Tom.JTC
Active Member
The missus bought a Hippo. 
I am to say - very surprised at how much I like it. It's even got me second-guessing the 'Fender.
It's a 2001 TD4 commercial, seems to have been looked after well and runs really nicely. Got a few bits and pieces I've picked up on the last few days looking around it that I could do with some extra advice on.
1. Noticed a big knock/jerk when taking up drive into second gear if the change is not done super smoothly, also slightly present in 3rd I think. Immediately thought of rear-diff mounts and had a look today, centre mount seems to have given up being a mount. Main question is should I go for a standard replacement part or is it worth going for a polybush for more money? Landrover Freelander Rear Diff Centre Mount Bush in Polyurethane
2. Fob was dead when we got it, put new batteries in and seems to work fine but the drivers door does not respond to it. It tries, but won't lock (the lock tab on the inside shifts a tiny bit and a click is heard) and same for unlocking if manually locked. Have had the door to bits and got some oil into it and worked the mechanisms but had no joy, still just clicks. I'm probably going to buy another to swap it with and try and breathe some life into it so as to have a spare, but what I did come across was that the 3 torx bolts holding the lock in were extremely tight - actually bent the splines on the torx bit trying to undo them, and one is a bit weak where its been rounded slightly. Any tricks to get these undone or might it be a case of having to drill them out?
3. Rear window doesn't work. Button thinks its fully down, if you try to put it up the motor works but sounds like its got a lot of loose plastic floating around in it. Have worked out that the cable has snapped (as pointed to by the loose plastic part with a spring and cable sheath laying in the bottom of the door). My question on this one is how to remove it all? Haynes book of lies says lower glass down, undo regulators, remove glass - can't do this obviously and glass wont push down. Is the motor likely to be salvageable? It sounds awful. I thought it may be a case of cutting the remaining wire to allow regulators to drop, remove glass and strip everything out and rebuild it all with new bits.
4. Last thing I can think of is that the handbrake doesn't quite release fully - the lever springs back up a small amount, enough to keep the dash light lit unless you take the time to push and wiggle the lever so it finally stays off. Not so familiar with handbrake system on FL, what's the best thing to do for this?
Sorry for the long post I have taken a shine to this FL (I've driven it more then she has!) and want to get these little bits sorted.
I am to say - very surprised at how much I like it. It's even got me second-guessing the 'Fender.
It's a 2001 TD4 commercial, seems to have been looked after well and runs really nicely. Got a few bits and pieces I've picked up on the last few days looking around it that I could do with some extra advice on.
1. Noticed a big knock/jerk when taking up drive into second gear if the change is not done super smoothly, also slightly present in 3rd I think. Immediately thought of rear-diff mounts and had a look today, centre mount seems to have given up being a mount. Main question is should I go for a standard replacement part or is it worth going for a polybush for more money? Landrover Freelander Rear Diff Centre Mount Bush in Polyurethane
2. Fob was dead when we got it, put new batteries in and seems to work fine but the drivers door does not respond to it. It tries, but won't lock (the lock tab on the inside shifts a tiny bit and a click is heard) and same for unlocking if manually locked. Have had the door to bits and got some oil into it and worked the mechanisms but had no joy, still just clicks. I'm probably going to buy another to swap it with and try and breathe some life into it so as to have a spare, but what I did come across was that the 3 torx bolts holding the lock in were extremely tight - actually bent the splines on the torx bit trying to undo them, and one is a bit weak where its been rounded slightly. Any tricks to get these undone or might it be a case of having to drill them out?
3. Rear window doesn't work. Button thinks its fully down, if you try to put it up the motor works but sounds like its got a lot of loose plastic floating around in it. Have worked out that the cable has snapped (as pointed to by the loose plastic part with a spring and cable sheath laying in the bottom of the door). My question on this one is how to remove it all? Haynes book of lies says lower glass down, undo regulators, remove glass - can't do this obviously and glass wont push down. Is the motor likely to be salvageable? It sounds awful. I thought it may be a case of cutting the remaining wire to allow regulators to drop, remove glass and strip everything out and rebuild it all with new bits.
4. Last thing I can think of is that the handbrake doesn't quite release fully - the lever springs back up a small amount, enough to keep the dash light lit unless you take the time to push and wiggle the lever so it finally stays off. Not so familiar with handbrake system on FL, what's the best thing to do for this?
Sorry for the long post
I have taken a shine to this FL (I've driven it more then she has!) and want to get these little bits sorted. 
