Rockhoppers 2006 Land Rover Freelander 1

[rockhopper]

great stuff.

I like the Freelander as I can get various mods for it, whereas there are very few for the Yeti at the moment.

I'm looking forward to another off road trip soon. None planned yet.

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[sigarland1987]

I was looking at discoverys on Ebay, can get one for under a grand and could use it as a toy, would rust away on me but would be fun,

 

Whats the freelander like off road then?

[RichardatWakefield]

What benefit does adding 2-stroke oil confer??? Can't find any logic to that!

[rockhopper]

What benefit does adding 2-stroke oil confer??? Can't find any logic to that!

do a search on google!

Basically it can help lubricate the fuel system to replace the lack of sulphur in the fuel. Used frequently on older engines made prior to the removal of sulphur from diesel.

I will be using Diesel Rhino from now on instead of millers and 2 stroke mineral oil.

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[rockhopper]

I was looking at discoverys on Ebay, can get one for under a grand and could use it as a toy, would rust away on me but would be fun,

 

Whats the freelander like off road then?

 

Un-surprisingly very good. I mean..... it is a Land Rover 

 

With a lift kit and larger tyres, I now have about 70mm more ground clearance than standard. So about the same as a standard Defender under their axles!

 

The only thing it lacks is a low ratio gearbox, but having the auto along with Hill Descent Control & Traction Control and the Viscous Coupling Unit makes up for it most of the time. It will descend hills slightly faster because of its higher gearing - about 5.4mph I believe, which is faster the low 1st on a Range Rover/Defender/Discovery.

 

When I was off road back in April, it never touched its underneath, whereas the standard Freelander was bottoming out all the time. It probably would not have made it up the track we did on the last day, but mine had no problems. I kept up with the lifted Range Rover P38 and the lifted Defender 90 on all the tracks we did together.

 

The 4wd system does not work as quickly as the Haldex in the Yeti (or Freelander 2) but it works fine (and is much cheaper to repair if it goes wrong!). It is better than the Yeti because it has lots more ground clearance and I can wade through 750mm deep water with the slight modifications I have made to the breather pipes.

[rockhopper]

I discovered that the VCU which provides the drive to the rear wheels, takes about 1/4 of a turn to work, which is much better than I originally thought.

[rockhopper]

I have had made a custom rear back box in stainless steel. Its slightly smaller that the old one and is a straight through.

 

The sound is deeper on idle, but the best thing (apart from discovering that the old box was splitting and rusting though on top) is that the exhaust no longer hits the towbar when idling or when turning off the engine.

 

 

[rockhopper]

I serviced the car myself, oil/filter, pollen filter, air filter, fuel & turbo filters. Gave the car a once over, greased the hinges & locks, replaced the brake pads and fitted a couple more bolts to the rock sliders. Changed the battery as the old one died.

[rockhopper]

I went out green landing with a few other Land Rover Disco, & Defenders.

 

Here is the Freelander in action.

 

 

 

[rockhopper]

I am now selling this as I have bought a Nissan Leaf.

No it won't go off road. But it will be very cheap to run.

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[33q]

Well Mike that is quite a change.

I wish you all the best with the new motor. I'm intrigued to know if it is realistic to run such a car as your only means of transport given its limited range for long distance day trips and the like. I guess charging points are springing up and I suspect the Home Counties are well ahead of us up in the frozen Midlands.

For me the Yeti is still my weapon of choice and even more so today with 3 inches of snow outside.

[Toxicvrs]

Well Mike that is quite a change.

I wish you all the best with the new motor. I'm intrigued to know if it is realistic to run such a car as your only means of transport given its limited range for long distance day trips and the like. I guess charging points are springing up and I suspect the Home Counties are well ahead of us up in the frozen Midlands.

For me the Yeti is still my weapon of choice and even more so today with 3 inches of snow outside.

You'd be surprised. The Midlands is pretty good charging point wise

[33q]

Ok. I will look out for them......I don't often use the Tesla in winter.....

[Wardy]

Interesting vehicle swap. EV aside, what's made you move away from 4x4?

[rockhopper]

Running costs. Virtually nil for the Leaf compared to the Freelander.

I've not started to sell the Freelander yet. It will be with me until April before I think about selling it. Holiday in North Wales and no chargers around [emoji41]

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[James Rothwell]

I am now selling this as I have bought a Nissan Leaf.

No it won't go off road. But it will be very cheap to run.

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A Leaf, how interesting. Would be nice if you could do a decent review post about life with that once you pick it up!

[rockhopper]

A Leaf, how interesting. Would be nice if you could do a decent review post about life with that once you pick it up!

Bossfox has done one, but I will as well.

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[900000]

Yikes...  that's a change! No more 4x4 excursions for you then, nor towing any caravans (well after April anyway). Gosh. Your running costs will be significantly lower but your fun factor will drop a lot.

 

Trust you have read this (Freedom members only) thread on Bossfox's Leaf experiences? (And he has a few ex-work ones going for sale if I'm not mistaken)

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/265813-richards-leaf-going-electric/

 

So all in all, was the Freelander as dependable as you had hoped? Or just an endless money pit? I think most of your changes were just upgrades you did and were not forced upon you?

[rockhopper]

I have had to sort a few things out like thermostat, heater matrix, injectors, wheel bearing, track rod ends, front driveshafts and a few other bits and pieces. So no, not an endless money pit. Not now it is sorted anyway!!!

 

Its a good little runner. It is also shorter than my Leaf.

 

Here is the new addition to my family:

 

 

 

[Brijo]

Rather sad to see you leaving.  How will Surrey 4 x 4 manage?!  Good luck with the Leaf - and remember to avoid green lanes and deep water...

[BossFox]

Looks cracking in that colour.

Odd they only added the gunmetal grey after several years of production.

[rockhopper]

I got back from a 375 mile round trip to Nottingham. I used rapid chargers 7 times to get the range.

Cost of journey. £2 approx for the initial charge from home.

The car handles surprisingly well in rain sleet and snow, but that weather does rather hammer the range.

So far no range anxiety.

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[Wardy]

7 charges - what does that equate to in total time waiting?

[rockhopper]

Roughly 7 times 30 mins = 3 1/2 hours [emoji41][emoji2]

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[rockhopper]

Time for a snooze. My return trip in the rain sleet & snow started at 22:30 and I arrived home just after 04:00. That included 3 charges.

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