Diagnose my Freelander?

Se7enS1ns said:

Quickly checked the tyres on my lunch break. All 4 are the same sizes, front 2 are brand new, rear are nearly new - the radial difference must be 1.5mm max Id say. Will check pressures when I'm home, and jack up a rear wheel.

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ALWAYS put new ones on the back on a freelander

The Mad Hat Man said:

might have to have a chat if & when we get over. We got rellies in Cchurch & Wood End

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First beer is on me, or coffee & cake

If you're heading this way, follow the international date line south. If you get to ice, that'd be Antarctica... you've gone to far, turn round and we're the first bit of green

Be great to meet you (unless you're an axe weilding homicidal maniac) - always great to meet LZ peeps - both localuns and those on their hols.

The Mad Hat Man said:

ALWAYS put new ones on the back on a freelander

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Roger that. Will swap them over tonight.

Se7enS1ns said:

Hi all,
Picked up a Freelander 1 at the weekend, took it for a brief test drive at viewing and went ahead with the purchase knowing it needs a bit of attention - wondering if there are any Landy gurus local to the Castleford area who'd be interested in lending their experienced ears in pinpointing the knocks and whistles? Got the odd suspension grumbles on heavy bumps, and is seriously underpowered at speed with ****-poor MPG (suspect stuck turbo solenoid).

Mechanically I'm capable of doing the grunt work, but my experience is in old Minis not Landys, so I'd really appreciate someone pointing out the faults.

Payment in unlimited tea/coffee and assorted biscuits of preference.

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What year and engine is the Freelander? If its a V6, that's also a scenario for poor fuel economy!

GrumpyGel said:

What year and engine is the Freelander? If its a V6, that's also a scenario for poor fuel economy!

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2002 TD4 2.0, symptoms are exactly as per another thread on here actually (no power at 70mph, speed drops off on an incline) where the turbo solenoid had failed, so ordered a new one to swap out when it arrives.

have you checked the hoses for splits etc - more common failure?

The Mad Hat Man said:

have you checked the hoses for splits etc - more common failure?

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Nope - barely been under the bonnet actually, only bought the car on Sunday and its pitch black by the time I get home from work. Saturday will be the first opportunity I get to have a proper look over.

Well Im pleased to report back that the VCU seems to be in "ok" conditon. Doing the one wheel up test, I can lean on the tyre with both hands and turn it slowly without force - the wheel slowly but smoothly rotates. Putting a wheelbrace on one nut gives the same result, and the more force I apply to it the greater the resistance back - Id say with light load its taking 7 or 8 seconds to rotate 45degrees.

Hardly a scientific measure, but enough to have me breathe a sigh of relief!!

see if yu can do it sometime as per the procedure,

It's definitely on the to-do list, I'll probably look at buying a second hand item and a refurb kit, and swap it out in the near future.

Tyre pressures were all over the place when I checked this evening, fonts were ok but one of the rears was at 20psi and the other at 28. That wont have been helping.

Additionally, my fueling woes haven't been so bad today either. Wont have the MPG figure until Ive emptied the tank a little more, but the needle has barely moved over the last 25miles or so. Still doing the turbo solenoid and checking the hoses at the weekend due to the lack of top end power woes, THEN I'll look at finding these suspension gremlins (suspect drop links). Oh... and the passengers door lock @Rawrrosity...

Se7enS1ns said:

It's definitely on the to-do list, I'll probably look at buying a second hand item and a refurb kit, and swap it out in the near future.

Tyre pressures were all over the place when I checked this evening, fonts were ok but one of the rears was at 20psi and the other at 28. That wont have been helping.

Additionally, my fueling woes haven't been so bad today either. Wont have the MPG figure until Ive emptied the tank a little more, but the needle has barely moved over the last 25miles or so. Still doing the turbo solenoid and checking the hoses at the weekend due to the lack of top end power woes, THEN I'll look at finding these suspension gremlins (suspect drop links). Oh... and the passengers door lock @Rawrrosity...

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Passenger door lock should be priority

Se7enS1ns said:

It's definitely on the to-do list, I'll probably look at buying a second hand item and a refurb kit, and swap it out in the near future.

Tyre pressures were all over the place when I checked this evening, fonts were ok but one of the rears was at 20psi and the other at 28. That wont have been helping.

Additionally, my fueling woes haven't been so bad today either. Wont have the MPG figure until Ive emptied the tank a little more, but the needle has barely moved over the last 25miles or so. Still doing the turbo solenoid and checking the hoses at the weekend due to the lack of top end power woes, THEN I'll look at finding these suspension gremlins (suspect drop links). Oh... and the passengers door lock @Rawrrosity...

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Did you swap the tyres front to back, so the least worn are at the back. It's important or the VCU and IRD take a real pounding. Tyre pressure being low in one tyre has also been known to cause failure.
I check my tyres weekl, as should any other FL1 owner.

Have a look at this. Although it's the drivers door it will give you an idea of what's involved.

Nodge68 said:

Did you swap the tyres front to back, so the least worn are at the back. It's important or the VCU and IRD take a real pounding. Tyre pressure being low in one tyre has also been known to cause failure.
I check my tyres weekl, as should any other FL1 owner.

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Yep! New ones are on the rear now, the fronts are barely worn. Will be keeping an eye on my pressures as part of weekly maintenance.

Found a couple of new niggles too! A very quite wirring sound is just audible when driving, coming from NSF wheel I think, gets a little louder on left hand bends and quieter on right hand bends. Suspect I've got a wheel bearing at the end if it's life. Will check the hub for any play. Windscreen wiper switch has a really bad connection somewhere, have to wiggle it to get wipers to stay on

Nodge68 said:

Tyre pressure being low in one tyre has also been known to cause failure.
I check my tyres weekl, as should any other FL1 owner.

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This is what exactly did mine in. Slow puncture on the left rear. All caught in time before any serious damage.

Keep a good eye on things @Se7enS1ns . Do the OWU test properly, and get the IRD and rear diff oils out for inspection.

On the wiper switch, they don't like damp and the contacts degrade over time. It can be annoying on a cold wet morning.

It was a tyre low on pressure that did my IRD. 400 miles touring over 2 days and it went bang, was OK before that (I think!).

GrumpyGel said:

It was a tyre low on pressure that did my IRD. 400 miles touring over 2 days and it went bang, was OK before that (I think!).

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Well, I will definitely be checking my tyre pressures every time I fill, up once my Bell recon unit (arriving Friday) is fitted!

Thanks @Madmustang - will have the doorcard off at the weekend if I get time after doing the boost solenoid

kernowsvenski said:

On the wiper switch, they don't like damp and the contacts degrade over time. It can be annoying on a cold wet morning.

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Think that's exactly what it is to be honest - degraded contacts. Wiper speeds I and II will work fine after a little wiggle, they come on and stay on, as does wash/wipe. Intermittent is completely goosed though, doesn't work at all - and with all functions the blades just park where ever they like on the screen. Will whip the cowling off and see if I can service the stalk, if not I'll pick up a tested used one.

Unrelated, but my MPG has been SO much better over the last 65miles, using less than 2 gallon, so looking at about 35ish to the gallon at the mo - will have a better figure when I've emptied the tank some more as I still have over a quarter tank left. Still suffering horrendous lack of power in 5th, but am hoping the boost solenoid and pipework will sort that out.

Wiper switch is a very quick simple job once you have the replacement part and can see how it is connected.

Not sure @Se7enS1ns is enjoying working on the car in the cold