Rumbling noise

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moorefun69

Member
Posts
14
Hi guys just bought a 2003 5 dr kalahari td4, iv got a rumbling noise at 40mph and above, sounded like it was front o/s so i got it on a ramp and no play in wheel, so moved front tyres to the back as they are all terrain thought maybe they were makin the noise but its still there any ideas ???? its not defening or really loud but its one of those things i no its there??

Tried turning up the radio, wearing earphones etc etc lol

Other than that seems to drive nice smooth and responsive, the only other thing iv noticed is the traction control light doesnt come on i have tried spinning up one side on grass but doesnt wanna slip much so no light???

Cheers guys
 
You MUST put the same make/model/size tyres on your Freelander. Newer tyres with the most tread on the rear - or you'll fek the transmission.

Check VCU bearings either side of the VCU.
 
yeh all the tyres are about 6mm all round, is the vcu the bit the drive shafts come out of like towards the middle of the car dorry but im a bit of a newb to all this and do you know are they hard to do and or expensive??
 
Hi moorefun,

Grass or even wet grass wont get the traction control light to come on.

Freelanders do not spin wheels on wet grass.
Freelanders do not spin wheels full stop! (Well hardly ever!)

I see the TC light come on for split second or so maybe once or twice a year in ice and snow.

If you were to have say the near-side wheels on sheet ice, preferably wet, and the off-side wheels on sound tarmac, then really floor the accelerator - you might see the TC light if your quick enough / lucky enough to catch it.

The Freelander will just pull forward with no drama - not very impressive to see really - but impressive technically - it just goes where you point it, whatever the road surface.

Hippo is right, by the way, I would suspect the VCU bearings. Get a new pair - check on here for info.

Singvogel. :cool:
 
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f69/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-guide-156068.html

Get the VCU bearings with the Fag bearing as they is betterer.

See if there’s any play in the VCU bearing. Pic below shows the VCU arrowed and the bearings are either side of it.

8e4Dw2n.jpg

vcutest 8e4Dw2n

Tips on which bearings to get (if you need then) in ere: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/vcu-support-bearings-97029.html

I'm not sure what the preferred place to buy them is.

While yer under yer Freelander, check the rear diff mounts for play also. Common fault.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys i will check tomoz i will report back, looked at your how to guide hippo looks very helpful, just wish i knew someone like you that lived round the corner lol also thanks for th tc light advise i used to own a astra that tc light came on all the time thats what made me worry but all good now, so is the change to 4 wheel drive fully automatic or does it run full time 4wheel drive ?
 
moorefun69 said:
looked at your how to guide hippo looks very helpful, just wish i knew someone like you that lived round the corner lol
Click to expand...
Buy a haynes manual ,a good socket set and a set of spanners and a big hammer . Within 6 months you will learn a lot .

You will need other tools like allen keys,torx keys screw drivers vice grips :blabla::blabla::blabla: . When you have the basics , just buy the other bits as you need them . The extra tools could be bought with the money you save by doing it your self .
 
Hi I have had this issue a while now. A low rumble at 30-40 mph . The car shakes a little. It just doesn't seem right and it's denfitely affecting my enjoyment of driving what is normally a fun car to drive.

I have also been towed back by the AA twice now over Christmas

Did have two new tyres at the rear but also

  • replaced the transfer box twice in less than a month
  • Replaced the propshaft ( which broke he first transfer box)


Understandably, I am not looking forward to picking it up tomorrow because as yet, we (gearbox mechanic) have still been able to identify this issue.
 
westerdaled said:
Hi I have had this issue a while now. A low rumble at 30-40 mph . The car shakes a little. It just doesn't seem right and it's denfitely affecting my enjoyment of driving what is normally a fun car to drive.

I have also been towed back by the AA twice now over Christmas

Did have two new tyres at the rear but also

  • replaced the transfer box twice in less than a month
  • Replaced the propshaft ( which broke he first transfer box)


Understandably, I am not looking forward to picking it up tomorrow because as yet, we (gearbox mechanic) have still been able to identify this issue.
Click to expand...

Here we go again, who's going to kick it off....
 
westerdaled said:
Hi I have had this issue a while now. A low rumble at 30-40 mph . The car shakes a little. It just doesn't seem right and it's denfitely affecting my enjoyment of driving what is normally a fun car to drive.

I have also been towed back by the AA twice now over Christmas

Did have two new tyres at the rear but also

  • replaced the transfer box twice in less than a month
  • Replaced the propshaft ( which broke he first transfer box)

Understandably, I am not looking forward to picking it up tomorrow because as yet, we (gearbox mechanic) have still been able to identify this issue.
Click to expand...
Remove one of the prop shafts and see if the rumble has gone. You may find it easier to remove both prop shafts and the vcu as one item.

While yer under there check for an angry dwarf with a hammer.

This will tell you how to get the props/vcu off.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f69/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-guide-156068.html
 
Hi

I have an update on this
I have had mechanic at automatic gearbox specialist centre looked at this whilst it was over a pit.

