Afternoon All,

Freelander 2 GS, 2011, Manual.

I'm trying to diagnose an issue with my 4WD. This issue began after my Haldex failed and was driven around for a few months with a binded rear diff (this was before I knew you could pull the plug or fuse on it). A replacement working haldex was fitted and serviced then a month passes and the car starts to judder at random speeds (feels like abs) and most notably just before coming to a stop.

Having suffered this issue for a few weeks I decided to unplug the haldex and run in 2WD. Juddering stopped. Scratching my head I then fitted new tires all round as it has previously had odd worn tires (all same size however). Serviced the haldex again and switched it back on only to discover the noise had gotten worse.

Switched the haldex off again, juddering stopped again but a new noise developed, a sharp bang every time I lifted the clutch up in a new gear. The noise sounds like its coming from the rear but I'm not entirely sure.

I've pretty much ruled the haldex out as being a fault as I can't see why wet clutches would cause the car to physically judder. However it is obviously disconnecting a load off something, either the rear diff or front PTU.

Does anybody have a slightly more knowledgeable opinion on what may be going on here?

Kind Regards,
Charlie.

Splines worn between gearbox and PTU? That would go with a bang as there will be some resistance in the propshaft and that will still be rotating the input side of the Haldex.
The juddering with the Haldex fuse in would be the spline slipping when under power or on overrun.
I hope you didn’t needlessly discard any good tyres. A properly working AWD system on an FL2 isn’t wound up by unevenly worn tyres of the same size. Above 15 mph there is no input to the rear wheels anyway so windup doesn’t happen.

Thank you for your reply,

The changed tires were 3 or 4 years old. I do use the vehicle on the farm so new tires were needed anyway. The fronts were just considerably worse than the rears.

My fear is that its a worn spline somewhere between the gearbox and the rest of the drivetrain. A new PTU or Gearbox is going to be at least £500 each. Do you happen to know whether you can purchase splines and bearings individually for this type of job?

Is there any way to check to confirm your theory? I can jack it up and check out what's going on underneath (pull prop off, spin wheels etc)

I've got it booked in for a rear diff replacement as I had another one lying about and figured it could have been that. Better to make sure I know for sure what's failing before I spend out.

Thank you very much for your help!

Better to ask Austen at Bell Engineering

https://www.bellengineering.co.uk/

Could be the gearbox to PTU spline coupler. See this video.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/axyn9qReNOk.

The coupler/sleeve often wears before the shaft splines and thus can cause slipping.

Judder could also be due to worn PTU pinion gear bearing causing excessive freeplay. Sometimes this can be felt by inspecting under the car and trying to move the front of the drive shaft. Current: FL2 2014 SD4 SE Indus Silver. 39,000km as at Sep 24
Gone: Fl2 2013 TD4 SE Orkney Grey. 64,000 -> 83,000km
Gone: FL2 2011 TD4 XS Zermatt Silver. New->215,000km

Last edited by Bumpf on 30th Oct 2024 6:14 am. Edited 1 time in total

Front power train gearbox and coupling. Just replaced my 2014 m/y one. Same symptons, lots of noise, and bearings worn enough to climb the teeth over each other on the pinion. £135 on Ebay for Evoque and Freelander 2 secondhand. I bought a low mileage second hand one, and the coupling was £146. Its usually needed as well. Make sure its for the 2.2 Evoque, the two litre engine is different.

The FL2 gearbox to PTU spline coupler/sleeve part numbers I think are:

Auto gearbox: LR002746
Manual gearbox: LR061606

You should check this info. Current: FL2 2014 SD4 SE Indus Silver. 39,000km as at Sep 24
Gone: Fl2 2013 TD4 SE Orkney Grey. 64,000 -> 83,000km
Gone: FL2 2011 TD4 XS Zermatt Silver. New->215,000km