New Freelander and I'm loving it

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M

mediaseller

Member
Posts
61
Hi.

This is my first post on this forum and I took delivery of my very first Land Rover yesterday.

It's a 2002 Freelander TD4 GS automatic with 121,000 miles on the clock and it's in emaculate condition for the year. Full service history, 2 pervious owners and the last owner had it for 10 years.

I'm loviing it and it's silky smooth with only a few things on the snagging list.


  • Tailgate wiper motor not moving the full arc (struggling to make it).
  • Front passenger door locks but wont unlock via central locking.
  • Scratched tailgate glass.
  • Number plates had to be replaced because of age related corrosion.
  • Tailgate badge corroded so managed to get one off eBay for £13.
Other than that if anyone wants to give me the lowdown on typical issues I would be greatfull.


Cheers to all.


PC:)
 
I'm glad you called them 'snags' as they are no way serious enough to be called problems.
For your sticky lock may I suggest that you remove the door card and lubricate all the joints and pivots within the mechanism.
Welcome.
 
Hi Vincemcdonald.

Thanks for your reply.

I'll try that though it's fine going down. It's just on the way back up it's not working.

;)
 
Hi Littlewill.

Yep far be it for me to brag and spoil my luck I think so too.

I'd been looking for days before deciding between Freelander and Honda CRV and the Landy won heads down.

I was a bit cautious to start with when starting out because a friend bought the petrol version and quickly got rid of it when he learned that his model had the same crappy engine that the small MG Rover has.

We had one of those MG's with that same petrol engine and after about 8 months the head gasket blew so I fixed it and about 6 months later it blew again. Same chocolate mess in the header tank so we quickly got rid of it as the auto gearbox threw in it's lot and totally failed on my first day to a new job.

Having looked around I hear that this Landy of mine has the reliable BMW engin and auto gearbox and it certainly seems to be very smooth.

Bye for now.;)
 
Hi, welcome to LZ. You should have a look through the stickeys in the Freelander section for advice on what to look out for.

You've already realised the petrol engines are 'fragile'. The diesels, both Rover L Series and BMW TD4, are good engines that are pretty reliable.

As with all cars regular servicing is your best means of trying to keep everything in order - but with Freelander there are a couple of unique things that you MUST keep an eye on.

It isn't strictly 4WD, its AWD. There isn't a transfer box to distribute torque to front & back axles - if you know a bit about 4WD - it is similar to being in permanent diff-lock. If you know what that is, you will also know that it will destroy the transmission if you run it on the road. To stop this Freelander has a Viscous Coupling Unit that allows slippage - eg on corners and slight differences between tyres, but it tightens up with larger/faster slippage when the front wheels lose grip. You therefore need to ensure that all 4 tyres are the same make/model/spec and they are all regularly checked to be pumped to the same pressure. The VCU also has a tendancy to get tighter with age - so if you feel a braking effect when reversing on full lock, it is a sign that the VCU has stiffened up and needs replacing. You can also do a quick '1 wheel up' test periodically to get a finer knowledge of how healthy your VCU is. As I say - see the stickeys.

The 4WD works very well - on most surfaces 'stock' Freelander is more capable than other 'stock' Landies - but you don't get low-range and ground clearance is lower. Its a good system - but ignore the above warnings and it will cost you a small fortune repairing the transmission.
 
GrumpyGel said:
Hi, welcome to LZ. You should have a look through the stickeys in the Freelander section for advice on what to look out for.

You've already realised the petrol engines are 'fragile'. The diesels, both Rover L Series and BMW TD4, are good engines that are pretty reliable.

As with all cars regular servicing is your best means of trying to keep everything in order - but with Freelander there are a couple of unique things that you MUST keep an eye on.

It isn't strictly 4WD, its AWD. There isn't a transfer box to distribute torque to front & back axles - if you know a bit about 4WD - it is similar to being in permanent diff-lock. If you know what that is, you will also know that it will destroy the transmission if you run it on the road. To stop this Freelander has a Viscous Coupling Unit that allows slippage - eg on corners and slight differences between tyres, but it tightens up with larger/faster slippage when the front wheels lose grip. You therefore need to ensure that all 4 tyres are the same make/model/spec and they are all regularly checked to be pumped to the same pressure. The VCU also has a tendancy to get tighter with age - so if you feel a braking effect when reversing on full lock, it is a sign that the VCU has stiffened up and needs replacing. You can also do a quick '1 wheel up' test periodically to get a finer knowledge of how healthy your VCU is. As I say - see the stickeys.

The 4WD works very well - on most surfaces 'stock' Freelander is more capable than other 'stock' Landies - but you don't get low-range and ground clearance is lower. Its a good system - but ignore the above warnings and it will cost you a small fortune repairing the transmission.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the transmission GrumpyGel. I'll keep an eye on it.

Check out my post on door lock issues I've been dealing with.

Cheers Paul
 
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