Freelander 1 with the propshaft removed, front wheels spin freely?

Hello, everyone.
I just bought a Freelander (another one, if you saw my post from a few weeks ago) and it has the propshaft (including the VCU) removed. I am in the process of removing the propshaft from the other car with all the oil leaks and I just noticed something about the new one. (Note: the new one needs a propshaft in order to pass the inspection here in Australia)
I jacked up the front of the car to get to the bottom radiator hose and even though it is in park, the front wheels seem to spin freely. I feel like an idiot asking for confirmation but shouldn't the front wheels be locked when it is in park even without the propshaft?
I have to say that I bought the new one sight unseen for $1,000 via auction and it was towed to my house because it had a dead battery. It seemed to be in better condition than the other one that I have and it has started with a fresh battery but I haven't moved it yet.
Am I looking at more headaches with the transmission now?

GodzillaBoy said:

Hello, everyone.
I just bought a Freelander (another one, if you saw my post from a few weeks ago) and it has the propshaft (including the VCU) removed. I am in the process of removing the propshaft from the other car with all the oil leaks and I just noticed something about the new one. (Note: the new one needs a propshaft in order to pass the inspection here in Australia)
I jacked up the front of the car to get to the bottom radiator hose and even though it is in park, the front wheels seem to spin freely. I feel like an idiot asking for confirmation but shouldn't the front wheels be locked when it is in park even without the propshaft?
I have to say that I bought the new one sight unseen for $1,000 via auction and it was towed to my house because it had a dead battery. It seemed to be in better condition than the other one that I have and it has started with a fresh battery but I haven't moved it yet.
Am I looking at more headaches with the transmission now?

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lol, you do like a gamble.

Wonder how many you'll have to get before you can put a complete one together

Park locks the box. When you turned the front wheel, did the one on the other side turn in the opposite direction? Locking the box would should definitely stop both fronts turning in the same direction, but not necessarily in the opposite direction. The box drives the IRD, but that has a dif to distribute drive to the wheels.

GrumpyGel said:

lol, you do like a gamble.

Wonder how many you'll have to get before you can put a complete one together

Park locks the box. When you turned the front wheel, did the one on the other side turn in the opposite direction? Locking the box would should definitely stop both fronts turning in the same direction, but not necessarily in the opposite direction. The box drives the IRD, but that has a dif to distribute drive to the wheels.

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Yeah, just call me Kenny Rogers because I am the gambler. My wife asked couldn't I have just gotten a decent running one with the money that I have spent so far on two non-running ones. My response is - where's the fun in that?
Anyway, the front wheels turned in opposite directions when raised. So I am OK?
I was worried because when I had the front of the leaky one off the ground, I wasn't able to turn the wheels. But maybe that was because the propshaft was still connected?
I have a really good feeling about this new Freelander - he says like a complete gambling addict.

GodzillaBoy said:

Yeah, just call me Kenny Rogers because I am the gambler. My wife asked couldn't I have just gotten a decent running one with the money that I have spent so far on two non-running ones. My response is - where's the fun in that?
Anyway, the front wheels turned in opposite directions when raised. So I am OK?
I was worried because when I had the front of the leaky one off the ground, I wasn't able to turn the wheels. But maybe that was because the propshaft was still connected?
I have a really good feeling about this new Freelander - he says like a complete gambling addict.

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Might be wrong, but I don't think having the props connected would change the behavior. You may be remembering wrong - or had a sticky caliper?

Wimmens don't understand. Mrs Grumpy wonders why things appear on the section

GodzillaBoy said:

I was worried because when I had the front of the leaky one off the ground, I wasn't able to turn the wheels. But maybe that was because the propshaft was still connected?

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The wheels at the front or back will always turn in different directions, as there's a differential between them. If the propshaft can't rotate, the wheels must rotate in different directions.
If a wheel isn't turning, then either the other 3 are still on the ground, or a brake is sticking.

Don't worry about it, this sort of behaviour is normal

The parking pawl locks the gearbox, leaving the diff alone other than to lock out rotation of the pinion and thus the crown wheel of the diff.

Given it's only the pinion/crown wheel that are locked by the parking pawl, when the vehicle is in the air with its wheels off the ground, the two wheels can rotate freely, but only in opposite directions. They do this by just turning the small spider gears contained within the diff centre.

When the vehicle is on its feet, with the parking lock engaged, if the vehicle tries to roll, both wheels will turn in the same direction, which will turn the crown wheel, and the crown wheel tries to turn the pinion, but as the gearbox is locked by the parking pawl, it cannot turn, hence the vehicle cannot move.

If you were super worried about it, you could get your beautiful assistant to try turning one wheel while you turn the other, or simply put one wheel on the ground and try turning the other that is aloft, or put it back on its wheels and try to push the vehicle.