myzeneye

ok...this is how it went......... got it off in around 5 mins, stripped/cleaned and rebuilt in 10 mins and all put back on in another 5 mins or so.... !!!! seriously.... the kit worked a treat...you could physically see the worn contacts wich come out....it was really easy to remove the bits and replace the new at 10 quid for the kit no one should be spending 120 quid on a new starter motor... this is the one i used here : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LAND-ROVER-FRE...item4cf000c82a for fututre ref for anyone wanting to do this job... 1. take the battery terminals off... (use a 9v battery with a couple of wires soldered on it across the battery leads to maintain enough juice to keep radio codes and clock time etc.... 2. remove the black plastic air box and the black rubber 90' air hose above the bolts for the starter motor.. 3.crack off the two super tight bolts holding the motor on... and remove the pos power leads...one is on the same side as the starter motor as you look down when stood infront of the car, then move yourself round the wing and lean in over the battery...if you look down youl see the 2nd 15mm bolt head around two/three inches across to the right from the first one 4. remove the bolts and pull the motor out towards you and up and out.. strip and rebuild the starter following the instructions supplied in the overhaul kit... ( its only 3x 8mm bolts and your in !...remove the plunger and spring, remove and replace the worn contacts...) clean the unit up and replace in reverse order... simples... total cost £10 plus delivery for the kit... time taken to do... half an hour tops if your good.... when i put the battery terminals back on they didnt seem to tight up solid ,so a couple of "shims" made from electrical earth bonding clamps put in to tighten the contact to the battery did the job.... starts first flick of the key and im made up.... saved over a ton on parts and i dread to think what the labour would have been...

i need an exploded diagram of the starter motor on my td4... if any one can help...cheers

the vcu...the bain of my life............... i thought i had vcu issues on my freelander, put a new one on hardy spicer (?) i think, from the lr center...apparently hardy spicer (?) make the genuine ones for lr.... i put it on and also had the ird split and all the bearings renewed..the total cost with a service aswell was 800 quid! when i tested the new vc out it felt just as tight as the old one, maybe even a tad tighter... ??? so after a new vcu and overhauled ird .. the answer is "its suposed to feel this way...." the best advice i was given was forget about it and just accept that this is how its supposed to feel.... im still suspicious of the bugger but after renewing all the bits involved im convinced its normal to feel like the breaks are on when on full lock...

hi guys... i think the starter motor on my 05 plate td4 is on its way out... i was just pricing a lucas replacement on ebay and came across a listing for a repair kit ??? it says how the td4 starter is prone to failiure and can be easily repiared with a "plunger and contacts" kit... please have a look at the listing here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330444045631&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT if youve used one please let me know, or if its a load of kak let me know... other then that if you can suggest any places to buy a replacement please do... finally, i havent even looked under the bonnet to find the starter motor...any pointers at removing it etc would be greatly recieved, its been a while since i had a spanner in my hand..!! thanks matty

done deal...cheers graham... see folks if you never ask, youll never know !

pm sent buddy...

fitted some nice little team heko wind deflectors on the windows of our freelander last week, very good indeed, only £30 quid on ebay, looked nice on the car, work well for cutting out wind noise and were simple to fit... well, i guess with simple to fit comes simple to remove !!!! they were on the car one exactly one bleedin week before some low life thought they'd help themselves to them... you cant have nothing.

anyone got a bike carrier for a freelander gathering dust in their garage ?? if so and you wanna few quid for it let me know.....

job done with landyman lukes method... the manufacturersinstructions told me to turn the bolt as aposed to holding it still and turning a nut... no wonder the thing was spinning like a good'un.. cheers luke

brilliant luke..cheers for that

landymanluke... your gonna have to elaborate mate...hahaha...what am i doing with the small length of tube ? ive gotta feeling it will be spinning like a cathrine wheel and im not sure super glue will bond to well to the under seal in the sill and chassis... cheers guys..

