CJ1

The bill is now about £800, The skimming cost £55. which is part of the very large bill, But today I got a proper answer for when my Freelander will be ready, and the answer was by the end of Monday, however this does not take into account the MOT test which I am hoping will be Tuesday, but have got the van which is killing me to drive but keeping me semi mobile until I have the Freelander fully back on the road. I asked the garage about the road noise and the minor vibration, and got told that on this occasion that the most likely cause is the engine when the head gasket was gone. Hopefully this will be the case. But I know all the parts that have been replaced and know that anything else that is possible to go wrong are now only minor cheapish items. The garage are fitting the Thermostat relocation kit, uprated oil rail and the uprated expansion tank, but I after lots of reading and thinking I have not had the jiggle valve removed. I inspected the jiggle valve before the head went off for skimming and it is moving freely. The garage is also flushing the engine out to make sure that all the carp is out of the system and advised me that in about 1000 miles it is worth changing the oil and filter again. They quoted me £30 including the filter which I think is good, but may do this myself. Admittedly I am hating driving the van and really missing driving a Freelander and really can't wait to get it home.

I will investigate this as soon as I get the Freelander back. Thanks

No I am not helping out lol, just keeping a very close eye on the work as I am interested in how it is all done. And I didn't plan on using used hoses, I made the wrong assumption that the kit I bought was bought and not used, but as it turns out, the person I bought the kit from also bought it second hand. But the head is off now and got to taken to the skimming company just across the river from my house but about 3 mile drive lol. And the garage are hoping to have it back late this afternoon. But I am stuck with the Van now until next week as the car wont be finished until Monday at the latest and the repair costs have jumped from £400 plus skimming, to close to a shocking £800! So far, and if the rad needs doing I will need to pay for that.

It reverses freely. As soon as it is MOT'd, TAXED and on the road I will have a look at the VCU.

Not been a great day at the workshop today as found most of the coolant system pipes were thick half clogged with SOLID what use to be gunk, The radiator is good on both sides on the outside so the garage is cleaning it out properly, and the relocation kit that came today turned out to be seized, used and from a Freelander that blew its head gasket, and the pipes were only partially ok, so got a refund and brand new parts, the dizzy cap was slightly melted and badly worn inside where the rota arm was making contact with it, So now the list has grown quite a bit, but I was shown all the parts before I agreed to anything, and the parts bill grew by over £150! Now I really have NO SPARE CASH, so this beast better pass its MOT. The car has no resistance when reversing on full lock or going forward with full lock on, The 17" Tyres look ok, but can't really tell as the workshop isn't well lit where the wheels are.

I am not doing myself, I am paying a garage to do the work.

How can I test the VCU? Is there a way of doing it without the car running or driving as it is now not going to run until the head gasket has all been put back together lol. I have to admit I had to look up castellated, (I am Blonde) lol. I will try and see if the wheels aren't properly round, But I did have to do an emergency stop when I had an accident in it 2 days after I got it where a security gate came through the windscreen. I know all the tyres are the same brand and probably budget tyres too.

Really daft question I know, but where is the oil rail located on the engine? Is it exposed when the head is removed or is there further work involved? I have the new oil rail sitting next to me now and am waiting for the thermostat kit to arrive, then I will be heading down to the workshop to assist where I can in getting the head properly stripped down. Cheers.

Thanks, That is something new I have learnt today lol. I can't do anything with the temp gauge now is no longer got that Freelander as I sold it to fund repairs on my Black Freelander.

From what I have learnt, the BEST option is to buy a Freelander as spares or repairs with the head gasket gone, but only if it doesn't overheat and then get all the upgrades done yourself! This is exactly what I am doing. I know my engine has done 85k miles without blowing a head gasket or any other major problems, I have known the 4x4 for 4 and a half years and owned for less than a month lol, After lots of hunting and scrounging I have managed to get the 3 upgrades excluding the head gasket for £144 delivered, but am paying £400 parts and labour charges for all involved with the head gasket replacement and all associated parts, and also approximately £50 for the head to be skimmed. I know the total is just shy of £700 including the cost of the MOT test and 6 months tax, I have a good spec millennium edition all repaired for under £1200. I paid £300 for the 2000 1.8 k series Freelander with Full Service History of which most is Land Rover Dealer and Specialists.

I don't understand why people say that the 1.8 is under powered as I have found all 3 Freelanders I have had and the 1 I now have more than powerfull enough for me, I don't floor it everywhere and don't do high speed everywhere but found it shifted when I need it to and cruises nicely. I knew about the Head Gasket, VCU and IRD issues before I bought my 3rd Freelander, and bought the my current Freelander as spares or repair with Head Gasket gone, but only bought it as it was off a good friend of mine who I have been trying to get the Freelander off of for 4 years lol. I have also read posts about people say how they uncomfortable and don't handle the road well. I totally disagree, only issue I came across was after being in a normal car for a few years I came to a corner too fast on my first day with the Freelander bringing it home and found myself plastered on the drivers door and window, learnt my lesson after that lol, but so comfortable, take all the bumps in the roads round my way which are really bad, even been over cobble stones and hardly feel a thing. I didn't want a petrol one initially and gave up hunting for a Diesel when about 3 days after I had given up my friend text me to say hers had failed its MOT. I got my Freelander with FSH, 85k Miles, 3 owners, MOT Failure down to Head Gasket making it fail the emissions for £300, It is the Millennium Edition, and I love it, and the repair costs are TINY in comparison to a lot of other vehicles. I had a TDCi Mondeo where the injectors weren't far off £200 each, Fuel pumps and head gaskets are all rediculous money, And after thinking about it, I would rather pay for the head gasket to be done every year than have to keep replacing injectors etc... I am a little bit nervous about the 4wd system as they are clearly sensitive to things like tyre changes and I want to keep mine 4wd as I do go light off roading and want to green lane. Yes Diesel might be economical, but Petrol is quicker.

