Freelander: cannot park/reverse turn, seems to lock.

Hello,

I have read a few other threads on this issue but I'm not sure I've got to the root of this issue.

My Freelander is a bugger to park as the wheels seem to lock up and I really have to push it hard to move it, it feels very unnatural and feels like something could break !!!

Some other posts suggest this is just how Freelanders are but I cannot imagine that when they were new that people bought them with this what is seemingly a massive design flaw, this leads me to think something else is wrong!

I used to Drive a G Wagen that demonstrated the same behavior when 4 wheel drive was engaged on tarmac, this was due I understand to the fact the G did not have a slip diff therefore was only designed to be in i 4x4 mode whilst off roading.

However with the FL being perm 4 wheel I cannot imagine that LR would not have created a solution to this issue somehow, clearly I could be wrong.

Any suggestions would be great.

rear brake shoes can jam in reverse .broken cvs can give similar but you should notice that in other circumstances .there was a massive design floor in making front wheels drive slightly faster than rear to give front wheel drive feel,using viscous coupling to remove wind up ,if you jack a rear wheel up you can using 3ft bar on wheel nut turn wheel which should stiffly turn viscous if seized wheel will feel locked and buggered,you can remove entire prop and v/c and use as 2wd,while searching for parts if necessary,but even if okay still check monthly and youll get idea for when begining to selze foe future

Hi would bet it is VCU change it quick......did mine and it made a fantastic difference....
you have all symtoms mine had!!!!

Has this problem suddenly happened? Have you just bought it and it's come with this problem? If it was fine but all of a sudden developed this fault, check the rear brakes for binding, worse in reverse. If its got worse over a good few hundred miles or so, still do the brake checks. If brakes fine I would drop the prop with vcu, 20 mins work, and try that. VCUs dont just sieze, they gradually get worse. If you've just bought it from a dealer, get them to sort it.

these are some great suggestions, thanks very much.

I will do some investigation and whatever I find out I will post back.

before you jump in with both feet..... like i did........
mine had the exact same issues.....and i presumed it was the vcu, and along with reading a load of half baked idears about testing vcus, i began to fear the worse and i spent close to 850 quid having a new vcu put on aswell as the ird box overhauled with all new bearings and the two bearings which carry the props renewed...... 850 quid later, it still felt exactly the same !!!
land rover said it was normal..."a charactoristic of a vehicle with a viscous coupling in its drive train"........ i drove two other friends freelanders and theirs seemed seemed pretty much the same 'ish.
it drives fine, no problems, but full lock turning seems wrong, like you say, like its gonna break somthing......
ive gotten used to it now though, but this issue seroiusly made me fall out with my new car... its took me a while to get used to the idea but im almost ready to trust the car again and ive stopped thinking its gonna implode at any moment.!! hahhaha

seriously, get some one who knows specifically about freelander drive trains to look at it....

in addition to all that....... im now thinking ive got an issue with my rear diff..... im getting a bit of a noise, like somthing roatating, maybe sounds like a dry bearing kind of noise.... i took the rear drums off yesterday to check rear brakes and all seems ok in there.... had it up on axle stands with both wheels off and they spin fine but there is a slight noise like the one im hearing coming from the out put of the diff to my passenger side wheel....
gonna investigate it....

i want to love this car, it does all the things i wanted it to do when i bought it....... its just such a hatefull little get.......

Thanks myzeneye. Your view was one that I alluded to in my first post, I appreciate it as there seems to be 2 very different trains of thought on this issue.

what would be your view about converting to 2 wheel drive?

Hi I drove another newer freelander before buying my old 2000 TD4 ..... as I was concerned with the braking effect.....this 2005 model did the same....... on full lock particularly in reverse it is very tight. On changing the VCU this has deffinately changed and the car does have resistance but it is minor.......if your car has done over 70k and is
over 5 years old with the original vcu ...... it will have deterioated ...... as the silicone compound changes with age........ Try removing the rear propshaft.......run the car in 2 wd mode ......... what does it feel like. When I changed my VCU it felt almost like 2wd..... Good luck keep us posted

no probs mate.....
when i first got the car, after a few days i thought there was somthing wrong because of the tight full lock issue......
i read up loads on forums about the basics of testing vcus etc, nothing over technical to be fair, but non the less the advice which folk were giving out on forums....
the tests i did included "the tipex test ",marking up the props and reversing in figure of 8's etc... this proved inconclusive..
i also trid jacking up the back end and spinning the back wheel with a bar as suggested..... this test also was a little vaughe and i didnt have any real hard and fast refereance as to weather things were right or wrong.....

eventualy, i decided to have the vcu and prop carrier bearings done, so removed the entire prop/vcu.....
the car drove beautifully. just as youd expect it to. i had no problems/issues whilst running the car in this way....

i then got it down to a mates garage and up on ramp... after his inspection of the bearings in the output shaft from the ird, he said the bearings felt a little notchy to him..... they felt fine to me to be fair, but as i was already spending good cash on a new (to me - 05 plate/44k) car i thought id better do things right..... we removed the ird/split it and renewed all the bearings in it....
as i said in the earlier post, when i got the car back, over hauled ird, new vcu ,new prop bearings...all shiny new oil and love etc.... IT STILL FELT THE SAME....!!!!!!!!!!!
i was a little anoid, because my friend at the garage was sucking thru his teeth muttering things about castlated tyre treads, which i coudnt feel, bloody vcu's this and that.....etc...i just took his word and experience along with all the mumbo jumbo id read and forum folk had threw into the air etc....with thye fact the car just felt wrong to drive.....

