Hi, As a bit of a Land Rover fan with a Supercharged Range Rover and a converted Disco 2 for work, when I heard of a Freelander going cheap just around the corner I had to have a look. It was a series 1 TD4 Kalahari (2002) and hadn't turned a wheel in 12 months as the owner had been advised to give up driving.
With moss growing all over it no MOT and the battery completely flat it was not a tempting proposition, but with a jump start it did at least run and as the owner was desperate to get it off the drive £250 was agreed.
Managed to get it home and with a new battery and an hour with a pressure washer it was starting to look half decent as the interior was in good nick.
MOT was booked and duly presented and passed with no advisories, the tester even commented that it was the best he'd seen in a long time. It drives really well to be fair considering it has done 141K but does have a couple of issues I hope you can help me with, as I am planning on taking it down to Cornwall next week.

1. The little well in the boot is full of water, is that fairly common, is the normal fix to drill a drain hole?
2. Whilst it goes well round town it is useless at motorway speeds and seems reluctant to rev and will produce a massive amount of black smoke if forced, I will try changing the boost solenoid as I believe that is a common failure item.
3. There is a loud buzzing/whining noise from the rear drivers wheelarch area which I assume is the fuel pump. Does the noise spell immanent failure and is it much of a pain to change?
4. If reversing on full right hand lock there is a loud rubbing/grinding noise as if the wheel is rubbing on the wheelarch, it isn't and only does it in reverse, full lock forward is fine.
5. Occasionally get 2 yellow warning lights up on the dash (hill decent and traction control?) but they go off after a couple of seconds.


I've always been a bit dismissive of these little Land Rovers but after driving one for a while I can see the charm and I'm pleased to have rescued it from decay. Hopefully with these little niggles sorted will get a good few years out of it. Thanks in advance. Ian

1 standard water feature. Try sealing along the top of the black plastic the window slides into at the rear.

2 check your pcv filter, that can really choke the engine up. If that's grand (likely not) then start looking towards maf or also cat blockage from being parked up so long.

3 rear pump. Some are just noisy as they age, likely just sort itself out when it's been driven a bit. Mine did. But yes it can fail and usually sounding rattly is the warning of it.

4 vcu sounds like it's worn. Reverse lock grinding is the big warning sign of it.

5 2 amigos. Sometimes you get 3 amigos. Likely a combination of brake switch failed and also wiring to the hdc needing looked at. If it's a mk1 with the facelift headlights and painted bumpers you won't have that but if it's on the gear stick that's usually what happens.

Good points above, just to add...

1) Agree this is a standard feature. Water Can also get it via the welds (or lack of!) where the box sits into the boot floor - ie around its lip. There can be gaps that (I presume) road water get splashed up into. Also the rubber seals down the side of the rear window can go or get positioned wrong - I can see a trail where water runs down mine to places it shouldn't go!

2) This will either be a very easy fix or an ongoing pain in the backside, start with advice above

3) Must admit, I though the 02 cars had a lift pump in the tank - but there can be no other reason for buzzing in the wheel arch that the later lift pump in there. If you've got a bit of cash, I'd buy a spare pump & filter and keep it in the car for the trip to Cornwall - they fail regularly and sometimes without warning - looks like you may be getting a warning!

4) Yes, 3rd worry would be the VCU - 1st thing to check is whether it has props running front to back - if they aren't there then its not running 4WD anyway! 2nd thing is whether all 4 tyres are the same make & model - do not run tyres from different manufacturers or in any way different spec on Freelander. Replace tyres in sets of 4, if you have to replace in pairs - new on back. Make sure they are all pumped to same pressure. 3rd thing would be the VCU. At 140k miles, going by LR service schedule of every 70k miles, the VCU is coming up for its 2nd replacement - but its probably original - they last anywhere between 20k and 200k miles. At that mileage it probably prudent to replace with a new LR/GKN unit or a good & trusted recon (eg Bells). As an owner of a Freelander - you should have a look on here in the FAQ section (or just Google) on how the transmission works and how the VCU fits in. If you understand how it works, you shouldn't have any problems with it - if you don't at some point you'll trash the car's transmission. Also have a look at the "1 Wheel Up Test" - the "normal" test on here is a 1.2m bar with a 5kg weight and looking for a time between 30 & 60 seconds for a good VCU - anything over 120 seconds, remove the props and order a replacement.



5) If you get any of the ABS related lights lit - best thing is to just put a code reader on it - it will tell you why they are lit. Simply replacing parts till the lights turn out is hit-and-miss and probably a waste of time and money. On both occasions I've had the 3 Amigos its been the shuttle valves in the ABS modulator. FYI - I don't think faulty wiring to the HDC switch will raise any lights - you just won't be able to turn on HDC - that may be model year related though.

Hi
There is absolutely no evidence of issues with the VCU in your description. I - I would be looking more at the drive shaft on that side or wheel bearings.
the so called OWUT is extremely limited and not informative in any way - Totally not worth bothering with.

MacGyver said:

4 vcu sounds like it's worn. Reverse lock grinding is the big warning sign of it.

Click to expand...

is totally and completely wrong and misleading in the context of a one sided lock issue.

The REAL way to test a VCU is as follows - a static test is a total waste of your time.
http://www.bellengineering.co.uk/5.html

GrumpyGel said:

5) If you get any of the ABS related lights lit - best thing is to just put a code reader on it - it will tell you why they are lit. Simply replacing parts till the lights turn out is hit-and-miss and probably a waste of time and money. On both occasions I've had the 3 Amigos its been the shuttle valves in the ABS modulator. FYI - I don't think faulty wiring to the HDC switch will raise any lights - you just won't be able to turn on HDC - that may be model year related though.

Click to expand...

These are NOT shuttle valve related. More likely a simple wheel reluctor sensor issue
Also, I have no idea what the scrap yard dude is talking about regarding model year etc - the vehicle either has HDC / ABS or does not - you do not and will not get a HDC warning in a non abs vehicle.
ANY shuttle valve issue would illuminate the ABS warning.

Enjoy,,

I'd also be very wary of driving it far without checking the VCU and as far as I'm concerned the test GG posted is the only way to be sure if it's over tight or not. The scrubbing noise you hear while reversing on full lock could be a wheel scrubbing the ground because of an over tight VCU. If the car has done 140k miles on the original VCU then it is way over due changing.

There are differing opinions on this forum for many things, checking the VCU is one of them.

A couple of people call the 1 wheel up test it a waste of time - the vast majority, including people who have put a lot of time and research into it that has been checked externally to the Freelander community and and any bias, believe it is a very good test to indicate if there are VCU problems.

I apologise if I was not clear... I'm not saying you have problems with your shuttle valves, what I'm saying is that if you get the codes read it will tell you why the lights are lit. Your alternative is guesswork and throwing money at replacing all the possible reasons.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply. The vehicle is going into the garage today for oil and filter change, fuel filter and turbo boost solenoid change which I hope will sort out most of it's minor running issues. The garage is conversant with the VCU issues and will test it, but after checking and re pressurising the tyres the noise seems far less evident.
Hopefully a good run down to Cornwall will blow the cobwebs out of it, just wish it had an ipod connector as the cd player doesn't work, I've thrown all my cassettes away and the radio is hopeless..ha

It would be interesting to see how the garage test the VCU - and of course what they find!

Maybe get one of those rechargeable bluetoothe speaker jobbies for the ipod! Will also come in handy whilst your down in Cornwall - while its raining you can stay on your digs and listen to music

If you are near me, when you come down. I can check the VCU for you and show you how to check it yourself