Freelander diesel

The missus wants to replace her Fiat with a LNDRVR but thinks my Disco 1

300tdi is a bit too big so she is wittering on about a freelander, she needs her own car for her job.

I never really have paid much attention to Freelanders, now I need some information. Has anyone got any advice, horror stories, general comments on ownership, what to look out for etc.

All information will be gladly absorbed, specifically regarding TD4 motor, can I also run it on rapeseed/derv mix like I do the 300tdi.

I am really not interested in a petrol as we travel quite a lot to Holland (missis is Dutch) and we tend to collect quite a bit of Belgian derv when we pass through.

Thanks in advance for contributions.

Regards NM

Reply to
NM
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I have an 01 TD4 which has covered 91k miles.

First problems outside of 'normal' wear and tear were;

  1. In tank fuel pump (about 75k)

  1. Under bonnet fuel pump (about 83k)

  2. Diff hanger bracket (about 87k)

  1. Crankcase breather unit (about 87k)

About 75% of parts on the TD4 are BMW (01 on) and item 4 is the only BMW part to fail but it appears Landover are just (07) catching up with the BMW service change routine for that part (bless their cotton socks).

I am not a tall person (5ft 9ins) and imo that is about the maximum height if you want a comfortable driving position ........ mind you that said the door arm rest is hopelessly out of place and their isn't any height adjustment on the seats.

Load capacity is very poor.

Fuel economy is good (36mpg) solo and it tows (1.5ton) well (fuel economy then about 25mpg) and even today you can fill the tank for little over £50.

Engine flexibility and overall performance is very good.

General servicing is pretty easy ....... but imo you do need a 3ton trolley jack.

No cambelt ...... a big plus ........ chain driven.

Some parts are real bastards to get at though (fuel filter springs to mind) but I guess this comes with having a vehicle which another engine and auxiliary parts was 'squeezed' into years after original design.

Blind spots (due to front windscreen bars) are large ....... so beware at T junctions.

Bits you have to 'hit' to blast the horn are much too small.

Electric window switches are very poorly located.

Nearly forgot .......... Speakers are crap.

Richard

Reply to
Richard

Buy the Diesel Not The Petrol otherwise good little Motor would Maybe Personal Lease with Repairs built in

Skinty

Reply to
skinty

I got as far as sitting in a Freelander (series 1 not a Freelander 2) but as my hair was brushing the head lining and the seat wouldn't go any lower didn't get any further. I'm 5'11", hit a decent dump and I'd 5'10"...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I've had a TD4 Freelander for 2 years/22K miles, and it's not as big a disappointment as I expected. More than adequate performance on road, and quite good off depending on the tyres -- the ones it had on it when I get it weren't the factory originals, and the previous owner had squeezed wrong width tyres onto the rims. It handled like a bowl of Brown Windsor until I replaced the rubber. Not easy to get a decent M+S tyre for the standard-fitment rims, but Yokohama do one called 'Geolander' which I've been happy with, although I suspect that they MAY increase the fuel consumption -- I've averaged 31.43 over the

22K miles, and most people seem to get around 35.

Beware of the lack of Low Range and permanent 4wd -- although there are no controls to engage 4wd, the transmission basically works primarily as front-wheel-drive, with the rear taking up the drive if the sensors detect an imbalance between front and rear. This means that sliding our henhouse on its runners (simply done with my old Lightweight) nearly burnt the Freelander clutch out, and put (front) wheelspin marks on our nice new concrete yard. This is a passenger- car-with-4-wheel-drive rather than a traditional working LR.

Weak points seem to be the door window winders, which are a triumph of ingenuity over durability. I've had to replace 2 of them, and they're only available as LR parts at =A370+ each. I've also had the terminal tabs break off the heater rear window as the cable trunking gets stiff over time and puts strain on them as the window goes up and down. (See a future issue of LRe magazine for a DIY repair -- that's if the editor prints the feature.)

That lowering rear window does have one very good plus point -- in really hot weather it's possible to drop ALL the windows and so get a convertible-with-a-roof. None of that throbbing pressure noise you get when you travel at speed with only the door windows open.

And a final thing -- no-one waves at you! After years with a Series

1, Lightweight and Classic RR, I definitely missed being greeted on the road as a fellow Solihull fan. In a Freelander you're just one of the crowd (albeit a crowd that helped to restore the company's finances). For a while I seriously thought about fitting a snorkel and a big cardboard-replica winch so that people would take me seriously!

GRAEME ALDOUS Yorkshire

Reply to
Teeafit

A previous shape X-trail Dci is a far better vehicle, both on road, off it, and in the reliability stakes!

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

Thank you all for the responses, much appreciated, looks like she's keeping my old disco after all, a couple of days worth of driving it seems to have removed the fear factor and in her mind it's shrunk to managable proportions. That means I'll just have to find myself another car, 300tdi defender (again) I suppose, life's a bitch :-).

Reply to
NM

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