A cheap 1.8 Freelander. Recipe for disaster?
Discussion
http://pistonheads.com/sales/1291681.htm
My Alfa 156 will soon be off to pastures new and I am looking for a cheap replacement. I am a big fan of VFM and right now it seems a ‘95 BMW 740 is a better proposition than a ‘95 Golf 1.4! So I am after something in the middle, and possibly left field. It happens that this Freelander is local, and ‘appears’ quite clean. My dad’s company had one new 12 year’s ago and that managed 35k before the head gasket went, fortunately it was under warranty.
So is this baby LR worth the risk, or is it a money pit in the making?
My Alfa 156 will soon be off to pastures new and I am looking for a cheap replacement. I am a big fan of VFM and right now it seems a ‘95 BMW 740 is a better proposition than a ‘95 Golf 1.4! So I am after something in the middle, and possibly left field. It happens that this Freelander is local, and ‘appears’ quite clean. My dad’s company had one new 12 year’s ago and that managed 35k before the head gasket went, fortunately it was under warranty.
So is this baby LR worth the risk, or is it a money pit in the making?
Hi,
Friend has one - loves it, yes it's a permenant 4x4 (think there was an option to make it not so) and so is less then frugal at the pumps but not bad - around 30mpg, she has a heavy foot though.
The tales of Headgasket failures are legend for this lump in cars such as the MG-F and the freelander. lots of the problems seem to be as a result of a poorly designed cooling system with the thermostat being located at the back of the engine under the inlet manifold So much so there is a modification kit available from landrover and a number of other suppliers to relocate the thermostat and improve the cooling system...
threads at landyzone.net go into excruciating detail... the thermostat is a bugger to get to but it;s well worth doing if you;re going to keep the car..
I quite liek driving it - oh the folding roof has got to be the worst designed roof ever! a total pita
Simes.
Friend has one - loves it, yes it's a permenant 4x4 (think there was an option to make it not so) and so is less then frugal at the pumps but not bad - around 30mpg, she has a heavy foot though.
The tales of Headgasket failures are legend for this lump in cars such as the MG-F and the freelander. lots of the problems seem to be as a result of a poorly designed cooling system with the thermostat being located at the back of the engine under the inlet manifold So much so there is a modification kit available from landrover and a number of other suppliers to relocate the thermostat and improve the cooling system...
threads at landyzone.net go into excruciating detail... the thermostat is a bugger to get to but it;s well worth doing if you;re going to keep the car..
I quite liek driving it - oh the folding roof has got to be the worst designed roof ever! a total pita
Simes.
I spoke to a local garage a while ago and they have now come to the conclusion that the head gasket will go on all these engines at some point, due to the make-up of the gasket itself. As it's now a common problem it is therefore relatively easy to fix, and the replacement gaskets are a better composition.
I don't believe that any of these have a folding roof - they are a remoovable section.
The permanent 4WD is done by viscous couplings so 4WD is automatically 'engaged' when required.
There's enough of these about to make is a viable proposition, and it's cheap enough to figure in a contingancy in case of breakdown or repairs.
I don't believe that any of these have a folding roof - they are a remoovable section.
The permanent 4WD is done by viscous couplings so 4WD is automatically 'engaged' when required.
There's enough of these about to make is a viable proposition, and it's cheap enough to figure in a contingancy in case of breakdown or repairs.
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