The diesel engines are more forgiving of coolant leaks than the petrols so hopefully it hasn't been overheated. If its a hose that's leaking its no trouble, just replace it. If the coolant is spilling into the passenger footwell, it'll be the heater matrix which is a dash our PITA job to swap, if you have no evidence of where the coolant is going, cross your fingers its not the head gasket or something serious (which thankfully isn't common on the TD4).
Checked every possible bit of carpet for 'damp/wet' - nothing apparent as yet, seems to be dripping out from underneath. Honestly I havent had a 'proper look yet re the coolant leak as yet, will get on to it asap tho.
Might just get it down to the local landrover garage 'Gratech' next weekend and get them to give it a really anal look over and decide from there the best course of action, clearly I dont wanna spend thousands on it but happy to spend a few quid on it.
 
Halfords advanced 200pc socket set will do you right, if you know anyone with a trade card even better. Enjoy.

Cheers
sounds good ill look into that tomorrow! thanks.
Im not a total plum and reckon I could do most of the 'work' myself given a good manual and tools. We all have to start somewhere.
 
Front tyres the same, Rear tyres are the same (miss matched front and rear).

This ^^^ leads to this...

Reversing on both locks gives a loud 'clicking' noise no stalling.

... which is why I said...

1. If it has no prop, or the tyres are mismatched, walk away.

... and the man selling you the car told you it was OK? You’re too trusting, if so.

Mismatched tyres on an AWD car stress the transmission, and there’s no telling how long it’s been driven like that. VCU is one thing, IRD (transfer box) is quite another. Hopefully It’s not been too long like that.

The tailgate handle could be hiding a nasty mess of rust.

Anyway, you have some jobs to do, which is always the case when buying a second-hand car. Let us know how you get on. Best of luck.
 
Why buy a car knowing it has blatantly obvious problem?

That thing has next to no coolant in it.
 
Because I cant afford thousands on a car that doesnt have problems!!!! obviousy!

The problem with cars like that are they most of the time cost a fortune to fix, especially if you're not handy with the spanners.

Most of the time it's works out cheaper to buy a proper example in the first place.


Edit..

2.5k seems rather steep for a bad freelander 1.

I hope you didn't pay anywhere close to your budget?
 
Because I cant afford thousands on a car that doesnt have problems!!!! obviously!
I think he means you could have got a car without obvious faults for the money. In any case, try topping up the coolant and blowing into the reservoir to pressurise it - a leak should show itself.
 
This ^^^ leads to this...



... which is why I said...



... and the man selling you the car told you it was OK? You’re too trusting, if so.

Mismatched tyres on an AWD car stress the transmission, and there’s no telling how long it’s been driven like that. VCU is one thing, IRD (transfer box) is quite another. Hopefully It’s not been too long like that.

The tailgate handle could be hiding a nasty mess of rust.

Anyway, you have some jobs to do, which is always the case when buying a second-hand car. Let us know how you get on. Best of luck.

no the 'man selling me the car' didnt say it was 'ok'... some thread on here told me it was ok if the rear tyres where new and the same etc.
 
The problem with cars like that are they most of the time cost a fortune to fix, especially if you're not handy with the spanners.

Most of the time it's works out cheaper to buy a proper example in the first place.

Thats kinda the point, buy cheap, learn as much as possible with the spanners (i know a woman with spanners right!!!! shocking!!!)
A 'proper example' would have totally blown my budget, for you to tell me id brought a piece of crap, and id have learned nothing with the spanners you speak of.
 
Was told as long as the same tyre on same axle is ok?
Exhaust/ cradle - Thats no problem!
Tail gate handle rust (minimal) but... Ive a friend of a friend who does body work repairs (shall be calling in a fav!)
'clicking' noise - assumed VCU and id already factored that into costs - £300+ ish
Nope, all 4 tyres must be the same. Mismatching front to back is possibly the biggest killer of Freelanders. You need to resolve this quick or remove the props. You may be lucky and the tyre sizes match, but going by the sounds you are getting on reverse, it may be that they don't and some damage has been done.

I'm not sure on the availability of cradles or their cost, but you have to drop the rear subframe to fit them - they don't just unbolt and a new one bolt on. There are threads describing it on here.

Its good you've got a body work repairing friend, because usually the door panel behind the handle has rusted away and needs to be reinstated in some way for the fixings to attach to. Once again threads describing it on here.

£300 will get you a VCU and support bearings, but a recon IRD is about another £650. Hopefully the clicking isn't the IRD or rear diff, dunno what it might be. The front mount for the rear diff often goes and are cheap and easy enough to replace, but they usually give a clunk rather than clicking.

I'd change the oil in the IRD - see what colour it comes out. Hopefully its not grey metallicy colour. Loosen fill plug before draining. If it comes out looking like oil, you are probably on safe ground.
 
Thats kinda the point, buy cheap, learn as much as possible with the spanners (i know a woman with spanners right!!!! shocking!!!)
A 'proper example' would have totally blown my budget, for you to tell me id brought a piece of crap, and id have learned nothing with the spanners you speak of.


Freelander 1's aren't in short supply and there are quite a few good ones under your budget.

That one has a very obvious and serious coolant leak.

Personally i would of walked away and bought a "better one".

H
 
Nope, all 4 tyres must be the same. Mismatching front to back is possibly the biggest killer of Freelanders. You need to resolve this quick or remove the props. You may be lucky and the tyre sizes match, but going by the sounds you are getting on reverse, it may be that they don't and some damage has been done.

I'm not sure on the availability of cradles or their cost, but you have to drop the rear subframe to fit them - they don't just unbolt and a new one bolt on. There are threads describing it on here.

Its good you've got a body work repairing friend, because usually the door panel behind the handle has rusted away and needs to be reinstated in some way for the fixings to attach to. Once again threads describing it on here.

£300 will get you a VCU and support bearings, but a recon IRD is about another £650. Hopefully the clicking isn't the IRD or rear diff, dunno what it might be. The front mount for the rear diff often goes and are cheap and easy enough to replace, but they usually give a clunk rather than clicking.

I'd change the oil in the IRD - see what colour it comes out. Hopefully its not grey metallicy colour. Loosen fill plug before draining. If it comes out looking like oil, you are probably on safe ground.
Re the tyres... i read something very different on here somewhere suggesting if new tyres where replace they should both be the same on the rear.
yeah I did look on price for IRD, its a consideration for replacement, depending on other lurking 'faults'.
Thanks re IRD oil... will look into that.
 
Freelander 1's aren't in short supply and there are quite a few good ones under your budget.

That one has a very obvious and serious coolant leak.

Personally i would of walked away and bought a "better one".

H
fair enough.
 

Similar threads