Green Land Rover

30June2010

New Pedal Rubbers

Posted by Modchop under: Discovery; Maintenance; Uncategorized.

Both the brake and clutch pedal rubbers needed replacing due to wear. A nice easy, 2 minute fix.
Got them from LR Series – here

30June2010

Bad Vibrations…

Posted by Modchop under: Discovery; Maintenance.

I’ve noticed just recently that when the engine is running at idle there was a very annoying, metallic rattle emanating from somewhere within the engine bay. I managed to have a look in there today and check for the suspect component. Eventually I traced it to the turbo heat shield. There was a bolt missing from the rear of the guard, as usual it was nice and awkward to get at! After much fumbling with various bolts, I found the thread to be M8. I’ve replaced the missing bolt with a stainless steel one I had, adding a good dollop of copper grease to the threads to aid any future removal. Access was very tight, with the access hole being very near to the bulkhead, eventually a 13mm socket on a 1/4″ drive extension and ratchet did the trick.

Location of missing bolt

The bolt in question. Access was through the hole in the heat shield to the right of the bolt. (Viewed from below)

26June2010

Freelander is smoking…

Posted by Dubsta under: Freelander; Maintenance.

The last few days the Freelander has been driving like a dog and belching black smoke under hard acceleration or load.

I’ve had a Rover Ron Synergy 2 installed for nearly 2 years and I thought with the recent heat it had maybe gone west. I emailed Rover Ron and as always he was very helpful and suggested looking at the turbo hose.

Before I’d read the email I had a look under the bonnet and there was a lot of oil on and around the manifold. The culprit was indeed a split hose and the oil was diesel! Ron was right!

Split Freelander Td4 intercooler hose

Anyhow I’m glad it’s not the Synergy 2 box because I’ve been really chuffed with that and would recommend them to anyone who owns a Td4 Freelander or Rover 75/ZT with the BMW M47 engine.

Turns out the replacement part is PNH000020 and they’re around £20 for a genuine part or £15ish for a Britpart or Allmakes. I did consider silicone hoses but they’re about £90 a set. Maybe I’ll not go with the silicone just yet.

Off to Dartmouth for a few days tomorrow so I’ve done a temporary bodge with a beer can and some gaffa tape. Found an independent specialist FRL Auto Services in Dartmouth so may give them a call while I’m there and see how much it costs. Will report back with results..

16June2010

Parking Distance Control Arrives

Posted by Dubsta under: Accessories; Freelander; Purchase.

Ever since I backed into a concrete dustbin shelter at Scotgate campsite in the Lakes, I’ve been meaning to get one of these. I had one on the Kalahari and it was a godsend as the rear view in the Freelander isn’t great!

I found on at Britcar for £460.44! It was out of the question till  I came across one at the 4×4partsdirect shop on eBay. 30 seconds later it was mine and it arrived today!

	As you can see the kit is suitable for both Discovery and Freelander. The Disco has the additional switch to cancel the PDC. This is an option I shall look into when I get around to installing this.
The ECU is a BMW one. Not surprising considering Land Rover was under BMW ownership during this period. I recognise the connectors as they are similar to the ones I’ve encountered when working on the BMW MINI. The mini had PDC information transmitted on CAN. Maybe this ECU does the same?

The PDC sensors come in left (Yellow) and right (Green)

The kit comes with the usual array of looms and fixings…

	Sensor to ECU loom.
	ECU to speaker loom.
	Fixings for sensors etc

The final piece is the speaker that the bings and bongs come from: -

Quite a sturdy unit. The instructions say to mount it in the rear post. I’d like it closer to the front so I can hear it better.

More evidence of the BMW parts bin!

I’ll post again with pictures from the installation (when we get around to it).

11June2010

It Passed!

Posted by Modchop under: Discovery; Maintenance.

Just a quick note to say that it passed the MOT test today with no advisories, and relax…

4June2010

The Dreaded MOT Test…

Posted by Modchop under: Discovery; Maintenance.

I’m fast approaching my first anniversary with the Discovery which also heralds its first MOT test under my ownership. I was originally hoping to have the 60k service and MOT test carried out at the same time but I reached 60k about 7 weeks before the MOT test was due so I opted to get the test done at a later date. That date is now only 2 weeks away so I really need to get my finger out and get it booked in!
The guys at Ultimate Land Rover commented on the Disco’s good condition when they carried out the service so I’m hoping the omens are good for a pass. I’ve checked it over myself and can’t find anything untoward so hopefully it’ll pass first time.

4June2010

New Number Plate

Posted by Dubsta under: Freelander; Maintenance.

The front number plate dropped off on the way to or from work yesterday so I thought I’d better get one before the rozzers got me!

Got it from Central Car Spares in Lye. £9.99 for normal plate but I went for the GB one at £10.99. Had to take log book and proof of address. All above board there. Nice people. Really helpful. Recommended…

3June2010

More Lamp Stuff

Posted by Dubsta under: Accessories; Freelander.

Received my lamp brackets from Powerful UK today. Bought them from their eBay shop but they are also available here http://www.powerfuluk.com/products/lrf032-spotlight-brackets.html 

I ordered them yesterday and they arrived today. Pretty impressive! On opening the box I was impressed by the quality of the powder coating. It’s really thick! You also get the 4 rivnuts, bolts and washers. The instructions say that they are stainless but the markings say that they are mild steel. No worries, easily replaced!

Overall really pleased with the brackets. The rubber caps are far more substantial than the original Land Rover ones.

31May2010

Freelander Driving Lamps

Posted by Dubsta under: Accessories; Freelander.

When I bought my original Freelander XEi, it came fitted with the Safari 300 driving lamps.

 
Eventually when I swapped XEi for the Td4 Kalahari I took the lamps off in the hope that I’d fit them to the new Freelander. That didn’t happen so now I’ve decided to fit them to the latest Freelander.

After getting it out of the storage box the kit looked like this: -

Unfortunately the switch panel is the wrong colour as the current Freelander has a black interior. Haven’t found the part number for this panel yet.

However after a bit of research, it seems there are different kits depending on which model you have!

Further research required. I think that some modification to the existing kit from the 1999 1.8 Petrol Freelander. More details to follow in a later post.

The lamps aren’t in bad condition. However there are a few problems: -

	The fixings are a bit rusty. These will be replaced these with some stainless equivalents.
	The back of the lamp has some minor surface rust. Some heatproof paint may fix this.
	The reflector seems to have bubbled up around the hole at the bottom. This is probably due to water ingress over time.
	Here’s the hole from the rear of the reflector. Not sure if this hole is for drainage or maybe a sidelight???

It’s also like to install some fog lights like on the original Freelander above but that has complications to do with the fuel burning heater. That however is another story…

That’s all on the lamps for now. Further update to follow when the lamps are installed…

2May2010

The 2010 Heritage Run

Posted by Modchop under: Discovery.

The 2010 Heritage Run

We managed to bag a place this year on the annual heritage run from Land Rover, Solihull to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon.
All the vehicles involved in the ‘run’ firstly gather at the Solihull site to register, fit the run plaque and have a quick brief of the day’s events. The car park quickly fills with some of Solihull’s finest including some seriously nice Series vehicles heading up the cavalcade.
Once under way with Police out-riders holding the traffic to allow us clear passage, the cavalcade winds its way down to Gaydon where once everyone has made it to the holding car park, we eventually get our chance to drive slowly down the main entrance road through the crowds with a running commentary provided over the PA. Once again everyone masses around the back of the museum before driving back around the front to park up amongst the rest of the run vehicles.
We had a good day in spite of the freezing weather and even managed to bag a few bargains from a few of the traders that were there.