Finished work early this afternoon so decided to crack on and get a few jobs done on the wifes new (to us) freelander. Swapped out the very gunked up EGR valve for a bypass unit with no dramas then repleced the crank case breather filter which looked like it hadnt been changed since the car was new!
Then came the part that has me scratching my head!

I was looking for the turbo breather filter to change it and couldnt find it anywhere. I then found the breather pipe but it was connected to a metal pipe (looked like a brake pipe) that ran down the back of the engine.
I got under the car to see where it went and to my surprise the metal pipe was connected to a rubber hose that appeared to be coming out of the top of the diff!!
It looks to me like the diff breather and the turbo breather are connected together in a closed circuit with no vent to atmosphere.

Has anyone ever seen this before or any reason why it would be done?

If not im going to pull them apart and refit the turbo breather filter.

Also is this the standard routing up the back of the engine for the diff breather?

Yes seen it before. It's been worked on by a Muppet.
The IRD breather should be open to the atmosphere at the downturn. The turbo filter just hangs loose down the back of the engine.

The engine will feel sluggish with the boost breather joined to the IRD breather.

Thanks for that Nodge
Have to remember its an IRD not diff (used to working on my own Jeep).

Although the freelander is in really good nick and has full service history id agree that its definatly been worked on by a muppet in the past. I also found the two rear bolts not tightenedd on the airbox.

Ill disconnect the breathers in the morning and put the filter back on the turbo line.
Which way should the flow arrow be on the filter (assume inwards towards the turbo rather than out to atmosphere?)

The wife also said it felt slow but id assumed it was because she was used to a 3ltr 200bhp Jeep but it sounds like this could be the reason why!

The IRD does contain the front diff. However it also has the take off for the rear and lowers the gear ratio slightly. Hence it's called the Intermediate Reduction Drive.

Arrow on the filter points inwards, although it's a service part, so probably doesn't actually matter that much. It's job is to stop particulates getting into the boost control solenoid and pipework.

The FL1 TD4 does feel sluggish by comparison to other vehicles. The TD4 is the economy engine choice, and so it's far from fast. If you want a fast FL1, the V6 is the one to get. Sadly that comes with a penalty at the fuel pump.

Thanks bud
Economy is good, just got rid of the wifes 2 ltr auto petrol Honda CRV cos it was worse than my 3ltr jeep on fuel so dont mind to much if its not tbat quick as long as its not as bad as the CRV on fuel!