BUYING THIS 4*4 FREELANDER

kincaid

I'm looking to buy a small 4*4 jeep and looked at a 2002 landrover freelander commerical, its in very good condition both inside and out and drives great. 8 months test.
Its got big miles 189,000 but what are they like are they reliable and what are the main problems to look out for

thanks

101sean

A lot will tell you to avoid, especially the petrol but the BMW engined Td4 is OK, there are a lot of dogs out there though, check it actually has a rear propshaft! Make sure you do some turns on full lock on tarmac to check that the front wheels don't scrub or judder going forwards, also check the front tyres for strange wear patterns.

From a similar thread about 10 months ago -

The unreliable side is the transmission and that's usually down to owner ignorance. You must maintain matching tyres and not ignore uneven tyre wear or scrubbing. If that happens it means the VCU in the rear prop is failing, which is easy and not too expensive to replace. Ignore it as most do and you end up with two wheel drive and an expensive IRD to replace. Early ones were more prone to this, they altered the axle ratios on later ones.

kincaid

These diesel versions are all permanent 4 wheel drive then

thanks

101sean

Every Freelander 1 left the factory as permanent 4wd. Some owners remove the rear prop and it's VCU rather than pay £1000 for a replacement IRD (bolts on gearbox to send drive to the rear). I've even seen them for sale claiming the prop was removed as an economy measure :rolleyes:

kincaid

thats very expensive, its near the price of the vehicle what length is the prop shaft..

these do have hi and low

101sean

No High/Low. Five speed box with slightly lower 1st. It will have ABS, ETC and HDC (Hill Descent Control) to make up for the lack of low box. Like any Land Rover it is very capable off road, you just need to know the vehicles limits.

The rear prop is two part with VCU and two support bearings in the middle, hard to come by second hand.

http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=13

kincaid

thanks Sean, spoke to mechanic today and he says he gets some people calling in to get this prop shaft removed as a precaution before it starts to give trouble, these dont be off road much , he says these prop shafts eventually give bother and people take them off to prevent the damage but will then always get them installed back when selling the vehicle.

101sean

Sounds like he's being honest with you, the VCU is easy to replace but many owners don't want the bother or expense. You can even get a blanking plate for where it comes out the IRD!

Bearcat

Worse jeep I ever had, bought one for the mrs brand new when I had money in 98......the rover diesel version. Surprisingly the engine was an excellent piece of kit but everything else was pure muck. The electrics caused havoc on it and it broke our hearts with driveshaft issues, weeping seals.....I nearly gave it away in the end after 50k of troublesome motoring.

Besta luck, you'll need it.

kincaid

looked at another 2002 diesel commerical today with 177k miles,tested to June.
I took sean's advice and checked tyres for inner wear and prop shaft and were ok,
body is tidy but the T/C and srs airbag light was on Dash. the HDC light remained on too and found that one brake on back sticking and probably why the T/C maybe on.
I was not sure if all this was that serious or difficult to fix .

Bearcat

Bearcat wrote: »

....................the rover diesel version. Surprisingly the engine was an excellent piece of kit ............

...nothing surprising about that really, you'll struggle to find too much bad said about the L series

101sean

Walk away from that one, the ABS modulator probably has shuttle switch failure. May be fixable by replacing the switch but it means stripping the unit and you need a diagnostic tool to bleed it. Otherwise it's replacement time at a minimum of around £700 for the unit.

Same has gone on my 110, got the switch, haven't got round to fixing it :rolleyes:

kincaid

Sean's the hill descent light's on too, would not go off so not working it seems,,, needs couple tyres, not sure if these are chain or belt driven
anyway his best price €1350 so probably too dear with the miles etc..

thanks

101sean

The HDC light on is part of the same problem, it's the same as the three amigos (ABS, SRS, HDC) coming on in a Discovery 2, 99% of the time it's shuttle switch failure. LR will quote you around £1600 for a new modulator but it's the same unit as used in US Army Hummers so there's an official mod. A small electrical contact breaks inside so you butcher the switch, splice a wire into the loom and bypass the contact. Not for the faint hearted but it works.

TBH, one that needs fixing like that and needs tyres isn't worth more than the scrap value.

The Td4 engine has a chain.

kincaid

Thanks Sean for that advice,
Im leaving it was it is...

Ford4000

Out of curiosity why do you say you need a small jeep? I personally think any jeep without a low box is hopeless, do you tow a trailer often? Think you would be better going for a wee pajero or something, only know of 2 freelanders beside me and both were real horror stories, 1 of which was bought new by a guy and it now is lying in the corner of his yard covered in greenery, too much wrong with it to test or try to sell i think its dumped there 2 or 3 yrs now...
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2881381

kincaid

Thanks i do need it for towing a trailer and other few jobs , that shogun would be too expensive as would have to vrt it and then test it and tax would probably be €1100 plus.

Ford4000

But there no seats in the back and he says he uses it commercially??
Regardless it was onlt a suggestion for something along the lines of that wee yoke as u said u want a small jeep, i always thought freelanders as a kinda shopping trolley compared to defenders and discos;)

kincaid

yes mate i know and appreciate it, its a nice machine and a proper 4 x4 but probably have to pay the private tax on it anyway hence why i need something around the 2ltr, a vitara or something similar

thanks

kincaid

hi, spoke to the guy today that was selling this freelander and the problem with these dash lights being on was down to a foot brake switch which cost £25 and lights are all off now.
he said he has got receipt from dealers, easy fix if true.

O.A.P

I like landrovers Kincaid but walk away from that yoke. My brother had one of those a few years ago and he has aged 10 or 12 years doing his best to keep in on the road.(or trying to sell it)
Do not buy one with a problem because you can have your own problems for free.

Bearcat

Kincaid, older freelanders will break your heart.....you've been warned. What about an old defender if you just want something lug stuff around?

kincaid

hi, this guy was just trying to let me know its was an easy fix as i looked at this jeep weeks before and had the dash lights on then and told him it could take alot money to sort it and i wasnt going to risk it.

I did look at the defenders and these are a great jeep but any that was in my budget were either poor condition or had rotten cross members etc.

im looking at the discovery now but probably a bit more reliable than the freelander anyway

thanks

Bearcat

When your at the budget your at, your not going to get away Scott free re snags, but you want the cheap fixes not the electronic ones. Older discoverys especially the early ones are amazing work horses but like everything of that era suffer rot. In defense of the older defenders.....everything is replaceable.....get a clean chassis and you can tip away at the rest......I don't know if this is your thing though.