Freelander 1 TD4 rumble from..?

Hi all, new member here, though I have read many of the Freelander posts on here, more in the past three weeks or so!

We've had a Freelander 1 TD4 for getting towards 3 years. We had new tyres fitted all round at Christmas last year, without any issues since.

Over the past couple of months there's been a rumble/vibration becoming ever more apparent, it's become quite unpleasant now (I only drive it occasionally, and it's markedly worsened over the last 6 weeks).

There is no noise whilst stationary, or upto nearly 30mph - but at 30mph it cuts in quite quickly and is immediately unpleasant, dying off again around 40+mph, and almost unnoticeable over 50mph, but still vaguely discernable. Apart from the noise, the vibration can be felt in the whole cabin between 30 & 40 odd mph.

We had it up on a ramp with the wheels suspended, and the noise was almost scary underneath it with the wheels spinning at 35mph in 4th gear. We removed the propshaft at the IRD and tried again - it was exactly the same. I tried it on a private road and coasted with the engine off in neutral at around 50mph, and allowed the car to slow naturally - at 40mph the sound/vibration was there as ever, so obviously not engine related.

I had historically had an issue with the VCU, which was swapped with a reconditioned unit - from Bell's, I think, so I suspected that given the circumstances the IRD had likely failed.

I fitted a replacement unit I got from a Landrover breaker, which I was assured was good, as the guy who sold it drove the vehicle it was removed from for 30 odd miles back to his yard before it was stripped, without anything untoward.

No difference - if I had to guess, if anything it sounded a little worse, though that was probably just listening for it.

When we had the old IRD out I naturally turned the shafts to see what it felt like - all felt good, with the exception of the input shaft, which felt a little gritty, as in not as smooth as the others. I was happy that there was apparently an issue with it, until I did the same with the "new" IRD, which felt quite similar. Not sure if this does indicate a fault, if it was because it wasn't fitted to the gearbox.

I've read all of the threads on here that I could find, but none of them matched the noise/circumstances that I have, hence this post.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Will.

Can really only be driveshaft vibration, check for play in joints, or wheel bearings, spin wheels by hand and feel / listen.

Do an oil change on the IRD, and see what colour the oil comes out. If it comes out grey, or has obvious metal particles in it, the IRD needs a rebuild.
Make sure the fill plug is removed before removing the drain plug though.
If the IRD is good, then it can only be wheel bearings or drive shafts.

andyfreelandy said:

Can really only be driveshaft vibration, check for play in joints, or wheel bearings, spin wheels by hand and feel / listen.

Click to expand...

I appreciate your reply and thank you for your advice - I'll get onto it in the next couple of days and report back (it's parked up at the moment). Cheers, Will.

I had a rumbling wheel bearing which made the whole vehicle sound and vibrate badly.

When you spin the wheel It vibrated up the spring.

Nodge68 said:

Do an oil change on the IRD, and see what colour the oil comes out. If it comes out grey, or has obvious metal particles in it, the IRD needs a rebuild.
Make sure the fill plug is removed before removing the drain plug though.
If the IRD is good, then it can only be wheel bearings or drive shafts.

Click to expand...

Appreciate your reply and advice, thank you.

We drained the oil from the old IRD before removal, oil was a clearish brown colour, there was a very small amount of magnetic sludge on the drain plug - very smooth to the touch when rubbed between thumb and finger.

I'll check the bearings and shafts within the next couple of days or so - it's parked up out of use until this is resolved - I'll report back when there are developments.

Cheers,
Will.

andyfreelandy said:

I had a rumbling wheel bearing which made the whole vehicle sound and vibrate badly.

When you spin the wheel It vibrated up the spring.

Click to expand...

Thank you.

Cheers,
Will.

willd said:

Appreciate your reply and advice, thank you.

We drained the oil from the old IRD before removal, oil was a clearish brown colour, there was a very small amount of magnetic sludge on the drain plug - very smooth to the touch when rubbed between thumb and finger.

I'll check the bearings and shafts within the next couple of days or so - it's parked up out of use until this is resolved - I'll report back when there are developments.

Cheers,
Will.

Click to expand...

If the oil came out dark coloured, then the IRD is fine.

To test for wheel bearings. Hold the centre of the spring with one hand, and turn the wheel with the other.
You can normally feel the spring vibrating, when the wheel bearing has failed.