My other half recently got a 17-plate Astra, hates it and wants to get rid.

She wants a Freelander 1 instead. Isn't too fussed if it's pre- or post-facelift on looks, doesn't want petrol economy and doesn't want LPG - so looking at diesel.

Am I right in thinking the TD4 is significantly better than the earlier Rover/Honda L-Series diesel and would be the one to go for?

Besides the looks, were there any other notable changes with the facelift? The TD4 seems to be available on pre- and post-facelift cars.

Anything to look out for on Freelanders in general?

Excellent, cheers :)

Solenoids should be fine. No issues with the system running and it's only a few months old.

jacckk wrote:

I bought some ARP studs from Real Steel around a month ago for £140.33 including the lube, so slightly cheaper than Rimmers.

Turns out that's where Rimmer Bros get theirs from too! Had a look at the Real Steel website but went with Rimmers as it was easier to order from them (I'm too lazy to be calling people up to do stuff and I like having an online order that I can view for tracking purposes).

The box arrived with Real Steel stickers and part numbers on.

Is there anything special I need to to regarding the LPG kit fitted to the intake manifold? Can I just unscrew/unbolt it as necessary or do I need to do anything cut off the LPG supply and stop it all leaking out?

If I send the heads away to be skimmed I assume I have to send it bare, valves etc removed.

As long as I keep track of which valve went in which position is it as simple as just putting them back in when I get the heads back or do I need lap them or do anything else with them?

Something tells me the paint job isn't all that great. I think it's been done without removing ANY bits of trim. The rubber strips above the rear bumper that always flap out are painted orange too!

It might look better if the areas around the windows were all the same colour.

Some bits are OEM faded grey, some are OEM but still black, the leading edge of the rearmost window is carbon fibre vinyl and the rearmost pillar is heavily orange peeled gloss back.

I think it needs to all be the same shade of black (whether gloss, matte, satin whatever) and to have blacked out windows to look right. However, blacked out windows at the front would be illegal. I think it also needs the door handles to match the upper half to break up the sea of orange down the sides.

The wheels, grille and headlights need to just go though. They look awful and much better options could be found, I'm sure.

Needs to fix the bonnet and boot text too. It's a RANGE ROVER, NOT A RANGEROVER!

When I did mine I used a box from Connects 2 and I'm sure it was only around £30!

That was in a 1999/2000 car and I think it was the Alpine head unit but no DSP.

In my old diesel I fitted an aux in converter that connected to the CD changer plug on the head unit. Set the radio to the CD changer input and it played the audio from my phone.

Perhaps something similar for USB inputs exists? I'm at work at the moment and have very limited internet access.

I replaced my stock radio with an Android unit, the steering wheel buttons work perfectly with no adapter :)

IIRC, I did have to cut a wire and connect it to the right pin on the Android radio loom though.

I have a head unit that works with the steering wheel buttons.

It's from a car that had the DSP system, not sure if it will go in to one with without the DSP and work.

If it will work you can have it for the cost of postage.

Gilbertd wrote:

may be M8 on later cars but were UNF on earlier ones.

Are you sure it was UNF and not UNC?

All the bolts that aren't metric that I'm coming across using the part numbers from LR Cat are UNC.

Mines one of very last, a 51 plate from 2002. Should be M8 then. I'll get a set of these then :)

I emailed Rimmer Bros earlier today, asking what brand of part would be supplied for a few different part numbers as their website simply says "aftermarket" or nothing at all for the brand.

The first response was asking me for my home address and phone number, which I told them wasn't necessary for my query.

They then said they can't tell me the brands as it reveals their supplier. How stupid! if I order the parts I'll see what brand they are and where they came from.

Told them I'll be ordering elsewhere...

Just pricing up the parts on the Bearmach website, found out my Land Rover club has a discount code with them. Probably still work out cheaper elsewhere though :P

Bearmach are generally considered to be OK/decent parts, right?

Looking at replacing the exhaust manifold and heatshield bolts as I imagine they'll be somewhat crusty by now. The LRCat website is a little confusing though.

4, 7, 8, 12 and 13 are all described as "manifold to head" but they're all different sizes whereas the flange on the manifold that the fixings go through is a uniform thickness. Best guess, I want number 4 for attaching the manifold to the head?

It says it's an M8 bolt but doesn't give the length. Anyone know the length?

10 and 15 say they're for the heatshield, so fairly self explanatory. These hold the two halves each heatshield together? 18 per heatshield looking at the holes around the edges of 6 and 11. Do these need nuts on the other end or is one side of the heatshield threaded to accept them?

This leaves 7, 8, 12 and 13. Used to attach the heatshields to the heads, rather than the manifolds? Looks like they screw on to studs on the heads and need nuts to hold the heatshields to them? I'll probably just replace the nuts for these ones.

Gilbertd wrote:

This https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/head-gasket-incl-elring-head-gaskets-stc4082el-p-6566.html is what I've always used

No longer on their website :(

Lpgc wrote:

What I don't like is when you have a procedure that says X ft/lbs then Y degrees then Z degrees. By the time you get around to Z the actual torque can be very different on different bolts.

I don't like doing up stretch bolts - but they do exist for a reason, Got to weigh it all up from there.

Edit - Unanswered so far... In my last post I asked could the head / block have corrosion pitting due to the long term water leak?
A long time ago, before I was into LPG or even pro mechanics, I used to do some jobs on vehicles that mechanics within a fairly wide radious wouldn't want to take on (or would quote ridiculous fees for) including changing Sierra / Escort Cosworth head gaskets.The Cosy HG's seldom leaked on the compression seal (unless they were 400+bhp ) but would piss water down the drivers side of the block and the head usually suffered corrosion because of it (though maybe electrolysis).

I don't know about the corrosion/pitting. I'm hoping that it's OK. I'm fairly sure that this leak only started this year and in all the time I've owned the car its only ever had proper coolant in it, not plain water. I'm hoping that means that while it's been leaking the coolant has been preventing corrosion there.

I think that if I do it myself I'll go with the ARP bolts but if I get it done elsewhere I'll be happy with stretch bolts. I can see it being fairly easy to screw up if inexperienced. Also, if someone else puts stretch bolts in and something goes wrong with them there will be a warranty to rectify the issue :P

Cheers, I'll get that one instead. Nice to use things that come with a recommendation from personal experience - especially at almost half the cost!

Just been having a look through the torque spec section in RAVE and it says that new rocker cover bolts must be used (they have a + next to them denoting this). Is this really necessary? They're really low torque so I can't imagine they stretch or deform at all.

BrianH wrote:

I believe this is the correct instructions to follow

https://arpinstructions.com/instructions/157-4301.pdf

You probably also want this > https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RB7680L

Does your head gasket kit also include the valley gasket?

I'll add that to the parts list.

I was getting the Reinz kit from here.

The image at the top shows the valley gasket, rocker cover gaskets, head gaskets and a bunch of seals. I'm assuming that all the kits listed include the same parts, just of different brands. Confusingly, the description at the top says that it's a head gasket set but doesn't include head gaskets even though they're in the image...

Both links open for me. I'll print the instructions to keep them handy.

Those are a much better price!

Do they install and torque up the same way as the regular bolts, as instructed in RAVE?

Looks like I'm replacing a couple of head gaskets then!

Just working through a parts list at the moment. Got a UK link to the ARP studs? Found a couple of US links showing them up around $300....that might be a bit on the pricey side!

Any particular problem with using new stretch bolts?

So far my list is, all from LR Direct:

Head gasket set (Reinz)
Head bolts (OEM)
Drive belt (Dayco)
O-Rings for the steel coolant pipes (OEM)
Oil filter

From elsewhere:
OIl
Coolant
RTV
Cable ties
Sandwich bags for bolts and a marker pen
Several tins of brake cleaner and lots of rags/wire brushes
Gasket scraper
Emery paper
Multi pack of hose clamps

As the exhaust manifolds have to come off anyway I might pick up a set of new core plugs just because they're cheap and why not?

I might add a new torque wrench to the list. Mine is around 10 years old, had been knocked around a bit and has never been recalibrated. I've no idea how accurate it is these days.

I'm sure I've missed a good few things there, feel free to add what I've missed :P

Next question is...is this vaguely doable over a weekend?

That's the thing, I do need it for getting to work :(

I'm fairly sure I've ruled out the other water ways. The only bits I can think of that I haven't been able to see are the core plugs but those need the exhaust manifold off too.

Given the location of the drip, is there a chance it could be a core plug?

I'd need to be as certain as possible as to what it is so I can order everything I need ahead of time. I won't really of the option of getting in there and going "oh crap...it's THAT. I didn't order one of those" and having to wait a few days for delivery.

Given that I've not had any over heating issues would it be OK just reusing the heads as they are or do they always need to go away for skimming/checking when they come off?

While I'm in there, is there anything else that makes sense to replace with the heads off?

Yeah, I've always thought it sounded fine.

Glad to know it's just paranoia!

I suppose the only way to find out of it is the head gasket in that corner is remove everything I did today and then also take off the exhaust manifold to get a look at the joint?