do you underseal the bottom of vehicle, if so what product do you use.

or is it that freelanders come with a underseal

In general Freelanders don't rust, then again most of them are relatively new,

Not just down to underseal, galvanising helps, as does simple stuff like plastic wing liners that stop mud accumulating in the wheels arches.
Car design has moved on from the days of series vehicles, but LR still make the odd mistake - wheel arches for example have a trim piece that protects the exposed edge, this falls off leaving the edge exposed, much cheaper to buy replacement from RS components than LR. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Hi Andy
Do you have the RS part numbers or a link please

Just look up metal edge protection on ebay, just cut to length yourself.  Now at the point when I learn something new something old is lost out the other side !
Now retired so it doesn't matter anymore.
Freelander now gone.

I Like Chips wrote:

Hi Andy
Do you have the RS part numbers or a link please

I use waxoyl and/or bilt hambers dynax ub. I take the wheels off and Jack the car up. Power wash the car off and use a wire brush on any rusting bits then use a compressor and spray gun to apply the underseal.

“Freelancers don’t rust”. That’s just wishful thinking. I bought my 2009 HSE last September from a JLR main dealer.
I trusted their prep work, but when I checked it at home during its inaugural clean I was shocked to see massive amounts of severe surface corrosion along both sills and in all four wheel arches, especially in the turrets.
It took me eight days to strip back, Jenolite and waxoyl the affected areas. Not impressed.

Also I recently saw a written off Range Rover on a recovery truck, not sure how old but I’m sure it was within ten years. Anyway, it’s offside sill was exposed from impact damage and it was rotten, totally rotten through with rust. Astonishing to see how bad it was.
If in doubt, check thoroughly for corrosion. Take the wheelarch liners out and the outer sill covers off. It’s the only way to get a good look. Derek Hill
2009 FL2 HSE TD4 Auto

gasman wrote:

Just look up metal edge protection on ebay, just cut to length yourself.

One issue Ive had with plastic wheel arch liners in the past is that they can sometimes wear away the body work paint/underseal where they touch, especially if there is vibration/movement - something to check out when your head is inside the wheel arch maybe.

Ive also just found a similar effect on our Fiesta (1 year old, 6K miles) - there is a soft rubber seal on the top edge of the scuttle which contacts the underside of the bonnet - dust and grit on top of the rubber seal has eroded the paint on the bonnet - Ive put a length of insulating tape over the area where wear is occurring. Jules

a100ian wrote:

I use waxoyl and/or bilt hambers dynax ub. I take the wheels off and Jack the car up. Power wash the car off and use a wire brush on any rusting bits then use a compressor and spray gun to apply the underseal.

Worth removing the plastic trims on the door bottoms and the long plastic sills to clean behind, i did my door bottoms yesterday and was shocked at the amount of mud/ dirt behind there - all cleaned and polished now

I found this description of gulvanising and protection of FL2 body on the forum. (warning it seems to have been translated from an unknown language with odd consequenses)

External protection
The Freelander 2 uses only galvanized steel panels double sided as part of treatment and anti-corrosion paint applied ever more sophisticated in a Land Rover. Includes a cosmetic warranty three-year, unlimited mileage anti-corrosion warranty and six years.

As a genuine 4x4, Freelander 2 is designed to withstand impacts and scratches. Vulnerable areas, including thresholds and lower doors, are coated with a rugged thermoplastic material. The cooling system and the engine cowlings have been protected with sturdy structural steel and thermoplastic material, respectively. The bumpers are made of reinforced polypropylene injection molded high pressure material that offers excellent resistance to heat and cold and excellent resistance to impacts and scratches.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post71205.html

I am hoping that it won't rust away like the mid 20th century cars did. Ever since then I have avoided 'hiding problems with underseal, and stuck to treating rust as it appears. Unfortunately there seems a lot of plastic covers for rust to hide behind on the FL2. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 82k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Waxoil these days, never use underseals in bulk as water gets behind it once perforated FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

IanMetro wrote:

I am hoping that it won't rust away like the mid 20th century cars did. Ever since then I have avoided 'hiding problems with underseal, and stuck to treating rust as it appears. Unfortunately there seems a lot of plastic covers for rust to hide behind on the FL2.

Dorsetfreelander wrote
Remember in the 70's when after 3 or 4 years you would be looking for signs of rust around the tops of your McPherson struts? Common MOT failure on Ford Escorts, Vauxhall Vivas etc.


Very true, several of my cars of that time developed very small spots in the paintwork arourd the base of the windscreen and turret area. At first they appeared to be very minor and were easily polished away, then came the realiseation that only the paint was solid and the metal below had rusted away.

I have quite a few bits of 2-part filler, resin, and glass fibre mat left over in my garage from those days. In fact I can remember covering my sills in glass fibre on a 1968 Vauxhall Victor to protect them. This was done within the first couple of years of its life, but I was eventually left with virtually no metal behind the glass fibre.

Click image to enlarge