3WD Landrover. Loss of one front wheel drive

Hi, My FL1 TD4 2006 has lost drive to one of the front wheels.

After some bad potholes it started making a bad bearing noise that was hard to define where its coming from. would start bad the moment you start moving, would not change with clutch, brake or gear changes.

Booked in at my local garage, he has lifted all 4 wheels off the ground and set the car running in gear, and says both rear wheels and one front wheel drive fine, but one wheel has no drive to it. But not being very up on the Freelander other than the usual stuff didn't want to dive into diff/gearbox strip down and wondered if i/you have any suggestions.

So,
Is this a "common" ish fault?
Is it more likely to be gearbox/driveshaft/cv joint/hub/diff or something else?
Whats the best place to start at / how best to test to narrow down the culprit without major stripdown?

He is a good mechanic, and can sort, but welcomes any insites into such issues to save time and ultimately my money by doing it the best way.

Thanks, James

A bearing wouldn't cause a loss of drive to a wheel, nor would a gearbox problem
Does the wheel turn by hand if you lift it off the ground?

The wheel that did not turn is either 'disconnected' or 'jammed'.

If its disconnected I'd imagine this would be the passenger side, and the splines have gone on the IRD connection. If you can turn it by hand when lifted, then its disconnected.

If its 'jammed' then drive will be sent to the other wheel. It won't be solidly jammed, or else the car would not move, but there may be a bearing or brake issue. If it won't turn easily by hand when lifted then its jammed - but you would need the whole car lifted because lifting just 1 wheel on Freelander its transmission will not allow the wheel to turn. You might be able to lift just the 2 wheels on 1 side to test.

Others may have other ideas.

Edit: thinking about it, if 1 side was disconnected, then the output to that wheel would turn but neither wheel would actually turn - so I imagine the side that is not turning is jammed. So I'd be checking the brakes and bearings on that wheel, then further on into the IRD components for that side.

It may be 'jammed' in that it doesn't turn easily, but that does not mean that it is not getting drive. If you were to 'hold' the other wheel with more 'jamming' force, then it may turn - or rip your arms off if you're not holding it firm enough. The front diff will always just turn the wheel with less resistance - usually they have the same resistance and both will turn - as exhibited by the back diff turning both wheels.

To determine if the fault is in the hub/drive shaft or the IRD (essentially front diff but with power take off for back axle), you may need to remove the drive shaft from the IRD. Not sure if this would work, but the hubs are held to the strut by 2 bolts, these can be undone and the hub pulled away, this allows the drive shaft to be popped from the IRD. You can then examine the CV joints and see of the shaft turns OK within the hub/brakes - if it does, then the fault is presumably in the IRD. I say not sure if this will work because you would have to push the hub back to the strut so that the drive shaft is 'straightish' for it to turn easily.

These are just some of my thoughts, others may have different ideas.

If the wheel without drive is the front left, then it's almost certainly the spline link tube through the gearbox, to the drive shaft.
It's not a common problem, but can manifest itself, if the vehicle has been used with odd tyres, and has already had a replacement IRD (normally the first thing to fail) VCU and or rear diff.

Update/decision time. there is zero drive to that wheel, after the above, We are looking at removing the engine to split the box (and do the clutch it needs) and IRD and replacing ird with a refurbed unit. What can cause it to go.... tyres are all similar wear, diff doesnt get hot when driving long distance (just slightly above cold)? Is there a better way to get it off than removing engine?

Looking like 1.5k or so bill to me..... or do i cut my losses and advertise at £500 spares or repairs.....

RoverJames said:

Update/decision time. there is zero drive to that wheel, after the above

Click to expand...

What wheel? Front left?
If so it's likely the spline link in the gearbox. IRD should be fine, it's just not connected to the LH drive shaft.

It's worth more than £500 to someone, the Freelander 1 is going up in value at the moment, as folks have realised it's cheap and easy to maintain, compared to equivalent modern vehicles.

Nodge68 said:

What wheel? Front left?
If so it's likely the spline link in the gearbox. IRD should be fine, it's just not connected to the LH drive shaft.

It's worth more than £500 to someone, the Freelander 1 is going up in value at the moment, as folks have realised it's cheap and easy to maintain, compared to equivalent modern vehicles.

Click to expand...

Could it not be the splines on the IRD. IIRC there are 2 splined tubes/shafts from the IRD, one inside the other. They will mate up to splines in the gearbox, 1 taking drive from the gearbox, the other sending drive to the wheel. So it will presumably either be the splines on the IRD or gearbox that have gone - or maybe both?

Would you not have to remove the IRD to examine where the damage is?

RoverJames said:

Update/decision time. there is zero drive to that wheel, after the above, We are looking at removing the engine to split the box (and do the clutch it needs) and IRD and replacing ird with a refurbed unit. What can cause it to go.... tyres are all similar wear, diff doesnt get hot when driving long distance (just slightly above cold)? Is there a better way to get it off than removing engine?

Looking like 1.5k or so bill to me..... or do i cut my losses and advertise at £500 spares or repairs.....

Click to expand...

If the left front wheel is 'free wheeling' - then it will be getting all the output from the front diff. The right front will not be driven by the engine at all. You would essentially have a RWD Freelander.

If you jack the left hand front wheel only up, can you turn the wheel by hand?

GrumpyGel said:

IIRC there are 2 splined tubes/shafts from the IRD, one inside the other.

Click to expand...

That's correct. The larger outer split takes the drive from the gearbox, sending it to the IRD. The smaller inner spline goes inside the spline link tube, which goes through the gearbox output, and links with the LR drive shaft.
It's this spline link tube that normally wears out, allowing the drive shaft to simply spin free, as its been disconnected from the IRD.

So, there is a chance it could be the link pipe not the ird yay.... Hopefuly.

Will try jacking one wheel up tomorow morning, but can you replace said pipes in situe or is it a engine out job? Sorry again for the daft questions.... I'm more used to MGB and Minis

RoverJames said:

So, there is a chance it could be the link pipe not the ird yay.... Hopefuly.

Will try jacking one wheel up tomorow morning, but can you replace said pipes in situe or is it a engine out job? Sorry again for the daft questions.... I'm more used to MGB and Minis

Click to expand...

The spline link tube runs through the gearbox, it's job is to connect the spline of the IRD output, to the spline in the CV joint. It's normally the CV joint side that fails, as the slight looseness of the CV joint in the link tube causes the splines to wear and strip.

If you pull CV joint out the gearbox, you can often see the link tube splines will be damaged.

To sort the issue, you'll need to remove the gearbox, split the casing, and fit a new link tube. It would be sensible to replace the drive shaft too, as the splines on that will also likely be damaged.

The FL1 is easy to work on, and if you're used to old British stuff, you should be right at home with it.

Hi all, again thanks so much for you help so far.

UPDATE: AARRGGHHHHH :')

My mechanic has removed the engine, box and IRD. (Engine keeps getting injector failures so will be replacing the harness, Needs a clutch and pressure plate and belts, so it was coming out anyway.)

All splines look great, both sides of driveshafts, both large and small on the IRD/Gearbox, inside and outside
Having split the IRD and gearbox, if you spin the rear drive takeoff and hold the 2 male splines (large and small separately) they are permanently driven, yet the small female spline is not, it drives a little, then slips a little, etc.

Does this seem like IRD failure to you? Having spent 5 minuets on youtube, they don't seem super complex to strip.... so I'm thinking of stripping it down and seeing what's inside (i work as mechanical maintenance support in a factory and have done various gearbox assembly refurbs).
With it out and stripped this far is there a quick easy way to test IRD off the car like it is?

--- just a running total in my head --- (mainly to depress myself)
- labor £500 ishhhh (although i can see it being more)
- IRD, if needed a new unit £600
- VCU, £300 (suspected cause?)
- New tyres £600 (front and rear are same brand roughly same wear but different tread patterns... I dont trust em)
- Clutch £100
- Belts £50
- Loom £20
-Prop bearings £50 (New 1000 mile ago but for the cost)

So £ 2,220 (Or what the car cost a year and a half ago)
(- Swear jar £50... at least)

Thinking about cutting my losses and getting it scrapped... as once fixed.... it would need to be sold, and i cant see it fetching more than £2500 all sorted (if the injector fault is cured by the loom) Body is nice, and interior is great.... but still. Bad words said.

I'm not sure which of the splines form the IRD is connected to the gearbox and which the LH wheel. However, the rear PTO is directly geared to the gearbox - so turning the PTO should turn the gearbox spline in direct proportion. The LH wheel is not directly geared to the rear PTO, turning the PTO would directly turn the diff inside the IRD - from there either the LH or RH output would turn - and this should be and unrestricted - if you hold the LH wheel spline, then it should not turn and the RH wheel output should turn.

If you are holding the LH wheel spline and feel it being forced to turn when you turn the PTO, I would have thought this is a good sign that the diff in the IRD is knackered.

I'm no expert though.

If (confirmed) I'm right then you'd need to strip the IRD and determine what is broken/worn. If it is bearings, ie the gears are in good condition, then you can get bearing sets reasonably cheaply (~£150) which given your job you may be able to fit? If the gears are worn (and check the PTO crown & pinion as well in case they show signs of imminent problems), then they are costly and a recon unit is probably the best bet.

The remaining items are maintenance items. Once fitted you should get long service from them. As for the tyres, you are looking at premium ones there if they are to cost £600. Tyres are expensive over here, and I only pay 1/2 of that for 4 tyres.

RoverJames said:

Having split the IRD and gearbox, if you spin the rear drive takeoff and hold the 2 male splines (large and small separately) they are permanently driven, yet the small female spline is not, it drives a little, then slips a little, etc.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the front diff in which is in the IRD has failed, unusual, but not unknown.

You're pricing is a bit off though.
A reconditioned IRD is £600 + VAT from Bell Engineering.
A reconditioned VCU is £185 + VAT.
You have the bearings, so remove them with care, and reuse.
The main drive belt is £10.
Tyres, you're well over, you can get 4 Yokohama Geolander AT 015 for about £450.
You can't include service items when costing a repair anyway, as those would need replacement regardless.

It's definitely worth fixing, as the Freelander 1 is currently increasing in value.

Hi all, just wrapping up, i am now selling the Freelander due to change in job situation, but thought it may be of some worth to share my final experience/say what i did in the end to conclude this thread (something that is rarely done and most frustrating when searching forums)

It was the IRD making the grinding noise, unusually it had broken the "front diff" bit rather than the usual drive to the rear wheel part. This is possibly due to the fantastic quality Staffordshire roads :S possibly due to bad luck, and possibly due to mismatched tires. (same brand but different product line). Due to driving the rear wheels permanently during the few days wondering what that noise was... the VCU is possibly also stuffed.

So, its now had a refurbed IRD, VCU and 5 new tyres. At the same time a new clutch and belts as these badly needed doing. This was very very expensive at just shy of 3k all in!! I could have made this cheaper doing more myself, or perhaps by trying to do more in situ or cheapening the parts supplier (Freelander specialists are ace... but not the cheapest) BUT, when all is said, the car is 4wd again, driving great, and ready for another 140000 miles on the road!

Sadly someone else will profit from my expenditure and upheaval. But oh well, win some loose some. In conclusion grinding noises are bad.