Freelander 2 (LR2) FL2 brake disc question

Hi all, was going to change the rotors and pads earlier, I was expecting there to be a single torx screw on the rotor, as all the videos and write ups I've seen show this. But this is what I found:


Are those 5 nuts holding the rotor on instead? If so, does anyone know their torque values? Or is it not held on by bolts at all?
It's a 2009 2.2 commercial FL2 (van). I was under the impression the Freelander van had the same brake setup as the regular, but perhaps I was mistaken.

Cheers

Looks like it's been fitted with wheel spacers.
Remove the 5 nuts and the single torx should be underneath it !

The pros and cons of spacers have been discussed at length on this forum.

andyfreelandy said:

Looks like it's been fitted with wheel spacers.
Remove the 5 nuts and the single torx should be underneath it !

The pros and cons of spacers have been discussed at length on this forum.

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Ah, it all makes sense now. Was wondering why it was so clean. Thanks mate

Definitely fitted with spacers.
Remove them if you've not told your insurance company, as they are a notifiable modification, for which most insurance companies charge a substantial premium increase.

Nodge68 said:

Definitely fitted with spacers.
Remove them if you've not told your insurance company, as they are a notifiable modification, for which most insurance companies charge a substantial premium increase.

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I didn't consider that, much appreciated thank you. I'll take them off tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how she handles with them off

Fubar123 said:

I didn't consider that, much appreciated thank you. I'll take them off tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how she handles with them off

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Mine handles just fine, and I don't have spacers fitted.
You may well find you need calipers too, as they don't last much more that 8-10 years on our salty winter roads.

Does it have the original wheels on or have wheels with a different off-set been fitted that need the spacers? Or other option you got it from a boy racer?

Stv123 said:

Does it have the original wheels on or have wheels with a different off-set been fitted that need the spacers? Or other option you got it from a boy racer?

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As far as I can tell they are the originals, previous owner had them painted gloss black unfortunately, but you can see the outline of the LR badge in the middle where it's been painted over..

I wanted a FL2 van for my landscaping business, not many options on the used market so I took this one as it's generally good nick. Sadly one of the previous owners went heavy with cheapo cosmetic mods, which I've been gradually undoing lol. They had some aftermarket running boards which were absurdly wobbly, had them off day 1. Considering having the wheels paint stripped to their original silver alloy, but not sure how clean they would come up so might just live with them.

They also had the front grille and side vent bits painted black to match the wheels, they look ok, but wouldn't have bothered myself. Blows my mind that they must have spent over a grand on cosmetic bits, when they could have just spent that on getting mechanical work done.

Fubar123 said:

As far as I can tell they are the originals, previous owner had them painted gloss black unfortunately, but you can see the outline of the LR badge in the middle where it's been painted over.

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Genuine LR wheels will have LR and a part number on the rear of the spokes. You could also upload a picture (if the forum allows) as there are only a few factory wheels for us to identify.

Fubar123 said:

They also had the front grille and side vent bits painted black to match the wheels, they look ok, but wouldn't have bothered myself.

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I fitted black side vents to mine, and will do the grill when time allows, as black looks better than silver IMO.

Fubar123 said:

Blows my mind that they must have spent over a grand on cosmetic bits, when they could have just spent that on getting mechanical work done.

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Unfortunately to many LR owners, looks are more important than maintenance, which is asking for trouble later on.

Nodge68 said:

Genuine LR wheels will have LR and a part number on the rear of the spokes. You could also upload a picture (if the forum allows) as there are only a few factory wheels for us to identify.

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Just had the wheels off to remove the spacers, all genuine LR thankfully.
Unfortunately there was a bit of a hitch - the first thing I had done when I got the car was a balance and alignment check. They were all really far out, so they sorted those. But removal of the spacers caused the brake caliper to foul the new balance weights. So I've just had to pry off the weights Back to the shop she goes...

Nodge68 said:

I fitted black side vents to mine, and will do the grill when time allows, as black looks better than silver IMO.

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I can imagine the black on red combination being really smart on yours. Loved that colour combination on my old FL1. My FL2's in Stornoway grey, I felt like the black details made it a bit too dark overall, but the vents and grille are growing on me. Clients seem to like the look, lots of compliments. The wheels on the other hand, I much prefer matte black alloys to the glossy painted black. My cheap and lazy solution is to let the brake dust build up for that matte effect

Fubar123 said:

But removal of the spacers caused the brake caliper to foul the new balance weights. So I've just had to pry off the weights Back to the shop she goes..

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That's the tyre place at fault.
It's worth checking the alignment too, as spacers will alter that, which is likely why they were miles out.

Fubar123 said:

I can imagine the black on red combination being really smart on yours.

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I think it looks better with black vents.
I actually quite like gloss black wheels too, which I had on my Discovery 3.
However they only look good when perfectly clean, which is difficult to maintain.

Nodge68 said:

Mine handles just fine, and I don't have spacers fitted.

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Just to update, finally got a chance to go for a drive today. Significant difference, much better without the spacers! I had always found the steering wheel a bit harder to turn than it should be, without the spacers it is easier to turn - feels just right now. Steering also feels generally sharper, more precise.

Best of all - there's no more judder in the steering wheel at 55-60mph. I had been chasing this problem, initially thought it was balancing, but the balancing and alignment didn't help. When I went back to the tyre place, they suggested warped rotors, which made sense. But I held fire on the brake job to see what difference removing the spacers made, easiest fix ever is all I can say

Fubar123 said:

Significant difference, much better without the spacers! I had always found the steering wheel a bit harder to turn than it should be, without the spacers it is easier to turn - feels just right now. Steering also feels generally sharper, more precise

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The LR engineers knew what they were doing, some aftermarket accessory manufacturer doesn't.
Glad you're sorted.