help with a 2000 freelander 1.8

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discodarby665

Member
Posts
22
Location
swindon
LONG POST ALERT

hello everyone, im new here, however not new to land rovers, (im not a complete rookie ) ive built myself 2 discovery 2's previously, one got binned due to chassis rot, then i got the 2nd one, everything i did off road, it munches up with ease, so wanted something a little more challenging to drive shall we say.. so i bought myself a freelander 1, (what can i say... it was cheap... yeah, for a reason,) ive now put into it just shy of 2 grand, it was a non runner, (sorn) but through lockdown ive built it up, and finally got it MOT'd and taxed insured ect, and least to say, my missus really isnt happy about the wallet/bank,... anyway...

last week while taking it for its first test drive off road, only lightnlanes might i add, it decided, it wanted to spit out its dummy,...
it wouldnt change gear, once the engine was switched off for a chat, it starts first time everytime, but would not go into gear for toffee and would grind into reverse, the biting point was really low to the floor to begin with, anyway i managed to start it in gear and limp home head in hands in 2nd with a line of traffic behind me, it occasionally went into 3rd, but if stopped at traffic lights, foot on clutch it would crawl forward very slowly,

i got it home, and the day after i browsed all the forums for possible causes,
master/slave cylinder was the first that kept cropping up, so bonet up and it would appear that it has a new one (isch) fitted,..i completley removed it, hung it up so any air in the system would rise to the reservoir, it works as it should ive done all the checks, no bent or cracket bracket, ive ruled out that it wasnt that,
next on the forums line, the dreaded clutch,.. as it does go into gear and the clutch seems to come and go as it pleases, ive semi ruled out, it isnt that, might i add, the previous owner told me it had a new clutch no many miles ago, (i cant find the reciept to say when, but it was present upon buying the vehicle)
back to the forums it was,...
next on the forum line was the clutch arm/actuator arm,.. yeah, thats as stiff as a broom handle, ive been working it today, cleaned it up a little of dirt, grit and grime, applied a little oil to the shaft itself, replaced the slave cylinder, and still doing it,... removed the slave again and tried to free it up more with some force,...
when i say some force,... a bottle jack again the inside of the wheel arch, pushing against the actuator arm, because it would not budge by hand, or with a pry-bar, with the bottle jack, i pump it to push the arm all the way, then release it, and pump again, ive done this around 20 times today, applying a bit of oil after each 5 or 6 times, after id had enough, i refitted the slave/master started the truck, pressed the clutch, sellected 1st,...straight in, moved to 2nd, (not moving, just on the driveway) straight in, 3rd...4th..5th..straight in, reverse.... grind... all gone again,... no selectable gears, 1st,..nope...2nd 3rd 4th 5th, reverse... nope...

please help, any advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated, if im missing anything here that ive allready done and you ask or advise, ill tell you ive done that, ive tried to say as much as ive done, but may have left/forgotten a few bits,...
many thanks
 
Ok I did read. Well, there is a fork in the gearbox that is not uncommon to crack. You will have to pop the gearbox out.
Had a very similar issue and that was it, easy to spot once in hand.

PN is UTB100140 and looks like this

s-l500.jpg


You should check operation when you push and see if the cylinders are really working as intended, with the lever.
If nothing on top, check the fork above and clutch, if none of that, source a PG1 gearbox.
 
Ok I did read. Well, there is a fork in the gearbox that is not uncommon to crack. You will have to pop the gearbox out.
Had a very similar issue and that was it, easy to spot once in hand.

PN is UTB100140 and looks like this

s-l500.jpg
thank you for your advice, its greatly appreciated,

if after this week its still not freed up from oil dripping and working it in to attemp to unsieze it, the box will be coming off next week, im assuming the fork you speak of, is situated on the other end of the actuator arm im currently working??
i did start it it about 2 hours ago, and the gear select returned again breifly, 1st through to 5th with engine running, but once i tried reverse, it grinded again, and lost all selectable gears again from there, just like earlier,
 
Best advice is to remove the box, and clean and correctly lubricate the clutch mechanism, bearing slide, fork tips and clutch spline, as most fast fit places simply don't bother.
 
thank you for your advice, its greatly appreciated,

if after this week its still not freed up from oil dripping and working it in to attemp to unsieze it, the box will be coming off next week, im assuming the fork you speak of, is situated on the other end of the actuator arm im currently working??
i did start it it about 2 hours ago, and the gear select returned again breifly, 1st through to 5th with engine running, but once i tried reverse, it grinded again, and lost all selectable gears again from there, just like earlier,

yes that arm is twisting the fork. You cannot avoid taking the gearbox out at this point, you will find what is happening once you do that.
 
haha, im glad you looked at it, you are "supposed" to remove them first, but i did it intentionally, because i like to be and see diffrent, i kinda like the 3d effect,
 
as i say in the original post, ive spent just shy of 2k on it now, including the vynil wrap, 6 gang rocker switchbourd, new tyres, new prop shaft(as it had it removed and was fwd), new brakes, copper brake lines and braided hoses, cv joints/shafts, LED lighting bars, front, sides and rear, welding of sills, ect ect, this list goes on,
 

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