Freelander 1 Considering a FL1 as a bit of a fun/project car and dog transporter

So... We have a Hyundai i30 (2014) and Kia C'eed (2012). The O/H is going to change their C'eed next year, and I was going to change my i30... But instead that money's going on the house with a new conservatory roof and turning the conservatory into more of an extension.

My i30 is in excellent condition, and very low mileage. It's a great car... But not that exciting. However, I've recently had to transport my Mom's Alaskan Malamute and the in-laws dogs... And I'm going to have to transport the Malamute a fair bit more frequently moving forwards.

So I thought I'd look at Freelanders. I've always liked them (Dad used to love his Landy's - having several Series, several Discos and a couple of Freelanders over the years.

The thinking is that it will be great for transporting dogs... Great for moving things that don't need a van but our cars are to small for... And great for winter / maybe a little bit of offroading... Also I like mountain climbing, so it would cope better with Snowdonia / Lake District / Peak District better than the i30 (and have more room for kit!).

Haven't got a huge budget up front, but am I mad to think of getting something as a reasonable starting for around a grand? I know it will need work and I could drip a bit of budget in over time for repairs/improvements - but haven't got a huge amount up front... But if we hold off and save too long, then there could be dog damage to my normal car! But happy to take advice....

I've been reading through and understand about the VCU/IRD/diff bushes, etc, etc, etc... Definitely after a TD4 I think too... All of that makes sense, but my biggest concern I suppose is getting something that is sound chassis/rust and rot free-wise? I'm not a mechanic and have never worked on a car before... But one of the in-laws is a lot more handy in that department, and have a family friend that owns a garage (and willing to learn some basics, starting with the simple stuff).

Any and all advice welcomed!

You're more than welcome to pop round and see if you can persuade my incredibly lazy and very large Malamute into the back of my 5 door TD4, you'll know how much room there is for a dog! I will get round to putting him in there one day but as his legs aren't too good and there is no way I can lift his fat a** on my own, I haven't tried him for size. There looks to be plenty of room for him though.

There is ample room in a Freelander for both front and back seat passengers - but the boot is not the biggest - so check one out before bidding on eBay!

Its not a "big truck", but its also not a small car, so check out how high the access is to the boot - don't know how old (and athletic) the dogs are you will be transporting.

Rust is generally not an issue with Freelanders - but it can be and will only get more of an issue over time. Things like the fuel tank cradle and suspension arms do rust out. So far as the chassis goes, the place to check appears to be the sills immediately in front of the rear wheels and up from there at the front of the wheel arch behind the plastic cover. There's a few that have had pretty severe corrosion there.

You should be able to get a decent motor for a grand in the UK and they are surprisingly reliable cars. Budget on needing a recon VCU (£275) and you won't be upset when you find you need to replace it. Do test drive and check that there isn't noticeable binding on reverse full lock as damage may already have been done to the IRD, ideally you'd do the 1 wheel up test and change the IRD oil before buying - but that's rarely possible/practical.

With the TD4 I'd check that it starts easily from both cold and hot and idles/runs well also. Auto will cost (significantly?) more to run around town, but about same as manual on the open road and a manual clutch change is not a cheap job.

Check out...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

Mick X11 said:

You're more than welcome to pop round and see if you can persuade my incredibly lazy and very large Malamute into the back of my 5 door TD4, you'll know how much room there is for a dog! I will get round to putting him in there one day but as his legs aren't too good and there is no way I can lift his fat a** on my own, I haven't tried him for size. There looks to be plenty of room for him though.

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My Dad did have a three-door FL1 a couple of years back, and she was okay with that. Still a pain to get in though, because she did need lifting in and she's very large and very lazy too... Must be a trait, eh?!

Though I still had the "joy" of lifting her my i30! I will look at the size though before plumping for it, worse case scenario is that I need to drop the rear seats as I did in the i30? However I am also considering a ramp for the back of the FL1 - something like this.

GrumpyGel said:

There is ample room in a Freelander for both front and back seat passengers - but the boot is not the biggest - so check one out before bidding on eBay!

