Here's My Freelander Story

Ive bought a 1999 Di Station/W....Previous owner had been towing a horse box with 2 horses....
From my last thread it had a rear diff problem....Yeah it exploded & has been replaced:clap2:
Few bugs to iron out now

1/ Water in n/s/f footwell (tried rad-weld but not working )

2/ Bad rumble when driving im thinking VCU had new coupling bearings this year.

3/ Rear tailgate window dropped.

4/ Needs a "MASSIVE" clean inside...Her dog didnt hoover there dog hairs:lol:

5/ It has odd tyres...Can i ask can i upgrade from 15 to 16 inch wheels?

Thanks for looking

1, probably heater matrix. Does it smell sweet? is it coloured? normally its drips down from behind dash

2, try removing the prop and see if it goes away

3, Dropped meaning a couple of inches or dropped into the door never to be seen again?

4, Eastern europeans in abandoned petrol stations are your friends

There is no problem in swapping wheel size. As yours is an older freelander you dont have to worry about what wheels fit as long as they are freelander ones

When you say odd tyres do you mean odd sizes or makes? I take it you know about the newer tyre to the rear?

Hi Kizzeh....Yes i mean odd makes...the tyres are on steel rims but i dont know if i can upgrade to larger 16 inch aloys without any speed troubles?

I have removed the tailgate door trim & it has a cable broken....Ordered a new set today

As for the water in the footwell i dont see it dripping.

The rumble sounds like brakes binding....ird was recond a few years ago but im told they might not last long if its being towed a horse box ?

16" rims will have smaller sidewalls on the tyres thus having the same rolling radius give or take a few mm.

As for the water if it were me i would put my finger too the damp patch then lick your finger...Coolant will leave a sweet taste in your mouth. Rainwater wont. If its rainwater you better start looking for drips, take it through a car wash. If you know roughly where its coming from then chalk dust car locate it.
My car has a slight coolant leak into the passenger footwell. Its on my to-do list. My car has pinky red coolant and it leaves dried up drip marks on the black serrated tube at the bottom of the footwell. Although yours may well be different, you wont know untill you taste it!

Check your VCU. there are plenty of threads on here about how to test it and how it works. If you are unsure then ask. Basically it is instead of a centre diff and if it goes stiff then it can cause premature wear to the IRD and diff. You will notice it feeling tight round a corner.
Noises are often hard to diagnose the other side of a computer screen

Thanks again...Yes the rumble does almost go away when turning corners & when in reverse it does seem to tug a little

highvoltage said:

Thanks again...Yes the rumble does almost go away when turning corners & when in reverse it does seem to tug a little

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Get the prop off asap if I were you! Sounds like your VCU is on death's door! Have a read through this:
http://www.bellengineering.co.uk/5.html

Ok thank you....what damage will it do if i leave it on?

Thanks ive read the link....most helpful

highvoltage said:

Ok thank you....what damage will it do if i leave it on?

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Recon IRD - £600
Recond diff - £350
+ labour + oils etc

Replacement VCU - £250 with bearings (advisable)

Remove Prop as soon as possible. This will mean you are not putting unnessasary strain on these parts. If i were you, if you are thinking about getting some new wheels/ tyres anyways i would get a pair of rims of ebay, then buy 4 new tyres and then fit your new VCU. Expensive but worth it

:5biagree:

I've been saving for a few months to buy a set of nice all terrain tyres . Then I'll get my VCU sorted, no point before new tyres.

I was thinking about all terrains. Went greenlaneing in mine the other day to test my tyres out and was quite impressed for what they were. Got scorpions on and they held grip for alot longer than what i was expecting. Made me glad that i didnt get all terrains because for what i use them for, i would be better carefully picking my route instead of aiming for the biggest dirty puddle

Obviously it depends what you use yours for though. Horses for causes and all that. The worst off- tarmac i do is muddy fields and the odd muddy lane to get somewhere. If i were to want to go proper laneing i would have A/T

Yep it's all about what you want to use it for. I want to use mine for proper laning and moderate off-roading. So it's AT's for me .

If i remove the propshaft will i need a blanking plate for the IRD box?
or does it simply unbolt?

Thank you for looking

highvoltage said:

If i remove the propshaft will i need a blanking plate for the IRD box?
or does it simply unbolt?

Thank you for looking

Click to expand...

If you remove the rear prop (the one that goes from the VCU to rear diff) then it just unbolts. Loads of guides here and it's easy enough to do . tHE Front prop will still be in place so no need to blank off the IRD.

Will.

Ok Proshaft removed...on the hunt for a VCU....thank you for the help

highvoltage said:

Ok Proshaft removed...on the hunt for a VCU....thank you for the help

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Best VCU's out there Products - Bell Engineering .