Marks freelander

Marks freelander

Member
I am now buying a 2001 freelander from a garage. But there is no propshaft going to rear wheels as the garage said the previous owner removed it as he never went off road and it saves fuel. ( I’m buying this one as it what I can afford at this time.). Is it worth keeping it in two wheel drive or try and restore to four wheel drive bearing in mind the winter will be here soon. Thanks. (Hope I posted in right area)
 
its most likely there was a reason rear prop was removed ie vcu seized and will cost you more than just refitting the prop to put right
 
Agree. Could be vcu was tight so they took it off to save cash. Could be diff and or IRD damaged due to vcu being tight. Look on Land Rovers for sale on this site for a good one that is complete!! It is mine and in vgc.
 
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If he still has the prop shafts and VCU you could ask them to put them back to see if it's working ok and only the VCU past its best.
 
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could be looking at a £2K bill and insurance may be invalid, As it is it does not conform to manufacturers specn. and is unfit for purpose. Walk away. What engine has it? Anything other than a diesel is not worth the agro, unless you have a lot of time and/or money and like working on cars.
what are the tyres like?
 
Well done on checking out here before splashing any cash - whether you decide to buy it or not, at least you'll know what you are (possibly) letting yourself in for.

If you want a 4WD one - get a 4WD one and if you really want to make sure its a good 4WD one, check the oil in the IRD look like oil and not a grey metallicy mess. If you want to keep it 4WD, make sure all 4 tyres are the same make/model and pumped to the same (correct) pressure and that the VCU has not gone to 'tight'. More info here...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

The only thing that is for sure is that the props were not removed because the car doesn't go off road or to save on fuel. The dealer is either ignorant or deliberately hiding other issues - you can make a call on that.

If you are very lucky, the reason the props were removed is because its 2 support bearings wore out. If that's the case, no damage was done to the IRD (front diff) or rear diff. If this is the case, you'll need a prop shaft with good support bearings and (reconditioned) VCU in working spec Probably about £300 for props and a recon VCU. You may find you may need some other cheap bits like rear diff mounts that may have become perished over time and can't handle going back to 4WD. More likely though, the IRD has been damaged - this is the expensive bit. You're looking at £650 (last time I checked) for a recon one. If the gears are undamaged (not likely), you can get an IRD bearing kit for about £200 - but you need to be confident at pulling/pushing bearings to fit one. Be very wary of a 2nd hand IRD from a breakers, there's a good chance it won't be in good condition and the guy selling it is probably you dealer's brother. Rear diff could be gone to which is still expensive but not as much and more likely to get a decent one from a breakers. Bung in some labour and VAT and the £2k quoted above looks about right.
The Mad Hat Man said:
is unfit for purpose.
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How thoroughly dare you sir :eek:

Mine's been 2WD for 5 years and has put is sterling almost faultless service to perfection.... at what it does, ie a 2WD family car and tour bus.

Its also perfect for mates to practice recovery techniques when I ignore the fact its 2WD and take it to stupid stupid places where no 2WD car should ever go! Also perfect for mates to practice recovery of 2WD vehicles stuck on perfectly flat wet grass :oops:

Agreed though, not ideal for going off tarmac by myself - that dosn't stop me, but I definitely don't take it where I used to.
 
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GrumpyGel said:
How thoroughly dare you sir :eek:

Mine's been 2WD for 5 years and has put is sterling almost faultless service to perfection.... at what it does, ie a 2WD family car and tour bus.

Its also perfect for mates to practice recovery techniques when I ignore the fact its 2WD and take it to stupid stupid places where no 2WD car should ever go! Also perfect for mates to practice recovery of 2WD vehicles stuck on perfectly flat wet grass :oops:

Agreed though, not ideal for going off tarmac by myself - that dosn't stop me, but I definitely don't take it where I used to.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with having a vehicle, not as built, but you know what I meant..... It is not as the Manufacture designed and made it. It is becoming increasingly common (in the EU) that it will fail any test that looks at whether the vehicle is as manufactured. Not forgetting any opportunity for an insurance company to not pay up, or, if heaven forbid, you are in a crash, the cops will go over it with a fine tooth comb :eek:.
 
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The Mad Hat Man said:
Nothing wrong with having a vehicle, not as built, but you know what I meant..... It is not as the Manufacture designed and made it. It is becoming increasingly common (in the EU) that it will fail any test that looks at whether the vehicle is as manufactured. Not forgetting any opportunity for an insurance company to not pay up, or, if heaven forbid, you are in a crash, the cops will go over it with a fine tooth comb :eek:.
Click to expand...
Yeh, a Freelander with the props removed will usually fail a WOF here, as will a Disco/RR with the air suspension swapped out for coils. They need to be 'certified' by an approved engineer and a modification plate with the details fixed to the car. Its then deemed fit for new purpose and will get a WOF.
 
Thank you all for your replies.
I am not going to take it off road. But at the same time. This is all I can afford. And can’t afford another one due to my ex shafting me for £6k debt. Looks like I’m stuck !
 
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You should be able to drive it as a FWD. It's just if you want it be a 4X4 where this can get more challenging. Just tell your insurance as 2WD conversion is a noticeable modification.
 
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Nodge68 said:
You should be able to drive it as a FWD. It's just if you want it be a 4X4 where this can get more challenging. Just tell your insurance as 2WD conversion is a noticeable modification.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Don’t need 4wd. 2wd is fine for me if it is ok to drive ? When I get some money saved I can then get a better one.
 
I'm sure you could find a nice 4wd one for that. I'd walk away. I can understand existing owners converting to 2wd for the obvious mechanical reasons, and then either sorting them or selling the car on with the usual bull. But I can't really see a good reason to buy a 2wd one if you're going to keep it that way. Whilst they're perfectly fine in 2wd drive you could just go for something much cheaper to tax and run etc, that will handle better.
 
kernowsvenski said:
I'm sure you could find a nice 4wd one for that. I'd walk away. I can understand existing owners converting to 2wd for the obvious mechanical reasons, and then either sorting them or selling the car on with the usual bull. But I can't really see a good reason to buy a 2wd one if you're going to keep it that way. Whilst they're perfectly fine in 2wd drive you could just go for something much cheaper to tax and run etc, that will handle better.
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Thank you
 
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