transmission failure

dont forget to change the diff mounts at the same time.

Ouch, that diff is shot! If its replaced you should be able to drive the car while fixing other bits. As others have said, I think you'd be prudent to swap out the VCU for a recon as well. I'd also be very wary of the IRD. It looks OK externally but if there was that much stress going through the rear diff, the IRD would have been struggling. As Nodge says - check the oil in the IRD, it will be pretty obvious when the oil comes out whether you need to worry. If it comes out looking like oil, you should be OK. If it comes out looking very grey (almost like liquid metal) then you're looking at a mix of your oil and ground down bearings - that's what I found with mine. Word of caution - losen the fill plug on the IRD before draining - use a tight fitting 6 sided socket as the bolts are very soft and tend to round. The fill plug on my diesel came off OK, but the one on my petrol just turned to mush.

The props and VCU are a cumbersome combo to remove (as you've probably found) and get back on - not difficult - just cumbersome. I find a trolly jack under the VCU helps lift, position and hold in place while you do the bolts up. Check the IRD oil before reinstalling them though - it'd be a shame to put it back together and immediately shred your crown/pinion gears when a replacement bearing in the pinion would have been all that was needed. If you put the props on without changing the VCU - do a 1 wheel up test before driving it just to make sure the VCU is not toast.

I don't know Fobbing. Lived in East London till age 7 in 72, then out to Waltham Abbey till 74 - then moved out of Essex. Lived in Dunedin NZ till 76, then Warlingham/Croydon/Sanderstead in Surrey/South London till 2003 before moving here. If I were to move back to the UK though, I think it'd be Essex I'd head to. Sounds like you've got a lovely place there.

There are a lot of older Freelanders out there running without the propshaft, probably for the same reason you're taking yours off now. I guess it's up to you whether it is worth putting it back to 4WD or not.

Hi.
Thanks Alibro, I've been here before though. It's my second hippo and the VCU failed on my last one so I went commando mode. Would like to aim to keep this one intact this time, but might have to work up to it in stages. I'll check out the IRD first and get a reconditioned VCU, but, I have got crappy tyres, so I might as well get some milage out of these this summer and get a new set. I've got a Sport, so I think they are a bit pricier and I don't want to go budget.

I remembered the surprise of the prop dropping on my last FL GrumpyGel. I was laying full length under it and caught it with my knees! So I was careful to get out of the way. I got the ends off and let the middle drop I am afraid. I'll have a good look at the IRD. I'm going to take my time and check everything thoroughly before I put the prop back on.

Yes, I'm liking Essex, but you know that our strip along the Thames is known as the arse-hole of Essex. We're nowhere as posh at those in the northern part. I think thats why I like it,everyone has their roots in London. Bugger, just started to rain again and the birds are out. Gotta go, thanks all. I'll let you know how I get on (and I'll put diff mounts on my shopping list , thanks MHM)

Laurence said:

Hi.
Thanks Alibro, I've been here before though. It's my second hippo and the VCU failed on my last one so I went commando mode. Would like to aim to keep this one intact this time, but might have to work up to it in stages. I'll check out the IRD first and get a reconditioned VCU, but, I have got crappy tyres, so I might as well get some milage out of these this summer and get a new set. I've got a Sport, so I think they are a bit pricier and I don't want to go budget.

Click to expand...

that worries me - yu DO KNOW that all 4 tyres must be matched make & model, newer on rear and no more than 5mm diff?

The Mad Hat Man said:

that worries me - yu DO KNOW that all 4 tyres must be matched make & model, newer on rear and no more than 5mm diff?

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I think the gist is to go mondo over the summer to get some use out of the current tyres - then back to 4WD with a decent set of new ones.

GrumpyGel said:

I think the gist is to go mondo over the summer to get some use out of the current tyres - then back to 4WD with a decent set of new ones.

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good idea

@mondo

ooooh..... its mondo mode! Why did I think it was comando mode . What a nube! My memory sucks!
Had a the car for 4 months and the fronts were getting to a point where they needed changing and I needed to get them done before I drove to bristol at Xmas. Tried to find someone to match the rears but they were some obscure budget brand. Just before Xmas I didn't have the money for a full set of smart tyres. I let a tyre fitter convince me that he had some that would do the job and they would be ok. I was at that point of thinking of using swmbo's car and sorting the tyres after Xmas but the fitter said these would be ok. So, stupid me let him put them on, AND on the front! So, I thought I would go mondo, give myself the summer to sort the prop and check the IRD and save for the tyres. Get some wear out of the ones I've got as well. Dont want to rush at it.