guys im stuck..... i need some kind of fixing..? bought some chrome side bar jobbies for the freelander and had an attempt at fitting them today.... it didnt happen like the manufacturers instructions suggested.... the main problem was the fixings for the chassis, known as rivnuts... the chassis and inner sill on the car has holes already in it, but they were just holes,no captive nuts etc.... the instructions told me to enlarge the hole with an 11mm drill bit... that was easily done... next was to insert some peice of cak fitting called a "rivnut" or "nutsert"...... then using a rivnut tool (which cost a tenner and does not work at all) you insert an m8 bolt and tighten untill the rivnut colapses on itself forming a tight rivet with a thread in the middle... well, the rivnut tool failed to grip the rivnut in any way whatsoever, therefor it would just half colapse and then spin......with no way of keeping it still it seems impossible to tighten it down enough to make it collapse and for a tight solid fixing point.... so, i have got one in nice and tight, two in which are loose and one whole in the sill looking a bit ragged.... evilmad.gif the ones i have are m8... i have seen m10 ones on ebay, i was gonna drill out these failed attempts and start again with a more substantial rivnut but its been suggested to me that i wouldnt be able to get them to compress without a specialist tool ? so.... is there any other option.... i need a fixing of some kind..... both the sill and the chassis are hollow with no acces to the inner side for holding a spanner on a nut etc or anything... the metal is around 3.5mm thick... plaster board fixings seem the only option but obviously they just aint sturdy enough...largest i can find is m6........ welding some kind of nut in place and an option, i dont have access to any welding gear.... is there any way of me fixing a stud in ?? god this is doing my head clean in... anyone else done this mod and had the same problems...how did you sort it out ?

these vcus are a pain in the arse mate...and as said above, alot of misinfo etc reguarding vcu's... s just spent 800 quid due to vcu paranoia... tried tipex, breaker bars etc etc.. was convinced it was goosed due to the car being so tight when on full lock, like the breaks are on... spent 800 quid on vcu and ird bearing overhaul etc...got the car back and it felt exactly the same.... (hard lesson to learn i know...) in fact, if anything, i think the car feels even tighter when reversing on full lock now !!! apparently, " a charactoristic of any vehicle which uses a viscous coupling withing the drive train."

ok.. does anyone know is the multispoke alloys on the sport models have a name so i can search that way ? cant seem to find any on ebay etc....

i fancy havy some better looking alloys on my 05 plate td4....dont want anything rediculas and would still like them to be of use off road.... can anyone reccommend a decent alloy/tyres supplier on line.... also, if you have alloys on yours, please post a picture to show them off..hahaha... id even like just the bigger ones of a sport model if anyone knows of any going at a good price...?

just fitted them...didnt take long at all...5 mins tops...supplier said fronts dont need clips just the rears... no sticky tape in box just a couple of 1" strips per deflector....not much at all really... they seem a little slack, almost right but not super stuck/wedged....will leave windows up all night to aid bonding... they do make a slight scratching sound though as the window goes up and down.... will give them all a real good clean to morrow and hope this sorts it...would be a shame if the noise was something that i had to live with cos they do look factory fitted really...pretty good for the money to be fair.. if they aint stuck proper to morrow, ill remove them and get some seriously decent double sided sticky tape and clean the seals/rubbers more too.. dont wanna add any oils to them tho as i normally would for somthing like this.. or the tape deffo wont stick!

supplier has been in contact...seems you only fit the clips to the rear windows despite the diagram showing clips in front and rear.... doosh bags....

hi guys... has anyone else fitted some wind deflectors to their windows? before i get an ear bashing, i realise not everyone likes them...each to their own i guess....though id give them a go and see how they look... i ordered some "heko" ones from j&j automotive, off ebay, which came today... however...in the fitting guide it shows metal clips being inserted into the window seal channel, and shows two clips per window... i only receieved 4 clips ? the main set of instructions dont mention the metal clips at all, but an additions small pictorial instruction in the pack with the metal clips shows two clips per window being installed....??? if any one else has bought these or fitted them can you tell me weather im supposed to use the clips or not??? ive contacted the suppliers but they are german and their web site mostly written in german too? hahaha it appears that the plastic deflector has to be bent into the window which will obviously hold it in but it also says to leave the window wound up/closed for one hour after fitting to aid installation.... perhaps i just needs the clips on the back ones as the would slide/drop down cos there just straight but the front one comes down to near the side veiw mirror and i guess this may aid fitting/hold.... who knows? hahaha if you can offer any advise, thanks...

