[not a for sale, a genuine question for those who know the mechanics and or market value)

Come all ye sufferers and malcontents, listen to my tale of WOE!

I bought a lovely red FL2 i6 that drove like poop off a proverbial, never had a problem (beyond normal bits and bobs) and i would regularly laugh (LAUGH!) at the peasants as I drove by as it was also LPG Converted. In short, good times all round and a great car for roof tenting and generally getting about.

But then came the day that I heard a dreaded ‘ticking’ noise from my engine - having had my partners Ford Mustang murder itself to death because of [some mechanical problem that we will only describe as….American] which was ALSO proceeded by a ticking noise.

So i dutifully took it to a 4x4 mechanic in Reddich who…basically hit it with hammers by the looks of things.
Maybe let a toddler loose on it with a drill.
Either way, £2k later i had a still broken car, with a dismantled engine and not a lot of solution in sight.

So i asked them to carefully load her up on a flatbed (having lost a bit of faith in their army of aggressive toddlers and their spurious claims) and ship her to [a well known Freelander specialist].

ON she is driven across country, her bare engine exposed to the wind and bugs and grit.
if she didn’t need an engine rebuild before, she did by the time she arrived at her destination! (thanks toddlers).

So the well known Freelander experts diagnosed it with “er mate, your engine has been fully exposed for a four hour journeyk, you’ve got pigeons nesting in it” and we dutifully agreed to get a fresh engine and replace her broken heart as well as beat up my wallet (to a further £3-4k).

Sure enough she ran again..with the dreaded ticking (until the specialist said “ah yeah, i know what that is, it’s just your power streering fluid is low - that’s an easy fix”).

God damn.

So i drove my car with its fresh new engine and everything was good.
Sure the exhaust rattled a bit and there was small oil leak. But life was good.

Either way I decided the time had come to part with my FL2 because i’d reached that point where I kinda resented spending money on it having had such a poor experience (and did i mention i was still paying off the credit card bill over a year later?).

I was still driving it on long journeys quite happily but the romance had gone, replaced by the occasional oil top up and sad glances at other shinier cars.

So i dutifully put it up on [a website] for a reasonably low amount.
Was offered an even lower amount which i refused (as it was less than the engine cost)

Then…on an adventure to watch sweaty lycra clad men beat the hell out of each other (no…i wasn’t going to parliament, i was going to watch the wrestling) my dear painful beast decided that this was the time to inform me that under no uncertain terms would my alternator decide to charge my battery anymore.

NO. NO MORE. GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR.

So, as i sit here waiting in a service station for a pickup I feel like i’m left with a few choices.

1) I could ‘scrap’ the car for £2k with person who offered the money
2) I could buy in an alternator and have a crack at fixing it myself - though the alternator doesn’t look like it’s in a particularly accessible place - but i’m not sure whether that would fundamentally save me much money
3) I could get it fixed by a local wrencher, cost a bit more, but would it really add that much more to the price given it’s a little leaky and needs some TLC anyway?

She’s been an awesome fun car, drives like stink and I suspect had I not paid for an unnecessary engine rebuild i’d just go for option 3 (as well as fixing her other quirks) but given i’m trying to get -out- of debt…

What would you do?

(and to add to all of that, my bloody cat died last week)

Personally I’d fit a new alternator & pulley, although I’m fairly certain that entails removing the inlet manifold first! Quite a labour intensive job to pay for I would imagine.

To do it yourself would depend on how handy you are with spanners & if you have access to all the tools required of course.

Good luck with it, whichever path you choose. (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 would fix it no question and the decision would be made faster than I can blink an eye.

But that is me


This link shows how to replace the Thermostat and a small hose and O-ring that fails

You should replace the Thermostat and Hose and O-ring while you are in there

If doing all of that and the Alternator is too much then I would scrap it if I were you



https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32245.html




This Video shows what need to be done on the Alternator (once the intake manifold is out of the way)

Nice one Paul, I knew you'd have the necessary links. (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)

Fix it yourself or get somebody to do it for you, bit far away from you but i can recommend a proper mechanic in Rugby.
You can't just let a good motor go like that, you know it makes sense. Common sense isn't very common.
_______________________________
2007 Land Rover Freelander2 I6 hse Auto

Badger51 wrote:

Nice one Paul, I knew you'd have the necessary links.

Thanks

Good news: I am a devoted fan of the 3.2

Bad news: There is no know cure

Sincere thanks for the link all, I'll spend some time mooching through it today.

I guess the key thing is that in any scenario I'll be selling/parting with her and the question is whether repairing the alternator will really add that much more value?

Totally agree the engine is smooth and fun as hell* but fundamentally I won't need a car for 12 months +

* So much fun

".................I won't need a car for 12 months +".

So, there's no excuse for not having a go yourself - you've got a fairly large window there to get it sorted and at a pace that suits you ! It's mainly disassembly/re-assembly , so as long as you plan ahead and have the correct tools to hand before starting, you'll crack it in no time.

Hah, okay, i walked into that

I won’t need a car for 12 months + because I’ll be living on a boat with no room to keep a car and after that I won’t really know.

So the focus of the post is whether it’s more of a cost benefit to try and fix it now now (or get it fixed now now) or whether £2k for ‘scrap’. I certainly won’t/can’t deny that it’s a fun/great car but keeping it won’t be an option in either event.

(fyi fixing it now now would be on a public street so i wouldn’t be able to leave her open for an extended period)

What you have to decide is whether it's worth more with a working starter or not. If you are going to scrap it, it likely won't matter. For a private sale, it likely would matter.

Right, so my "other" advice was a none starter.
Ok, well I see you're listed as Birmingham (although this could be anywhere , really).
My next suggestion is only a phone call.
Give Thomas at Marrion 4x4 a call on 01922 492765 (Walsall) to see how much the work would cost.
I've known him for years as he used to be one of the spanner guys at Craddocks until a few years ago when he set up on his own.
At least this way you get a far more accurate estimate of the cost, plus Thomas is a Land Rover specialist and not just the spanners guy at a generic local garage.
At least this way you can gauge whether the job is worth doing or not from a financial standpoint.