Freelander 1 Faulty parts

It really bugs me when you have an issue with a new part from a 'reputable' parts supplier. I bought a new coolant expansion tank and cap for my FL 1 1.8. I noticed after 8 months or so that I was loosing coolant and noticed a stain coming from the cap's thread. That new bottle has cracked! That part has a 12 month replacement warranty. I've been in contact with the supplier LRD and have had a very poor response to say the least. It will soon be three months since I first made contact!

LRD used to have a Face Book presence but I see that is no longer the case. I used that last time to get them to sort out their act re sending me the wrong radiator for my FL. Wish I could do that again as it drew a quick response and it was sorted in less than a week!

Doesn't look like you'll be using them again!

Its worth giving Canterbury Land Rover a call these days for parts. They shafted me 12 years ago with my Discovery and I never went back to them for years. Then I'd occasionally ring them for prices on parts - but they were quoting silly money. When I last serviced the Freelander though I checked up on prices, and while they were still more than UK, they were a lot cheaper than what I had been paying here in NZ.

I still wouldn't let them do work on my car, but they are worth a call for parts even if the bits you want are still silly money from them - can always go back to Rimmers

Having said that - I did get a coolant bottle cap from them for the Disco - and it was worse than the crap old one that came off! They did replace it though.

It's a sad thing, but there seems to be a huge variation on quality of pressure caps these days. I changed the bottle and cap on my TD4 SE when I bought it. I decided to test the cap and bottle before fitting them. The bottle and cap held 16 Psi without a problem although the bottle top plate does visibly balloon out at that pressure. This is why I believe they crack after what appears to be a short time, particularly on the hot running petrol engines. I can't complain about my bottle and cap however as I was able to find both as a kit for about £16 delivered!!. If they last 2 years, I'll be happy with them for that money.

Arghhh! It's happened again! Eventually I received a replacement expansion bottle, I selected a Bearmach 'brand' this time. Just doing the routine fortnightly fluid checks and there's stains running down the sides of the tank. [/ATTACH] You can see the cracking / crazing starting. June 2016 to Feb' 2018 - 18 months Like I said the original lasted 17 years!Rimmers look to have the lowest cost to replace with OEM & Freight - about £28.

It's ridiculous that an expansion cap and tank needs to be considered a service replacement item like an oil filter. For Christs sake, almost 50 years ago, we were able to put men on the moon and now nobody can make a decent plastic bottle, un-f*cking-believable.

Col

I would spend a little as possible on the replace Htr. You'll end up with the same quality anyway, so why waste the extra money on the same low quality part.
You could potentially swap the tank for one out of another vehicle. The VW Golf tank would probably fit, of the pipes are re-routed. VW tanks are very strong and the caps hold 18 Psi too.

Would the old Defender ones work any better seeing it just an expansion tank. For such a an issue with plastic maybe a metal version might suffice.

That's a pain in the neck! Its amazing that these stupid plastic bottles give people so much grief.

Has the fluid not overflowed to escape? Or is it the lack of pressure being held that is allowing the coolant to boil over?

I to was thinking along the lines of maybe its time to replace with something else. VW Golfs are not that common over here but maybe a wander around a breaker's yard might might find something suitable that could be used - even if you then have to check what PSI it holds and whether to get a new one of that type.

As long as the replacement tank holds more than 16 Psi, then pretty much any 2 pipe tank will work.

i brought a replacement for my wifes 1998 1800 and did not think no more about it as her original one had cracks all around but every time I came to check it , it had water around the screw thread in the cap and on the tank I blame it on this cap which is like a rachet type that you can not tighten up properly , then I brought an original cap went to put it on and it was too small obviously the hole where the cap goes was smaller when they were first made than now these that are made now are for the later freelanders, I have looked and looked but I can not find one that was originally fitted to the 1800 so we will have to put up with the leaking top.

Nodge68 said:

I would spend a little as possible on the replace Htr. You'll end up with the same quality anyway, so why waste the extra money on the same low quality part.
You could potentially swap the tank for one out of another vehicle. The VW Golf tank would probably fit, of the pipes are re-routed. VW tanks are very strong and the caps hold 18 Psi too.

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Yes I think you are right - view it as a service item and replace at 18 m'ths / 2 years. I read on LZ quite a while ago about the VW tank. Does any body have a VW part number for the tank?

Curiously enough I was on the Rimmer site pricing a replacement. OEM seeded the right choice: £29 incl VAT and another £4.60 for freight. But when I selected the cheapest option @ £22.25 incl' VAT and the freight was £6.60. I wonder why the freight is £2 more for the cheaper part?

GrumpyGel said:

That's a pain in the neck! Its amazing that these stupid plastic bottles give people so much grief.

Has the fluid not overflowed to escape? Or is it the lack of pressure being held that is allowing the coolant to boil over?

I to was thinking along the lines of maybe its time to replace with something else. VW Golfs are not that common over here but maybe a wander around a breaker's yard might might find something suitable that could be used - even if you then have to check what PSI it holds and whether to get a new one of that type.

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Hi Grumpy. I suspect it's the design. The original bottle was fairly spherical and I think the plastic material is thicker.

htr said:

Hi Grumpy. I suspect it's the design. The original bottle was fairly spherical and I think the plastic material is thicker.

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The original pre-2001 tank was smaller in capacity and a more robust design.
The tanks changed after 2001 to larger capacity weaker design that took a ratcheted cap. It's generally the later tanks that fail quickly, especially in the petrol variants. The cooler running diesel engine FL1 tanks last longer as there're not subject to high pressure like the petrols are.

Luckily in the UK, we can get a Bearmach tank and cap kit delivered for just £13.75. I'm happy to replace it every couple of years for that amount of money.

I had to replace an aftermarket tank on my V6 after a year (Cracks at the neck) This time I went with factory so i'll see how that makes out.
Another part I had a problem with was the link harness for the cam sensor. Brand new factory part was no good. Funny, I guess "Made in Egypt" isn't an indicator of quality like it was 2000 years ago

I replaced my cracking tank about a year ago with a LR part, which required the ‘new cap design’. Looking at it now no cracks. But there is always a trace of coolant around the cap. No matter how many times I clean it and tighten past the ratchet point. Need to dig out the receipt and see how good LR’s 2 year warranty is, as I do have to keep topping up the coolant.

I think all these parts are sh*t*. No matter who makes them.

Had my 2006 TD4 for over 5 years now and no issues with expansion tank.

Now I have said that, it will probably implode.