Thats Bollocks

Active Member
OK
My first ever Freelander Question!
I'm looking at buying a R reg 5 door freelander for less than £400 as a dog run about car for the wife.(kseries)
Now it's £400 for a reason! The car in general is mint and everything seems to work but on long runs it starts to overheat.

So my daft questions are!
1.is it in general just a head gasket issue?
2. Is it Radiator or thermostat?
3. If it is head gasket, how hard to change? Cost and can I change it without skimming the head?

Many thanks
 
Does it loose coolant?
Do the coolant pipes go from soft to hard when going from cold to warm after a drive?
Does the radiator get hot after a drive when stationary?
 
it could be a few things the most common is the head gasket , you need to look at the header tank to see if there is any oil in the water or at least get a test done , or it could be the thermostat, but then again it could be the header tank loosing water as they suffer from cracks around the top if that is the case get a new one with new cap, but having the k series engine you must check the water every week.
 
Last edited:
it could be a few things the most common is the head gasket , you need to look at the header tank to see if there is any oil in the water or at least get a test done , or it could be the thermostat, but then again it could be the headed tank loosing water as they suffer from cracks around the top if that is the case get a new one with new cap, but having the k series engine you must check the water every week.

I think I may give it a miss?
 
Unless your handy with spanners then give it a miss. If you are then go for it. Loads of bargain k series Freelanders out there cause of engine troubles but most of them are fixable.
 
Unless your handy with spanners then give it a miss. If you are then go for it. Loads of bargain k series Freelanders out there cause of engine troubles but most of them are fixable.

Thanks, I'm handy with spanners, but time is the issue as I'm an Engineering Manager at a food Manufacturer in Leeds and work upto 70 hours a week in the summer months, so my time of is very important! I don't want to be working on cars on my day of

Think I'm gonna give it a miss and look for a good runner instead
 
Thanks, I'm handy with spanners, but time is the issue as I'm an Engineering Manager at a food Manufacturer in Leeds and work upto 70 hours a week in the summer months, so my time of is very important! I don't want to be working on cars on my day of

Think I'm gonna give it a miss and look for a good runner instead
:eek:

May I suggest an Xtrail then. :p
 
If you want a reliable 4wd that's great in mud and doesn't cost much - then look no further than an L Series diesel Freelander - they're ideal :)
 
If you want a reliable 4wd that's great in mud and doesn't cost much - then look no further than an L Series diesel Freelander - they're ideal :)

Why the L series?

And will it tow?
As I have had an 1800 Kseries on loan from the dealer whilst my Range Rover is having its head re-built, and it wouldn't pull itself out of a paper bag!
 
The L series diesel is reliable but under powered. I believe that can be sorted with a Ron box or remap but since they stopped making them around 2001 it's the rest of the car will need lots of TLC. The K series goes well enough on it's own (until the head gasket goes) but ain't much good for towing. If you're determined to buy a Freelander for towing the TD4 is the one to go for.
 
Why the L series?

And will it tow?
As I have had an 1800 Kseries on loan from the dealer whilst my Range Rover is having its head re-built, and it wouldn't pull itself out of a paper bag!

Price : You're considering a £400 motor - so you're obviously not wanting to spend to much on this - the L Series are the older Freelanders - so are cheaper than TD4 in that respect - they also only come in basic trim - so once again are cheaper and less gadgetry to go wrong (you've got your RR for for for posh unless its a Classic).

Running Costs & Reliability : You should get around the 40 MPG mark from an L Series. I just did a 3,000km road trip around the mountains here in the South Island NZ with 5 adults and our luggage - averaged about 37/38 MPG - which isn't to shabby for the size of car, conditions and what it was hauling. The TD4 is similar. The L Series only comes in manual, the TD4 auto will cost you at least 20% more in fuel. The L Series is amazingly reliable, you'd be unlucky to get many problems with an L Series - there's very few reports of problems experienced on LZ, but there's always reports of TD4s running badly or the ECU won't let it drive over (say) 30 MPH. So they're less likely to give you problems and cost money. They do need cam belt changes though whereas the TD4 is chain driven. Just keep care of the aux belt tensioner - as there are reports of them throwing the aux belt which then takes the cam belt out.

Performance : To say the L Series is underpowered, I feel, is in correct. Its true (in standard spec) they will never win a drag race off the lights (in fact what ever you choose to race - you will lose!). For normal road use though, once they're moving, they're fine. So acceleration from standstill can be embarrassing, but mid range is fine - although a few more gear changes than 'your average road car' should be expected. As I say, it was more than fine lugging 5 people over mountain passes up to about 3,500ft.

Towing : I've towed all sorts of s**t with my L Series. The only load it struggled with eventually bust the axle on the commercial trailer I'd hired to shift it! When I towed my SIII 109 SSW home on a transporter - it went fine. When I load up with family, hook up the boat and load all our camping gear (we camp in style with a tent that weighs nearly 100KG and so much stuff its ridiculous) and head for the Kaikoura Ranges and Queen Charlotte Drive - it performs beautifully. We've had TDI and V8 Discos for 12 years before, which obviously have better towing ability, but I've never really missed them from a towing perspective (and for my use the Freelander's 4wd is better as well - but that's for another thread!). So I find the L Series is a great lump for towing. Freelander is lighter than RR or Disco, so ultimately its not going to tow very heavy loads with the safety that they will offer - but the L Series will shift weights that can get you into a lot of trouble! Its only available in manual - so if you are not an experienced tower and will be towing heavy loads - the auto TD4 may be more suitable - but if you are experienced, the manual should not limit you and ultimately will be safer and more rewarding to haul large loads.
 
Get a v6. ;)

Who let Hippo out of the institution! :)

Oh, aging Springers find it a lot easier getting in and out of Freelanders than the 'big' Landies :) Funnily enough though that is only the case when leaving home (for a W A L K or a S W I M), returning though they appear to have the same trouble and reluctance to get in.
 
We had an L series a few years ago and it struggled to tow a horse box with a small pony. I wouldn't want to use it to tow anything heavier. I don't think it could have towed the same horsebox with two horses which I had to do several times. I replaced it for a Mk1 XTrail which was much better (112hp). That was replaced with a Mkll XTrail which was even betterer (145hp). It was sold too along with the trailer and I'm back to a Freelander again cause even though the XTrail was great at the job it was no pleasure to drive and as we don't need it for towing any more (and I'm tight) we got a K series. :)
 
Last edited:

Similar threads