new Freelander owner help!!

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J

johndavies

New Member
Posts
13
Hi I bought myself a TD4 a few months back since then i have had endless of problems, I decided to take it of roading a few weeks ago and got to the first ramp and all i got was wheelspin from the front wheels! i was baffled to why this was. After some investigation i discovered the ird unit which was installed was acttually a fake unit working as a 2 wheel drive belived to be bought from a Campany called Bell engineering? Is this even legal?

Ok so i bought a Reconditioned ird Unit and a Reconditiond VCU for £600 and now this problem has gone away and drives 100 times better.

now to the next Problem last night my wife was following me and said there is a hell of alot of smoke coming out the exhaust, (black smoke) Any ideas what this could be?

Any advise appreciated
 
John, Take a look at this thread:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freelander-2-wheel-drive-idr-conversion-115740.html

Did you buy the freelander from a dealer or private? May be worth getting some legal advice, maybe from the CAB or trading standards.

Its not as if the existing IRD and VCU were still on the vehicle and were broken, someone has deliberatly fitted the 'fake' IRD to make it look OK.

Personally, I think that Bell Engineering should be ashamed of themselves for selling this.

The only reason to sell it is to deceive buyers.

Steve
 
Yer smoke most likely a split Intercooler hose - there are 3 of them - relatively easy and cheap to replace


I'd be paying a visit to that seller :cool:
 
Thanks just took the cover on and my god im starting to really regret buying this car! Yes indeed it was the intercooler pipe. JOINED TOGETHER WITH DUCK TAPE!!

I have just spent 5 k on a bodged car!! please tell me im ot alone!!
 
John.... all may not be that bad.... if it is the turbo hose that is causing your problem then is that the car fixed? Or is there any other problems?

They are quite easy to work on and parts are quite cheap and with help from here most can be done yourself. They are good motors.... well, most of them :p
 
Pardec - third one is lower down under the short right angle hose attached to the EGR - it feeds the output from the turbo into the intercooler.
Mine looks different from the other two as it looks thicker and has a wrinkly outer - sort of like a flexible hose.
Looks a bit tougher than the other two but then it's carrying hot air straight from the turbo.

Taped up turbo hose sounds really sad!
Did nobody lift the bonnet and look around in there before John bought it?

Dead jammy if that's all that has been bodged if it's already got a 'Bell Specia'l IRD and the seller hid that one.
Check out tyres {lots on here about them}, rear diff and VCU {search for - tippex test}
Deferably need to check crankcase breather, oils, filters etc.
Assume the coolant is orange as it should be.
Do the HDC, TC and ABS lights come on with the ignition check and then go out (could have some bulbs missing to mask other problems?)

Have a good read up on the forum and check out everything you can - then sit back and enjoy the experience of Freelandering.
 
Last edited:
Now you have me very worried!! I do not get any lights on on ignition. no abs or tc. the hdc doesnt work! Now im starting to feel very stupid!!

I have also done a mot history check and the mileage seems to be lower now thank it used to be!!

I spoke to the previous owner and as you can imagine i wasnt so polite, she tells me she bought the car the way it is from a freelander specialist near Thetford forests?? Does anyone know of a dodgy dealer in this area?

I think maybe to contact the police? Or Trading standards? I feel very ripped off.

The car does actually drive great now, why would the bulbs been removed to hide these lights?

Any advice on which legal route to take would be appreciated. i really wish i saw this site before i bought a freelander!

Thanks in advance
 
the bulbs would be removed to hide the fact that there are faults with the abs and tc systems. get on to trading standards and consumer direct. you have been sold a 'crock of ****' search for it. theres some stuff in there that will help you.
 
one good thing is you have a td4 best of the range, depending on year it could have less problems. If you tell us where you are then one of us die hard td4 fanatics would be happy to have a look and give you some advice. At the moment we are running a td4 and disco and have had a few problems with both.
 
Thanks Its a 03 TD4 Es, I am In suffolk. Like i say it drives great now after the transmission problems. Would the fake ird be coursing the lights to come on which could explain why they have been taken out?
 
No the fake IRD wouldnt affect the three lights, affectionatly known on here as the three amigo's when they are lit up.

Do a search for 'three amigos', this is when TC, HDC and ABS lights all show up when the motor is running. Some causes for this are either cheap or free to fix. For instance, on occasion the connector on the HDC switch (by the gear stick) comes lose. Plugging that back in often fixes the three amigos.

Good luck!
 
First thing i would do is remove the instrument pack and replace any blown/missing bulbs then see which warning lights stay on after the ignition on bulb check.

Note the Abs light must come on for bulb check then extinguish or it will not pass an MOT.
 
Thanks all. i have tracked the car back to being bought as spairs or repair last year at a breakers in birmingham with countless problems.

I guess its been repaired cheaply and sold on to the previous owner.

Looks like i will have to chuck some money on it and have everything checked out! would anyone recommend a garage to do this? I dont mind driving a few miles for a specialist

Thanks for all your help
 
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