Why getting rid of the p38 mate?
Agree with others, that money will get you a decent fully functional freelander. I'd avoid the 2wd one personally.

Can’t get on with the automatic!

. Thanks

I've had my Freelander 8 years - the only major problem with it has been the transmission blowing (due to a tyre down on air). That was 5 years ago and I've been running 2WD since and its been a great reliable economic to run wagon. We often get family visiting us down here and it regularly takes 4 or 5 adults on road trips all over the South Island without hassle. Mine's an L Series diesel which is probably the least affected by running 2WD. I very very rarely get any wheel spin pulling away on road - although when the tyres got low it did a bit in the wet - failed the WOF on tyres (been on since transmission rebuild) so replaced them and back to no wheel spin. I'm sure from what others say, if its a petrol it will spin the wheels more. It still has TC and this does cut in when I go down the river bed fishing. I don't take it properly off road now though (much!).

I don't know what the taxation rules are in UK these days. I'm sure you can get cheaper cars to tax and insure, but it depends on what you want. If you just want cheap you could run a Nissan Micra or Honda Jazz. Personally, I love my Freelander even though it gave me a load of jip 5 years ago (at that moment in time I loathed the car - but fixing it I began to appreciate its finer points!).

If it has had the props removed, you will not know why. I knew why mine wouldn't run with the props attached - the IRD was shot. Normally the bearings on the rear pinion get worn down, depending on when the props are removed depends on how much they are worn down. I could not run without props or else I wouldn't get a WOF (MOT) so I had to leave the rear pinion on the IRD. I needed to replace the bearings for it, so took the decision to replace all the bearings in the IRD. The gears were also damaged on the pinion, the VCU was stuffed and I was looking at replacing 4 tyres - it was going to be a £4K bill here to get the bits, so I removed the gear off the end of the pinion, and reassembled it all as 2WD. In the UK I would not trust an IRD on a 2WD car if it still has the pinion attached - they have probably just removed the props without any consideration to the health of the IRD. I would removed the pinion and check its bearings and the condition of the teeth on the crown and pinion gears - only if they are all OK would I reinstall it, otherwise I would replace the pinion with a blanking plate - they are for sale on eBay. Damaged gears and worn bearings are a recipe for the IRD jamming up and blowing itself to pieces.

So, if its the car you want, in decent enough condition, I wouldn't be afraid of it. I'd check out any insurance implications first of all though. If it were 4WD, I'd be expecting to have to replace the VCU and I'd be getting a TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) and I'd be checking the condition of the IRD (and probably rear diff) very carefully - I know the grief that can be caused!

Since taking my drive shaft off to replace VCU bearings, I have noticed a big difference in fuel economy. People say it makes no difference, I can assure you it does. Never had any wheel spin at all, the only driving difference I have noticed is that there is a bit of drift on bigger bends. I will be refitting the driveshaft this week as 4wd is definitely required in Scotland in winter. My TD 4 has had me pulling my hair out in the past with one fault after another, in fairness, every fault was because of lack of maintenance by previous owner. Replacing the driveshaft is hopefully my last job for a while.

Must be honest mines 2wd too for the last 4 yrs, because it does more mpg and has never been off road whilst I've had it.

I wouldn't move to another vehicle as I find most too difficult to get in and out of now, however the Freelander being a higher seat height is easy to to get in and out of, suits me and I have yet to find anything else as reliable.

ive been to 7 differant insurance companies and all are saying they wont insure because it
affects the performance and handaling of the vehicle how are all these others insured or havent
they told insurance about propshaft being removed ?

Old diver said:

I have noticed a big difference in fuel economy. People say it makes no difference, I can assure you it does.

Click to expand...

Oldyam said:

Must be honest mines 2wd too for the last 4 yrs, because it does more mpg and has never been off road whilst I've had

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There's no big gains in MPG if running as a 2WD.
It really makes so little difference, it's barely noticeable. I've done the testing on both a V6 and A TD4. Both long term tests of 10,000 miles, over the same route, measuring the exact amount of fuel over the exact miles. Proper testing and measuring is the only way to get accurate figures.
The V6 showed an improvement of just 0.2 Mpg when run without props. The TD4 showed an improvement of 0.5 Mpg. So in reality, removing the props makes little difference. There's no reason for there to be an increase in fuel usage as a 4WD, other than a few extra KGs slung underneath. The VCU slips very easily if all tyres are the same, so that's not going have an effect.