with hind sight.....having never owned a 4x4 before and never knowing what the feel of a vehicle like this is like, i never took that into account... i just presumed it would drive like a car........ i was wrong..... its a bit of an oddity to drive to be fair.....
ive never been convinced the car is right and on journeys i always expect the rear diff or ird to explode....... in never does (yet! i hope) and im slowly, 18 months on getting to like the car and trust it a little........

as i said, it does all the things i wasnt it to do when i bought it, i is a great family car wich doubles up for my hobbies of trials riding, camping and shooting....(not at the same time i might add)

dont get me wrong, im not sugesting your vcu ir ird aint goosed, im just saying, get somone who knows what therfe doing to have a look..... and when i say someone who knows what their doing, i mean a land rover specialist...... my mate is a gear box specialist, and he is good to be fair, but these freelanders are a different ball game im afraid....

finally..... any one who has put a new cvu on and says there car drives normal in fgorward or revers witht he full lock on.......hmmmmm.....all i can ask is, did you get one of these after market "loose" vcu's or a recon one or did you get a genuine land rover one like i did one ...?
mine was all overhauled and should be as good as new and trust me, full lock i reverse still feels like the breaks are on.....not so much on forward, but still there.........
its just the way these cars feel...........:doh:

Both Freelanders I currently have (and both our previous one and my father-in-laws) don't feel like the brakes are on when when reversing on full lock and both 'pass' the VCU test shown on here.

I also regularly drive another car so have not become used the ways of the Freelander and never notice a difference when going between them.

I suspected my vcu was tired after driving my mates identical spec and age car but with only 50k on the clock. A post 2001 car should exhibit almost no braking effect in reverse full lock situations imho. With a Bell Engineering recon vcu now fitted for 6 months, only the very slightest effects are noticed under extreme full lock v v slow situations. Their vcu's work as intended, 4 wd works! This winters snow here proved it! I would say that my Freelander is equal if not better in all respects in snow than the Disco 300TDi it has replaced.

Hi, I'm going to remove the prop and convert to 2 wheel drive to see how much of a difference it makes.

Does anyone have any advice on how to remove the prop etc.

I advise you to get some spanners

arwush said:

Hi, I'm going to remove the prop and convert to 2 wheel drive to see how much of a difference it makes.

Does anyone have any advice on how to remove the prop etc.

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Before you remove the prop get a file and mark the flanges so that you can replace it exactly the way it comes off. There's always a discussion on whether this is necessary but I always work on the basis of why take the chance. Once it's off do not split the prop. This is all to do with balance.

props themselves need to be in line that is each end has yoke in same plane ,both ends where they fit diff flange and ird dont ,thats bollocks think about ,google prop alignment ,as both ird and diff just rotate in one plane it dosent matter which way prop is bolted ,ird end is cv and same applies

Riverside said:

I suspected my vcu was tired after driving my mates identical spec and age car but with only 50k on the clock. A post 2001 car should exhibit almost no braking effect in reverse full lock situations imho. With a Bell Engineering recon vcu now fitted for 6 months, only the very slightest effects are noticed under extreme full lock v v slow situations. Their vcu's work as intended, 4 wd works! This winters snow here proved it! I would say that my Freelander is equal if not better in all respects in snow than the Disco 300TDi it has replaced.

Click to expand...

am i right in thinking bell engineerings aftermarket or recon vcu is made as a "loose vcu" to overcome this problem ?
i know other companies out there do this......
the vcu i had put on mine was a hardy spicer one, which i beleive is the same as the part L.R fit.....
all i can tell you is my whole drive train apart from the rear diff was renewed and allthought it drives lovely, at low speed,full lock, in reverese, it feels as though the hand brake is on a couple of clicks............
i tried a few other freelanders and they felt the same......
lr said its normal ???
it sure dont feel normal...hahahha :doh:

Hi, i replaced my VCU with a Bell Eng recon one. (Its a direct replacement for the original)
Still feels horrible when reversing on full lock, like something is gonna explode!!!
But after 12 months its still all fine, 4wd works perfectly, no knocks or rattles etc.
Cheers
Russ

Bell vcus are not "loose", but a cetain supplier in Halifax does a "loose" one which do not give any rear wheel drive. Pre 2001 cars have different gearing to the rear wheels. It is imperative that the tyres on the rear have at least equal if not a larger rolling circumference than the front to try to compensate for this.

Hi, my 105k x reg TD4 was extremly tight.......on hard lock it was like you had handbrake on it would scrabble the rear wheel on anything but tarmac when doing a tight turn. Took prop off .... and it felt great no resistance. Fitted recon VCU ... and yes there is still resistance but it is much less.... on my old bus resistance reduced to about 20% of what it was.........mine was from purchased from FREELANDER SPARES UK ...... not the Halifax job ...... which has the wrong silicone fitted as mentioned on a previous post. My MPG has also gone from 34-35 to 38-39 pretty good.......