I have just bought a 1998 freelander Xe Di 2.0 and the garage told me to bring it back in a weeks time and they will fix any problems with it. So I want to check everything is working.

Here is a picture of the dashboard after I just turn the key.



After a few seconds all the lights go out apart from the battery light and oil light. Then when I start the engine none of the lights are one.
Is this all correct? (Bearing in mind the downhill control needs to be fixed)

Other problems I have found are:

The mirrors not adjusting properly
The tailgate needs a new switch to open and close properly
Drivers door wont unlock with remote
Aircon not very cold (probably needs recharging)

Is there any not so obvious problems i should check for?

If the drivers door will not unlock then get them to replace the lock. I'm suffering this problem and it is new lock time. They're not cheap so if you can get them to do this FOC then you're laughing.

After switching on the ignition and waiting for at least 10 seconds you should have four lamps lit. Battery charge, oil pressure, ABS alarm and handbrake alarm. That's all. The heat lamp should have gone out. The HDC is a problem in the gear lever assembly and is easy to fix.

Light missing is the orange ABS light, which should stay on until the car reaches 5MPH, then go out (unless there is an ABS fault). You must have ABS if you have HDC. Get this checked out also.

The air con is not brilliant anyway so don't expect miracles here.

Good luck, hope you've got plenty of spare cash and above all, keep your sense of humour.

Cheers,

Dave

Tell them that it needs a new VCU and IRD.

That comment probably is true for most of us....

BTW, TheTakman, can you possibly reduce the size of your picture. Its about three screens wide on my little screen.

Thanks for all the info Dave,

RichM said:

Tell them that it needs a new VCU and IRD.

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Well at the moment it doesn't have a VCU or IRD but part of the deal when I bought it was that he will fit these (reconditioned units) when I take it in next week. He also guaranteed everything working and he will fix anything I find wrong with it then aswell. Not having this wouldn't cause the ABS light not to work would it?

TheTakman said:

Thanks for all the info Dave,



Well at the moment it doesn't have a VCU or IRD but part of the deal when I bought it was that he will fit these (reconditioned units) when I take it in next week. He also guaranteed everything working and he will fix anything I find wrong with it then aswell. Not having this wouldn't cause the ABS light not to work would it?

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I beg to differ. If you are driving the car then it must have an IRD. Without the IRD you have no front differential or rear power transfer gear train. The front drive shafts would have nothing to connect to, oh and all the oil would fall out of the main gearbox. Nothing too drastic really.

Its possible for the VCU and the associated central prop shafts to be missing and it still be driveable, all be it front wheel drive only. Check under the car. There should be a central shaft assembly with a circular assembling half way along its lenght (This is the VCU) that is positioned above the exhaust.

If the VCU is missing then this has no effect on the ABS lamp coming on at start up. Try driving on a soft surface and brake firmly. The car will attempt to skid but the ABS will be heard to rattle as the brakes are prevented from locking up. Be careful though, don't brake too hard otherwise you'll enter an four wheel slide, which the ABS won't be able to spot or correct.

If all this works then it could be simply a case that the bulb has failed in the dash.

If the car just skids on various wheels then look under the drivers seat. There should be a plastic covered bulge on the floor under the seat. This is the traction controller (One of the four microcontroller modules in this model). It manages the ABS, traction control and Hill decent control. This has to be present because you have an HDC status lamp, which is driven by this unit. It could, however be very poorly in which case bring this to the garages attention. This unit makes this car, do not accept it without this working 100%

For you information, when I say traction control this is not the same beast that is found on high performance cars, which throttle back the engine if a wheel slip is detected. On the FL1 the traction control loads up the slippng wheel by applying the brake to that wheel by means of the ABS modulator. This cause the power to shunt over to the non-slipping wheel on that axle. As this can act on any wheel then you have, in effect, the equivellent of electronic central, front & back limited slip differentials. Quite effective too as I have discovered.

With all the abuse us Freelander owners get from the Defender/Disco/Rangy boys & Girls, it is comforting to know that a freelander can not get "Cross axled" like most of the other members of the fleet can. This is where only opposing corner wheels have grip and the other diagonals do not. The standard Defender/Disco/Rangy can not get drive even with the central diff lock engaged.

Before I get flamed by the a-fore-mentoned Boys & Girls, I understand that newer model Defender/Disco/Rangy have borrowed the FL1 technology and now do sport traction control also.

Well the VCU and central prop shafts are definetly not there but I was told they were removed because the IRD is broken. But if the front two wheels are working then it can't be completely broken. It must have been the VCU that broke then.

TheTakman said:

Well the VCU and central prop shafts are definetly not there but I was told they were removed because the IRD is broken. But if the front two wheels are working then it can't be completely broken. It must have been the VCU that broke then.

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:hysterically_laughi

[smile] You crack me up [/smile]

TheTakman said:

Well the VCU and central prop shafts are definetly not there but I was told they were removed because the IRD is broken. But if the front two wheels are working then it can't be completely broken. It must have been the VCU that broke then.