Marks freelander said:

ive been to 7 differant insurance companies and all are saying they wont insure because it
affects the performance and handaling of the vehicle how are all these others insured or havent
they told insurance about propshaft being removed ?

Click to expand...

This is the problem with prop removal. It's not an authorised mod, so insurers don't want to take the risk.

Marks freelander said:

ive been to 7 differant insurance companies and all are saying they wont insure because it
affects the performance and handaling of the vehicle how are all these others insured or havent
they told insurance about propshaft being removed ?

Click to expand...

You tried 7 insurance companies, 7? Have you heard the expression, Don’t try to bull**** a bull****ter? Check out this site, one guy insured a 2wd 2001 1.8GS manual with Adrian Flux ( modified car insurance) his premium was £282, which was £75 cheaper. I informed my insurance company who told me to let them know when I did the repair, which will be this week. I even got a reference number off them which was to say that I had informed them.

Marks freelander said:

ive been to 7 differant insurance companies and all are saying they wont insure because it
affects the performance and handaling of the vehicle how are all these others insured or havent
they told insurance about propshaft being removed ?

Click to expand...

Can the mod be certified in the UK like it can here in NZ? I think it costs about £250 but it makes the car legit and insurance companies might be more accommodating. I can't find an example of a Freelander at the mo, but this is a Disco with mods and pic 8 shows the certification plate...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/us...42.htm?rsqid=79898e8f17174cc39e9722bcc774e67e

Have you tried more specialist type Land Rover insurance companies, eg Adrian Flux?

There is a specific forum on here about insurance and its sponsored by them...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/forum/land-rover-insurance.64/

There's a link to their Adrian Flux's website at the top of that page. You may be able to google other Land Rover/modified car specialist insurance companies.

GrumpyGel said:

Can the mod be certified in the UK like it can here in NZ? I think it costs about £250 but it makes the car legit and insurance companies might be more accommodating. I can't find an example of a Freelander at the mo, but this is a Disco with mods and pic 8 shows the certification plate...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/us...42.htm?rsqid=79898e8f17174cc39e9722bcc774e67e

Have you tried more specialist type Land Rover insurance companies, eg Adrian Flux?

There is a specific forum on here about insurance and its sponsored by them...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/forum/land-rover-insurance.64/

There's a link to their Adrian Flux's website at the top of that page. You may be able to google other Land Rover/modified car specialist insurance companies.

Click to expand...

not tried adrian flux will try now thanks

On the figures I got over a 6 month period doing the same daily commute and logging the mileage & fuel figures it averaged out at 3.0 mpg on 50 miles each way ( 500 miles a week ) topping up at the same fuel station each time. Maybe the difference is in driving style or actual route driven, but it worked for me.

Hi GrumpyGel
Thank you for recommending ADRIAN FLUX. I have contacted them and have now got insurance. Yay

Thank you to all who have given advice on here. I will be upgrading my landy to a disco 2 when I have
A few more pennies to spend.

Good luck with the car. Like all cars, its a bit of a lucky drawer as to whether problems occur, but on the whole (and if they're maintained well) Freelander are pretty reliable trucks. What engine did you get?

If you are coming from a P38, you may find it a bit 'underwhelming' at first. I did after owning TDI and V8 Discos. It was only once I did some work on the car when the transmission blew that I got to really like it. I definitely liked the fuel economy from the start though! Ironically, the other thing I really liked from the start was its traction/off road ability - no more faffing around with diff lock - just point and go I used to drive down the beach to go fishing and I found it better than the Disco - I walk now

GrumpyGel said:

Good luck with the car. Like all cars, its a bit of a lucky drawer as to whether problems occur, but on the whole (and if they're maintained well) Freelander are pretty reliable trucks. What engine did you get?

