Cheap Freelander TD4 - recipe for disaster?
Discussion
Since getting a dog last year it's become increasingly apparent that we need a bigger car. I have a TDI engined Corrado as a daily driver and my wife has a 330ci BMW. We decided that we would change out the BMW and get something a bit more dog and family friendly. My initial preference was a D5 V70, but this was decreed to be 'too big' and I was directed towards a Freelander.
My research turned up a few warnings about IRD and VCU problems, but I decided that if were to have a Freebie it would have to be a later model facelifted TD4, either manual or auto.
Afetr a couple of fruitless weeks on eBay I found one on Autotrader about 15 miles away and, to cut a long story short, I bought it at the weekend for £2,800.
Good points;
It's shiny - looks good from a few feet away!
Top HSE spec - leather, (rudimentary) sat nav and upgraded sounds
One owner from new
Full (mostly Land Rover main dealer) service history
Everything seems to work
Drives well, with no noises or rattles
VCU and IRD seem OK (but what do I know)
Matching set of Pirelli Scorpion M&S tyres
Cup holders everywhere
Bad points;
A few scuffs here and there, most of which I think will polish out (although this one won't...)
A boot full of water
Looks like someone has spilled a tin of emulsion in the boot
A duff battery (already changed)
On it's original clutch, so a potential big bill looming. The bite point seemed low when I first drove it, but seems OK now. Might need bleeding (or changing)
I've already had the rear carpet out and dried it, and the paint came out with a mixture of steam cleaning and pressure washing. There's still some paint on the remaining carpet in the car which I need to attack next, as well as a proper valet and full service.
Pleased with it so far though!
My research turned up a few warnings about IRD and VCU problems, but I decided that if were to have a Freebie it would have to be a later model facelifted TD4, either manual or auto.
Afetr a couple of fruitless weeks on eBay I found one on Autotrader about 15 miles away and, to cut a long story short, I bought it at the weekend for £2,800.
Good points;
It's shiny - looks good from a few feet away!
Top HSE spec - leather, (rudimentary) sat nav and upgraded sounds
One owner from new
Full (mostly Land Rover main dealer) service history
Everything seems to work
Drives well, with no noises or rattles
VCU and IRD seem OK (but what do I know)
Matching set of Pirelli Scorpion M&S tyres
Cup holders everywhere
Bad points;
A few scuffs here and there, most of which I think will polish out (although this one won't...)
A boot full of water
Looks like someone has spilled a tin of emulsion in the boot
A duff battery (already changed)
On it's original clutch, so a potential big bill looming. The bite point seemed low when I first drove it, but seems OK now. Might need bleeding (or changing
)I've already had the rear carpet out and dried it, and the paint came out with a mixture of steam cleaning and pressure washing. There's still some paint on the remaining carpet in the car which I need to attack next, as well as a proper valet and full service.
Pleased with it so far though!
smn159 said:
A boot full of water
sorry can't see the pic, but if this is in the cubby in the boot its a common problem with them, and in fact is caused by condensation brought on by the back box being under there, they get hot inside and as they cool the water condenses.my mate used to get it on his and he kept his in a garage so it wasn't rain getting in. he got it especially bad if he had run the car for a while when its parked in the garage.
his solution has been to drill some small holes in the lid (be careful of the carpet wrapping round the drill) and used some screw fasteners he got somewhere (sorry no idea where from) that finish the holes off. he doesn't get the condensation now.
Yes, it was in the cubby box in the boot. There was a fair bit of water in there, although the boot itself underneath was dry. My first thoughts were a slightly leaking rear door seal (suspect that the car had been pressure washed just before I went to look at it as well), but the rest of the carpet was dry so the condensation explanation does make sense.
Will see how it goes for a while before I spend £100 on a new seal then!
Will see how it goes for a while before I spend £100 on a new seal then!
Another couple of small successes - since changing the battery I had no radio as I didn't have the code. A trip into the local dealer furnished me with the code at no charge and we have sounds again!
Also, one of the remote fobs wasn't working. Managed to prise it open with a small screwdriver and pick up a replacement battery in Tesco's. No difference at first, but pointing at the dash and pressing unlock rapidly four or five times seemed to sync it up and it now works OK...
Also, one of the remote fobs wasn't working. Managed to prise it open with a small screwdriver and pick up a replacement battery in Tesco's. No difference at first, but pointing at the dash and pressing unlock rapidly four or five times seemed to sync it up and it now works OK...
Bit of an update - My wife (it's actually her car) drove down to Kent in it last week to see her Mum and came back saying that the clutch had got worse and it was a real struggle to get first or reverse gear. Fearing a massive bill I decided to try changing the clutch master cylinder first, since the slave is in the bellhousing anyway.
To cut a long story short, it was the easiest master cylinder that I've ever changed. the old one just unclipped from the pedal, the pipe upclipped from the one to the slave in the engine bay and the whole thing twisted out of the bulkhead. The new one came already filled with fluid, clipped together and sorted the problem, so we now have a full selection of gears to choose from again.
I then turned my attention to the VCU. Although I thought that it was OK, I had a nagging doubt that there was no evidence of it ever having been changed. My internet research suggested a lifespan of 70k miles and this one had over 160k on it
Plus the support bearings were shagged anyway (advisory at last MOT) so it would have to come off to do those.
Getting the old one off was easy - just undo the props front and rear and unbolt the bearing carriers and it all drops down - plus the car is still drivable in 2WD.
But - while I was underneath I found this;
It's the cradle that holds the fuel tank in place and (I now know) is another common fault. Was a discontinued part, now apparently reinstated but best part of £300 if you can find a new one. I eventually found one at a breakers for £70...
To cut a long story short, it was the easiest master cylinder that I've ever changed. the old one just unclipped from the pedal, the pipe upclipped from the one to the slave in the engine bay and the whole thing twisted out of the bulkhead. The new one came already filled with fluid, clipped together and sorted the problem, so we now have a full selection of gears to choose from again.
I then turned my attention to the VCU. Although I thought that it was OK, I had a nagging doubt that there was no evidence of it ever having been changed. My internet research suggested a lifespan of 70k miles and this one had over 160k on it
Plus the support bearings were shagged anyway (advisory at last MOT) so it would have to come off to do those.Getting the old one off was easy - just undo the props front and rear and unbolt the bearing carriers and it all drops down - plus the car is still drivable in 2WD.
But - while I was underneath I found this;
It's the cradle that holds the fuel tank in place and (I now know) is another common fault. Was a discontinued part, now apparently reinstated but best part of £300 if you can find a new one. I eventually found one at a breakers for £70...
Yeah, I hear what you're saying but it depends on your viewpoint. I bought well within my budget so I don't mind spending a few hundred quid on getting it up to scratch. The fueltank thing was unexpected but the VCU is a precaution. It hasn't failed but it does feel a little 'tight' so I want to change it before it causes any issues. View seems to be that these should be looked at as service items every 70k or so.
I knew that the clutch was suspect so priced that in to an extent - getting away with a master cylinder for £100 was a bonus.
I may start to feel differently if it becomes unreliable, but it's a 9 year old car that needs a bit doing to get it where I want it, so I 'm happy with it (so far!).
I knew that the clutch was suspect so priced that in to an extent - getting away with a master cylinder for £100 was a bonus.
I may start to feel differently if it becomes unreliable, but it's a 9 year old car that needs a bit doing to get it where I want it, so I 'm happy with it (so far!).
Been a while so I thought that I would do a quick update.
I've pretty much completed the list of issues and am now all set for winter.
I bought a reconditioned VCU from Bell Engineering, who seem highly regarded in Freebie circles. While the props were off I checked the UJs for play and took the opportunity to give them a quick coat of satin black.
The fuel tank cradle was more problematic. Land rover wanted over £300 and the one that I thought that I'd secured from a breaker fell through when it 'broke' while he was getting off of the car. I eventually found one locally that appeared useable, although it had pin holes in one side when I cleaned it up, so I ended up welding one side myself before etch priming and smothering it with Hammerite. There's a guy on Landy Zone looking at getting them remanufactured at a more sensible cost, but mine is OK for now.
These are a pain to fit as the exhaust has to be disconnected and the subframe dropped, so I paid a local specialist £110 to do it, as well as replace the VCU and props while he was under there.
In the meantime it's taken us down to the West Country, loaded with kids and luggage, for a long weekend and is returning around 40 mpg on average so I'm pleased with it.
But - I took it out the other night to pick the kids up and noticed that it was making a strange new noise - plus a fan was running somewhere for ages when it was switched off. It was too dark to investigate and I feared the worst, but a quick Google when I got home suggested that I'd discovered the fuel burning heater! Apparently this runs on diesel from the main tank when the temp drops below a certain level to warm the coolant up more quickly. An optional extra was a timer so you could use it to warm the car up before getting in it and even a remote control...
I think that I found its stubby exhaust pipe by the front wheel
I need to investigate this further... A remote control to warm the car up on winter mornings would be worth having I think!
I've pretty much completed the list of issues and am now all set for winter.
I bought a reconditioned VCU from Bell Engineering, who seem highly regarded in Freebie circles. While the props were off I checked the UJs for play and took the opportunity to give them a quick coat of satin black.
The fuel tank cradle was more problematic. Land rover wanted over £300
and the one that I thought that I'd secured from a breaker fell through when it 'broke' while he was getting off of the car. I eventually found one locally that appeared useable, although it had pin holes in one side when I cleaned it up, so I ended up welding one side myself before etch priming and smothering it with Hammerite. There's a guy on Landy Zone looking at getting them remanufactured at a more sensible cost, but mine is OK for now.These are a pain to fit as the exhaust has to be disconnected and the subframe dropped, so I paid a local specialist £110 to do it, as well as replace the VCU and props while he was under there.
In the meantime it's taken us down to the West Country, loaded with kids and luggage, for a long weekend and is returning around 40 mpg on average so I'm pleased with it.
But - I took it out the other night to pick the kids up and noticed that it was making a strange new noise - plus a fan was running somewhere for ages when it was switched off. It was too dark to investigate and I feared the worst, but a quick Google when I got home suggested that I'd discovered the fuel burning heater! Apparently this runs on diesel from the main tank when the temp drops below a certain level to warm the coolant up more quickly. An optional extra was a timer so you could use it to warm the car up before getting in it and even a remote control...
I think that I found its stubby exhaust pipe by the front wheel
I need to investigate this further... A remote control to warm the car up on winter mornings would be worth having I think!
kapiteinlangzaam said:
My XC90 has one of the remote heaters too.
I havent heard of a fully 'automatic' one, normally there will be a menu within the OBC to set times etc.
Im looking forward to not having a cold car come this winter
I've seen picturs of something that looks like a central heating controller in the car - apparntly they turn up on eBay from time to time so I have a search saved and ready to go. I did read on one of the forums about a guy who'd cobbled something together using parts from Screwfix and Maplins. It should be possible to fire up the heater and switch on the interior fan using the timer.I havent heard of a fully 'automatic' one, normally there will be a menu within the OBC to set times etc.
Im looking forward to not having a cold car come this winter
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