nickcc

Not Freelanders as they're special

I use the black polish from the DIY outlets every few months or when when other types of polish has got on the black plastic.

If the vibration goes when you take it out of gear and the vehicle is still traveling at the same speed i would have thought it more likely to be flywheel, clutch or gearbox related, as the prop is still turning when out of gear the bearings would still be noisy if they were at fault.

Have you checked the intercooler hoses, common problem where they either split or become spongy and contaminated with oil, fuel filters should be changed every 60,000 miles.

Looking on Autotrader selling prices for your model are round about £1500 to £2300.

Rimmers sell the front A bars @ just under £300 or have a look on ebay.

Doubt if leaving the small vacuum pipe off would cause your problem as some people leave this pipe off to stop the EGR valve from operating (cheaper than fitting the EGR bypass). Find the small vacuum pipe and just plug the open end, if your problem is still present you may need some more help.

Sorry never changed one on a Freelander, or any other car for years (probably due to better antifreeze), if you can access it by removing other components then it should be easy enough to replace, if not then it will be the engine out. Have a look for the free of charge Rave download as this should show you how to.

Sounds like it could be a core plug which is intended to blow out if the coolant in the block freezes. Nowadays they rarely corrode as the corrosion inhibiter in the antifreeze prevents rusting. To renew either hammer in the centre and it should pop out or drill a hole and lever out. Clean up the block before fitting the new one and use a good sealant when fitting. Don't drill or knock in too far. Make sure that you use a 50% antifreeze mix even if there is no chance of freezing conditions or you will have insufficient anticorrosion chemicals in the engine coolant.

You could always drop the rear drive train off, two props and the VCU, and then it will make no difference what tyres you fit.

Pleased it worked out for you, nice to get feed back.

The ECU should sense the over fueling and trigger the EML. 2004 was the year that diesels become OBD 11 compliant so you may find that a cheapo reader/scanner will read and clear the fault code and turn off the EML (if it doesn't clear on its own after you have rectified the defect).

Intercooler hoses become contaminated with oil or rub through on engine bracket, check the hoses before paying out for a dealer scan. Black smoke is unburnt fuel and points to a restriction in the inlet system.

They can advise you on anything they like but it will not fail the MOT for the rear drive train missing. I would imagine that the tester was worried in case the previous owner was unaware that the props were missing as this can indicate the failure of the IRD or Diff. I've just removed my props and VCU as the car has done 103,000 miles with the original VCU and I constantly worry in case the rear transmission falls to pieces, I will be replacing though as soon as I decide where to buy the new (recon) VCU from.

The drive train, as long as it does not present a danger to the public (hanging off, warn u/j's etc),does not come within the scope of the UK MOT test, not sure about where you are though.

Just removed the prop and VCU off my 2005 TD4, mainly due to reading all the VCU related horror stories and convincing myself that the transmission is likely to fall to bits at any moment. I intend to replace the VCU with a recon unit from Bell engineering but would prefer to buy the complete unit (freelanderspares) but Bell do not supply the mountings or bearings and other ebay sellers use cheap Chinese bearings. Anyway back to the point, I don't see any reason to blank off the IRD output drive as at some later date you may wish to return the car to four wheel drive (off roading, snow or selling)and it's far quicker, and cheaper, to just replace the prop and VCU.

My 55 reg FL1 VIN No starts with 16A so not sure that 5A would be the last VIN No.

My discs and pads were changed when I bought my 2005 TD4 auto, a few months ago, by the dealer, turns out that the inner pads had been fitted in the outer pad position (larger leading edge on one of the pads) resulting in brake squeal, fitted the pads correctly and squeal now gone.

Unfortunately Land Rover are not alone as you are faced with similar charges for most new electronic keys. When I had to purchase a new Mercedes key it was dealer only and all the suggestions that keys could be coded, after buying off auction web sites, by the likes of shoe/key shops proved incorrect, the new key cost over £200 for my 2001 MB.

Fitted new rear drums and shoes a month or so ago for the same reason and also bought non genuine. I sprayed the drums with heat resistant black stove paint as I thought that using a paint that wasn't heat resistant could end up with the paint bubbling.

I used Unipart fully synthetic from The Range, about £15 for 5 litres, suitable for petrol or diesel. I found that if the car was facing downhill, either ramps on the rear or on my sloping drive, the suction method removed over 5 litres of oil, as the diptube is at the front the suction pipe will then remove most if not all the old oil.

The filter cap can be removed with an adjustable spanner in the upright position if you're careful (at the time I didn't have the correct socket so had to make do), bought the correct socket off ebay for about £7 so ready for next year. I also removed the oil through the diptube as I found having to remove the engine cover a right pain.

I get round about 30mpg from my 2005 TD4 auto and this is mostly journeys of no more than 5 miles and no M/way journeys (about 70 miles to nearest M/way). Fitted the EGR bypass and new crankcase filter also new rear shoes and drums as handbrake was sticking on. Used to get 25mpg on previous 200tdi Discovery and 14mpg on earlier V8 Range Rover so consider the mpg I get now far better than previous Land Rovers.

Well done, hope you have many years of trouble free motoring, at least you have a better chance now.

My Son in Law had a new Freelander (company car as he worked for LR/Ford) in 2004 with parking sensors, reversed into Daughters car hitting it with the spare wheel, needed a new bonnet. Seems that the sensors did not take into account the extra length due to the spare wheel, tow ball was no problem.