New member, Buttonman...

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Buttonman

Member
Posts
34
Location
Lillesand Norway
Hello folks, my first time on a forum so most likely a bit clumsy at first. I suddenly became a Freelander 1 2003 owner late last year when a mate of mine turned up outside my workshop in his new Land Rover offering me his old one. His asking price was way under the normal for Norway so after a test drive and an inspection I agreed to buy as I needed a vehicle with more space for armchairs and small furniture than my veteran 82 Mitsubishi Colt. I could see that the front brakes needed a lot of tlc and the front suspension arms did too. During the winter I collected most of the parts I needed from LR Spares, Britpart, Craddocks, Eurodel etc. The VCU was a bit suspect so about a month ago I removed it and the propshafts and the car now drives a lot smoother and rolls a lot easier. To me it seemed that as it is in action perhaps only 1 or 2 % of the time and with its delicate nature it was a piece of redundant kit that even in the unpredictable 6 month winters here in the south of Norway I did not really need. Have driven FWD since 76 in all conditions here and don`t go looking for obstacle courses I retired the VCU to the garage.I knew nothing about the build of the Freelander and was pleased when I swa how solid it was and that the bodywork is galvanised which slows down a lot the inevitable iron oxide. I did wonder why the suspension and petrol tank cradle was not. Last year we had big problems with misting, a wet footwell and rear door leaks. I put 2 bottles of the equivalent of Radweld in the system after draining out about a litre of coolant to make room for it it made a big difference. It seams that the heater matrix has a design fault and many of them leak sending warm steam onto the windscreen and into the rest of the car. When the carpet in the LH footwell had dried the misting went away. However the rest of the car was very damp and I found that there was a pond in the tool well at the back. Somebody had tried to drill some holes in the floor without success so I pulled out the rear carpet, washed the mold off it and hung it to dry. In the meantime it had rained a lot and I could see that water was coming in through the rear door seals. As many of my customers own boats and come to me for help I thought that I could use a boat trick on a car. First I replaced the bottom RH seal onto its flange and used a dry suit seam repair adhesive to hold it in place (not Black Witch). I then cleaned the rubber seals in the bendy areas with white spirit. let it dry and spread on a mastic and used spit or washing up liquid to smooth it out so that it looked good. The part of the door that would butt against the mastic was given a liberal coating of silicon grease as a releasing agent. I waited 3 days to make sure it was cured, opened the door and there was a true negative mold of the door edge on the rubber. I did the same to the bottom right hand corner where I had glued the seal back in place. It seems to have worked even after our springtime deluges. I have a couple more projects in the pipeline so as I might have bored you enough for this morning I will say good night now and hope to call in again before too long.
 
welcome to landyzone, those freelanders are great cars but much maligned on here, Im not too sure about the wisdom of removing the VCU and prop though.

Col
 
welcome to landyzone, those freelanders are great cars but much maligned on here, Im not too sure about the wisdom of removing the VCU and prop though.

Col
Thanks for your comment. I did a lot of research about removing the props and VCU and I couldn`t find any technical reason against it. On the plus side if you get an unreparable puncture like I did it seems that you have to buy 4 new tyres instead of one in order to maintain the same rotational dia. on all 4 wheels. It is emphasised that all wheels should be the same dia. so that the drive train is not stressed which could result in an expensive failure somewhere. Also there is a lot less dead weight on the car. I did the usual tests on the VCU and it did seem to be on the way out so I decided to use my money on overhauling the front brakes and replacing the front suspension arms and bushes which is something I need to come back to soon.
 
Thanks for your comment. I did a lot of research about removing the props and VCU and I couldn`t find any technical reason against it. On the plus side if you get an unreparable puncture like I did it seems that you have to buy 4 new tyres instead of one in order to maintain the same rotational dia. on all 4 wheels. It is emphasised that all wheels should be the same dia. so that the drive train is not stressed which could result in an expensive failure somewhere. Also there is a lot less dead weight on the car. I did the usual tests on the VCU and it did seem to be on the way out so I decided to use my money on overhauling the front brakes and replacing the front suspension arms and bushes which is something I need to come back to soon.
I know what you mean about needing four tyres of equal diameter, although my thinking on this is at odds with the thinking of others. I've been told that removing the vcu causes the front wheels to slip much more easily on slippy surface and fast take offs. All I know for sure is that when I used my freelander on very icy hills, it behaved beautifully with the vcu attached, I doubt if any other 4x4 could have done better. I had doubts about the state of the vcu when I bought mine so I bit the bullet and had a recon one and new bearings fitted by Bell Engineering, it cost about £400.

Col
 
We have the advantage of being able to use studded tyres up here but it still pays in slippery, icy conditions to use the accelerator as if you have a raw egg between your foot and it. If we don`t use studded tyres then winter tyres of some sort are almost compulsary. Nobody in their right mind would use summer tyres once it starts to freeze in October, even earlier as you go further north, however there those who take chances and end up with a big bill and or even being prosecuted for negligence or worse. The previous owner had fitted some knobbly all year tyres but being used to studs I bought a set of those for last winter. Have driven a Space Wagon Diesel FWD several winters and that was pretty good when slippery.
 
If you understand the importance of having 4 of the same tyre on a Freelander rather than odd ones, then Shirley you would see the issue with having no drive to the rears at all? Is bit more than odd tyres causing stress
I think the rear seals were designed wrong it’s always a problem with them.

Welcome to LandyZone :)
 
IMG_20210504_184357~2.jpg
 
If you understand the importance of having 4 of the same tyre on a Freelander rather than odd ones, then Shirley you would see the issue with having no drive to the rears at all? Is bit more than odd tyres causing stress
I think the rear seals were designed wrong it’s always a problem with them.

Welcome to LandyZone :)
Thanks for your input. If you are talking about grip then I can see the problem of not having drive to the rear if you are going to drive in steep or slippery conditions but 99% of the time we are on bare asphalt unless we put ourselves on a surface with less friction. I am not an expert driver but have lived and driven in Norway since 1976 and until last year using FWD only. From October until end of May we use winter tyres with or without studs and they can cope with most conditions with or without 4WD. Driver skill is also very important. I am still learning about the mechanical and electrical problem the Freelander has and it would be interesting to know what the problem is with the rear seals.
 
They like to take the p*ss out of Freelander's on ere. Ignore them. Yer can't go wrong when buying a Freelander. There are some Freelander's which need more love than others, to keep them on the road.
 
They like to take the p*ss out of Freelander's on ere. Ignore them. Yer can't go wrong when buying a Freelander. There are some Freelander's which need more love than others, to keep them on the road.
Sounds a bit like relationships, some work, some need more attention and some are heavy going. I bought mine as a mode of transport with a bit more space inside, not to go thrashing it in rallies or quarries. It looks pretty good, is practical and not overburdened with under used bells and whistles like many cars.
 
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