Its not a "big truck", but its also not a small car, so check out how high the access is to the boot - don't know how old (and athletic) the dogs are you will be transporting.

Click to expand...

In the main it will just be one dog, whenever we go away as a family -- or when my Mom goes away and I need to fetch/return the dog to Mom's. She's not athletic. Not old, just lazy... (See my reply to Mick above!)

And yup, definitely want a car rather than a "big truck" --- just definitely need something bigger than my i30 that is also a bit better suited to hills in national parks.

GrumpyGel said:

Rust is generally not an issue with Freelanders - but it can be and will only get more of an issue over time. Things like the fuel tank cradle and suspension arms do rust out. So far as the chassis goes, the place to check appears to be the sills immediately in front of the rear wheels and up from there at the front of the wheel arch behind the plastic cover. There's a few that have had pretty severe corrosion there.

Click to expand...

Thanks - this is really, really useful information and gives me something to check. If I can get something where the chassis is in good nick, then I guess replacing things like the fuel tank cradle and suspension arms is better/easier than major damage to the chassis requiring cutting out/welding/etc?

GrumpyGel said:

You should be able to get a decent motor for a grand in the UK and they are surprisingly reliable cars. Budget on needing a recon VCU (£275) and you won't be upset when you find you need to replace it. Do test drive and check that there isn't noticeable binding on reverse full lock as damage may already have been done to the IRD, ideally you'd do the 1 wheel up test and change the IRD oil before buying - but that's rarely possible/practical.

Click to expand...

Again, good to hear. And yes, I'm thinking plan on new VCU and IRD. The way I figure it is that if I buy a car for the grand and budget for those kind of things and knowing that they're dealt with now, then it's better than spending more in the hope that those things are better... But end up still needing being done sooner rather than later anyway?

GrumpyGel said:

With the TD4 I'd check that it starts easily from both cold and hot and idles/runs well also. Auto will cost (significantly?) more to run around town, but about same as manual on the open road and a manual clutch change is not a cheap job.

Check out... https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

Click to expand...

Thanks again, great info.... Much prefer manual though the clutch makes me question... I guess it's pay through fuel around town or pay through manual clutch though? I know it's probably a "how long is a piece of string" question, but what's a ballpark mileage for replacement clutches (eg if I were to get it done as I could afford -- assuming my hand isn't forced sooner, of course (!) ), then what kind of life span might I be looking at?

MrWB said:

My Dad did have a three-door FL1 a couple of years back, and she was okay with that. Still a pain to get in though, because she did need lifting in and she's very large and very lazy too... Must be a trait, eh?!

Though I still had the "joy" of lifting her my i30! I will look at the size though before plumping for it, worse case scenario is that I need to drop the rear seats as I did in the i30? However I am also considering a ramp for the back of the FL1 - something like this.



In the main it will just be one dog, whenever we go away as a family -- or when my Mom goes away and I need to fetch/return the dog to Mom's. She's not athletic. Not old, just lazy... (See my reply to Mick above!)

And yup, definitely want a car rather than a "big truck" --- just definitely need something bigger than my i30 that is also a bit better suited to hills in national parks.



Thanks - this is really, really useful information and gives me something to check. If I can get something where the chassis is in good nick, then I guess replacing things like the fuel tank cradle and suspension arms is better/easier than major damage to the chassis requiring cutting out/welding/etc?



Again, good to hear. And yes, I'm thinking plan on new VCU and IRD. The way I figure it is that if I buy a car for the grand and budget for those kind of things and knowing that they're dealt with now, then it's better than spending more in the hope that those things are better... But end up still needing being done sooner rather than later anyway?



Thanks again, great info.... Much prefer manual though the clutch makes me question... I guess it's pay through fuel around town or pay through manual clutch though? I know it's probably a "how long is a piece of string" question, but what's a ballpark mileage for replacement clutches (eg if I were to get it done as I could afford -- assuming my hand isn't forced sooner, of course (!) ), then what kind of life span might I be looking at?

Click to expand...

As far as the clutch is concerned, I've just done mine at 90k and it was on its last legs. I'm generally not hard on clutches. In my opinion, the Td4 engine likes good quality fuel so stay away from the supermarket pumps.