cheers mat.... im slowly coming round to the idea that this is the way the car drives, strange as it is, i guess ill learn to live with it.... feels all wrong to me though! hahaha took it off road this week end and give it quite a bit of stick.... it coped rather well and suprised me to be fair...i will be using it regular off road and it proved more than capable for the terrain ill be up againts......ok, its no 90, but still.... if the "tightness" is a charactoristic feeling of the car, does it result in going through back tyres like they're going out of fashion?

your right..... i do trust him and even though the ird bearings wer'nt in a terrible state i suppose sonner or later they would be... ive drove this new drive line in for a week or so now and im still convinced it seems very tight on full lock with a dipped clutch ? im listening when everyone says this is normal, including landrover, but it just does'nt seem right to me? its like the hand brake is at least half on ? the vehicle doesnt come to an abrupt halt or anything but it does stop itself if you try to coast with a dipped clutch... if this is right, let me know.. i wonder what kind of affect this strain has on fuel consumption ? allthough it seems fine in a straight line...... it must also have a serious affect on tyre wear... i understand the castlating effects of a duff vcu, would this continue with the tight feeling of my new drive train?

point taken... just cant help feeling i had a good transmission anyway....hahahahahha and please, dont even joke about more expensive repair bills.... i did this transmission stuff to try and avoid costly repair bills, but it went from being a few hundred quid on a vc to a whole lot more.... oh well, its done now and SHOULD help me towards trouble free motoring....

i had read up on forums such as this one.... most list the "slight breaking on reverse/full lock when you did the cltch" as a syptom of a gossed vc... not as normal.... i did the tipex test and didnt really see any major sign of movement between the dots..... i jacked it up and could not really turn the back wheel.... i didnt want to go to land rover as i was convinced they would just tell me it needed replacing anyhoo, or would charge me mega bucks just to test it...at the time, when i thought i would just be paying the bill for a new vc, i didnt want the added charge from lr... hindsight is a wonderfull thing mate.. when i got it back from all this work being done and it still felt the same, well i just felt sick......... 800 quid type sick..... maybe as a suggestion, one of the mods here could write a more conclusive sticky/guide to identifting the failiure of a vc and perhaps add to the fact that it is also a charactoristic of the freelander to feel tight and break itself on full lock when you dip the clutch ?? it just might help any other paranoid fools in the future..hahaha honestly, i think the info i found on various sites is conflicting....more of the threads should push the point that the feeling is normal for this car.... http://www.myfreelander.co.uk/Transmission/transprobs1.htm they say: Bulletin Number - 0001 Issue - 1 Date - 21.01.1998 Model - Freelander Affected Range - All vehicles Re-Issue Information - Problem -SLIGHT BRAKING EFFECT WHEN ON FULL LOCK When manoeuvering on full lock at low speed, slight resistance to rolling is felt in both forward and reverse directions. Cause Characteristics of the viscous coupling employed in the transmission which result in slight ‘wind up’ between front and rear wheels. Action Do not attempt to rectify this condition as it is a characteristic of the model. In the event of customer complaint, explain to the customer that there is no fault with the car and that this is a normal effect which is noticeable on vehicles which employ a viscous coupling in the ‘drive line’. this (above)was the ONLY sight i found (afterwards) that said it was normal and didnt bang on about tipex,putting bars through the prop and being able to turn it etc etc...other sights said these tests where a load of carp....... http://www.bellengineering.co.uk/5.html bell engeneering site even says " your Freelander feels "tight" or it appears the brakes are binding, especially when reversing on full lock, this means your existing VCU is past its servicable life and you should change it as soon as possible. A damaged VCU put massive strain on the rest of your transmission line, causing the IRD unit, rear diff and gearbox to wear at a hugely accelerated rate, and will cause a very costly failure of these parts." i got confused, i got paranoid and thought it may end up costing me alot of money... the irony of it is....it did ! hahahahahhahahahahah

bought a new casing from a breakers in the end...60 quid.........

