Ode to the Land Rover Freelander 1

Back about 4 years ago, I bought a very cheap 2.0 L series Freelander for my wife. It needed some maintenance, and the 4WD re-installing, but never missed a beat, and as I do most mechanical things myself, ongoing maintenance (cam belts, filters, glow plugs etc) I found amazingly cheap, so all in all, a very cheap car to run, and dead easy to maintain.

A little while later, I bought myself a 1.8 K series Freelander, again, dead cheap, previous owner thought the head gasket was going as there was moisture coming out of the exhaust, but not much. I ran it for 3 years with no issues, other than routine maintenance, cambelt, brakes, some suspension bits, oil and filters etc. At 138k miles, the cam belt tensioner had a problem and the belt let go of 6 teeth, enough to cause 2 bent exhaust valves.

So last week, a used head off ebay (I really couldnt be bothered to strip the head, new valves, grind in the seats etc when a decent head was available for 50 quid), top end gasket set, cam belt kit and water pump, so 163 quid and 4 hours, and the engine is purring like a kitten and it just passed its MOT today. There was so much room in the engine bay, and the little 1.8 is so easy to work on, it is a real DIY gem, and I wonder why it gets such bad press (ok, initial head gasket design issues, but modded gasket and metal locating dowels have long since sorted this).

Finally, the reason I sold the L series was the wife wanted an auto, so got a very cheap 400 quid V6 Freelander. It was at the end of its life as far as the previous owner was concerned, a bit battered, loosing water, loosing PS fluid, and starting to cost a lot of money although only 77k on the clock. I must admit its the most complex V6 I have worked on (compared to an Alfa Busso), but just needed a new thermostat, used steering rack, service and tidy up, and it has proved to be just what the wife wanted. I must admit, I love driving it, as it has a bit of beans, and the engine is silky smooth, like a magic carpet.

So the point of posting this, all cars have their reputations and foibles, including the Coupe, and I can understand why Freelanders get a bad press as a lot of silly things can go wrong (3 amigos, windows regulators etc), and get scrapped when the IRD goes, a head gasket goes, or they overheat, but I'll tell you, because I don't have to pay garage labour, and learned what I know many years ago from being prepared to read workshop manuals and have a go, parts are so cheap, and all Freelanders are so easy to work on, that by choice, if I need a dirt cheap winter car, or a decent run around that can carry wife, kids, and a large dog, a cheap Freelander hits the mark every time.

Very well put. They are so simple to work on that most people can keep one in good order.

I've good memories of my old K 45 also.

Drove a 2ltre Diesel to Runcorn last week and it was very economical and smooth ..a bit twitchy on the ride but it was 18 years old and the guy had bought it for £400 spare or repair