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Most likely removed as the VCU was knackered....and to prevent damage to the IRD.
Just hope it was removed before serious damage to the IRD.
I've been there......cost of a reconditioned IRD plus a reconditioned VCU was £1,000.
With all the other problems, I'd return it for a refund and look elsewhere.
If the guy was serious, he should have done the necessaries before offering it for sale.
Seriously....tell the guy where to get off and get your money back.

The Mad Hat Man said:

:hysterically_laughi

[smile] You crack me up [/smile]

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Give the guy a break Mad Hat Man.
We all have to learn....sometimes the hard way.
Been there...got the tee shirt.

Allnick said:

Give the guy a break Mad Hat Man.
We all have to learn....sometimes the hard way.
Been there...got the tee shirt.

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Wot I say?
I just find it amusing when we tell peeps that the Hippoo design is **** and the response is "it cant be that bad" or "its down to poor servicing"

Here is a guy that didnt look before he bought and has been stitched up like a kipper.
I reckon the ABS bulb has been removed to hide a fault, the IRD has been shagged by a duff VCU and the previous owner has removed both the bulb (common trick) and VCU/Props to hide the fact that this motor is a pup.
If he can get the garage to sort it, then he will be very lucky. He cant get a reconned VCU as he doesnt have an exchange unit. So it will need a new VCU and props (not cheap), a reconned IRD, new ABS bulb and a total check of the ABS/TC traction control system (Three amigos anyone?); not to mention tyres, new turbo hoses and filters. Whilst he is at it , he might as well get the subframe mounts, the rear chassis and the window mechanisms checked.

Yes - some of us have got the T-shirt and learned the hard way. It is a pity that a lot of peeps on here think that "we that have been mauled" are knocking the Hippoo because "it aint a landy" - that couldnt be further from the truth. We are talking from experience. If you dont believe us, you will live to regret it. The design is crap, the build quality is even worse.
Now i Have said summat

I did actually do some research and i know all about the problems especially with the IRD and VCU so i thought I would take the risk when he said he would fit a reconditioned IRD and VCU as these are the main problems. He has another freelander there that he is breaking so he can send those parts off as exchange units. He has guaranteed everything to be working and will fix it all. He has given me a full 3 month warranty on everything. And i payed by credit card just incase I need my money back.

Lets hope everything works out for ya. If it does then yu are luckier than most.

TheTakman said:

I did actually do some research and i know all about the problems.

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:doh: Well I'm amazed that you still bought it.

The only way the guy could fix everything is with second hand parts or else it would cost more than the value of the car.

I wonder why he didn't fix it before selling it to you?

He was offering it cheaper with just two wheel drive but I chose to have it fixed so the 4wd works. He also told me to bring in a list of what I find not working on it and he will fix it all next week.

I thought I might aswell go for it as everything will be fixed and they have a good reputation.

If it doesn't get fixed or doesn't last very long then all I need is an independent garages assessment saying it's broken and the credit card company will refund me fully.

can i smell burning................................

Well, you've either got a lot of guts, or like me, you didn't realised what you're letting yourself in for.

Me, I bought a Hippo and I've spent hundreds on it. Next thing is three out of four door locks are dead and have to be replaced. Not looking forward to that. If I knew all this before I parted with my cash in the first place then it would definately be a walk away job. I keep mine going because I have invested so much that I would never get back if I sold it then for it serves me better to keep it.

To you, I advise you investigate getting shot of this car, back the way it came. If you really must have this car then you must consider repairing it yourself, otherwise the garage bills will financially cripple you. This is actually a reasonable comment for most Land Rover products but the Hippo is one of the worst, along side something like the P38.

The missing prop is a big worry. Its a common trick to remove the VCU and prop if the VCU has locked up. The VCU is £400 odd. The cost of the props ain't cheap either so to get this car 4x4 again is serious money. The other question is what other damage is there. If the VCU locks up then there is a very high risk of damage to the pinion gear sets in both the IRD and rear diff. You have no idea what lattent damage there is in these parts. £800-£1000 for an IRD alone is not untypical and you have to fit it, which doesn't take five minutes.

I'm am not critising you in any way. We're just making you well aware what you are more than likely going to have in store. If you choose to keep said machine then Welcome to Looney Land. When the Hippo does work properly then they are great fun.

Maybe we should all get this new 4x4....

Now that is really taking the pee.....

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/99.99.108.119

Well i think i will take the risk as the garage will fix all the problems and i will make sure they do. It has a full 3 month warranty so i have plenty of time to make sure its all pukka.

My drivers door doesn't unlock but it will lock and it makes a sound when trying to unlock so sounds like something has come loose. Or is this the problem that you have and do you think my lock will need replacing?

I suspect that if the drivers door lock is designed the same way as the two rear door locks then its worn out, not come loose. Get it replaced. Its £100 worth of parts alone. If you look out for my thread on Darmans Central Locking problems then in a short while I will report my findings on what has happened to my locks. In your case, if the garage has agreed to make the car good then hold them to it.

My Freelander came out the garage a week ago and everything has been fixed. The only thing I noticed was that the ABS light is still not coming on at all. I tested the ABS myself on loose ground and it definitely works. They said the same thing but they don't know why the light doesn't come on. I have even checked the bulb and its in there and not blown.

Is there anyway I can test the ABS system myself or anyway to find why the bulb doesn't come on?