The FL2 saga continues. I bought a 09 plate FL2 which had the diff replaced by Craddocks. It was still noisy which they suggested was tyres. I replaced the tyres which made no difference. My local indy thought the new diff had failed so it went back to Craddocks. They diagnosed a noisy main support bearing in the auto-box. It has now been shipped to an auto-box specialist. They confirmed the noise was coming from the gearbox area but are unsure if it is from the final drive bearing or the IRD. I am waiting on them investigating further.

Thankfully, I am not picking up the tab for the work-the dealer is. I am tempted to reject the car and get my money back but I can't help but think it is worth hanging on in there until it is sorted-particularly as two big jobs will be done at someone else's expense. Has anyone else had any experience of bearing failure in the auto-box?

Can't advise on the noise/failure but if you've had it less than 30 days I personally would hand it back - the issues are too serious in my opinion. 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…

If those repairs are now coming with a 12 month warranty it may not be all bad news. The garage seems to be acting professionally and not fobbing you off but it must be very frustrating. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Hi Yorky Bob. The dealer has been good. He is obviously very apologetic and wants it sorted. He offered an instant refund if I wanted it. Craddocks were negligent-how they missed the gearbox issue when it went in for the diff is beyond belief-it was really noisy. They have been great since though. I drift between rejecting the car and keeping it. Craddocks have been over it a little more carefully second time around. The mechanic doesn't seem phased by the bearing and thought the Freelander was well looked after and a good buy. My worry is potential damage to other components-the bearing would certainly be running hot and probably cause some vibration. Whether that is sufficient to cause collateral damage in the drive train is unclear. Craddocks and the gearbox specialist thought not. The independent specialist I use thought it possibly could!

I would take the dealers offer of a full refund myself as I would have lost all faith in the vehicle.

If they are being so good about it I would keep as you've already formed out on tyres. If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

The tyres are part of the reason for thinking carefully before rejecting it. The dealer will of shelled out about £2k on the car so there is no money in it for him. Ultimately, it was my decision to fit new tyres and he may contribute as a good will gesture. I could also small claims court my costs and may possibly win. The problem is I have looked at a fair few other cars and rejected all of them. There are a lot of cars out there that have been either poorly maintained or need a chunk of money spending on them to get them up to a good standard. Ironically, this one stood out as being worth a punt. I have had three much newer Freelander's in the past and had forgotten just how nice they are to drive-even with the bearing whine in the background! The auto is super smooth on this one-way nicer than the previous HSE auto I had which was only three years old when I bought it. I never really understood why people raved about the auto based on my previous experience. Having driven this one, I can now see why.

Glad you understood I meant *forked* text
I have a auto HSE due to health and really pleased with auto. Hope you get to right decision for yourself  If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

There is a splined coupling between the Auto box and the IRD, this is designed to run dry, it is in a void that can fill with water/mud/salt, just before it fails you will get bearing type noises, it will then destroy the input shaft to the IRD, the other end of the coupling is nicely lubricated as it sits inside the auto box.

Not a biggie, the splined coupling is available cheaply enough from LR, the IRD is £600ish from Austin at Bell Engineering, a few litres of oil and a seal.

A lot cheaper than a recon box, and easily accomplished on the driveway in a weekend.

Not that you will be doing the work, but the garage you are using won't suffer a huge bill either. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Cheers for that Andy131. Is there a bearing inside the auto gearbox on the other end of the coupling? The mechanic at Craddocks suggested it would require stripping the gearbox to get to the bearing. I hope that isn't the case but you have reassured me that it isn't too much to worry about. This has been an interesting journey. Craddocks have replaced about 60 diffs and suggested it is becoming a fairly common failure. The independent I use said the same thing.

The auto specialist said they are seeing quite a few gearbox problems on Freelander 2 auto's-mine being typical of the most common fault. Your description of the coupling has helped me understand why they need to investigate further before knowing exactly where the fault is.

The gearbox does not need to come out, the end of the sleeve that sits in the gearbox is fully lubricated - just a simple tug and it comes out, no bearing to replace, just a seal as a precaution.

Take a look here

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic26133.html Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Many thanks for that-I wish I had your mechanical skills-I would be back on the road by now

you really don't wish you had my skills, everyone who even vaguely thinks they know you firmly believes that :-
a) you enjoy lying in the gutter in the rain underneath a car
b) every job will take you "5 minutes"
c) that their car takes precedence over the 5,000 jobs the wife has lined up for you, and that includes "catching" you on the driveway after a 15 hour shift.
d) that you should spend a fortune on tools that will diagnose/fix faults on a car that you personally wouldn't touch with a 10ft barge pole - think mother-in-laws Kia
e) the going rate for "dropping" a clutch in a Freelander 1 is a bottle of the cheapest red wine they can get from Aldi

Note anyone who has seen a clutch being fitted to a Freelander 1 in a garage with ramps/engine supports/lifting gear - let alone on the driveway will smile at e)

Neither of my sons let on that they are capable of fixing stuff, one is a Driving Instructor, the other an IT Manager, both enjoy having their free time to themselves.
Yes I do get satisfaction from fixing my stuff, and I don't trust many other people to do the things that I do as well as I would like it done. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

I feel your pain Andy. My son has far more money as a salary than I did before retirement and this morning I emailed him telling him to visit a garage not me to sort out his car problems. It was bad enough going out to find the dam car for him in the first place recently. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current