TD4 3 Door, Looking to buy, any common faults to check for?

I'm looking for a 2001+ Freelander TD4 for the missus this week. Any common problems I can look out for?

Obvious ones to fellow freelander owners.

Vcu coupling getting old/tight.
Rear diff mounts knocking
Make sure it has the same tyres on each axle
Electric windows all working and sunroof if fitted
The rear storage box in the boot floor make sure that is dry
IF 3dr have a look at the headlining inside to see if it has been leaking

freelander1 info for newbies :

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/freelander-everything-you-need-know-46437.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1620217-post9.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/noob-q-buying-214443.html

Click to expand...

Have a search around. Found this on the other thread about the same thing ...

Thanks chaps.

Still not really sure how I would begin to test the VCU issue..

Well i noticed mine was faulty when driving,
pretty tight on full lock in forward or reverse
started to scrub the tyres on tight turns

Although its still reasonably tight on full lock. Been told this is normal for permanent 4wd.

And they are good for around 70,000 miles on average
mine had 83,000 and was goosed

Not the end of the world though. Bell engineering sell reconditioned ones and its another bargaining point on the car sale.

Make sure it still has a prop shaft as many sellers/owners take them of for various drive train issues

Basic checks for a vcu-

1, it's there! Many people take them off if they are starting to get tight

2, it's not too tight in full lock. It will be a little tight but shouldn't hear the rear wheel scrubbing

3, get it on some wet grass or gravel and make sure you can't spin the front wheels.


Also check that the fish tank is dry, no clicking noises on full lock from the rear and it's got plenty of poke. When I was test driving different freelanders for my last purchase some were a lot faster than others. Blocked egr I should think
Also handy to know if the fuel pump has been done