Hello. I have just finished the break-in period (800Km) of a manual TD4 Freelander2 and as to this point I have no gremlins and everything is fine. Well almost everything. In fact I noticed, from day one, a weird noise from the gearbox. It sounds as something snaps into place, and the noise is accompanied with a small short vibration in the gearbox knob. This noise and vibration are happening when braking, when the vehicle reaches around 10 Km/hour. Mind you, it happens every single time the speed is decreased to the 10km/hour mark, regardless if the car is in gear or in neutral.
First I considered this noise to be a break-in symptom. Since it is produced with clockwork precision I am beginning to suspect it to be a “feature”. The car displays no signs of malfunction but the noise and vibration are a bit annoying. I was wondering if any of you have experienced a similar situation. Since I really don’t want the gearbox mechanism of a brand new car to be dismantled, I can live with this as long as it is no warning sign of a more serious problem.
Thank you.

I've not noticed any strange noise so far, so I think it's not a feature but something that needs to get sorted  

Not noticed anything strange on mine either.

Or me, talk to your dealer, better safe than sorry
Good Luck
David David

Thank you for the replies. I was hoping that the noise would be some sort of incredibly smart system that turns itself off at low speeds .
Unfortunately it seems that I have some sort of a gremlin after all. And like a good little gremlin it appears only at the magic 10 km/hour mark
Never mind that, since I have little spare time, I would probably try to sort it out at my first maintenance visit.
In the mean time, if any of you fine people have any ideas about this problem, please post it in this topic.
Have a nice evening.

My gear lever is fine except for a dry rubbery creaking inside it, almost like a dry joint, role on the auto whenever it will arrive

Mat, I have had a similar problem with my Mercedes some time ago. The mechanics were guessing and all sorts of things were "repaired", without solving the actual problem. Ultimately, I have spoken with an old taxi driver bringing me from Frankfurt airport home, and he told me that my workshop should look at the damping rubbber between cramshaft and differential gear, called "hardy pulley". This hardy pulley dampens the force of the cramshaft going into the differential gear. The noise and vibration around the speed of 10 km/h is typical for this damaged or not properly mounted hardy pulley. So please check with your workshop. It is a simple thing to repair.

Good luck, and let us know of your results.

Yamaha-Fan

yamaha-fan,
Thank you for your input, I think you are on to something. It seems that the noise and vibration are coming from around the gearlever and not from the actual gearbox (I am not a mechanical wizz, so my explanations may be a less informative ). This operation you are talking about implies dismantling the entire gearbox assembly, or it is something less complicated? I am reluctant to have my car taken apart by the dealer, since it is a brand new model and I think it will be the "guinea pig" for my dealer's workshop.
In your experience could this flaw lead to a more serious damage or not?

Thanks,
Mat

Mat,
My gearbox also makes a noise at very much the same speed you are talking about, and as with yours it makes the noise every timer the speed reduces (It has done for all 14,500 miles).

I know exactly what the noise is on my car, I wonder if your problem is related to this .... When the car is stationary you will notice that the gear lever is free to move sideways across the entire width of the gate i.e including the reverse plane. I noticed this the very first time I sat in an FL2 and raised it as a concern, for accidental selcetion of reverse. However I was told not to worry as once on the move a lockout moves into position preventing the reverse plane from being selected. The noise I hear in my car is the lockout disengaging (which of course it does every time you slow down to a stop), it takes the form of a slight 'click' which can heard if you listten for it and can be felt through the gear lever. I've accepted this as a feature of the car. As described this click occurs with absolute precision at the same time/speed and has never varied.

Although the noises Mat describes are different the speed and timing are consistent with the lockout operating, I wonder if they are connected ... ?

I guess everyone will now be holding their (gearlever) knobs to check it out

Last edited by avtur on 19th Jul 2007 2:52 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Mat, the hardy pulley is normally screwed with 4 or 6 drills onto the cramshaft going into the differential gear. The gearbox need not to be removed, as the cramshaft has 2 joints to prevent vibration.
In my case the repair took about 20 minutes and has cost 80 DEM (at that time).

So I advise by alll means that you let your workshop have a look at the cramshaft to see if everything is in order.

Yamaha-Fan

Avtur,

I admit I tend to hold on to my (gearlever) knob , it's just my style of driving. On a more serious note, what you are describing is very much similar to my experience. As you are saying the phenomenon occurs with absolute precision, every time the car is slowing down. It also occurs if the gearbox is set in neutral and indeed it is a single noise accompanied with a short vibration. That is why my first assumption was that this is indeed a feature. My concern was that I never noticed it on other manual cars I drove (true enough the reverse gear selection was different on those). Should this be a feature of the gearbox I could accept it without any problems. Regarding the description of the noise, as I previously stated, I may not be the best describer of such occurances.

@yamaha-fan
Seems that it is a simple operation indeed. On the other hand, Avtur seems to experience a similar situation, and this diminishes my worries. I will try to get to the dealer as soon as possible, by during the week days I get of work around the same time the dealership closes, and in week-ends the dealership is closed also. In any case, should a critical failure occur there always is LR Assistance and warranty

Mat

Hello Mat,

I also experience the same phenomenon when slowing down. Never noticed it before but if you pay attention, it is there.

Car is going in next wednesday for a replacement of the propshaft. I will ask the dealer if this noise is normal and keep you posted.

Meanwhile enjoy driving this great car. Every morning when I drive to work (40 miles) I put on a happy face

Hy,

Propshaft was replaced today, car also got first maintenance. Tomorrow we plan a trip into the Ardennes to test it before we leave on holiday Friday.

Head mechanic explained that the click you hear when speed drops below 20km/h is the four wheel drive which is engaging. This automatically turns of above that speed. Seems logical to me...

Service was great , received explanation while they were working on the car (after I asked for it).

ledzep wrote:

Hy,

Propshaft was replaced today, car also got first maintenance. Tomorrow we plan a trip into the Ardennes to test it before we leave on holiday Friday.

Head mechanic explained that the click you hear when speed drops below 20km/h is the four wheel drive which is engaging. This automatically turns of above that speed. Seems logical to me...

Service was great , received explanation while they were working on the car (after I asked for it).

4x4 upon set off from standing, then it cuts out immediately if not needed, only cutting back in if wheel slip occurs on front wheels. At work
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