If HG is replaced would Timing Belt be changed also?

howardo said:

You may of kept it well maintained but the previous owner may not have, and the damage would have been done.

Keeping a check on the VCU is easy, if it needs replacing its an easy job to do, or run it in 2wd.

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Yup - perfectly correct - if yu consider FSH by Lancasters (stealers) and HGF "fixed" 12 months before I bought it, as not looked after.

If you wanna buy a 4wd SUV and only run it in 2WD then thats fine. personally I need a car that is reliable and doesnt need checking for major mechanical faults regularly as my daily drive. Toy at weekends is another matter, but as yu said - Hippoos aint that.

Well you will be glad to know i bought it
Looks imaculte, its a 98 Hardtop XEi with 83000 miles on the clock
New MOT
1 Years Warrenty and checked with the warrenty company it has 4x4 cover and Cat Cover aswell, does cover HG Failure
Its has the roof bars, the front nudge bar with spots, 17' wheels.
Only a few minor probs, sure more will follow. The minors are clock pixels a big shagged and the HDC switch must be buggered as the light dont come on when its selected (both lights come on for a second when ignition turned on)
HG and Timing belt was done by Landrover 3 months ago and documented, included new rad hoses etc.

very happy with it

ohh and as a newbie, whats a hippo

Good Mrogers. I hope yu have a goodun. Despite Howardos and my spats - there are good ones, and lets hope you have one. Go into it with yo eyes open and yu wont have any nasty surprises.

a hippo is another name for a freelander, gaylander, freebie, pileo****e, or wotever you normally callem. Personally i call **** hippos, Hippoos .

lol see how it got the name. i hope its a good one too, wife picked (I wanted a p38 rangy). She normally picks the good cars and normally go for ones with big engines and lots of problems

howardo said:

The freelander is the best selling 4x4 in the WORLD, fact.

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it may be the best selling, (i would like to see your data source) but that means bugger all ,the vw beetle is the best selling car ever made and that was made by a tyrant nazi leader..lol, having worked for many years on japanese SUV style vehicles i know which one i would go for..the hippo would not make it onto the top 5 list, the jap stuff has very few major problems take for example the old style rav4 they can go laning with just a tyre change, they keep going and dont break down 150k is easily acheived with no major component failure. the pajero pinin is same as is the range of suzukis the list goes on.. the hippo is exactly that... a cumbersome vehicle. oh btw if you go on certain tracks in the outback in australia you are only allowed to cross it if you are driving either a shogun a lancruiser or a trooper..the landy is not considered robust enough to cross it overheating being the major issue.
everyone has there own opinions and mine differ to yours i dont like hippos and you do. good luck to the fella with his new bus but the world would be very sad indeed if we couldnt debate the virtues of car ownership.Being gracious enough to accept another view other than ones own is a virtue.
oh and i drive a 600 quid disco 300 tdi for fun not cos its a good car but because it does the job i need it to.. i drive a family saloon everyday as well and that does a job i need it to..horses for courses.

Hey, steady on chaps, no need to bust a blood vessal over this. The trouble is with this forum, and may others I suspect is that people seek this place out when they have problems (I was no different in the begining). And like any other item that goes wrong, its gonna get slated.

Now the Hippo has it issues, fact. So do many other cars, for example, my Citroen Piccaso electrics are the biggest pain in the arse and its engine sounds like a sewing machine, but it does the job I ask of it so whats the issue?

My Hippo has had issues in its past, before I owned it (as I have now discovered). The rear subframe is welded to the floor pan and its on its second VCU and bearings. In the two years I've owned it I've changed a drive shaft, both front window regulators, rad welded the heater matrix, replaced a lower wishbone, the list goes on. I do it cus I like doing it and I still state that the Hippo is the best car I've ever driven, all things into consideration. Also I allow for the fact that its 9 years old and has done 100,000 miles.

I know someone who had a 1.8 and got rid of it after shelling out on a new HG. Is the K series prone to such things, yes. Does the additional work it has to do to propel a FL1 help this, probably not. Therefore 1.8 Hippos have HGF. But when they don't have HGF I'm sure there are many on here that say they are a good car. Would I buy one, No, but others have.

I have another mate who drives a Shogun. He thinks its great, it does what he wants of it. Great, no problem with that.

