The topic of failing rear diffs has been covered on here and the information has been great but my untrained ear that can hear the rear rumbling/moaning when driving upwards of 35mph is self diagnosing the rear diff at fault due to information gained on here.

I am going to take it to an independent garage next week (someone I can trust) with the view that if it is faulty I will source a recon unit and they will fit it.

Firstly though how do you diagnose if it is the rear diff or haldex unit at fault. I am sort of ruling out rear bearings on the grounds the noise isn't all the time. And I swapped my tyres around as well.

Also how long should it take replace a rear diff and should I supply a full recon unit or one of these repair/overhaul kits which are a lot cheaper.

And finally is there a market for the replaced rear diff. Could I recoup some of the costs by selling it on to one of the firms that recon them?

most of my rear moaning is the bl00dy kids  

Check the fluid levels first as this has been shown to cause noise that was easily rectified by filling the diff and haldex to the correct amounts.

Get in contact with LR Customer Services via this website (Ryan). Land Rover may assist as a goodwill gesture, even with the age of your FL2. They will likely ask for it to be diagnosed by a franchised dealer, which costs around 30 minutes labour. I did this with mine and was awarded a 50% contribution. 2007 Freelander 2 XS TD4. Mantec Sump & Tank Guards, Yokohama Geolandar AT tyres
2007 Defender 110 SW TD4.

yes, contact Landrover and they will make a substantial contribution as it's a known fault.

Iain

Could anyone describe the fault.

My FL2 rumbles at about 2,000 rpm in 6th going uphill but if I change down to 5th at the same road speed (125 kph), the rumbling stops.

In the above case then the rumble must be associated with the engine side and nothing beyond that if it goes in a different gear but the road speed stays the same?
Are you sure its not the engine labouring because its going up hill and the revs arent really high enough until you change down?

I took one of our FL2s in for a service a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that there was a noise from what I thought was the rear driver side. They agreed that it was a wheel bearing which had in fact been replaced 20k miles earlier and arranged for it to go back in today to be replaced again under warranty. I had a call this morning saying that they had had the car up on the ramp going and were convinced that the tyres were the problem and not the wheel bearing. The rear tyres were Wranglers with about 3mm and some castellation. I decided to have two new tyres and it now seems OK. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Landiroamer wrote:

In the above case then the rumble must be associated with the engine side and nothing beyond that if it goes in a different gear but the road speed stays the same?

Quote:

Are you sure its not the engine labouring because its going up hill and the revs arent really high enough until you change down?

Well then I took my FL2 to an Indie garage (chap I've known all my life) for further diagnosis. He took it for a drive and came back and said he was 90% sure it was rear wheel bearing. Took it back to him a couple of days later so he could get it up on a ramp and he confirmed this. Got it booked in for next week to have both rear wheel bearings replaced (one as bad and the other marginal). Cost around £325 - £350.

May I also say thank you to Ryan from Land Rover who had contacted me regards getting it diagnosed at a dealer and if it had been the rear diff them he would negotiate with the garage. Good customer services there. Thank you again.

All sorted and now a much quieter car. Two new rear wheel bearings and new hand brake shoes (they were worn down to the metal which is interesting as the car failed its MOT in February and needed new rear discs) and a bill for £418.