Time for a timing belt change?

[scotiabahn]

Freelander 2.5 V6 ES Petrol Auto...

Had this a month or two... bought it with genuine lowish mileage, just coming up to 60k on the clock, but it's a 52 plate and 8 and a half years old. It's done naff all for the last four years - 48k service was done in 2007 and I have receipts for a minor non-Landy service at 56k a year past.

Spoke to main dealer and they recommended I bring it up to date with an 8 year 96k service to include drive belt change but should probably amalgamate it with a 72k service to include timing belt change. Price for 72k service was ~£1200, the 96k around ~£500 separately but they'd come up with a combined price if I was interested. Service chappy said I should consider independent servicing (o-rly!!!) but haven't got any further with that yet... nearest one may or may not have closed down and need to chase a bit more...


Eventually, a question or two... Do I go with age or miles? Or somewhere in between? I know that if the timing belt goes, that's a whole mess of trouble, but can one tell if it's on the way out and should be done??? At the moment I'm swithering between a 60k (no timing belt) or a 72k (with timing belt) independent service. Any other thoughts/suggestions/guidance?

Thanks

 

[nathan5346]

That dealers gonna love you

 

[scotiabahn]

That dealers gonna love you

I think the one phone call to them is all they'll be getting...

 

[Hippo]

Do the 72k which includes the timing belt, and also ask for the auto gearbox fluid change which is on the 60k. If you become an Allegiance member (as your FL is over 3 years old, this offers discounts on servicing) of the main dealer then the 72k service will drop to £1k. As the kv6 engine you have fitted is a rover engine, you'll find rover garages can do the timing belt changes cheaper. Got annoyed with the cost for mine and crap about timing tools costing £550 and local garages saying they couldn't do it as they don't have them, so did it myself. Tools were £150. And sellable after too. Make sure they changes the water pump, tensioner, and ALL 3 timing belts. While they're in there it may be a good idea to get them to look at or change the thermostat housing thing as this can be a point of failure with leaks.

 

[scotiabahn]

Do the 72k which includes the timing belt, and also ask for the auto gearbox fluid change which is on the 60k. If you become an Allegiance member (as your FL is over 3 years old, this offers discounts on servicing) of the main dealer then the 72k service will drop to £1k. As the kv6 engine you have fitted is a rover engine, you'll find rover garages can do the timing belt changes cheaper. Got annoyed with the cost for mine and crap about timing tools costing £550 and local garages saying they couldn't do it as they don't have them, so did it myself. Tools were £150. And sellable after too. Make sure they changes the water pump, tensioner, and ALL 3 timing belts. While they're in there it may be a good idea to get them to look at or change the thermostat housing thing as this can be a point of failure with leaks.

Many thanks - quite a few excellent options there to consider... although I shan't be doing the job myself, my car skills run out at consumables like bulbs and oil...

 

[JonFre]

Freelander 2.5 V6 ES Petrol Auto...

Eventually, a question or two... Do I go with age or miles? Or somewhere in between? I know that if the timing belt goes, that's a whole mess of trouble, but can one tell if it's on the way out and should be done??? At the moment I'm swithering between a 60k (no timing belt) or a 72k (with timing belt) independent service. Any other thoughts/suggestions/guidance?

Thanks

Don't change the belt. It is a robust belt that will probably last out the car. A belt we took off at 70k miles and 8 years was perfect. The V6 is such a fragile engine that will probably manage to break itself without help from the cambelt. Not many make 100k so why spend £600 on a belt change. Hopefully you do not need to do many miles @ 24.6mpg.
Suggest you spend the belt change money on cotton wool and wrap the engine in it.

 

[scotiabahn]

Don't change the belt. It is a robust belt that will probably last out the car. A belt we took off at 70k miles and 8 years was perfect. The V6 is such a fragile engine that will probably manage to break itself without help from the cambelt. Not many make 100k so why spend £600 on a belt change. Hopefully you do not need to do many miles @ 24.6mpg.
Suggest you spend the belt change money on cotton wool and wrap the engine in it.

I get the impression that not everyone on this site likes Freelanders... Oh well... We've had two winters here where my rear drive Merc C-class sat doing naff all on the drive for 2-3 months... and that was to replace a RAV4 which put me in a snow drift off a cleared road and couldn't get out... The Freelander meets our basic needs (better 4x4 than the RAV4 (got to be!), similar footprint on the drive to the Merc, petrol engine as the rest of the family 'fleet' is petrol...) and was cheap to purchase. Mileage is planned to be 6-8k per year but could be less than that if it becomes a chore on the motorway...

Thanks for sharing...

 

[JonFre]

I get the impression that not everyone on this site likes Freelanders... Oh well... We've had two winters here where my rear drive Merc C-class sat doing naff all on the drive for 2-3 months... and that was to replace a RAV4 which put me in a snow drift off a cleared road and couldn't get out... The Freelander meets our basic needs (better 4x4 than the RAV4 (got to be!), similar footprint on the drive to the Merc, petrol engine as the rest of the family 'fleet' is petrol...) and was cheap to purchase. Mileage is planned to be 6-8k per year but could be less than that if it becomes a chore on the motorway...

Thanks for sharing...

Personally I love Freelanders and delighted with mine. I am however allergic to the letter K.

 

[Hippo]

Freelander owners do get a fair bit of abuse on ere. It’s the tratter boys that cause all the trouble. I don’t take part in the name calling and leave it to others to remind them their rusty biscuit tins have problems too. There’s only one thing worst that rust. That’s the mot inspectors screwdriver.

The 1.8's are known for head gasket failure. We get a lot of new people on ere with them. If the work is bodged, or not completed with the additional mods to help it survive, then it can happen again. v6 suffers too, but they managed to sort out some of the problems. They still get hgf and slipped liners etc but that’s the way it is.

Diesels in comparison are bomb proof nearly. Hence why petrol’s are cheaper than diesels. If looked after and regularly serviced then you should be ok. Well it puts you in a betterer position than leaving it to chance. But failure is always said to round the next corner on ere. So much so that I'm relieved every time mine gets me where I want to be. Mine needs a replacement ird to stop a squealing sound. So far it hasn’t been done as I keep thinking the engine will **** up within the next mile. Been thinking that for the last 20k miles. Int been that bad of late. Just been down to the local ford to wash it after last weekends orf road trip.

There int many v6 owners on ere. I’m one of them, and Jon was another. Sadly his died after the crankshaft cog destroyed the main timing belt, just after the belt was changed. Several others have had them and had problems. There in many who come on to say theirs is running well. But many do as I see them out and about.

 

[scotiabahn]

Freelander owners do get a fair bit of abuse on ere. It’s the tratter boys that cause all the trouble. I don’t take part in the name calling and leave it to others to remind them their rusty biscuit tins have problems too. There’s only one thing worst that rust. That’s the mot inspectors screwdriver.

The 1.8's are known for head gasket failure. We get a lot of new people on ere with them. If the work is bodged, or not completed with the additional mods to help it survive, then it can happen again. v6 suffers too, but they managed to sort out some of the problems. They still get hgf and slipped liners etc but that’s the way it is.

Diesels in comparison are bomb proof nearly. Hence why petrol’s are cheaper than diesels. If looked after and regularly serviced then you should be ok. Well it puts you in a betterer position than leaving it to chance. But failure is always said to round the next corner on ere. So much so that I'm relieved every time mine gets me where I want to be. Mine needs a replacement ird to stop a squealing sound. So far it hasn’t been done as I keep thinking the engine will **** up within the next mile. Been thinking that for the last 20k miles. Int been that bad of late. Just been down to the local ford to wash it after last weekends orf road trip.

There int many v6 owners on ere. I’m one of them, and Jon was another. Sadly his died after the crankshaft cog destroyed the main timing belt, just after the belt was changed. Several others have had them and had problems. There in many who come on to say theirs is running well. But many do as I see them out and about.

Nice...
:hysterically_laughi

 

[chromiumuk]

I get the impression that not everyone on this site likes Freelanders... Oh well... We've had two winters here where my rear drive Merc C-class sat doing naff all on the drive for 2-3 months... and that was to replace a RAV4 which put me in a snow drift off a cleared road and couldn't get out... The Freelander meets our basic needs (better 4x4 than the RAV4 (got to be!), similar footprint on the drive to the Merc, petrol engine as the rest of the family 'fleet' is petrol...) and was cheap to purchase. Mileage is planned to be 6-8k per year but could be less than that if it becomes a chore on the motorway...

Thanks for sharing...

Unfortunately you've bought the wrong Freelander. What JonFre says might sound harsh but it is genuinely worth considering. The K-series engine & particularly Kv6 fitted to your car is very fragile & you could easily find yourself in a position where having forked out a fortune the head gaskets let go leaving you with another thousand pounds plus bill assuming you'll even find a garage willing to do the work & guarantee it & again assuming the liners haven't slipped rendering the engine scrap. It's well worth considering doing the basic servicing only & running the car either into the ground or for a year or so then changing to a diesel model. Alternatively if you genuinely love the car & finances aren't such a problem then it could be worth it to you to spend the money & keep the car in top nick accepting that it's possibly going to be an expensive to maintain car.