Can I ask 1 thing I haven't seen mentioned throughout this thread, have the tyre pressures all been checked?

The squeeking is probably going to be your pads and or shoes need replacing.

Gold Freelander now sold and in Dartford area I think, And Black Freelander is in the Workshop with the head stripped down. And I am in Purple Ronnies rejected Ford Escort basic Diesel Van that thinks it is a Puma lol This is a pic of my Freelander waiting to get in the workshop just before I left. I will be going to the workshop tomorrow to deliver the rest of the upgrade parts for the repair as I have bought the uprated oil rail, the uprated expansion tank and the thermostat relocation kit. The Expansion tank came today but the oil rail is due tomorrow and according to the seller the Thermostat relocation kit will be here tomorrow too. I am hoping that the money I am spending is well worth while. I have spent £144 total including p&p on the upgrade mods listed above and then the HG kit including water pump, cam belt kit, thermostat, valve stem seals, head being skimmed, new head bolts, coolant, oil and oil filter come in at about £450 including labour. I have read that it is recommended that the radiator is replaced too, but I don't understand why! As surely if the Radiator is flushed it would be ok, wouldn't it? Would be great to get some opinions and advice on this.

The night before and the morning before I dropped my Freelander off to have the Head Gasket work done I had no choice but to use it to do a 1.5 mile each way journey which was no problem for the car with it not overheating and the water level being kept topped up. But as soon as I got over 40 mph the road noise inside the Freelander with the windows closed was really loud. But when I drove my Gold Freelander which is now sold, there was NO road noise at all. I did also notice that the Black Freelander was gutless but am assuming this is currently down to HGF. Both the Freelanders are still 4wd.

Found out this was me not accelerating it up to enough revs to change gear smoothly.

Test Drove a Pajero with one on and I was told it is a kerb mirror to help with parking, I found it more annoying than helpful tbh.

I thought I had better take the Black Freelander up the road and back without the engine temperature getting up too much just to give it a run and noticed when I accelerate and only when I am accelerating soo far only got it up to 2nd gear but there is like a vibration that comes through the entire vehicle, Any idea's what this could be? What I am trying to do at the moment is get all the little jobs done ready for when it goes in and has the Head Gasket and MOT done. Cheers.

I have found a company about 30 miles away from me, but they charge £90 for this service. I am considering having it done as the garage says they will do an emissions test before this machine goes on and after it has done its job to show the difference. But would love to hear from someone who has maybe had this done already. I watched it being done on wheeler dealers and they showed the before and after results. But would like to hear it from someone else too.

Hi, I was after a Freelander for a long time and ironically ended up with 2 without meaning to. I have 1 Black W Reg 5 door Millennium Xi 1.8 Freelander and 1 Gold XEi Convertible Freelander 1.8. I took the Gold one in Swap for my 2004 Mondeo Diesel Estate and I bought the Black one from my Friend for £300. The Gold one drivers great, has already had the uprated head gasket fitted with modified expansion tank but not the relocated thermostat housing. The Black one was bought with a blown head gasket but the car has not over heated and I drove it home with several stops to make sure I didn't run out of water for about 10 miles and drove lovely the whole journey home. I want to sell the Gold one, but first I need to fix a couple of little problems. The temperature gauge does not work, So first thing I did was buy a Temperature Sensor which did not resolve this, I then checked all the fuses. All fine. Nor sure what to do next. And there is also a blow on the exhaust, but I cannot fins any holes. And the exhaust is really clean and looks very new. The Black Freelander has a a few issues lol. To start with, The Head Gasket has failed, I have been quoted £400 plus the cost of getting the head skimmed if it needs it. This price is for the uprated head gasket set with new head bolts, thermostat, and water pump and cambelt kit, but after reading on line I found out that there is an uprated oil pressure rail which is recommended to be done which I will buy when the gold one is sold aslong with the modified expansion tank and the thermostat relocating kit. Also the front brake pads were an advisory on the MOT it failed at the beginning of September. The other problems include leaking power steering pipe (£15 delivered) bought and waiting for it to come, and rotted leaking sunroof which is about £80 delivered, and same problem as other one with the exhaust blowing, but most of the exhaust is new. Both the Freelanders I have are still full time 4wd, Is there any advice for long term maintaining and avoiding problems in the future? I am keeping the Black Freelander once it is back on the road as the 5 door model is better for me and a higher spec.