Personally, my needs in a car were needed to be met and I've chosen the LR FL1 and I'm happy with it!!

Now lets do what we're good at on here and makes sure that those with problems become happy with their FLs rather than stating that because they bought one they must be a dense ****, cus in my opinion they aint and thats not why I log on here every day.

mrogers said:

lol see how it got the name. i hope its a good one too, wife picked (I wanted a p38 rangy). She normally picks the good cars and normally go for ones with big engines and lots of problems

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you should have bought the rangy,imho that is.howardo will disagree with me,but thats normal anyway.

mad mechanic said:

oh btw if you go on certain tracks in the outback in australia you are only allowed to cross it if you are driving either a shogun a lancruiser or a trooper..the landy is not considered robust enough to cross it overheating being the major issue.

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Whilst you are asking for sources, i would like to see where you got that from

Ffs. How many times do i need to repeat this. Yes there are good ones, but the do have "issues". Buy one knowing the possible problems and there is no need to winge. Hgf is common on 1.8's but it aint difficult to fix and several things can be done to reduce that risk. If yu are happy to do those mods and fix the hgf then thats fine. If yu aint a spanner weilder and use the stealers for all you work, then unless yu gotta deep pocket and dont mind being without it then maybe it aint a car for you.

The Mad Hat Man said:

Ffs. How many times do i need to repeat this. Yes there are good ones, but the do have "issues". Buy one knowing the possible problems and there is no need to winge. Hgf is common on 1.8's but it aint difficult to fix and several things can be done to reduce that risk. If yu are happy to do those mods and fix the hgf then thats fine. If yu aint a spanner weilder and use the stealers for all you work, then unless yu gotta deep pocket and dont mind being without it then maybe it aint a car for you.

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Well put MHM, sums it up nicely.

bugger!

Mseries3 said:

Whilst you are asking for sources, i would like to see where you got that from

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In the late 90s i was part of a team in south yorks that prepared 5 landcruiser amazons for a charity round the world trip, they took pictures of the said signs and these were published in a magazine by toyota around 2000. they were also used for adverts for the Amazon in showrooms.

Lets face it if LR's flagship model the RR is a bag of $h¡TE what does that say about the rest of the fleet?

Yet I don't feel the need to spam the other forums telling them they've bought a bag of $h¡TE

If the company is so good, why is it now owned by TATA and not a UK corp company, says it all really.

As for my ickle 1.8 seeing RR vogues out the road, that will keep me entertained.

To the OP'er, drive on sir and enjoy it,

Or as they say in NI........keep her lit!

Yeah - but yu, NI know 1.8k series inside out and know how to wield a spanner or two - the hippo is designed fir a much less competant mechanic. I regularly come across drivers that think that the oil light is the "top up now" light and dont have a clue as to what oil to use, let alone where to put it. I maintain the hippoo int fir them unless they dont mind big bills. I recently had a customer who haddriven 20 miles ( in a hippo) with the oil light on to come and get "some oil", but she didnt even know the symbol refered to engine oil!!!
How do you respond to this......
" I am seriously considering buying a new Freelander but all of the magazine reviews mention poor reliability."??

I respond by saying the average mental age is 14 yrs old, the general public generally are ****ing stupid.

When you realise that you then quickly decide if you are either dealing with someone worthy of having a discussion or a ****ing moron.

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some people are, I would not buy/sell/trade a k series engined rover because they are dire
(I've repaired enough and seen tipped liners at 34k)

mad mechanic said:

oh btw if you go on certain tracks in the outback in australia you are only allowed to cross it if you are driving either a shogun a lancruiser or a trooper..the landy is not considered robust enough to cross it overheating being the major issue.

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Total bollox. The defender can handle anything, it is without a doubt the best 4x4 in the world. Only a moron would dispute its ruggedness and off road ability.
The outback is pretty much unpoliced due to its size and remoteness, so how can any vehicle be not allowed? You can drive what you like, its your own responsibility.

Spose it depends on what they classify as a Landy. If the vehical is maintained and is in good condition then there is little risk. I can only imagine there have been insidences involving Landys in the past and this has tanted the brand. Mind you, if it were a Depender then maybe the heat melted the rivets.......:bolt: