Freelander - rear diff kaput at 56k miles
Discussion
My parents have the most recent Freelander model which they've owned from new and has done c.56,000 miles in it. I only know outline details but they've told me the rear diff has given up and needs replacing. Main dealer has quoted over £1,000 to replace it. I'm certainly no mechanic, so I've a few questions...
Has anyone here had any experience of a diff giving up so soon? Strikes me as being pretty poor - the car has had a pretty easy life, not been off-road more than a handful of times etc. A different LR dealer has told them the diff should last for around double the current mileage.
Unfortunately the warranty expired 6 months ago. However, the old man reckons LR should contribute some of the £ needed to fix it given it's something that shouldn't be going wrong at this stage in the car's life. As my experience of repairs and main dealers is almost zero, is this be a reasonable thing to ask/expect?
Has anyone here had any experience of a diff giving up so soon? Strikes me as being pretty poor - the car has had a pretty easy life, not been off-road more than a handful of times etc. A different LR dealer has told them the diff should last for around double the current mileage.
Unfortunately the warranty expired 6 months ago. However, the old man reckons LR should contribute some of the £ needed to fix it given it's something that shouldn't be going wrong at this stage in the car's life. As my experience of repairs and main dealers is almost zero, is this be a reasonable thing to ask/expect?
What age is it?
IIRC there was a change to the intermediate reduction drive (IRD) to eliminate this problem.
Are you sure it is the differential and not the viscous coupling unit (VCU) or IRD?
To be honest I thought that the idea of having the intermediate reduction drive to give different ratios front and rear to bias torque was a bad idea and I told a Land Rover engineer so when the Freelander was still "CB40" (and at the pilot build stage) BUT Land Rover know best and had carried out plenty of tests to validate the concept. Also I was told that the viscous coupling unit was able to handle any excess torque resulting from this odd arrangement.
IIRC there was a change to the intermediate reduction drive (IRD) to eliminate this problem.
Are you sure it is the differential and not the viscous coupling unit (VCU) or IRD?
To be honest I thought that the idea of having the intermediate reduction drive to give different ratios front and rear to bias torque was a bad idea and I told a Land Rover engineer so when the Freelander was still "CB40" (and at the pilot build stage) BUT Land Rover know best and had carried out plenty of tests to validate the concept. Also I was told that the viscous coupling unit was able to handle any excess torque resulting from this odd arrangement.
100SRV said:
What age is it?
IIRC there was a change to the intermediate reduction drive (IRD) to eliminate this problem.
Are you sure it is the differential and not the viscous coupling unit (VCU) or IRD?
To be honest I thought that the idea of having the intermediate reduction drive to give different ratios front and rear to bias torque was a bad idea and I told a Land Rover engineer so when the Freelander was still "CB40" (and at the pilot build stage) BUT Land Rover know best and had carried out plenty of tests to validate the concept. Also I was told that the viscous coupling unit was able to handle any excess torque resulting from this odd arrangement.
Not sure how old it is exactly but I can find out. At a rough guess, 2-3 years old. As for the actual problem, I have no idea what it is at present, all they've told me is that that the rear diff gone and needs replacing. IIRC there was a change to the intermediate reduction drive (IRD) to eliminate this problem.
Are you sure it is the differential and not the viscous coupling unit (VCU) or IRD?
To be honest I thought that the idea of having the intermediate reduction drive to give different ratios front and rear to bias torque was a bad idea and I told a Land Rover engineer so when the Freelander was still "CB40" (and at the pilot build stage) BUT Land Rover know best and had carried out plenty of tests to validate the concept. Also I was told that the viscous coupling unit was able to handle any excess torque resulting from this odd arrangement.
Thanks for the info, however I think you might have missed the bit where I said my mechanical knowledge is almost zero - you could replace "viscous coupling unit" with "strawberry trifle filanjybob" and it would make just as much sense to me!
ETA - it's 3 and a half years old, 57 plate.
Edited by mantis84 on Wednesday 20th July 12:03
Sounds like it's a Freelander 2, so no IRD or viscous coupling other than the Haldex unit bolted onto the front of the rear diff to engage / disengage the rear wheels.
56k does sound unusual for a diff failure - I'd be very disappointed if one failed even at double the mileage as mentioned - and it's not a common issue as far as I'm aware.
Assuming it's not as a result of dodgy servicing elsewhere (presumably it's "fill for life" oil anyway?) it'd be reasonable to ask for a contribution from the dealer I think.
Ruari
56k does sound unusual for a diff failure - I'd be very disappointed if one failed even at double the mileage as mentioned - and it's not a common issue as far as I'm aware.
Assuming it's not as a result of dodgy servicing elsewhere (presumably it's "fill for life" oil anyway?) it'd be reasonable to ask for a contribution from the dealer I think.
Ruari
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