replacing front shocks ...... big job ?

OK I hear you groan..... I have been scouring the threads for an example of what to expect when changing the front shocks / suspension on my Freelander 1 but can’t find it..... anyone point me at an old thread ?
Having replaced the water pump, tensioner, belts, seals, distributor cap and leads, various other bits and bobs the car is running GREAT really smooth and purring like a kitten. I have given it a really good clean and wax-oiled everything that I can reach and a bit more. It’s tatty on the outside, grubby on the inside but the important bits are all looking and working great. Now..... back on track.... the knocking..... I’ve tried all the usual tests to identify the knocking but can’t replicate it and carful visual inspection has revealed nothing. I only drive on non public dirt / potholed roads and the knocking only happens when going through pot holes..... I am not loosing sleep over it but want to have a go at sorting it out. Someone up the road has a Freelander 1 of similar vintage and it’s going free for spares, I have driven it before and it did not knock ! I am thinking of switching over the front suspension to see if this cures the problem but want to know what’s involved before committing time to this. Any advice would be great. Thanks. Col

For about £300 you can get Delphi wishbones and drop links, snubber bushes, Meyle shocks and a pair of strut bearings. That should sort the lot I should think.

For about £300 I could buy a lot of building materials towards my house renovations.......... for the moment I am not looking at spending cash beyond what is necessary as this is not a priority, it’s been like this for years but having now fixed the car up to be mechanical sound this is just the next step on the wish list. I have access to a donor car (as long as I leave it in a state where it can be towed onto a scrap wagon) so am interested in swapping out some of the components to see if I can cure the knocking, from a process of visual elimination I believe it’s the something to do with the shocks and want to know what’s involved in swapping them over etc.

If your going to swap the whole struts, then it's a pretty easy job. You just need to make sure you're swapping like for like. For instance, you can't put front struts from a TD4 onto a 1.8 K, as the springs are to strong and it'll sit front high.

Nodge68 said:

You just need to make sure you're swapping like for like

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Same 1.8 k series so should be fine. I will look into it a bit more. Thanks

My knocking from the front end wasn't the usual drop links, it was simply the centre nut on the top bearing needed a quick tighten ! Worth a look.

andyfreelandy said:

My knocking from the front end wasn't the usual drop links, it was simply the centre nut on the top bearing needed a quick tighten ! Worth a look.

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I've come across that too. Also the top bearing can wear, which will also cause a knock.

andyfreelandy said:

centre nut on the top bearing needed a quick tighten

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Ok I have not worked on this cars suspension so I need to track down a diagram of what your talking about...... will get back when I find out what the top bearing is....

Think I’m on the right track....

Top of the strut accessed under bonnet. One is under the water header tank and the other under the fuse box - tis on a TD4 anyway. Follow front strut to top and you have the bearing !! It allows the strut to rotate when steering.

Yep - nut and allen key in the middle. Hold allen key, tighten nut.

Yeh great, love a little project that is not to difficult. I will have a look ASAP and then if nothing obvious I will strip out the ones from the donor car and swap them over and see if it makes a difference. Failing that I will swap the full struts over and then test again.... failing that I will live with the knocking..... maybe !

search for the lift kit fitting posts, may have some detail of shoks out/in process

Replacing struts is easy enough if you have a big breaker bar or a good rattle gun.
Three bolts at the top, two at the bottom and the drop link. The only issue might be getting the bottom two bolts out as they can seize.

Alibro said:

Replacing struts is easy enough if you have a big breaker bar or a good rattle gun.

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Good to hear, I had a look at the top bearing bolts and they were all secure so going to do the swap over in the next few weeks, under pressure to get some house renovations under control first.....