Thread: Freelander - Fun to Work On - NOT

Well here I am on a cold Canberra day - removing my Freelander IRD (transfer case) and no doubt getting roids from the cold concrete floor.

Whoever designed these things should have been made to work on them - I need a young apprentice who is also a contorsionist - my arthritic joints are getting too old for this

Getting a good look at how these things are designed, made me wonder why Landrover went the front wheel drive, east west engine with a tagged on AWD system when there is clearly enough room to have made a convenional dual range small AWD with a north south engine - there is enough room for the engine to go North South and a gearbox/ transfer case system like a Suzuki Vitara - or even a smaller version of the bigger Landrovers would have fitted in. With this gear and the current traction control and hill descent, the hippo would have been a great 4WD instead of being a great softroader.

The Freelander as designed seems to be unnecessarily complex and would have been simpler to build, simpler to repair and far more reliable with a traditional layout. I don't think there is any other softroader with the east/west engine layout.

Just some thoughts while I am inside letting my roids thaw out!! 8O

Gazz

Originally posted by PhilipA

The more I see of the IRD and head gasket issue , the more I think there should be a class action against Land Rover. It is unbelievable in the 21st century that a company can sell a product with 100% failure at around 100,000KM.
Regards Philip A

The Koreans do better than land rover. Their cars just manage 80,000km before basically written off as "repairs unjustifiable" due to parts cost.

Comes down to expected vehicle life and all companies plan obsolescence. Average vehicle lease is 5 yrs, less to Goverment fleets. 5 yrs at average 20,000km/yr.... 100,000km. So by manufacturers doing this we have to keep buying new vehicles as the old "wear out". As with not just vehicles but everything, by making parts outrageously expensive gives us that gentle push to buy new than fix the old. We've become a "throw away" society.

That's why I believe manufacturers allow/design failures at 100,000km which is why I own old cars. They just keep going and were designed to do that whilst cheap to fix. :wink: