My 2009 Freelander 2 with with 146 000 kms has started to feel a bit sloppy on the road up front. A wheel alignment helped for a while but driving it this week it just didn’t feel like it held the line round corners and even on straight roads the way it used to. I’m after suggestions as to what to look at to fix things that typically tend to wear at this age. It has only known bitumen roads with a bit of Australian dirt from time to time.

I would check lower ball joints, track rod ends, and check for wear in the steering rack inner joints, shock absorbers, springs.

Good luck. 2013 FL2 XS.
Defender 90 300 TDi.
Defender 90 300 TDi CSW.
1964 MGB Roadster.
1944 Willys MB "Jeep" with bullet holes. (gone)
17 hand Irish Drought Thoroughbred (mostly lame)
Nagging Old Boiler.

Mahatma Gandhi said if there is an Idiot in power those who elected him are well represented

Wear in any of the suspension bushes can make a car seem wallowy. Need to check all of them. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Our roads totally suck, like a third world country. After 150K I've had to replace only the front lower control arms and the shocks.

I suggest to also check the Strut top bearings, as when they wear the car feels Floaty and imprecise to steer. Broken Springs seem common these days as well. I had to replace complete struts on ours at 155k miles.

I noticed a vast improvement after renewing the drop links.

The top ball joints on both where seized up solid.

108,000 miles done.

Could be a reasonably cheap fix

Last edited by I Like Chips on 6th Sep 2021 6:16 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Luke G wrote:

My 2009 Freelander 2 with with 146 000 kms has started to feel a bit sloppy on the road up front. A wheel alignment helped for a while but driving it this week it just didn’t feel like it held the line round corners and even on straight roads the way it used to. I’m after suggestions as to what to look at to fix things that typically tend to wear at this age. It has only known bitumen roads with a bit of Australian dirt from time to time.

“Take it to a reliable mechanic and have him or her diagnose the issue(s). It could be various bushings, links, sway bar, suspension, etc.. Most all mechanics generally don't charge for a service like this with the hope that you will get it repaired there. They will likely test drive the vehicle before putting it on a hoist”.

You’d have to wait about six weeks here just to get it booked into a local mechanic & then they’d charge about $200 to diagnose it!  (Now Sold). 2008 Freelander 2 (Nazca Sand) SE TD4 Auto. Statutory write off & on WOVR for hail damage but still road legal.
171037Km as of 09/05/22
Superchips Bluefin Flash
Nanocom Evo II (also sold)

I Like Chips wrote:

I noticed a vast improvement after renewing the drop links.

The top ball joints on both where seized up solid.

108,000 miles done.

Could be reasonably cheap fix

My 07 wallowed like an old barge. I recently replaced the front dampers, when testing them, they had some resistance compared to the new ones, however the rebound on the old ones were really slow. I swapped both sides, top bearing mounts, drop links, rubber spring seats, anti roll bar bushes and swapped the 16” wheels for 18” with Pirelli scorpion verde tyres, car transformed, rear end needs overhaul but worn components really affect the ride and steering in my experience,

Many thanks everyone for the suggestions, it gives me a good list of things to get started on in order to try and bring the car back to how it used to be.