MrWB said:

However I am also considering a ramp for the back of the FL1 - something like this.

Click to expand...

That looks like a good idea - I've been thinking of making up something like that for our aging dog to get in the car.

MrWB said:

If I can get something where the chassis is in good nick, then I guess replacing things like the fuel tank cradle and suspension arms is better/easier than major damage to the chassis requiring cutting out/welding/etc?

Click to expand...

Suppose it depends on whether you're happier with a welder or a spanner But yeh, I suppose that has to be right! Some jobs are more trickey than they sound though - like the cradle where you have to drop the subframe a bit, support the fuel tank and contort yourself and parts into places they don't want to go.

MrWB said:

Again, good to hear. And yes, I'm thinking plan on new VCU and IRD. The way I figure it is that if I buy a car for the grand and budget for those kind of things and knowing that they're dealt with now, then it's better than spending more in the hope that those things are better... But end up still needing being done sooner rather than later anyway?

Click to expand...

You don't want to be planning to buy an IRD - one of them with a VCU with some support bearings plus some labour and you're talking twice the cost of what it cost to buy the car. VCUs you definitely need to buy reconditioned rather than 2nd hand (and only from a reputable outfit, eg Bells) - an IRD you might consider buying 2nd hand but the chances are it would be toast as they are the bits that tend to go first on Freelander. You need to catch trouble before it becomes severe with IRDs. Make sure tyres & VCU are OK - a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System TPMS is a wise investment. Change the IRD oil - make sure the old stuff comes out looking like oil. If it comes out a grey metalicy colour then that's the bearings been ground to a pulp due to wind up (bad tyres or VCU). In this instance you need to consider whether sorting the VCU/tyres and an oil change is sufficuent, you can get bearings kits quite cheaply but there's quite a bit of work to install them but if you leave it and the gears get damaged then and you'll need a recon - $$$.

Hopefully thought the IRD is good and, if you maintain the car, it will be a non-issue.

MrWB said:

Much prefer manual though the clutch makes me question... I guess it's pay through fuel around town or pay through manual clutch though? I know it's probably a "how long is a piece of string" question, but what's a ballpark mileage for replacement clutches (eg if I were to get it done as I could afford -- assuming my hand isn't forced sooner, of course (!) ), then what kind of life span might I be looking at?

Click to expand...

I think you can expect 100k miles from a clutch - but obviously its the sort of thing that can 'go' at 50k or 200k. It isn't just the clutch itself though that is an issue with the TD4 - the slave hydraulics are mounted internally within the bell housing, so if that goes then its a gearbox out job (and might as well replace the whole clutch) to fix it.

DevonGuy said:

As far as the clutch is concerned, I've just done mine at 90k and it was on its last legs. I'm generally not hard on clutches. In my opinion, the Td4 engine likes good quality fuel so stay away from the supermarket pumps.

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90k to its last legs is good, I can deal with that.

And no issues on the fuel front. I don't drive millions of miles even in the i30, so I always put in the premium diesel or non-supermarket with additives to keep the engine in as good condition as possible...

GrumpyGel said:

You don't want to be planning to buy an IRD - one of them with a VCU with some support bearings plus some labour and you're talking twice the cost of what it cost to buy the car. VCUs you definitely need to buy reconditioned rather than 2nd hand (and only from a reputable outfit, eg Bells) - an IRD you might consider buying 2nd hand but the chances are it would be toast as they are the bits that tend to go first on Freelander. You need to catch trouble before it becomes severe with IRDs. Make sure tyres & VCU are OK - a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System TPMS is a wise investment. Change the IRD oil - make sure the old stuff comes out looking like oil. If it comes out a grey metalicy colour then that's the bearings been ground to a pulp due to wind up (bad tyres or VCU). In this instance you need to consider whether sorting the VCU/tyres and an oil change is sufficuent, you can get bearings kits quite cheaply but there's quite a bit of work to install them but if you leave it and the gears get damaged then and you'll need a recon - $$$.

Hopefully thought the IRD is good and, if you maintain the car, it will be a non-issue.

