Hi all. Complete brand new 4x4 owner of any type. Bought a 99 freelander 1.8 xei s wagon.

No clue bout this car except it was black and looked nice.... :/

Checking search engines I think I'm done for. Out of a list of problems I think the main scary one is, when I turn corners a loud crunching noise coming from the back end. Like a mixture of rear wheels trying to get traction and my back end falling off. I have to literally slow to a crawl when turning to make sure it doesn't do it.

Ideas and costs? Lol

Other main three are a bit more simple. Sunroof sticks and sounds like motor just juddering and iv had to manually pull it down whilst pressing button to get it to shut so scared to open it again. Costs?

Second is when driving in any shape or form, strait, cornering, etc... Sounds like a jingling metallic sound coming from somewhere? Possibly a wheel like something's loose? A guy said it could be a bearing?

And finally. Small but annoying. The clock on the dash doesn't work. Doesn't even light up.

Also. Anyone know a good Landy specialist garage near me? Don't want to go to your run of the mill back street garage who have no clue like me. I'm in doncaster.

Thanks all

ebay by any chance? op2:

Auto trader :/ not even trying to pretend I know anything about 4x4's lol

Gone from a mg zr to a vectra to a freelander purely cos I liked look of em. Only chose this one cos it had current mot and guy gave it all the spiel about how well it's been looked and how nice it looked. No rust or marks anywhere. Barely even a key scratch near door handles what ud expect from any old car

friendly suggestion ( as looks like you'll need help/answers )
visit: Introduce Yourself - Land Rover Zone
post a thread sayin' "hello"

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the main scary one is, when I turn corners a loud crunching noise coming from the back end. Like a mixture of rear wheels trying to get traction and my back end falling off. I have to literally slow to a crawl when turning to make sure it doesn't do it.

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gotta a feeling might be an idea to remove the vcu 'n props a.s.a.p.
'n don't drive it 'till you've done so

i.e.

rear wheels trying to get traction

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that sounds like a screwed up 'vcu'

xplains the 4wd system :

Symptoms - Bell Engineering

WHAT DOES MY FREELANDER’S VCU DO? | For Land Rover Enthusiasts

and/or use the forum search button at top

you can test the vcu unit :
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/definitive-freelander-vcu-testing-thread-99163.html

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couple of other things that cause back end noises

rear subframe bolts fitting broken
rear diff. mounts shot

although .. those can show up when pulling away in a straight line as well

but the 'rear wheels trying to get traction' and 'when going round corners' .. suggest the 'vcu' unit
which if knackered will take out the 'ird' and/or rear diff. ( lottsa dosh to repair )

The jingle is from the little collar on the output shaft of the IRD (transfer box) more annoying than anything else..

The crunching is due to the viscous coupling getting stiff. Remove the prop. The noise could be the rear diff or it could be the IRD. Usually due to mismatched tyres.

Sunroof as above is normal problems...

But I ain't telling you this as you haven't followed forum etiquette and introduced yourself.....

If you can spanner a bit there is enough information round here to fix it yourself..

Most garages and 4x4 specialists don't have loads of knowledge about freelanders as they fall between car and traditional off-roader.

Now you mention different wheels. First thing I noticed was 3 of the tyres say max psi 36 and one of the back ones says max 44. Dunno if that has anything to do with anything? Couldn't be causing that hellish grinding/crunching noise when turning surely?

Worst case scenario what are we talking to fix? And I mean worst case lol if it's the diff or what ever

The tyres HaVE to be the same make, tread pattern and size otherwise the viscous coupling suffers.

Read hd3's links most of the info you need is in them.

Do you need 4x4?

The Freelander has lots of peculiarities, mostly to do with the drivetrain. If it has been used with odd tyres then that will screw up the 4X4 system. All tyres MUST be the same make, type and size or serious and expensive damage will result. Sounds like the latter to me.
Get the propshafts off before it goes bang and leaves you stranded somewhere. Then get it along to a Freelander specialist for diagnosis.

Did you actually drive it before you bought it?

You could try taking it back and asking for your money back, tell that you now realise you are too stupid to own a car

The clock and the sun roof are the least of your worries by the sound of it

Richard your a charming one rnt ya lol

I don't need 4x4 but bought it for the same reasons I assume people buy bmw's/mercs/audis. Don't need that luxury or expense but they like the look and get em even though a good old 53 plate astra or something would do the same job of getting them from a to b.

Thought it was a good car seeing as 99 plate with zero rust or marks. Started first time and drove well with part history. Was only two days later I started hearing the noise.

I can accept if it costs me between 300-600 to fix but any more and I'll have to weigh up what to do

first thing is to ring the trader and tell them of your problems but it sounds as though they already knew about it, that's why they sold it ,you still have rights ,to get you money back then save a bit more to get a better one. my old freelander had about 173,000 miles on the clock before I had any problems ,and after having them all done I exchanged it, for another freelander. but if you are going to keep it, It sounds as though the vcu has gone and so has the rear diff, you can get these cheaper than main dealers just look around,

Not too far from Donny: Castleford 4 x4 01977 518864. Ask for Carl.