These are good tyres.
http://www.blackcircles.com/catalog...yres?&viewmanufacturer=michelin&tyre=28993560

Thank Nodge. I'll make a note... have you used them?
Found a 4x4 breaker near me...... http://www.gt4x4.com/
They have a diff for £100. I think I'll go and get it tomorrow. I asked him if I need to know about ratios. He told me FL1s no matter what model have the same diff. Is that true? I'm sure I've need sites that say you need the right ratio?
Thanks

I believe the diffs are all the same.

The IRDs for the V6 are different to the 4 cylinder engines.

The IRDs for the 4 cylinder petrol and diesel cars are the same - but the petrol 'may' have a damper bolted to it (depending on year presumably) and the ratios 'may' have changed slightly for the 2001 model year. So that's all clear then!

The VCUs are basically all the same, but the 4 cylinder engines have a damper that the 6 cylinder doesn't.

I believe this info is correct - might be worth waiting for a 2nd opinion though!

Nodge68 said:

These are good tyres.
http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/michelin/latitude-cross-terrain/235/50/R18/H/97/f?returnurl=/order/tyres?&viewmanufacturer=michelin&tyre=28993560

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Ouch, £123 each!
Maybe my crappy 15" wheels ain't so bad after all.

Expensive but worth every penny. They will do over 30K miles and grip in all conditions. They can be a little noisy at motorway speeds but otherwise they are really good tyres.

Thanks Grumpy, I'm sure you are probably right and someone will confirm.
I found those tyres for £110, so worth shopping around.
Thanks all

rear diffs on the freelander 1's are all the same as LR only list one for all. hope this helps

thanks, i'll go and get it this morning

Good luck with it.

Just an update and a few questions if that is ok. We've had a granddaughter stay for best part of the week. I was hoping to be up and running by Saturday. I'm off to see another granddaughter in Bristol, but I'll have to talk swmbo into letting me use her car. Dont want to rush it.

• Got the car rear on axle stands.
• Removed the back box (which was just hanging on one mounting bracket)
• Removed the wheels.
• Had a good nose around so I know what is what.

• The guide I am following (though I'm downloading a service guide later tonight) says after draining the oil from the diff to release the wheel members/stays. It talks about releasing the two that go across the car by removing the long stud/bolt on the hub. I tried and it seems well fixed into the rubber mounting bush. I'd swear that it is not straight. So I'm going to remove them from the other end where they are bolted to the frame.
• Next release the long stays that run forward from the wheel hub.
• Next is releasing the handbrake cable.
• Then drift the shafts from the diff. I'm a bit worried about this as there are seals and circlips to recover. I'm going to get new ones but without the LR tool I'm going to have to knock the shafts out...though thinking about it it does not matter if I leave bits behind in diff I guess.
• Then undo the mounts with the diff supported with a jack (I've ordered replacement mounts).
• A couple of bits I am not sure of. One guide I've looked at suggests that the frame is dropped 15mm by slackening the bolts to give space to remove the diff. A YouTube vid I saw the diff almost drops out without much fiddling. Another guide says rotate 90 degrees. I'm going to try without dropping the sub-frame.
• When I reinsert the shafts will I need an LR tool to seat the new oil seals, and, do the circlips just "click" into place?

Any thoughts would be gratefully received. Thank you.

The drive shafts are held into the diff with a C clip. These are there to stop the CV joint coming loose on there own. To remove the CV from the diff, a lever is needed. I use a large tyre lever between the diff case and CV. Sometimes a bolster chisel is needed to shift them but normally a stout lever does the trick.
The oil seals need to be fitted straight or they snag. I just tap them in with a hammer and flat piece of wood, but I've changed hundreds over the years.
If there's no evidence of leaking seals in the replacement diff, why change them? There's an old saying. If it's not broken, don't fix it.

Yeh, I've used large screw drivers to pop the driveshaft CVs out of the IRDs - I presume the setup is the same for the diff. Just be careful not to damage (dent) anything. It probably a bad idea, but when I put the driveshafts back in on my L Series, I used the same circlips.

Is there enough 'play/compression' in the rear driveshaft to allow it to be popped out with the diff and suspension strut in place? When popping them out of the IRD you have to remove the 2 bolts holding the hub to the strut - this allows the hub to be pulled away to extend the driveshaft and therefore allow it to compress enough to remove it from the IRD.