Hi guys!

My newly bought Freelander 2 has developed a bit of a whine coming from the back, starting at about 20 mph, increasing in frequency with speed only, staying the same in turns. I say developed, but most likely just not noticed when I went to buy it on the test drive, as it is quite soft. I am 95 percent sure it's coming from the diff, I taped a sound recording phone to the diff and close to the wheel bearings, with the sound from the diff being much louder and a soft whine coming through at higher speeds. To be sure I have a friendly mechanic coming by Monday with hopefully some chassis ears.

If it is the diff, I could either:

- Replace the whole diff with a trade in from Bell's engineering. In which case, is this an easy job? Are there any maintenance manuals that any of you might be in possession of that gives any instructions on the job?

Or

- Replace the bearings in the diff myself. I see that there are some kits available that provide all the necessary seals and bearings. Has anybody done this? And again are there any manuals advising on how to do it?

Thank you very much and I hope you might be able to help. I had a quick search through the forum and could not find anything about replacing the bearings or diff yourself, happy to hear it if it was covered elsewhere!

Pieter

I would get a replacement diff from Bell Engineering as they fit an updated bearing for longevity.

Don't think you could do this yourself. Bearing kits would be standard bearing replacement. Andy
Freelander2 HSE (59 Plate, MY10 spec)

Piet wrote:

Hi guys!

My newly bought Freelander 2 has developed a bit of a whine coming from the back, starting at about 20 mph, increasing in frequency with speed only, staying the same in turns. I say developed, but most likely just not noticed when I went to buy it on the test drive, as it is quite soft. I am 95 percent sure it's coming from the diff, I taped a sound recording phone to the diff and close to the wheel bearings, with the sound from the diff being much louder and a soft whine coming through at higher speeds. To be sure I have a friendly mechanic coming by Monday with hopefully some chassis ears.

If it is the diff, I could either:

- Replace the whole diff with a trade in from Bell's engineering. In which case, is this an easy job? Are there any maintenance manuals that any of you might be in possession of that gives any instructions on the job?

Or

- Replace the bearings in the diff myself. I see that there are some kits available that provide all the necessary seals and bearings. Has anybody done this? And again are there any manuals advising on how to do it?

Thank you very much and I hope you might be able to help. I had a quick search through the forum and could not find anything about replacing the bearings or diff yourself, happy to hear it if it was covered elsewhere!

Pieter

Follow Andy's advice above  MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

That indeed doesn’t look the simplest job. I will have a call with Bell tomorrow and see what they say.

Thank you all for your input!

Indeed the rear diff! Had a call with Bell and probably will head over from Scotland next year some time when we need to go to England again. The kind gentleman on the phone told me it could not do much harm driving with the bearings for a while.

Cheers everyone for your input.

Did you end up replacing your rear diff?

I noticed with mine it seemed to get loud relatively quickly.

Ditto, I'd be interested in how you got on. Getting down to Bell would be a complete nightmare for me, but if it was worth it... FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

For those in or new the UK - is it easier to buy a reconditioned diff?

I (via google) found some reconditioned diffs for 350 british pounds (LR Parts - DA1216DIFF).

I considered this before I had mine rebuilt but shipping to Canada (and returning the core) wouldn't make financial sense.

It’s booked with Bell in February! Also found out I lost rear wheel drive, most likely will have something done on the haldex too, will let you know what it turned out to be!

Good luck!

Piet, I’m pretty sure I was standing in the Bell Engineering workshop, when you spoke to Austin on Monday morning! I made the trip down from Inverness-shire and it was well worth it. One tip, though... When Austin says two hours for a diff change and Haldex service, he means it! I could have saved some money by not booking a second night down there, but just couldn’t believe that it would all be so quick! 2005 D3 2.7 Auto
Previously:
2010 MY FL2 TD4e GS - Now gone at 199,500 miles, about 135,000 of them mine.
‘93 Defender 110 200TDi CSW
‘87 Defender 90 4 cyl Petrol
‘83 110 CSW V8 - best ever!
Range Rover 2-door V8 (not sure of year - 4-speed box and vacuum diff switch)
Series III SWB Diesel

Oh wow! The more time to wonder about! We have planned it as a trip through England to The Netherlands where I’m from, fixing it on the way so a good few miles to enjoy the hopefully quiet ride. Then load up on cheese on the way back before they close the borders

If it's of any use to the Scottish members, I just spoke to the team at https://engine710.com/freelander/

I asked about my diff noise and they said they do diff replacements using reconditok ed units from Bell. I don't know about the price yet but considering the logistical issues with Bells locations thought this might be of some use. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

All fixed! Noise from the diff fixed by changing the diff, wobble and 2wd due to the stripping of the prob shaft spline where it goes into the Haldex, fixed by changing the prop shaft. Worth the drive from Scotland, excellent and quick service at Bell Engineering!