Freelander 1 Freelander no front wheel drive

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Tibimatt

Tibimatt

Member
Posts
13
Location
Switzerland
Dear all

I recently aquired a 1999 freelander 1.8 (non driving) as project, the seller seemed to think that the clutch had failed.

After getting it home and a little trouble shooting at the weekend we discovered the following.

1. The car drives but only at the rear wheels, this was confirmed by disconnecting the rear drive shaft, no drive at the front.
2. The gearbox and clutch seem to work fine, the gears all select without issue and no nasty noises, very quiet and smooth actually.
3. We then drain the IRD and gearbox to see what came out and the condition of the oil, actually nothing metallic came out and the oil was brown but not contaminated at all.
4. We then removed the fron LH drive shaft and this is when it got interesting, we could see the output shaft from the IDR was turning in the gearbox however and female spline to drive the LH drive shaft not. We also dicovered the spline moved freely and seemed not to be independent from the IRD spline.

Based on this my conclusion is, that the IDR is recieiving the drive from the gearbox and in turn outputing this drive correctly however the gearbox is failing to transmit the drive from the IRD to reach the left drive shaft.

Now, as I am no expert at this and before tearing out the gearbox can anyone help me with this fault, am I on the right track or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Can anyone add any light here, is the gearbox faulty?
 
I'm not exactly sure what you are saying regarding your description of the splines, however, I can see 3 possibilities as to why the rears would get drive but the fronts not. Either the splines driving the LH shaft are stripped or the diff has broken. The diff can fail due to the support bearing for the RH shaft failing usually due to a worn inner CV on the RH shaft. When it fails though it is often catastrophic leading the the IRD case shattering.

The final reason could be that a previous owner has deliberately removed a component (eg in the diff) to inhibit drive to the front wheels - maybe due to something being worn (eg that output support bearing). This is a common type mod to stop drive to the rears (by removing the crown gear), but there are all sorts of weird and wonderful stories go through here about what people have done to hack their cars to keep them on the road.
 
Aplogies for not making myself clear.
Please see the video link below, during its making the front of the car was jacked up, both front wheels removed, the LH drive shaft was removed. I was rotating the brake disc of the RH wheel and my son was observing and filming the LH side with the drive shaft missing. From the video you can see the drive output of the IRD rotating in the gearbox, my son was able to stop the rotation of the spline but not the output of the IRD.
Based on this info i am thinking that the LH spline shaft of the IRD is most probably worn and slipping however one thing that doesnt support that is the lack of debris in the oil of the drive, it looks clean.

What do you think?

https://nam01.safelinks.protection....YIbSCB8CuVcFVzPOuPW5Xdi/IMHiU=&reserved=0
 
Tibimatt said:
Based on this info i am thinking that the LH spline shaft of the IRD is most probably worn and slipping however one thing that doesnt support that is the lack of debris in the oil of the drive, it looks clean.
Click to expand...

It'll be the splined link tube through the gearbox that's failed.
 
The spline we think is stripled is a known point of failure but the % of failures is very low. It's repairable by changing parts.

When yer loose drive to the from wheels the VCU is "over worked" to move the FL1 forwards/backwards. If you repair the order then make sure you test the vcu with the owut one wheel up test.

Edited
 
Last edited:
For anyone having similar problems... The following will help them diagnose:

Hippo said:
With the engine oft, chock the rear wheels and put the handbrake on, disconnect the front prop from the IRD and:

With the auto in park (in gear for manuals) lift 1 front wheel and it won't turn. The IRD pinion won't turn when you turn the lifted front wheel. If you put the auto into neutral (neutral on manuals too) the lifted front wheel will now turn and so will the pinion if you turn the lifted front wheel.

If you put the lifted front wheel on the ground and lift the other front wheel the same will happen as above.

If you lift both front wheels and turn 1 the other will turn regardless of the auto being in neutral or park (neutral or in gear for manuals) in the opposite direction. The only difference is the pinion gear will turn if the gearbox is in neutral (doesn't matter if auto or manual). If you sharply turn or quickly slow down the wheel yer turning the pinion will turn more than the wheel yer turning. I assume it's due to the path of least resistance as the power escapes.

If lifting both front and rear wheels on the same side of the Freelander, with the prop/vcu connected, and the engine oft and the auto in park (in gear for manuals) the front wheel won't turn when you turn the rear wheel (assuming the vcu and rear diff work correctly as they should). The rear lifted wheel will only turn slightly which is down to the internal opposition of the vcu. If you do the same test with the auto in neutral (neutral for manuals too) the front wheel will turn in the same direction as the rear wheel.

Note: when I say won't turn, it will turn but only approx 1 inch circumference or a few degrees, as opposed to turning round fully. This is the movement between the gear teeth only.
Click to expand...
 
Tibimatt said:
Is this known issue, and is the gearbox repairable
Click to expand...

Yes it's a known problem.
It's not the gearbox, just a spline link that takes drive from the IRD, through the gearbox, to the LH driveshaft.
A replacement gearbox is your best bet. The parts to repair it are often difficult to find.
 
I thought someone who had the same fault previously found the bits to repair this. I could be thinking of a different problem or he got them from a donor gearbox.

Edit. It was for the auto not manwell option.
 
Last edited:
Update, IRD is out and I can confirm that the gearbox spline is stripped and the IRD is fine. I will replace the gear box and change the bearings/seals in the IRD.

Many thanks for your help
 
You will want to check the VCU. If it wasn't knackered before this spline breaking event, it probably is now if its been abused by driving as a RWD. It, or a tyre mismatch (combo?) may be why the splines went.
 
Dear all, does anyone have access to a repair or overhaul manual for the 1999 freelance IRD as I am considering doing a bearing/seal change whilst its out.
 
Tibimatt said:
Dear all, does anyone have access to a repair or overhaul manual for the 1999 freelance IRD as I am considering doing a bearing/seal change whilst its out.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need a manual as there's nothing complex about it. It's just gears, bearings and shafts.
Take it to pieces, noting which bearings go where and and how. Replace all the bearings and seals, then resemble in the reverse order it came apart. Seal the case with a quality flange sealer.
 
Next issue, whilst cleaning up the prop shaft on my 1999 1.8 freelander I can see that the viscous coupling has been replaced, however the issue is that i am fairly sure its for a V6 model as it doesnt have a damper fitted, or any facility to fit one. Can anyone offer any insight to this, am i right or wrong, can i leave it on?
 
Tibimatt said:
Next issue, whilst cleaning up the prop shaft on my 1999 1.8 freelander I can see that the viscous coupling has been replaced, however the issue is that i am fairly sure its for a V6 model as it doesnt have a damper fitted, or any facility to fit one. Can anyone offer any insight to this, am i right or wrong, can i leave it on?
Click to expand...
Don't trust it until you've tested it, they look new when their 12 years old. If you put one end in a vice and push a prop shaft on the other you should be able to turn it with a long bar pushed through the knuckle, it isn't easy to turn but it should move.
If you can't make it budge then don't refit it until it is refurbished. If you can but it is really hard to budge then be very wary of it and do the one wheel up test immediately it is fitted.
Don't worry about the damper as lots of people take them off when they fall apart.
 
Actually the guy i bought the car off told me it was replaced recently, I will however test it. But my question is, can a V6 VCU be fitted to a 4 cylinder vehicle?
 
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