Well, it happened again. Out felling Spruce in some woods in North Dorset today with 6 other guys. We had a Defender 110 and my Disco3 with us. Section we were working was about 1.5 miles into the wood down a soggy clay track with the odd branch, stump and other debris littered across it. Stuck the D3 into the mud and ruts setting in low range and merrily pootled along behind the 110, which proceeded to get stuck at the point where we were meant to be turning to have our vehicles pointing back out of the woods (you don't want to be messing around with a 3-point turn if you have a chainsaw accident victim to get back to civilisation).
After a lot of cursing and messing about we got the 110 past the patch in question, and onto firmer ground but then it wouldn't come back out again across the same sticky spot. Luckily the D3 made it through without and drama and I was able to hitch a recovery strop to the 110 and pull it back out again.
Chelsea Tractor? Not from where I was sitting.
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Chelsea Tractor? Not from where I was sitting.
Why do they use them in Chelsea, then?
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Why do they use them in Chelsea, then?
versatility, driving position, 7 seats, quality end of the market, good boot space, feeling of security, dual purpose i.e. country/town use....... etc,etc,etc
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versatility, driving position, 7 seats, quality end of the market, good boot space, feeling of security, dual purpose i.e. country/town use....... etc,etc,etc.>>
..... and with heavily tinted windows, you can't be seen using a mobile phone ;-)
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I always thought they should have fitted a rear diff lock to 90's and 110's. My old Audi 80 had centre and rear diff locks...
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Rich, all the difflocks in the world won't save you if your wheels won't reach the ground.......
Oddly enough the D3 only has a central diff as standard, although you can specify a locking rear diff from factory for about £400. Could I find a single used one with this option fitted? At the moment it's not practical or cost effective to retro-fit the LR one but I'm sure it won't be long before ARB or similar come up with a suitable aftermarket rear locker.
As it happens the traction control and other clever wizzy stuff acts as a virtual rear diff but it's a bit counter intuitive; in order to get this to kick in you have to give the throttle a bit of a boot to try and get the wheels spinning, totally the opposite of what you might normally do in a situation where you would use a rear diff.
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Oh right, I see what you mean!
I had a couple of sticky moments years ago driving my mates 90 so I used to think, if Audi can fit a rear air diff lock to a saloon car, why don't Land Rover fit one as standard to their vehicles? I think the LR view was that most drivers would never need to use one, those that did could get an aftermarket one fitted.
Likewise nowadays I suppose the special traction control system does a more than adequate job for the vast majority of owners, and from your post it sounds like its highly effective...
;o)
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>> Why do they use them in Chelsea, then? versatility, driving position, 7 seats,
Ah. Buy a minibus, and avoid the "congestion charge (as well as being able to use bus lanes)!
quality end of the market,
Oh dear..... "..... moi?"
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>quality end of the market
Hmmm. I'll ask my neighbour, whose petrol Freelander seems to have its bonnet open a lot of the time. While I'm at it, I could check my theory that, whereas most cars come with a lever to pull when you want to open the bonnet, Land Rovers have one you pull when you want to close it.
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I think your average LR dealer would choke if you suggested the old Freelander was at the premium end of anything.
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petrol Freelander seems tohave its bonnet open a lot of the time.
That's because it's an off-road vehicle. It's called a Freeloader because it trades on the LandRover name but isn't a real one.
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The Freelander seems to be getting a bit of jip here....mate's got a 3 yr old one, which seems quite nice...half leather seats and a load of goodies.......more than reasonable off road, with that hill descent thing
he's had to have all 4 diesel injectors done, so it hasn't been faultless........but all covered under warranty (after a row for the last two as they were by then out of warranty and they wouldn't do them 'til they went wrong)
there's worse on/off the road.......and it's built here by us
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there's worse on/off the road.......and it's built here by us
:^D
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>> there's worse on/off the road.......and it's built here by us :^D
does that mean a man with a big nose, who's jaw has just dropped open?.......: - )
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does that mean a man with a big nose, who's jaw has just dropped open?.......: - )
I was'nt sure how to interpret your post...
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you've lost me........i meant that there are worse vehicles on the road than a Freelander to drive.. and that it is more than adequate off road, which beats many others.....and that it is put together in this country by British workers, which supports our economy somewhat .....(albeit owned by an American company)
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The original Freelander suffered from too many faults. Yes, Hill Descent Control is very good, but the petrol engined (1.8 K Series) need no introduction for faults and the viscous couplings appear to be made of blancmange. Many independents can now replace a viscous coupling on a FL with their eyes closed and are doing a couple a week as they fail with shocking regularity between 20,000 and 30,000 miles on any cars that go off the tarmac.
A late Td4 may prove a reasonable buy if you push the price down hard and have decent home mechanical skills (the coupling isn't beyond the ambitious home DIYer with a hoist and decent stands or an inspection pit) or a tame local specialist, but I'd avoid the others like I'd avoid a steamy liaison with Ting Tong Macadangdang.
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>>Hill Descent Control is very good
My backside.
It damn near killed me back in the days when I used to occasionally use on of these pathetic piles of carp.
The original Freelander might be fine in Chelsea, perhaps even in Surrey, but don't be showing it any real difficulties. For a start it means its hard work walking back up hill to pick up whatever was the last thing to fall off because there's no way of driving the thing up hill and secondly relying on the HDC remaining functioning and having some influence over the diffs, gearbox and/or engine is a short trip to the bottom of the hill quickly.
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Ok, I'll acknowledge that my firsthand use of HDC has been in the Disco3 and it's fine and dandy on that. I know a few FL owners who think it's fine, but they are in more recent facelift cars of 04/05 vintage.
I wouldn't touch an early Freelander with a scabby leper. A later facelift Td4, yes, but not for anything serious offroad, just for cheap access to some ground clearance and 4x4 ability(ish). Granted, my preference would be for something else, but if the right car at the right price came up and it met my needs (which it doesn't) then I'd have it.
Of course we could always meet for a beer to consider the relative merits of the new Disco..... have you still got my email address? I can still access the LV one 3 days a week or there's the AO Hell one.
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I've got to visit a large sticky-up thing in Dorset soon to check its safe and not likely to kill anybody, I'll let you know the dates.
I do have your e-mail address, I just ignore your e-mails.
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A perfectly reasonable approach and one I recommend to all who know me.
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Welcome back No Do$h.
Have you given up trying to sort out the problems of insurance companies and become a lumberjack?
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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I hope he's better at that than he is a killing red ants.
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Greetings again Mr Beattie. Sort of; I'm currently balancing my time between the insurance industry and, amongst other things, tree felling. Planning on going into countryside and estate management and figured it wouldn't hurt to get some practical hands-on qualifications for the subjects that are currently under legislative scrutiny, so getting my NPTC CS30 and CS31 qualifications over the next few weeks before moving on to other subjects.
Now Mark, we told you how to get rid of the red ants but you didn't want to do what we suggested, you bad boy you. Not really one you can lay at my door! Unfortunately ants aren't known for compromise, so when you have the problem on the scale you have it's the all-out nuclear option and goodbye large swathes of garden until you can replant or you live with the little critters.
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