Zero power when towing horse trailer?

mjrimmer said:

I didnt think the td4 was prone to hgf?.......have you checked the brakes are not sticking on yet?

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+1 .....feels like towing a trailer even without one on.....rear brakes got to be suspect, do a search o the topic and you'll see they aint the most reliable things in the world. You may have a lining parted company from a shoe or sumthi daft like that. Dont need a good garage for that, pop into tyre shop and they will check for free.

Believe it or not, but I was told that the rear brakes are not a service item and therefore not checked very often......

I had mine taken to bits and put back together and the handbrake adjusted. Made a huge difference to the handbrake and braking, but it wasn't dragging before, quite the opposite.

flanagaj said:

My Wife has just come back from the super market and said "the freelander feels like I am trying to tow a trailer even though I am not"

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essexpestcontrol said:

I did one of two things, I changed the air filter and put four new tires on, then drove the same route, and was hitting 95's over them inclines (no officer I wasn't speeding)

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Might be worth checking the tyre pressures, if they're inconsistent, the VCU will be locking up - it will give these symtoms and cause transmission damage. I presume you have the same tyres on the front and back of the car and they have reasonably the same wear? As a matter of interest, when your wife had the trouble moving the trailer, was she trying to move away in a straight line, or turn at the same time?

Well worth doing the "One Wheel Up Test" in the FAQ just to see if the VCU itself has failed and is locking up. The results though could also indicate that your brake(s) are binding - so probably worth checking both back wheels and if the test shows something's wrong to have a think before concluding the VCU is faulty. This test doesn't cost anything, but will take a bit of time.

If your wife was trying to pull away in a straight line, a faulty VCU would probably not have hindered it until you got some speed on, but may explain these general lack of performance issues.

A clogged air filter will sap power as well - and cause your diesel engine to smoke, although in my experience with the L Series, this was more black smoke. It is though a quick/cheap thing to try that will give you an immediate answer if it was the problem.

flanagaj said:

Hi. The pony weighs 350kg, but there is also the trailer weight of 1000kg as well. SO the total towing weight is 1350kg

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I supose you are getting towards the limit of what you'd want to tow frequently with a Freelander - especially if its not always on tarmac. It should be fine though.

flanagaj said:

We have never been able to find anyone who I think is any good. Maybe it is me being a tight %$£", but they all seem to be expensive and can never give me a definite answer what the problem is.

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Feel for you. I know what you mean - its why I started to maintain our cars myself.

Just out of interest, is it even legal

Unless its a single pony trailer the MAM on most doubles is around 2600Kg

suew said:

Just out of interest, is it even legal

Unless its a single pony trailer the MAM on most doubles is around 2600Kg

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Wouldn't worry, doesn't sound like it will be going very far anyway!

ZDomZ said:

If it is gutless when it isn't towing there is another problem.

If it needed loads of revs I would suspect the clutch is suffering. But if by reversing and then pulling away that would indicate a brake problem. Could be on either the trailer or the brakes on the hippo.

Take it for a drive solo - see how it performs.
Check for excessive heat from the brakes, and check for smells from brakes or engine(clutch)

Does it sound normal...

If all is good try towing the empty horse box..... And check brake temps etc.

Let us know anything that is out of the ordinary in as much detail as you can and we might be able to help more.

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Have you checked for heat and smell yet?

Turboman said:

Wouldn't worry, doesn't sound like it will be going very far anyway!

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:hysterically_laughi:hysterically_laughi

What you doing in the Freelander bit, getting revenge on Hippo

suew said:

What you doing in the Freelander bit, getting revenge on Hippo

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Originally just trying to help the guy, I did say I didn't know nothing about his motor. Hippo is cool, I don't take the **** out of the freelanderers, they have enough problems to deal with anyway

Seems likely the problem is his missus driving technique anyway, and that is a tough one to deal with except by murder or divorce!