Ird

Morning all
Right , were to begin
2002 td4 manual
when i brought it , it was already in 2wd mode, no rear prop.
wasnt a problem as it drove realy well and i dont plan on taking it off road.
Now the past few weeks ive spent a lot on it including 4 new tyres, complete front brakes and a full ser4vice and its been driving realy realy well.
however....
Last friday it all of a sudden started grinding, more so when you lift off the throttle, underneath theres no leaks and nothing out of place so i suspect the IRD, the car drove home ok, no vibrations, judders or anything, gears all select ok and the cluctch is ....well....like a freelander realy lol
now i have a few concerns, i havent got a landrover specialist near enough to me and i dont want to drive it too far in its present state and im concerend if i take to my local garage they dont understand how these vehicles work and will rip me off.
ive got prices for a recon IRD 4 wheel drive and for 2 wheel drive ive also spotted the blanking plates available, and from what i can see and read its the output gearing for the rear prop removed then the blanking plate bolted in place......
Quick fix? possible solutions?
Is there anyway with out driving and by jacking it up if i can anyway determine what ill need ? if i can get away with the blanking kit? or its more terminal as in a replacement IRD?

i appologise for the long winded essay. but i thought id give you all a read and a giggle at my expense on a windy rainey morning
Cheers guys



Oh ...location....im near Bluewater?Dartford crossing in kent uk

Without being sure its the IRD, I wouldn't throw a lot of money at replacing it. It could be one of those Murphy's law things - if you spend big then it won't be it!

When my IRD went - it went BIG - made a hell of a racket. If you pushed the car, every turn (or so) of the road wheel was like someone whacking the IRD with a sledgehammer. I took the props off and took it for a test drive. It actually drove fine but I could hear a slight ticking (I think!) and so took the decision that I should do something in case it all siezed up or just collapsed. My decision was made easier as you need certification here for Freelanders when the props are removed - so leaving it like that would still have cost $$$.

I think you're on the right lines. I'm also of the train of thought that the rear pinion bearings go a lot sooner than the others in the IRD, plus any damage to teeth on the crown/pinion gears could be what your hearing - so replacing the rear pinion with a plate is probably a good move. It doesn't completely rule out the IRD as being the culprit of your noises - but hopefully it will stop it and its cheap and a lot quicker/easier than having to remove and replace the whole IRD (mind you the pinion was a bugger to remove on mine).

I should say I've got no experience of the blanking plates, I presume they're OK and not likely to create oils leaks or other untoward problems. With mine, I got a rebuild kit sent over from the UK and got a gearbox shop to fit it and remove the pinion gear so its 2WD but still running the props - with hind sight I might have got away with just replacing the bearing in the pinion rather than a complete rebuild (would have saved heaps) - but you do what you think is best at the time.

hmmmm food for thought.
its never easy trying to describe a noise.
its defo gears crunching, but also kind of like the skid pan scraping up gravel.
thats not acurate but you get the idea. either way it sounds expensive
im currently in touch with Bell engineering for some more ideas and hopefully a nearer freelander specialist will surface .
Im more worried that any old garage will charge me up to a grand to then find its not the IRD.When they dont fully understand how these cars work. And i realy dont want to drive it as it is .
Thanks for the reply

Sometimes you're in a no win - it took me ages to decide how to sort my transmission out - and thb I was really ****ed with the car at the time - that was 1 of the reasons I rebuilt it 2WD - I didn't want it to happen again! From that respect its worked out well because the car has been absolutely reliable and has served us well - but there again I can't take it places I used to.

I'm sure you're idea of a blanking plate is a good one - hopefully it will at least tell you whether or not its the IRD that needs sorting.

"skid pan scraping up gravel" - Have you checked whether the under tray is hanging off?

Freelanders are converted to 2 wheel drive for a reason, which is something is wrong.

One option you have is to drain the ird oil and see what it's like. The drain plug has a magnet and collects metal filings if the gears are wearing against each other more than they should. Make sure you undo the filler plug on the ird before the drain as the filler can be a pig to get oft if it rounds oft.

Second option is to drain the ird oil and take the pinion oft and look at it, and the gears you can see through the pinion hole in the ird.

Does it make this sound when coasting at speed?

A stone in the brakes or bent brake backplate perhaps

freelance said:

A stone in the brakes or bent brake backplate perhaps

Click to expand...

funny enough I was thinking along those lines, due to the brakes being replaced and know the front disc backplate can cause a grinding noise, the backs can also do it

Colin

if u jack up the front so both wheels are off the ground, handbrake on and in neutral, spin ur front wheels to see if u can hear any noise

as you've had the brakes replaced maybe just on the offchance that maybe something has come loose etc

but also as the other guys have said there may be an underlying problem with the ird due to it coming like that

if ur ever near swanley , I've got a hawkeye and always happy to plug it in for u foc , if I can help in anyway plse feel free to give me a shout as I'm only up the road , got ramps, tools, etc

I didnt think of the brakes.
It was making the noise more when lifting of the throttle. Hence why i thought either gearbox or ird.
Im off today. Ill take it for a spin and have another look.
Cheers guys. Ill report back when i no more

*update*
i hate reading about other peoples problems then get to the bottom of the post to find theres no update/was it fixed etc
so heres my update

i took it to a friends garage and we got it up on the lift
There was nothing out of place or unusual, All drive shafts are ok and no play anywhere, one wheel bearing has a little bit of play and no oil leaks anywhere.
we then took it out for a run, him in the passenger seat with the trained ear and me driving, we drove for about half an hour as the car was already upto temperature and only very slight noises but nothing to worry about, so its seems my noises have gone !!!
soooo....
ive got it going in on wednesday for
IRD oil change ( he will inspect the state of the oil and the magnetic drain plug
Gearbox oil change
rear diff oil change
o/s/f wheel bearing
and a full exhaust( better do it now as MOT soon)

i drove it to work this morning and again, no untold loud screeching/whining
i did inspect last week for any loose debris in the brakes or anywhere so im realy stumped.

Hopefully all has been saved coming wednesday.

Thanks to all for your input/advice , it is greatly appreciated.