Out of balance rear wheels usually make their presence felt at around 60mph, they are rotating too slowly to set up any resonance at lower speeds. I'd be looking for a seized UJ or the harmonic balancer has fallen off one of your axles.

At only £50 a pop for brand new, why would you buy S/H?

Especially when you look at the full size picture and see the cracks in the lacquer around the AC sensor grille and the buttons for the sat nav. A grand? More like a tenner......

Rears are easy but no matter how much you pump the pedal no fluid will come out. They are on the power circuit so you just rest your foot on the pedal and turn the ignition on.

Kunifer can be found here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263908695438 but the seller doesn't list unions. This guy has them but not in stainless https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brake-Pipe-Nut-Fittings-Metric-Imperial-Unf-Copper-Pipe-Brass-Tubing-3-8-M10-M12/351413035486 but you can get stainless from here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOMEC-Brake-Pipe-Stainless-Steel-Union-Fittings-Male-10mm-x-1mm-Pitch-x-21-5mm/192503935314, bloody expensive though.

You've obviously not looked into the differences. Converting a manual to an auto involves a complete loom and ECU as well as the mechanical bits, swapping the engine involves even more, even the fuseboxes are different between petrol and diesel, then there's the BeCM, engine ECU, lockset (to match the BeCM) and hundreds of other bits. About the only thing you could do is reinstate the air suspension.

I suspect Sloth still has the scar on his leg from when him and Marty tried to do just that at the first summer camp. Marty wanted to change his steering box but the new one didn't have the drop arm so the old one had to be removed and refitted. If I remember correctly it involved at least 4 people, assorted wedges and a sledge hammer.......

https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/sockets-accessories/laser-locking-wheel-nut-remover they have a tapered LH thread inside so the more grunt you put on it the tighter it grips. Laser also do a set of 4 different sizes but if you've only got the weedy little 17mm hex headed bolts not proper big buggers like we've got, I would think the Halfords set will do the job. I've also successfully used the largest socket out of a set of Irwin nut removers (these https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p63045) on a Peugeot wheel bolt with a missing wheel nut key

First thing I'd check, preferably before he drives it again, would be that the wheels are bolted on properly. Some places nip them up then finish off with a torque wrench, others just hammer them on with the rattle gun. I've had one wheel work loose on me and the noises it made made me wonder what the hell was going on.

A manual, base model diesel on springs, got absolutely nothing going for it in my book.

A couple of cars I've worked on recently the ABS sensors have just pulled out no problem. In fact one needed a rear wheel bearing so I got a complete hub and halfshaft assembly to swap in making it a much quicker job and as I pulled the old one out it rolled over and the ABS sensor just fell out! Unlike my daughter's MR2 that needed a rear wheel bearing and the ABS sensor came out in 3 pieces joined with miles of very fine copper wire. That showed how cheap parts are for our cars, Toyota price for an ABS sensor, £360 +VAT, Eurocarparts, £245 but out of stock, Online Car Parts.co.uk, who are actually based in Germany despite the .co.uk web address, £28 including delivery for a genuine Denso one too. Admittedly I think the courier they used put it in his pocket and walked from Germany as she drove around for almost 3 weeks with the ABS fuse and relay pulled and a permanent warning light on the dash.

As long as they've done them in the past and know what to expect, you should be OK. I needed one side doing on one car a few years ago (before I knew Marty and others) and as it was January, freezing cold and the work would have to be done outside (garage not wide enough to get the car in and be able to work alongside it), I got a quote from a local LR independent. Quote was £380 all in so I booked it in and left it with them. two days later they phoned to say they couldn't get the hub out as they couldn't remove the ABS sensor other than by drilling it out so there'd be the extra cost of an ABS sensor. Told them to get on with it. A further couple of days later they called to say that the joints had been changed but it needed the tracking doing and the adjuster was seized solid so they recommended replacing the link rod too. Finally, after about a week, they phoned to say it was ready so I went to collect it only to be presented with a bill for £1,050. Their excuse was that it was such a bastard to dismantle that the extra was in the labour......

Never taken a car anywhere since.

I did think that but as long as your tyres have the 3 mountains mark then you shouldn't need them anyway unless the conditions get really bad. I suppose £105 and having them is still better than getting stopped and hit with a 150 Euro fine for not having any.

Hmm, yes. Just done an online search on the French Carrefore and L'eclerc hypermarket sites and nothing found. Also checked NorAuto, the French equivalent to Halfords and they don't list anything for wheels larger than 18". In fact, these are the only ones I can find anywhere https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SNOW-CHAINS-MAGGI-MOD-RAPID-MATIC-SIZE-275-40-R20-GR-121-HOMOLOGATED/132369552914. Also bloody expensive for something that may just sit in the boot and not be used.

From the experts https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/freelander-parts.html

If it only does it under hard acceleration or on the overrun at speed it's doing it when the driveline is being stressed. I would have gone for UJs first but as you've done them then that is unlikely. Is it possible you've got an engine or gearbox mount that has perished and come apart (more likely in your climate than here)? That would only be apparent when there's stress on the drivetrain.

A mate's wife has one and that doesn't seem to have given much trouble. The diesels are a lot more common than petrol anyway, they came with either the K series 4 pot which eats head gaskets at a frightening rate or a V6 which are about as common as rocking horse manure. Only thing of note that I've heard is that the wiper motor has a habit of dying and it seems they started with that and built the rest of the car around it making changing it a real pain.

I drove to Switzerland a few years ago and found that they were far cheaper in the French hypermarkets on the way down than they are here. No idea if that is still the case though.

For 2 grand on a respray I would have expected them to have done something with the faded grey grille, bumpers and strips under the lights. Cost me £4.99 for a can of bumper black to do mine......

1750, but it had also been standing for 18 months so wouldn't have had an MoT and it has those awful looking wheels on it. So a bit of a gamble really but still one worth taking if you know what you are doing.