disconnecting drive to the front axle

being a family man and all ive heard that disconnecting the drive to the front axle can give about an extra 8 miles to the gallon.just wondered if any one can confirm or deny this and tell me how easy a job it is to accomplish (and reverse for when it gets all snowy and stuff).

it will give you unlimited mileage if you disconnect the front drive

In my experience you will see no appreciable difference in MPG but a very noticable difference in traction and road handling. There is debate here about whether it is safe to run a Freelander on 2wd. Well, it's not "dangerous" but it is certainly "less safe" than having 4wd. It doesn't hold the road as well especially in the wet, and the steering feels a bit lighter.

If you have a family, I would strongly suggest you don't remove the rear prop. I only run mine in 2wd because I can't afford a new set of tyres and a new VCU at the moment, I only drive when necessary and when I do I drive very carefully especially in the rain.

Will.

EDIT: I've just put some links in my signature (you have to enable "view signatures" in your user CP if you haven't already.) You should read up on it as it's very relevant to your question.

Presume you mean the drive to the rear axle. As above simple to drop the props and VCU complete but you are unlikely to get much of a fuel consumption improvement and the handling can be impaired. As this is a modification you are also required to inform your insurer. Some people remove them on a temporary basis, mainly whilst waiting to change the VCU or support bearings, and don't feel it worthwhile to notify the insurer (me included) but if you are involved in an accident your claim may be rejected and your insurance classed as invalid.

I took mine off for a couple of days so I could swap it for a recon one, I hated it in the wet, it wasn't too bad in the dry, but the understear is socking and if you try to shoot out on a round about you just spin your wheels! Not good in my opinion! It was only off for a short time but I did a tank of fuel with it off and would say any improvement was only slight and not worth it!

I have had mine off for some time driving in wet and dry and have found not much difference,I have driven 38ton trucks and all sorts of vehicles for over 40years and I was a driving instructor,If you drive correctly and think of other road users you will not only save fuel but you will also have your vehicle on the road a lot longer without any problems.

that is removing drive to the REAR, not to the front

roshe25 said:

I have had mine off for some time driving in wet and dry and have found not much difference,I have driven 38ton trucks and all sorts of vehicles for over 40years and I was a driving instructor,If you drive correctly and think of other road users you will not only save fuel but you will also have your vehicle on the road a lot longer without any problems.

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When I took mine off I certainly noticed the difference, faster acceleration, poorer road holding and front wheel spin in the wet. I also have a C&E and D&E licence and membership of the IAM but still prefer to drive with the rear drive train in place. For experienced drivers running in 2wd this should not pose a problem but what you have to bear in mind is that not all Freelander drivers have this experience.

nickcc said:

When I took mine off I certainly noticed the difference, faster acceleration, poorer road holding and front wheel spin in the wet. I also have a C&E and D&E licence and membership of the IAM but still prefer to drive with the rear drive train in place. For experienced drivers running in 2wd this should not pose a problem but what you have to bear in mind is that not all Freelander drivers have this experience.

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Plus there's always the unexpected! You can't account for other peoples bad driving. Your chances of avoiding an accident are greater with it working as designed, not some poor excuse of it!

The Mad Hat Man said:

that is removing drive to the REAR, not to the front

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Yeah but I suspect that's what he means or there'll be one very screwed vcu and an IRD blown to bits not necessarily in that order

i have never drove mine with one on, so cannot compare, but it drives normal to me, drove in rain, dry, just like a car, have the prop in garage but dont think i will put it on. diesel doing about 35 to the gallon aprox just knocking about within a 5 mile radius,

no1birdman said:

i have never drove mine with one on, so cannot compare, but it drives normal to me, drove in rain, dry, just like a car, have the prop in garage but dont think i will put it on. diesel doing about 35 to the gallon aprox just knocking about within a 5 mile radius,

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Thing is that's not really any better on fuel than a 4x4 one! so if there's nothing wrong with it is it worth taking it off? I know yours was off when you bought it but for what seems to be a minor saving if any is it worth the effort and loss of 4x4

hi, well i dont know whats wrong with the prop or why he took it off, i think he said it was banging, if it was on i would not have took it off if it was ok, but has mine is ok with it off not going to maul it on to find its no good then have to take it off get it mended and maul it back on.I spend more time on this freelander in 3 weeks than on my mx5 over 2 years, never had to touch the mx5 and its a 1990 one.got to put new cable on window, do hanbrake, replace fuel returns ,it keeps me busy without extra work.

no1birdman said:

hi, well i dont know whats wrong with the prop or why he took it off, i think he said it was banging, if it was on i would not have took it off if it was ok, but has mine is ok with it off not going to maul it on to find its no good then have to take it off get it mended and maul it back on.I spend more time on this freelander in 3 weeks than on my mx5 over 2 years, never had to touch the mx5 and its a 1990 one.got to put new cable on window, do hanbrake, replace fuel returns ,it keeps me busy without extra work.

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I think that's fair comment! Bloody Land Rovers

elementary mistake proves my lack of knowledge!cheers one and all for the info,think ill leave everything in place as the designer intended.

There's also the potential issue of stacking the thing with drive only to the front wheels and your insurance company telling you where to go as it's not original.

That said, I used to take my prop off during the summer months. All I found was that it felt a bit lighter to drive, but the front wheels spun like buggery in the wet. So every f***ing day in the summers we've had recently! I leave it alone these days.