If you are coming from a P38, you may find it a bit 'underwhelming' at first. I did after owning TDI and V8 Discos. It was only once I did some work on the car when the transmission blew that I got to really like it. I definitely liked the fuel economy from the start though! Ironically, the other thing I really liked from the start was its traction/off road ability - no more faffing around with diff lock - just point and go I used to drive down the beach to go fishing and I found it better than the Disco - I walk now

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Hi. I got a 2.0 diesel
2001. Hope

Old diver said:

You tried 7 insurance companies, 7? Have you heard the expression, Don’t try to bull**** a bull****ter? Check out this site, one guy insured a 2wd 2001 1.8GS manual with Adrian Flux ( modified car insurance) his premium was £282, which was £75 cheaper. I informed my insurance company who told me to let them know when I did the repair, which will be this week. I even got a reference number off them which was to say that I had informed them.

Click to expand...

Why would I bulls*** anyone ? I’m new on here and want honest feedback.

Old diver said:

You tried 7 insurance companies, 7? Have you heard the expression, Don’t try to bull**** a bull****ter? Check out this site, one guy insured a 2wd 2001 1.8GS manual with Adrian Flux ( modified car insurance) his premium was £282, which was £75 cheaper. I informed my insurance company who told me to let them know when I did the repair, which will be this week. I even got a reference number off them which was to say that I had informed them.

Click to expand...

Why would I bulls*** anyone. I’m new on here because I wanted honest opinions and answers, and to get that I need to be honest which I am ! But yes. I have now contacted Adrian flux and have insurance cover by them now
For this vehicle. ( £575 ). But will be changing to a disco 2 when I have enough funds.

On the fuel saving front, I ran mine for just under two years in 2wd. I kept good mpg records before I took the prop off, during 2wd running and since returning it to 4wd. I saw an improvement on average of just over 1mpg when in 2wd.

£1500 for an FL1 running 2WD seems very steep money to me. It's probably only worth half that in this condition IMO.

In my mind, the thing that would bug me would be the real reason why the rear prop was removed. If just for a few knocks (worn rear diff bushes), then that is cheap fix money. If the VCU has had it and has taken out the IRD, that is painfully expensive to put right.

How does this car drive in 2WD? I've never driven an FL1 so modified, but have read others' varying comments from "it's fine" to "it handles nastily and spins the front wheels readily"

At the end of the day, it's your money and your choice. I'd leave it and buy one with 4WD in as standard and good condition as possible. But I guess it's the need to P/Ex the P38 that is limiting your choice?

rob_bell said:

£1500 for an FL1 running 2WD seems very steep money to me. It's probably only worth half that in this condition IMO.

In my mind, the thing that would bug me would be the real reason why the rear prop was removed. If just for a few knocks (worn rear diff bushes), then that is cheap fix money. If the VCU has had it and has taken out the IRD, that is painfully expensive to put right.

How does this car drive in 2WD? I've never driven an FL1 so modified, but have read others' varying comments from "it's fine" to "it handles nastily and spins the front wheels readily"

At the end of the day, it's your money and your choice. I'd leave it and buy one with 4WD in as standard and good condition as possible. But I guess it's the need to P/Ex the P38 that is limiting your choice?

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The expensive bits in an IRD rebuild are the crown/pinion gears and the labour. The reduction/diff gears generally are OK. The rebuild kits (all the bearings, seals & cooler) are under £200 so if you can push/pull gears and do it yourself its not overly expensive to rebuild an IRD for 2WD - but its a lot of work. If you want 4WD, you'll need to replace the gears, then you may as well get a recon unit, plus a VCU, plus bearings, plus diff mounts... then it gets into serious money!

rob_bell said:

£1500 for an FL1 running 2WD seems very steep money to me. It's probably only worth half that in this condition IMO.

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That's a fair point Rob. I paid £1800 for my 05 TD4 SE auto 3 years ago. It came with 4 new tyres, a fully working 4X4 system, leather interior and the factory winter pack.
So yeah £1500 for a broken one today, is expensive.