Looking to Buy a Turbo Diesel FreeLander! Help Please...

[Lennos]

Hello, Im new to Land Rovers and i only know real basic knowledge about cars.
So im looking to you guys for some help.

Im looking to buy a 1999 Land Rover FREELANDER DI (2.0 Turbo Diesel)
Its done 140,000 which isnt to bad for the year, I drove it and it drove very nice but could do with a wheel alignment. The rear tires will need to be replaced in about 5000ks (How much are they?)

Other than all that the car was great, does anyone know of common problems in the model? something i should check for?

Any help would be very appreciated...
Thanks
Sam

[101RRS]

Pre 2000 Diesel Freelanders are a good car with few faults except one. There is a difference in the front and rear diffs (as is for most awd cars) but Landrover put too much in. As a result the Viscous Coupling Unit (VCU) fails - usually somewhere around 140,000km. When this fails it also takes out the Intermediate Reduction Drive (IRD) (basically the transfer case). Both are very, very, very expensive.

The only fix for this is replacement of the IRD to a later version with better gearing.

Given the km on this car I would assume neither has happened and the VCU is likely to fail in the near future followed by the IRD some time later. When the VCU fails it locks solid and causes transmission windup and the weak link is the IRD.

It is not worth changing out a good IRD so you need to test the VCU regularly. see here http://www.aulro.com/afvb/freelander/82406-testing-freelander-vcu.html

If you find the VCU has failed then do not drive the car and get the VCU changed.

Do a search in this section there is also a lot of good stuff.

Also the timing belt and other belts have to be changed every 80,000 km so this will be due soon - is a little expensive as well.

The Di is the base spec model and did not come with a lot of things like alloy wheels, hill decent etc - however many were optioned up to XEDi specs - so just be aware of that.

Don't be put off by what I have said - the above information is simply being forearmed is forewarned. Do the VCU check as part of your maintenance routine and you should be OK.

Also - you mentioned tyres - a Freelander MUST have tyres of the same size and approximate wear on all wheels. If the rear tyres are down they have been on the front and have not been rotated properly. If the front tyres are worn a bit you may need to buy four new tyres not just two. You will need to rotate them every 10,000km - I do fronts to rears and vice versa but whatever suits you - just make sure all tyres wear at the same rates.

These are a great car - I bought mine at 160,000km had the VCU/IRD shortly after and fixed it and it has been great ever since - now done 260,00km and still drives like new but is starting to mark its territory.

Garry

PS only start threads on topics in one location only. In this case this section not the General chat - that stops duplication of replies.

[Lennos]

Thank you very much with your help
When you say that they are very vevy expensive to fix, how much are we talking?

[101RRS]

You would get a new VCU for about $1200 (much more at a dealer) and an IRD would be in the order of $2,000-$3000.

However places like TR Spares in Adelaide sell good second hand units considerably less.

Garry

[Lennos]

Wow.....
Thats crazy...
Ok im thinking now maybe a later year freelander, you seem to know your stuff, what year around the 2000 mark should i look for? and what one? the V6 or 2lt turbo? Im really all new to the land rover range...
Thanks again for all ya help

[101RRS]

I would not go the V6 but the TD4 would be the pick. The TD4 is also a 2 litre like the Di series diesel you looked at but is a more modern common rail engine. With the introduction of the TD4 the front diff ratio changed and the issue with the VCU seizing is no longer an issue - and as a result the IRD does not fail.

You were surprised at the costs of an IRD and VCU - well most other brands with VCUs like Subaru are more expensive and how many 4wds can you get a brand new transfer case for just over $2K.

Garry

[Lennos]

Is there anyreason on why you wouldn't go with the V6? and what about in the TD4 do they only come in 5speed?

I wasnt suprised because its landrover, i just didnt expect it to be up near the $2000 area...
Thanks again Garry

Sam

[101RRS]

There are issues with a V6 that has not been maintained well - plus it is a bit thirsty. Also the V6 was dropped while the TD4 continued on. Others can better comment on V6 issues.

The TD4 (a BMW engine) is a good reliable engine that has proved itself. Depending on what version you can they were available in both manual or auto and later in just auto.

Garry

[head]

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