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hi guys, im a qualified land rover mechanic....i did my training at the land rover technical academy in the uk, ive worked in land rover main dealers and land rover specialst garages as a mechanic and as a parts manager so i do know a little about them.... ive read the topic through and just want to highlight a few things and give my input/opinion. Firstly the freelander 1 is a great little car but like all cars its had its problems. in short the petrol versions are crap. both the 1.8k series a the 2.5kv6 have head gasket issues. yes land rover did release a modified headgaket AND oil rail for the 1.8 which has improved the problem of head gasket failure but most non dealers that fit these will miss something out. i.e. the special oil rail sealant, or that you should also fit the modified coolant tank and cap when doing the headgasket as they get stress cracks which release pressure and thus cause overheating of the system. this is often overlooked by people as the cracks appear underneath the sticker on the tank. The v6 also suffers from head gasket failure but this is normally caused by a leak on a coolant rail that sits in the valley of the V. once there is a small leak the pressure is lost and the engine overheats and warps the cylinder heads. this happens A LOT in the uk where it never no where near as hot as it is here in lanka so its no surprise that FL1's in lanka will have the problem 10 times worse. the td4 diesel engine is a different story, its a great engine but like everything it gets problems, a common cause of lack of power is the turbo hoses from the intercooler to the inlet manifold delaminate so from the outside they look fine but inside they are sucked shut starving the engine of boost. ive also replaced a fair few injectors and lift pumps on these but this is common on any diesel. If you own a diesel fl1 go and buy a crankcase breather filter right NOW. chances are it hasnt been changed during your service here in lanka and by not changing these you will cause engine running problems. this used to be every few services but land rover changed it to every other service i believe from memory but i personally would just change it every service. The tailgate doors often leak, its usually the body rubber has torn/split or the car has been hit on the spare wheel and this has made the tailgate not quite 100% straight. IRD (transfer box) do go as they tend to wind themselves up during cornering but its a very easy job to do. the pinion seals also sometimes leak but again a very easy job to replace. now onto range rover sports....... as most know the sport and disco 3 along with the supercharged range rover was done in fords ownership of land rover/jag/aston martin. the sport and disco 3 share the same chassis but its just a little longer. so naturally they share some of same problems one being the air suspension. it is common to find people jack the car up on the compressor pump thinking its a jacking point so if you buy one and the air sus wont work check this first! the compressors do also overheat and they had a problem with the exhaust valve, again a modified one is available but still we used to get these cars coming in for new pumps every few years so expect to change one in your time of ownership. other than the compressors though they dont have many air sus issues, the airbags themselves rarely leak.... they do suffer from front balljoint wear (esp with oversized wheels, i will NEVER reccomend fitting bigger that 20" wheels) lower arm, front ARB rear ARB bushes, front and rear tie rods. i know ive made them sound like a vehicle with a lot of issues but im just naming things that ive replaced a lot of in my years of working on these cars, they are an excelent drive and great off road and are in a diferent league from a defender which hasnt really changed much in the past 20 years apart from the latest TDCI puma models which have a ford transit van engine and gearbox. not knocking defenders though they but they have their place and they are not a high spec model like the fl, disco and range rover so this is naturally shown in the price. in light of getting spares, the place where i used to be a parts manager is called berkshire land rover. They are a defender builder that also has a small service department. the current parts manager is an old mate of mine and they will send parts abroad if you require them. just contact them with a full chassis number to make sure its 100% the right part. www.berkshirelandrover.com (please do not think this is an advert for them, i do not work for them any more and i will not gain from anyone buying from them, i just wanted to let you know its a good reliable place to get spares if you need them for any landrover new or old) regards to the company making a loss, land rover havent made a loss in years, jaguar has and so when the freelander 2 was created it was chosen not to be built at solihull with all the other land rovers but at the jag factory so that the brands could not be split. the reason for jags low sales is that in the uk in particular it gained a bad reputation. in the USA they sell very very well and to be honest you get one hell of a good car for your money. just like the superchaged range rover some of the jag models share the aston martin 4.2v8 and the new 5L V8. and believe me a suprcharged range rover will leave a lot of cars well behind speed wise so you can guess that the same power and torque in a small light 2wd car is very very fun! finally yes TATA are trying to split the land rover / range rover brand....the new "baby range rover evoque" is a great example of this.........underneath its pretty much a freelander 2 which funnily enough underneath is a ford kuga

i can remember my learning days in my first car..i was stopped by cop since im driving through 2nd lane in negombo road with L board and suddenly i turned left without even signaling and stopped. and pulled the hand break.. then the cop come near to me and asked to go bit further and park ..and i was trying to accelerate but the car didnt move even a bit .. i was panicked because it was my first time i was stopped by a cop..after few seconds of trying the cop looked at me again and said with a smile 'malli hand break eka'

Dumb question but ill answer cause i have done this on accident. Your car will move forward (not at normal passe)if its a front wheel drive car and the rear wheels will start to skid if your brakes are good or it might even heat-up the rear brakes and you could be in for some repairs. On a RWD car ? i have no idea but im not willing to try either.

What will happen if you take a poop with your pants on?

I don't know, did you try asking from MR?

World's fastest ever crash test: Family car vapourised as it smashes into wall at 120mph (a speed most runabouts can hit) Scroll down for video Too late to pull out now: Travelling at 120mph, the Ford Focus is just inches away from impact Hitting the wall: In the blink of an eye, the front half of the hatchback is completely crushed Going, going...: The driver compartment is next to buckle under the pressure. Thankfully only a cheap crash test dummy was behind the wheel Gone: The car seems to have almost completely disintegrated as the back end hurtles towards the wall Scrap metal: the car is unrecognisable after its high-speed collision VIDEO LINK : http://www.youtube.c...d&v=6dI5ewOmHPQ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2052533/Worlds-fastest-crash-test-Car-smashes-wall-120mph-speed-family-runarounds-hit.html

@Fonfe, Thats a great write up. THank you for clearing this up. Just goes to show the difference between someone who knows what he is talking about and someone who googles. Thank you again. We need more of your type and the less of the Google Mechanics, who dont even own a bicycle pump.

BPCD, this is a forum of automotive enthusiasts and sadly all members with the type of expertise you seek either are too busy with their day jobs or have their own successful work shops. So sadly you are looking in the wrong place. The problem with this type of arrangement with somebody who you don't know is that at some point the other party could always walk away start his own business and take the customers with you. As my old boss told me, in a small company the boss needs to know how to do every job in the business. May I suggest you take a part time course in motor engineering yourself to begin with, possibly at a place like German Tech ?

If only obtaining a driver's licence here were very difficult. It would weed out the bad drivers and subsequently reduce the amount of vehicles on the road too.

my toyota motorcycle gives me the best fuel figures, best resale value and also the engine runs unlimited amount miles without any ticking sounds. except for the tick tock of the built it analog clock of course also...you should see my BS125... proper cafe racer man! built with me own two hands..

Waaaw...you guys are riding Fiat motorcycles ...be careful guys they make a slight 'dicking' sound after 30k kilometers.

Well to start with, its just a crime to compare a good euro with mainstream models like n16 or an fb15. If you are in the mindset of the typical Sri Lankan and care about things like fuel figures, resale value and all other crap go for an ES8,N16 or FB15. If your primary interest is luxury, prestige and driving pleasure and dont really give a rats ass about resale value and other traits go for the pug.

Beats me...