guys........ need some help... i bought an 05 plate freelander in january... full landrover service history, low miles, one owner etc etc very tidy motor.... i read up a few bits to check reguarding any problems and preventative maintenance etc etc.. and got to thinking the viscous coupling was on its way out... when i reversed on full lock and dipped the clutch it felt like i had the hand brake half on.... tried the tipex method and it didnt seem to move much ?allthough it would happily drive round the asda car park in reverse figure of 8's on tick over alone with out stalling...also, jacked back wheel up and couldnt really turn it by hand without almost kacking my pants and bursting an eye ball.. or with a bar through the u/j on the prop (allthough i couldnt really get good purchase on the bar/uj with the tools i had available.. took it to a good freind of mine who owns a gearbox centre....told him the results of my testing and he said he'd renew the viscous coupling for me if i bought one... i got a service filters kit aswell and the plan was to give it the once over at the same time whilst it was up on a ramp... when we took the v-c off he took out the front part of the transfer box to examine the bearings....you guessed it, the bearings were on there way out too..."over wound" i believe...they seemed ever so slightly notchy..? i read up that ,when the viscous coupling is shot, it locks it in 4 wheel drive and then in turn over winds the transfer box or IRD unit, all the bearing collapse, kill the crown wheel etc then its MEGA bucks to put right........ we agreed, and my mate at the gearbox centre took off the IRD transfer box, split it open on the bench and reconditioned it all with new bearings etc.... rebuilt the ****** and finally installed the new viscous coupleing........... viscous coupling was from land rover (hardy spicer i think) (?) so... its had the ird overhauled which is as good as new, a new viscous coupling and bearings.... i got it back today and took it for a spin.... £800 later in v- coupling,bearings and other service bits and labour costs.... THE SAME ISSUE IS STILL THERE !!!!!!!!!!! breaking feeling on full lock....feeling "tight" etc now, i now know that the ird and viscous coupling are right, cos there new ! Land rover say its supossed to feel like this.....????? WHATS THE SCORE?????? aaaaaaaarggghgghh!!!! have i just had all that work done for no reason ? with genuine gear on as oposed to a "loose" pattern vc is it normal for it to feel tight in full lock ? other then this it motors/ runs beatifully.... really need some advice hear, if its supposed to feel like this, then ill just get on with it and perhaps try to ignore the fact there may have been feck all wrong with it in the first place...... if this is not really ideal and will inevitably end in a broken ird well then the problem could be somewhere else ?? what about the rear diff ? anything i should look at there ? its fine in a straight line just on full lock.... now im paranoid to death over it....................... dont know if its right or wrong, is bette now or was ever broke to start with...i didnt want to wait till it all broke in an expensive way but i may have jumped the gun........ IS YOU FREE LANDER TIGHT ON FULL LOCK REVERSE AND FORWARD ?

yeah he can probably sort it but if theres any runnin round for finding odd size plugs or taps etc, well then ill sort that for him to save him the hassle... yeah ive just been looking .... i think the original is 22mm dia 1.5 pitch thread....... if i tap it out to 5/8"bsp and get a new 5/8"bsp plug that should do it..... 5/8"bsp o.d is 22.9 mm.... trouble is, that'l only give me a thread depth of approx .9mm....bsp should really be around 1.9mm deep so..... its close....ish.... cant really go much bigger as its kinda rebated on in the casting of the case.... i dont know much about metric sizes (im old school im afraid) if the original is 22mm o.d, what would be the next easiest size tap and plug to get hold of ? 24mm ??? where would i get that from ????