(yet another) Broken Freelander!

Alistair

Well-Known Member
Hi all, I am having a touch of trouble with a recently acquired (second hand) freelander. It's a 54 plate and the 2.0ltr Diesel model. The main symptom at present is a strange clunking noise whilst turning, especially under full lock. It doesn't appear to affect handling at all but it is still slightly concerning. Perusal of the landrover forums suggests that it may be a worn out viscose coupling that has damaged the IRD (what is this btw?) or alternatively a drive shaft issue, but i am certainly no mechanic so i can't really diagnose the problem further. It doesn't appear to be short on power or sluggish, even when reversing under full lock but the issue is persistent, especially on sharp left turns. Any ideas?
thanks
Alistair
PS, please no comments about the general unreliability of Landrovers, I am well aware of their track record, but this is my fathers purchase so I had no say in the matter the stubborn old git...:doh:
 
Ok I had one - slightly older but nevertheless the same.

Due to the nature of their design it could be a number of things, I.e the rear diff mounts (three rubber mounts which are £50 delivered usually and take an hour to change (I did mine twice in 140k) but knocking wasn't just restricted to turning also pulling away/changing gear.

Check the lower arms at the front onto the sub frame bushes and especially the captivated nuts can wear/nuts can sheer

Play on the lower ball joints allowing increased movement in the hub

Also check CV joints /prop for play etc

Mine was solved by a change of bearing/ball joint and diff mounts

All of which are easily sorted at hoe with a few tools and a Haynes (of which mine was more worn out than the car when eventually sold)

T
 
Never had a Freelander but have suffered a similar clunking sound with Minis and that was usually down to the CV joint in the half-shafts
 
Maybe this thread could be re-titled: "Freelanders: easy and cheap to fix at home!"

There really is no need to apologise for owning a Freelander, or a Land Rover for that matter!
 
Hi guys, thanks for all your advice. I will certainly check over the car for the issues mentioned and will keep you informed of developments.
Thanks again,
Alistair
 
I have same car and had same symptom it was the rear diff mount-about £50 for the parts -have had it 5 years with 120k on it and no major issues-only gripe is electric window regulators-steel cable breaks and renders it useless
 
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I have same car and had same symptom it was the rear diff mount-about £50 for the parts -have had it 5 years with 120k on it and no major issues-only gripe is electric window regulators-steel cable breaks and renders it useless

Yep, I got changing the cables (and those crap nylon guides) down to a fine art had every window go at some point!

T
 
I found out the hard way.

The ird unit (intermediary reduction unit) is attached to the transmission and shares out the drive to the front and rear wheels via the drive-shafts and the prop-shaft respectively. The prop-shaft is split into two (the front and rear) by the vcu or viscous coupling unit. The vcu should only take the drive to the rear wheels when the front wheels lose traction and the front prop-shaft is spinning faster than the rear prop-shaft. Over time and mileage the fluid in the vcu unit degrades, the unit begins to fail to do its job the pressure in the vcu is transmitted back up the prop-shaft especially when cornering as the differential can't work properly. At least that's what I was told when I took my 2002 TD4 with 206000 miles on the clock into the garage. The symptoms for this were a clunk from the rear sub frame when taking off or braking when towing an a knocking or banging from the gearbox/ird unit area (a bit like jumping out of gear) when turning sharply. The defective vcu had caused the one rear subframe to crack and wrecked the ird unit.

I had four options, 1. scrap it; 2. disconnect the prop shaft and ird unit and run it as a 2 wheel drive (better mpg but useless for offload and towing); 3. New subframe, ird unit and vcu unit -very expensive; 4. Weld subframe, second hand ird unit and drill vcu to release pressure, cost £600. Chose the latter as worth nothing without being repaired and even if I only get a year out of it I think that's reasonable. If I was to try and buy another vehicle for £600 what other problems would I be buying in.

The repair was effective and although it does not seem like a new car the difference is noticeably better, done about 1600 miles since the repair and towing for the majority of it.

So good luck with it hope it works out well and its only something minor like the guys above.

Bob
 
Right then gents,
The latest update is that the car is now fixed. It turns out that the issue was caused by the rear prop shaft bearing being badly worn. It seems to run perfectly for the moment, touch wood, so my father is happy and the crisis is over. Also pretty impressed with the dealers who agreed to cover all the costs under their warranty as the car has done less than 5 miles since it was bought on Saturday. An honest, reasonable second hand car salesman, whatever next?! :stir:
Thanks for all your help, although I am now slightly worried at all the things which can go wrong with it...
 
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