their test most ultimate - better than turnip tests or reverse full lock.

Nobody on here questions their VCUs - they are good units. Their work is good, and by all accounts, so is their customer service. They get the respect and recommendations they deserve on here for that - but that does not have to mean you agree with everything they say.

Click to expand...

Hi GG,
They do not appear to me trash the OWUT at all.
Quote -
"It has been reported on some internet sites that to test the VCU if you jack the one back wheel of your Freelander without the handbrake applied you should be able to turn the rear wheel and that if you cannot turn the wheel your VCU has seized -THIS IS TOTAL RUBBISH! You would hardly be able to do this by hand as you would need a 2 foot breaker bar and stand on it, the wheel will move very slowly - this still does not indicate whether the VCU is any good or not as all wheels will turn regardless of the condition of the VCU."

In the above - which I presume is what you are referring to ? - they mention reports about a SEIZED VCU - nothing at all about timing the leverage action with a weight.
There is - indeed, no mention at all of the so called OWUT as described by the proponents on this forum. There is no dismissing the so called OWUT.
Joe

GrumpyGel said:

The problem with Bell's Joe is that they will not acknowledge any tests other than the ones they use to sell VCUs - indeed they trash the 1WUT. I've consulted qualified engineers and all of them believe the 1WUT is as good at testing the VCU as Bell's test on a workbench - which is their test most ultimate - better than turnip tests or reverse full lock.

Nobody on here questions their VCUs - they are good units. Their work is good, and by all accounts, so is their customer service. They get the respect and recommendations they deserve on here for that - but that does not have to mean you agree with everything they say.

Click to expand...

I said much the same thing, only differently

Nodge68 said:

I'm not going to get into a long winded debate over information on there website. Other than to say Bell debunk our own OWUT, yet test VCU's with a simple torque over time test themselves. Which is as far as I'm concerned, is hypocritical.
Don't forget that Bell have a vested interest in debunking any test that adds extra service life to a VCU. Simply because they would sell fewer recon VCU's.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for supply and fit of VCU's however. Should a replacement be necessary.

Click to expand...

Please read the info on their site - which has not changed.
There is absolutely no mention of the the use a lever and weight to time a turning force - period. I believe you are reading too much into this.

Joe_H said:

Hi GG,
They do not appear to me trash the OWUT at all.
Quote -
"It has been reported on some internet sites that to test the VCU if you jack the one back wheel of your Freelander without the handbrake applied you should be able to turn the rear wheel and that if you cannot turn the wheel your VCU has seized -THIS IS TOTAL RUBBISH! You would hardly be able to do this by hand as you would need a 2 foot breaker bar and stand on it, the wheel will move very slowly - this still does not indicate whether the VCU is any good or not as all wheels will turn regardless of the condition of the VCU."

In the above - which I presume is what you are referring to ? - they mention reports about a SEIZED VCU - nothing at all about timing the leverage action with a weight.
There is - indeed, no mention at all of the so called OWUT as described by the proponents on this forum. There is no dismissing the so called OWUT.
Joe

Click to expand...

They may not be mentioning the OWUT or the Forum by name, but it's implied.
The largest LR forum is Landyzone and most LR owners will likely to come here for help.
Austen has been here in the past, and didn't want to participate in setting up a home VCU test. You have to ask why that is?

Nodge68 said:

They may not be mentioning the OWUT or the Forum by name, but it's implied.
The largest LR forum is Landyzone and most LR owners will likely to come here for help.
Austen has been here in the past, and didn't want to participate in setting up a home VCU test. You have to ask why that is?

Click to expand...

whatever ones opinion is it is simply the information on the site that you can go by. You are saying that they 'debunk' the so called OWUT - they do not.
There is nothing on their site that does this at all.
There cannot be any implications when they describe WHY they believe it is RUBBISH (the seized VCU !)
Sorry mate, but are you conjuring up some form of bias toward something that you believe is being implied when the actual words are there to read - no implication at all.
It is unfair and totally misleading to say that they 'trash' the OWUT - they do not - the exact wording is there for anyone to read.

Joe_H said:

Please read the info on their site - which has not changed.
There is absolutely no mention of the the use a lever and weight to time a turning force - period. I believe you are reading too much into this.

Click to expand...

I have Joe, many times. I also remember conversations on here many years back with Bell about VCU testing. They weren't too helpful to the cause iirc.
What I'm saying is. Bell don't actually know how to test or even the original spec of the VCU. They have just come up with something that works well and something that they can sell. They as a company, have a vested, therefore biased interest in making there test, the only one that proves a VCU is faulty.

Guys, please don't start again, it isn't helpful to the OP which is the reason for answering this thread. suffice to say experts will sometimes differ and move on.

Nodge68 said:

I have Joe, many times. I also remember conversations on here many years back with Bell about VCU testing. They weren't too helpful to the cause iirc.
What I'm saying is. Bell don't actually know how to test or even the original spec of the VCU. They have just come up with something that works well and something that they can sell. They as a company, have a vested, therefore biased interest in making there test, the only one that proves a VCU is faulty.

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Unfortunately Nodge the perceptions of historical events seem to be colouring the actual facts. A person can only go by what is written when comparing one thing to another in this case. Bell do not dismiss IN ANY WAY the OWUT as often described and recommended by some people here. It is, as I said, simply unfair to 'diss' them for things that are NOT said or written.

Alibro said:

Guys, please don't start again, it isn't helpful to the OP which is the reason for answering this thread. suffice to say experts will sometimes differ and move on.

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Agreed.
Sorry to the OP.
I've said all I'm going to on the subject, so I'm out of here.

The seller very kindly sent me a photo of the prop shaft and VCU

MrFillet said:

The seller very kindly sent me a photo of the prop shaft and VCU

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Nice one, unless your unlucky which as already mentioned can happen I can see no obvious reason for you to pull out, all cars of that age and mileage will have faults, Freelanders are no exception but they are fundamentally strong.

Photo looks promising.

If you make sorting the tyres a priority it will remove the strain different combinations put on the drivetrain.

Enjoy your hippo!

4Bee4Bee said:

Photo looks promising.

If you make sorting the tyres a priority it will remove the strain different combinations put on the drivetrain.

Enjoy your hippo!

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I agree, much more confident now. On my first viewing the tyres looked like they needed more air, I will check the pressure before setting back. I'll get a quote for a full set but if to expensive for now then I may remove the prop shaft until I can afford them.