They have confirmed that is definitely related to the propshaft. They have also , noticed that the propshaft is out of line, as it appears to be biased towards the drivers side by 2". They don't know if this is normal or whether the bracket that holds the propshaft is incorrect. I know the propshaft can only be fitted on certain engines and not if the Freelander is manual or automatic e.g. the 1.8 and 2L have the same propshaft.

So the question is the bracket only fitted to certain propshafts - so potentially I could have an incorrect one fitted. The other question is the recently replaced propshaft is correctly fitted with the correct bracket & alignment but the replacement has seized.

Daniel
 
Singvogel said:
Hi moorefun,

Grass or even wet grass wont get the traction control light to come on.

Freelanders do not spin wheels on wet grass.
Freelanders do not spin wheels full stop! (Well hardly ever!)

I see the TC light come on for split second or so maybe once or twice a year in ice and snow.

If you were to have say the near-side wheels on sheet ice, preferably wet, and the off-side wheels on sound tarmac, then really floor the accelerator - you might see the TC light if your quick enough / lucky enough to catch it.

The Freelander will just pull forward with no drama - not very impressive to see really - but impressive technically - it just goes where you point it, whatever the road surface.

Hippo is right, by the way, I would suspect the VCU bearings. Get a new pair - check on here for info.

Singvogel. :cool:
Click to expand...

they do when the vcu is knackered the front wheels will spin like crazy
 
westerdaled said:
Hi

I have an update on this
I have had mechanic at automatic gearbox specialist centre looked at this whilst it was over a pit.

They have confirmed that is definitely related to the propshaft. They have also , noticed that the propshaft is out of line, as it appears to be biased towards the drivers side by 2". They don't know if this is normal or whether the bracket that holds the propshaft is incorrect. I know the propshaft can only be fitted on certain engines and not if the Freelander is manual or automatic e.g. the 1.8 and 2L have the same propshaft.

So the question is the bracket only fitted to certain propshafts - so potentially I could have an incorrect one fitted. The other question is the recently replaced propshaft is correctly fitted with the correct bracket & alignment but the replacement has seized.

Daniel
Click to expand...

The transmission consists of an IRD (intermediate reduction drive) at the front. The propshaft is in 2 short sections with a VCU (viscose coupling) in between the two propshaft sections. At the rear is the diff. The VCU is mounted to the body by 2 rubber damped bearings. The bearing housings have elongated holes to allow a certain amount of adjustment. Ideally the propshaft needs to be as straight as possible. This isn't possible due to the front drive flange being off to the right by a few inches.
I set the rear propshaft as straight as possible in line with the VCU. The front propshaft then has to turn the few degrees needed to meet the IRD flange.
 
Last edited:
I think he needs a betterer mechanic.

Correctly fitted props on a Freelander 1 below:

under1.jpg
 
Nodge68 said:
The transmission consists of an IRD (intermediate reduction drive) at the front. The propshaft is in 2 short sections with a VCU (viscose coupling) in between the two propshaft sections. At the rear is the diff. The VCU is mounted to the body by 2 rubber damped bearings. The bearing housings have elongated holes to allow a certain amount of adjustment. Ideally the propshaft needs to be as straight as possible. This isn't possible due to the front drive flange being off to the right by a few inches.
I set the rear propshaft as straight as possible in line with the VCU. The front propshaft then has to turn the few degrees needed to meet the IRD flange.
Click to expand...

Hi I am not sure what your mean as in my case my propshaft was misaligned by around 2" ... Checked under another Freelander 1 and that is as you describe, straight.

Had new GNK VCUs Coupling bearings fitted which held the propshaft in a more ridged fashion. However the noise was still horrendous which is why my propshaft is unattached and sitting in my boot

I think I might have an incorrect transfer box fitted for my TD4 . The propshaft is good, the VCU is good, the coupling bearings are both good. Neither the gearbox nor engine have been replaced or moved. This can only point to one thing: the transfer box /ird . I checked with Stratstone on Friday and there are 6 different transfer boxes and some have different sizes. TBC

Be interested to hear your thoughts....
 
There are a lot of ird's if you take the original fitment for each engine and major change, like L series to td4. Not sure if they still exost or were superseded by later ird's. I doubt they will have fitted the wrong ird as I always thought the mating would be wrong. It could be me that's wrong.

You say you've looked under another Freelander 1 and the props are straight? All Freelander 1's have props fitted the same as the pic I posted above. There's only 1 that I know of different and that's the later v6 which had a stand oft on the vcu bearing mount so the vcu sat about an inch lower than others. It's said this isn't needed but it must have been done for a reason and we don't know if the engine etc moved a few mm to cause this requirement. Could you have looked under a Freelander 2 which has straighter alignment of the props when compared to the Freelander 1? Does anyone else have props which are fitted in a straight line?
 
I always just assumed the di and the early l series were the same and then there was a revised ratio in the ird when the td4 come in. Maybe a different fitment for td4 so maybe 4 variants? They say every day is a school day
 
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