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NoIdeaWhatImDoing

Member
Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice or insights into a recurring issue with my 2006 Land Rover Freelander TD4 (5-door). The car has approximately 182,000 miles on it and has been converted to front-wheel drive due to the common driveshaft issue with Freelanders.

Background:
In June 2024, the front tyres were replaced (Kumho, middle of the range), and new front discs and pads were installed. At that time, all wheels had their geometry done.
The next 6 months or so, the car did another 14,000 miles. It was largely motorway driving.
Problem Description Now:
Recently, the front brakes have started grinding. And we now found out that they are completely worn out.
The front tyres, to our surprise, were also badly worn with inner side wear down to metal thread.
Rear tyres, much older with more mileage with low-end Suny tires from China, are ok.
Questions:
Is this abnormal wear of brakes and tires, under the circumstances described above normal, or could it be indicative of an underlying fault?
Is it the conversion to front-wheel drive or geometrical setup that is making the wear irregular on the front tyres?
Are there any particular components that can be checked, such as wheel bearings, suspension, or brake calipers?
Advice or suggestions about what to check or how to avoid this sort of wear in the future will be gratefully received, thanks in advance!
 
Hi,

On the freelander 1 you need to change all the 4 tires at the same times. If the propshaft was removed, you still have a differential and 2 drives shafts that you need to service …

For the front tires, are they rightly inflated ? A picture of the tire can help. Bad suspenssion or bad tie rod ends can kill your tires too …

For the brake issue, you will certainly need to change the discs with the brake pads. If the brake fluid is black … or has never been changed you can have sized brake pistons.
 
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I should say, It’s not your problem, you paid for new tires and a geometry, renewed brakes, something went wrong … they give you a waranty. It not normal in 6 months and 14 000 miles to have this issues !

Get back to the garage … they must fix It as a waranty they give you !
 
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The front brakes could be siezed calipers causing premature wear. Uneven tyre wear could be pressures incorrect, alignment out or wear in ball joints, track rod ends, drop links or even the steering rack. You need to check for play in all those I would say, most likely the ball joints. At that mileage, wishbone and steering arm bushes may also be contributing.
 
Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me


I'm glad I'm not.crazy and that the wear isn't normal!

For the other issues you guys mentioned, is there a way I can check them myself, as I don't have much confidence in the guy who did it, but don't want to engage yet another garage and pay fpr the investigation, after already being a grand in.

Thanks again for the advise
 
NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:
Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me


I'm glad I'm not.crazy and that the wear isn't normal!

For the other issues you guys mentioned, is there a way I can check them myself, as I don't have much confidence in the guy who did it, but don't want to engage yet another garage and pay fpr the investigation, after already being a grand in.

Thanks again for the advise
Click to expand...

Hi,

4 tires change on the FL1 only if it is a 4 by 4.

2 wheel drive freelander, you still have a rear diff that need oil, 2 drive shafts that have boot gaiters that can leak grease.
And you still pay for the rear geometry, and pay more for the MOT than a 2 wheels drive car.
 
NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:
Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me
Click to expand...
You don't.

You could probably run 25" on the front and 35" on the back if you wanted. Might feck up the speedo, but the ABS & TC would still work, HDC might get confused because of the speedo issues. There wouldn't be any mechanical issues because the front is not connected to the back mechanically. It would be stupid, and probably illegal, but the car would function.

But the gist is... you do not need matching tyres on the front and back so you can replace fronts and rears independently.
 
Park the car on a flat piece of road, stand in front of it and have a look at the angle (Camber) of the front wheels. If it looks like an F1 car then they probably need adjusting.
As already mentioned if 2WD then assuming the rears are OK, only change the fronts but get a proper 4 wheel alignment done by a place that can do it right, including camber. Be sure to specify you want a 4 wheel alignment as the rears may need adjusting too. Forty or fifty quid spent here will save a fortune in knackered tyres.
Also as mentioned the calipers are probably knackered causing the brakes to wear.
 
Just an update and appeal for any more advice.

I took it to a different mechanic. He checked the calipers and said they weren't seized and he couldn't see any other issues with the brakes or wheels. (Except the back where the rear drums are totally useless and rusted, so gotta have them replaced but he needs to disassemble them first to know what parts need replacing, and sending for another alignment)

I'm taking it back to him and going to get him to check the suspension.

The brakes start squealing when I come to a stop after about 30 minutes of driving (I.e. they don't squeal at first but after 20-30 minutes of driving, the squeal really loudly when coming to a stop)

So, is suspension the best bet?

The exhaust has come a bit loose at the back, and when i go over a bump it thumps a bit, and now front driver side make a similar noise, seemingly from the wheel arch, although the exhaust there is fine. Not sure if that provides any clarity or not.
 
NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:
the back where the rear drums are totally useless and rusted, so gotta have them replaced but he needs to disassemble them first to know what parts need replacing, and sending for another alignment)
Click to expand...
He doesn't need to investigate what needs replacing - just replace everything, its all very cheap and its nonsensical not to replace everything.

Drums, cylinders, shoes (and clips that should come with them), springs - maybe the adjuster can be reused.

He may find that the pipes from the cylinder crumble when they are disconnected. These are actually significant money, so whether they are planned to change, or only changed if needed (and will therefore hold up the job), is open to debate but he may not be able to tell just by looking at them.

A wheel alignment is not needed after replacing the brake components. At least I can't see a reason why it would be needed.

With regard to other things, I tend to agree that the tyre situation should have been spotted and addressed before they got this bad, but, hey ho, that's history - and you wouldn't expect to have to look for problems after only 6 months and 14k miles.

There is something very wrong somewhere. You say the front brakes are "completely worn out", so its not surprising they are doing strange things like squealing. Is it pads or discs that are worn or both? what ever, if you are still using the car, you need to get them replaced even if the problem is still there, just like the tyres.

With wear like that to tyres and brakes - there must be something that a 1/2 decent mechanic must be able to find. Try another 1.
 
If the rear brakes are rusted and useless then I'm not surprised the front brakes are worn out. Has it passed an MOT recently? I would have thought it would fail long before they became totally useless. This might also have a bearing on why the front tyres are knackered
 
GrumpyGel said:
You don't.

You could probably run 25" on the front and 35" on the back if you wanted. Might feck up the speedo, but the ABS & TC would still work, HDC might get confused because of the speedo issues. There wouldn't be any mechanical issues because the front is not connected to the back mechanically. It would be stupid, and probably illegal, but the car would function.

But the gist is... you do not need matching tyres on the front and back so you can replace fronts and rears independently.
Click to expand...
If the abs is expecting all wheels to rotate at the same speed then I'd expect it would have a fit off you put radically different tyres front and rear because it will think an axle has lost traction
 
GrumpyGel said:
He doesn't need to investigate what needs replacing - just replace everything, its all very cheap and its nonsensical not to replace everything.

Drums, cylinders, shoes (and clips that should come with them), springs - maybe the adjuster can be reused.

He may find that the pipes from the cylinder crumble when they are disconnected. These are actually significant money, so whether they are planned to change, or only changed if needed (and will therefore hold up the job), is open to debate but he may not be able to tell just by looking at them.

A wheel alignment is not needed after replacing the brake components. At least I can't see a reason why it would be needed.

With regard to other things, I tend to agree that the tyre situation should have been spotted and addressed before they got this bad, but, hey ho, that's history - and you wouldn't expect to have to look for problems after only 6 months and 14k miles.

There is something very wrong somewhere. You say the front brakes are "completely worn out", so its not surprising they are doing strange things like squealing. Is it pads or discs that are worn or both? what ever, if you are still using the car, you need to get them replaced even if the problem is still there, just like the tyres.

With wear like that to tyres and brakes - there must be something that a 1/2 decent mechanic must be able to find. Try another 1.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. To clarify, we had the front tyres and brake pads replaced again, because they were totally worn, so the squealing brakes are new (like 2 weeks old)

And yes, mea culpa, I should have noticed, but as I said it was much worse on the inside, where it's less visible, and as you say 6 months in I wasn't checking that closely
 
NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:
Thanks for the reply. To clarify, we had the front tyres and brake pads replaced again, because they were totally worn, so the squealing brakes are new (like 2 weeks old)
Click to expand...
99.99% of the time brakes don't really squeal as such. The noise is actually a very fast vibration of the back of the pad on the piston of the caliper. As you put heat into the brakes, things will expand, so it may vary when it happens, also may vary at different speeds or amount of braking being applied.

Some calipers have anti-vibration shims or springs. Not sure if the Freelander does or not. They are often supplied with the pads if they do, but not always.

Best bet is really how they are fitted, a liberal application of copper slip on the backs of the pads normally does the trick.

Now it is possible for drum brakes to make a noise too, although it tends to be a slightly deeper tone and more of a screech than a squeal. Obviously changing the front pads won't impact if the rear drums are noisy.
 
NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:
Thanks for the reply. To clarify, we had the front tyres and brake pads replaced again, because they were totally worn, so the squealing brakes are new (like 2 weeks old)

And yes, mea culpa, I should have noticed, but as I said it was much worse on the inside, where it's less visible, and as you say 6 months in I wasn't checking that closely
Click to expand...
When I got my F2 it had just had a service including new pads.

They squealed real bad in reverse. Took a long time to go away. Must have had it a year now and they still squeal sometimes.
 
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