Assuming all my rights have been waived though being sold as seen and no warranty per his words "we don't offer warranty on cars this age"

Scott1102 said:

Assuming all my rights have been waived though being sold as seen and no warranty per his words "we don't offer warranty on cars this age"

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I would say you still have statutory rights

Scott1102 said:

Assuming all my rights have been waived though being sold as seen and no warranty per his words "we don't offer warranty on cars this age"

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If the vehicle came from a dealer, you have consumer rights. Any thing you buy, new or used must be Fit For Purpose!! This Freelander clearly has issues. Take a trip to the CAB to find out where you stand.

Looks like you have bought what is known as a 'project car'. Up to you which way to go. Get a refund from the dealer, or fix it.
If you fancy fixing it, be aware that it will take a lot of your time and money, even if you source the parts from flea bay or scrappers. Freelanders are great cars so long as you don't mind getting covered in oil every weekend. It's very much a love/hate thing with these cars. I've had mine over ten years, so I suppose they must be worth it or it'd be in the bin by now.
Loads of help on here, so long as you don't mind having the p#ss taken out of you, as you already seem to have found out.
Best of luck what ever you decide.
Cheer
Mike

Scott1102 said:

Assuming all my rights have been waived though being sold as seen and no warranty per his words "we don't offer warranty on cars this age"

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If you bought from a dealer, it has to be "fit for purpose" the dealer has no legal get out. Chuck it back and give him the option of fix or refund.
No doubt the dealer will try to fob you off, stick at it and use the county court if necessary.

Your situation is probably very simple - if not a nice one to be in.

As said, first step - get the props and VCU off (the front to back shafts with round things in the middle). Its a very easy 30 minute job to do yourself - if you're not into DIY mechanics, double that time. Its got some wierd looking bolts on it, but I got mine off with a spanner and normal socket set. You need to do this to stop the problems getting worse - which they will do and probably strand you. You can use the car without the props - it just runs front wheel drive - lots of people do this on a permanent basis - its been termed 'mondo mode' on here - mine is currently like this.

The noises should drop a lot, if you are still getting noises, I think the order of checking is as follows:

1) If noise from rear, check the rear diff mounts. You can do this yourself, if the rubber in the mounts looks perished, replace them. If you can move the diff around easily, replace them. Its usually the front mount only, but in changing 1 it may be worth just changing all 3.

2) If noise from rear, check rear subframe mount. If it has gone, you'll need to get it fixed - search on here for advice. You may be able to check it yourself, or possibly put into garage - the fix does involve some cutting away of metal and welding (I believe) so fix may be a garage job.

3) If nose from rear and the above bits are OK, you're probably into a recon rear diff.

4) If noise from front, you're probably into a recon IRD (front diff).

Once you've got the car stable, you then need to consider whether you want it to be 4WD or FWD. If you're happy with FWD, then that's it, you're sorted. If you want to go 4WD, you have the following...

1) You are definitely into a new/recon VCU - period.

2) Running 4WD puts additional stresses on parts of the IRD. It may be OK for FWD, but not up to the job of 4WD. For peace of mind and reliable motoring (after having been put through the stresses of a faulty VCU) you are probably best getting a recon IRD.

3) For the same reasons as above, you could consider a recon rear diff. These do not tend to suffer so much as the IRD, but are points of failure when the VCU has put great stresses through the transmission.

These are not the only causes of noises in a Freelander's transmission and suspension, but they are the primary and costly ones. As I say, if you remove the props, the noises stop and you're happy in FWD - then its no cost at all. Although how much life will be left in your IRD, and to a lesser extent rear diff, is unknown.

I'm not sure on the rear subframe mount costs, but that is probably not part of your fault anyway, but to put it back to reliable 4WD you are talking around 1K UKP in parts. The most complicated part to replace is the IRD - but I've done it on my Freelander and I'm not amechanic or even a greatly experienced DIYer (before anyway!).

As for Freelander's leaving you up to your armpits in oil every weekend - that's true if you are unlucky, just like with any car. I had my transmission go like yours and it was a big job for me to get it back on the road, but I did it. Other than that I've had 4 years of basically trouble free motoring on a '99 vehicle and I've put it through stuff regularly that would have had many cars on their way to the scrap heap.

As for going back to the dealer - its probably worth a go. If he doesn't want to play ball though, it doesn't matter if you're in the right, you may have a hard slog ahead. I bought a crock of s**t Disco 1 from a dealer a few years back who wasn't interested in playing ball. It needed 2 new cylinder heads. The best he said was that if I got the parts, he'd have them fitted. I didn't take him up on it, cos I'd rather have slapped in in the gob, but it might be an option in you're case if you need any work doing. Go in hard demanding your money back - if that doesn't work, I would not trust him to 'fix it' cos he may just bodge it - but you could come back with them fitting the replacement parts?

These are my thoughts given my experiences and reading what's gone through this forum. Others may have different thoughts!

Trying to ring my local cab all day but no one picks up. Will try again 2moro.

Does anyone know the facts about fit for purpose or consumer rights. Basically car was on auto trader and on description there was zero mention (obviously) about these problems. He also stated face to face it runs perfectly as he used it to go shooting on weekends. It is a dealership,A family run business at this posh house out in the country with tonnes of new audis/bmw's parked on grass. Can't say name I guess?

Mot till October. Iv had it just over a week but 3 of those days I was away so didn't drive it. So not like iv had it a month and now I'm complaining. Fully skinted myself getting this aswell