I think you can expect 100k miles from a clutch - but obviously its the sort of thing that can 'go' at 50k or 200k. It isn't just the clutch itself though that is an issue with the TD4 - the slave hydraulics are mounted internally within the bell housing, so if that goes then its a gearbox out job (and might as well replace the whole clutch) to fix it.

Click to expand...

Thanks again --- all really, really good info! Hopefully get something with a good IRD then.

With the TPMS is there anything specific to look for, or is it just a standard 12V plug and play kit from Amazon (or in days gone past Maplins...)?

MrWB said:

Thanks again --- all really, really good info! Hopefully get something with a good IRD then.

With the TPMS is there anything specific to look for, or is it just a standard 12V plug and play kit from Amazon (or in days gone past Maplins...)?

Click to expand...

The only person I know with 1 is @htr - I believe he bought his from AliExpress. IIRC the units come with replacement dust caps for the wheels that have pressure sensors in and use blue tooth to talk to a LCD monitor that you put in the dash. I presume the caps have a battery and the monitor has a cigarette lighter type power supply. Here's some links...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-ro...freelander-today.199594/page-329#post-3789002

and...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-ro...lander-mods-thread.326636/page-3#post-4200214

Mine is running 2WD so no need for a TPMS - wish I'd had one 5 years ago though

GrumpyGel said:

The only person I know with 1 is @htr - I believe he bought his from AliExpress.

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Ah, there very similar to what I was thinking of, but have a proper electrical connection.

The kind of thing I was thinking of was this:

Amazon product (12v Powered)

or

Amazon product (Solar powered, probably not that great because of it!)

I like the ramp idea MrWB, might have to look into that

Regarding tyre pressure monitors - it is not something I would use because of the weight on top of the tyre valve. I suppose things have changed over the years but about 10 or so years ago some guy in the Suzuki owners club (motorcycles) was recommending a similar thing, I believe he was on a 'kickback' from the manufacturer. It was fairly basic, showed green at correct pressure and amber then red for under pressure, seemed like a good idea until people found the weight of them spinning round actually let tyres down, same as those LED caps that were popular with boy racers a few years ago. If you go into my local (and trusted) motorcycle tyre supplier with anything except a standard plastic or metal dust cap you get a right talking to.

Mick X11 said:

I like the ramp idea MrWB, might have to look into that

Regarding tyre pressure monitors - it is not something I would use because of the weight on top of the tyre valve. I suppose things have changed over the years but about 10 or so years ago some guy in the Suzuki owners club (motorcycles) was recommending a similar thing, I believe he was on a 'kickback' from the manufacturer. It was fairly basic, showed green at correct pressure and amber then red for under pressure, seemed like a good idea until people found the weight of them spinning round actually let tyres down, same as those LED caps that were popular with boy racers a few years ago. If you go into my local (and trusted) motorcycle tyre supplier with anything except a standard plastic or metal dust cap you get a right talking to.

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One of those "sounded like a good idea at the time" sort of things!

I think HTR's had his installed for a few years without problems though, and as an added bonus, I think it works as well

Mick X11 said:

I like the ramp idea MrWB, might have to look into that

Regarding tyre pressure monitors - it is not something I would use because of the weight on top of the tyre valve. I suppose things have changed over the years but about 10 or so years ago some guy in the Suzuki owners club (motorcycles) was recommending a similar thing, I believe he was on a 'kickback' from the manufacturer. It was fairly basic, showed green at correct pressure and amber then red for under pressure, seemed like a good idea until people found the weight of them spinning round actually let tyres down, same as those LED caps that were popular with boy racers a few years ago. If you go into my local (and trusted) motorcycle tyre supplier with anything except a standard plastic or metal dust cap you get a right talking to.

Click to expand...

That's worth knowing... I will have to investigate some more. Worse case scenario.... Check regularly (weekly?)? Especially in periods of rapid temperature change?

I know my tyres loose about 1 Psi per month, so I check and adjust mine monthly. I check the oil, coolant and top up the screen wash at the same time. I only do 500 miles per month in the FL1, so it doesn't need checking more regularly than that.