Freelander Help with Clutch & flywheel

Hi Guys,

Im sorry if this has been on here before but Ive only just joined and really need some help from somebody that knows what there talking about, I have a 2004 (54) reg freelander 1.8 with 58k on clocks ive just had the head gasket and cambelt done and while it was in the starter motor went!!! another £130 then they told me that it was a problem with the gear ring (or ring gear) and they have had to weld it back on and if it goes i will need a new clutch and flywheel and a cost of £720 ish and now when i start it up i get a horrible wining noise for a split second then its fine! any idea's if this guy is pulling my leg i thought they had a solid flywheel which didn't need to be replaced at all. any help with this would be great im in east sussex so if anybody knows of anyone please advise.

many thanks for your time.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Don't forget to introduce yourself in the new members section

The 1.8 petrol does have a solid flywheel so it shouldn't need changing unless it cracks or the ring gear fails. It's very unusual for a ring gear to fail at under 60K miles. I'v got a flywheel in my workshop at the moment that has a similar mileage which is showing only minor wear!!
The ring gear is available separately iirc but it does require an oven to heat it to the correct temperature for fitting.
I'm surprised the starter failed at such a low mileage tbh although anything is possible
Has it got a new starter on it now? Have you seen it? Did it make this noise before it was fitted? If the answer to the latter is no then has it have the correct starter fitted?
Over £700 for the work is expensive as the parts are around £200!!

Personally I think this guy is winding you up. The only view of the ring gear he has had is through the starter motor aperture. To get a good/full view of the ring gear he would have to remove the gear box.

Don't understand why he welded the ring gear. If there was a split in it the car would not have started as the ring gear would have just spun around the flywheel when the starter was engaged.

As Nodge, says you can buy a new ring gear. I changed one years ago on another car I owned at the time. The flywheel was put in the freezer over night then the ring gear was heated up with an oxy acetylene torch, worked a treat.