Freelander 2 wobble/judder

Danger Steve said:

Ok, I’ve been out for a drive in the car today.

It’s seems like the judder starts at a much lower speed and just increases intensity as the car speeds up, or if the car has to struggle like going up hill. Very slight wheel vibration, but mostly the seat and car body shaking.

I’m wondering if it could still be the front driver side driveshaft? It’s now on its 2nd new shaft in the space of 12 months. First was bought from Britpart, the second from Rimmer Bros, neither was a genuine part. Went for the £130 option.

After I replaced the very first one the clunking came back but from what I remember there was no judder. This judder only seems to coincide with the second driveshaft. Could be coincidence!!??

Also the clunking is starting to come back now weirdly after I replaced the passenger side shaft for the 2nd time.. The clunking sounds like it’s from the drivers side now though.

Or is this all related to a Haldex or gearbox issue? And the driveshafts are fine? Maybe the clunking and juddering is something else? Or two separate issues?

Tearing my hair out now! I’ve ordered some Dr Tranny shudder fix which I should have tomorrow, if only to rule stuff out.

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Did this cure it and if not did you fix it? And if so how please? Having same issues x

sammybarber said:

Did this cure it and if not did you fix it? And if so how please? Having same issues x

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Got exactly the same problem with wobbling / shaking starting at 60km/h, but only under load, uphill or when accelerating.
Drive shafts front and rear exchanged, prop shaft exchanged, haldex unit exchanged (had other issues with worn out bearing). Test drive with removed prop shaft showed that the problem is coming from the front.
Wheel bearings seem to be ok, same for the tyres. Suspected motor bearings, but they also look ok

Any ideas what to check next?

Are you 100% sure the vibration is drive line related? A failing injector can cause a vibration that feels like it's from the drive line.
Simply throwing parts at a vehicle is a very poor and expensive way to diagnose an issue with a vehicle.

Nodge68 said:

Are you 100% sure the vibration is drive line related? A failing injector can cause a vibration that feels like it's from the drive line.
Simply throwing parts at a vehicle is a very poor and expensive way to diagnose an issue with a vehicle.

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totally agree with your conclusion, but if you have no idea where the cause of the problem is and rely on that the persons in the garage know what they do you end up in this "trial and error" and "process of eliminination" :-/

Meanwhile a young expert (very engaged, dedicated car technician with lots of practise, studying meanwile car technology) is looking for it he also has troubles to find the real cause, because it would require a lifting ramp / test bench where you could drive the car under load and have a look into it (best from beneath) to see the effect. Or technical stuff to have more motor control.

It obviously is a problem several LR2`s have, but I can`t find a real easy "how to get it fixed" manual because the troubles can come from several points (drive shafts, tyres, bearings, injectors, ...).

Okay, what has been done until now at my car ?

- everything in the back (frame, drive shafts, rods, etc.) in the back has been exchanged with the last haldex switch (bearing problem at Haldex, second time, may be chain reaction to vibrations from front). I told them to exchange everything simply because all was badly corroded.
- brakes have been reconditioned before MOT last year, front even needed new calipers (which will be checked now again for failures)
- at the front drive shaft right side has been just exchanged because of defective boot (and probably damaged joint)
- engine bearings look okay
- tyres are balanced and have same profile
- prop shaft is replaced (last guess from the garage I followed and paid - now no garages anymore, I`m out...)
- prop shaft is now removed to proof that the cause of the vibrations is definitely coming from the front of the car (I could kill this stupid garage owner that told me it would be the cause ...)

So yes, I throwed a lot of parts at the vehicle, but what chances do I have as stupid car owner ? Selling a faulty car is no option, no one would buy it ... or only with a nasty big discount.

Next steps we plan is :

- check calipers
- check injectors

lets see how far we get ...