Ok so after two years trouble free running out of my freelander 2 2007 model its been a dream car to own, but after having a load of money spent on maintenance recently like new breaks, tyres, service, its suddenly started playing up.

It started with a vibe on the backend which I thought was a wheelbearing nearside, so Ive had that done and its still there.

The mechanic says its more than likely the diff, but cant really say,

So Ive booked it in for the opposite wheel bearing doing tomorrow and then if it doesn't cure it the diff reconditioning at the cost of about £400 before labour. (with the bearing)

But my question is how do I know its not the haldex thingy causing the noise? are the any obvious signs?

The car has done 50k and has been looked after.

The garage can tell if it is a diff, haldex or bearing, they shouldn't be guessing at your expense.

Check your tyres as they can cause so,e funny things. Low tread, uneven wear, pressures etc.
just a thought. * GONE. GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* GONE.2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Rocket ship. 33mpg.
* Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

Or, as in my case, the transfer box. Sounded like a crumble from the back, so the source can be misleading.

But as others have said, the garage should be able to tell. Mine certainly could. Learned to drive in 2011.
Bought a Micra - great little car
"Upgraded" to Kia Sportage - hated it
Proper upgrade to FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a 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

How can they/I tell? That's the question Im asking how would that be diagnosed?

Ive checked tyres pressures uneven wear, all that.

What Ive come on here for is basically to get the info from people who may know how to tell, because with all due respect Ive had a lot of cars and you can go to five different garages and the mechanics will all tell you different things.

And the last experience I had with my local guy salmon branch was amongst the worse experience of all.

SO they are out the question, I refuse to deal with them in future and pay their silly prices for mediocre mechanics at best.

The guy who is doing my car is a mate and charges about half of what Guy salmon would, but the problem Im facing is he can only treat this as process of elimination, Ive already read about the uprated haldex on the post 2009 models and the reflash of the ECU.

But mine is 2007 and When the diff is reconditioned the Haldex oil will be replaced ect as it has to come out for the strip, but the worse case scenario is I replace the other wheel bearing have the Diff reconditioned and after all that it turns out to be the Haldex bearing!

Does anyone know if the Haldex bearing was faulty if it would show up as a logged fault in the diagnostics?

All Ive read is that the haldex puts unnecessary tension on the pinion gear and its a common fault the landrover know about but never worried enough to recall them, but as I say the lad fixing mine has done this job already on a 2010 car with 20k on the clock.

But he specifically said the diff on that was making a proper clunk, but mine has no clunks it just sounds like a wheel bearing whining a low pitch and increasing with revs? so Im reluctant to pay for a fully reconditioned diff without really knowing if its the diff or the Haldex bearing making the noise and without a four wheel rolling road I don't know of a way to tell either way and Ive heard all Guy salmon do is take it for a road test and charge you £89 for the opinion, but even then its suck it and see.

Last edited by Elliot123 on 27th Apr 2015 10:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I would assume they can tell by getting the car up on a ramp and running it, listening to where the sound is coming from. That is certainly what my LR dealer said they did and when they replaced the transfer box, all the noise went away.

I believe from reading on here it is easy to spot a wheel bearing issue too by rotating said wheel while it is off the ground. If it feels rough then it is likely the bearing. No idea about diffs and haldex diagnosis though. But get an LR specialist to look. I would assume that's your best bet. Learned to drive in 2011.
Bought a Micra - great little car
"Upgraded" to Kia Sportage - hated it
Proper upgrade to FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a 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

The wheelbearing is a humming noise, diff will be a whine, not sure what a broken haldex would sound like but would imagine similar to the diff? Do you not have a good local indie? I think we would need more info as it is difficult to offer a diagnosis with limited info: Does the noise come on at different speeds, certain corners, under load, etc?

To run all wheels off the ground I was told the last time he did it with a freelander 2 all the warning lights came on and the dash was flashing like a Christmas tree.

But I still don't think a landrover specialist would even go to this level either.

I don't know how to spin the back wheel either as to jack it up I would need the handbrake on and its auto so it would be in park.

Its a tricky one but surely there must be a way of checking? that's all Im trying to find out.

Im sure if I took it to Guy salmon they may find it but then they will have my pants down when I get my wallet out, where as my mate is a good mechanic who I trust and will not overcharge me for things, but I just hope its not something that can slip under the best nose as this seems to be a very common fault with these either the diff or Haldex goes even known at under 10k miles, afterall its only a volvo car type diff on a 4x4.

RichP wrote:

The wheelbearing is a humming noise, diff will be a whine, not sure what a broken haldex would sound like but would imagine similar to the diff? Do you not have a good local indie? I think we would need more info as it is difficult to offer a diagnosis with limited info: Does the noise come on at different speeds, certain corners, under load, etc?

You can put the car on axel stands and run the engine in fourth gear up to 30 ish, if you do this while it is on a ramp you will be able to get a stethoscope to all the areas. The abs light will come on but will go off again when you drive down the road. For H&S reasons I cannot recommend this method, but I know it has been done

My transfer box issue kicked in at 45mph and went at 55mph. Sounded like a droning noise. A bit like a propeller plane and a jet plane together. Not overly loud. I was convinced it was coming from the back, specifically from the rear passenger side. I was totally wrong.

My LR dealer specifically told me they put it up on the ramp and ran it to listen to the noise. Considering the part alone costs about £2000 I don't think they were messing around. Learned to drive in 2011.
Bought a Micra - great little car
"Upgraded" to Kia Sportage - hated it
Proper upgrade to FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a 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

Elliot123 wrote:

RichP wrote:

The wheelbearing is a humming noise, diff will be a whine, not sure what a broken haldex would sound like but would imagine similar to the diff? Do you not have a good local indie? I think we would need more info as it is difficult to offer a diagnosis with limited info: Does the noise come on at different speeds, certain corners, under load, etc?

Its a bit of inbetween its like a wheelbearing noise at low speed but gets higher pitched on the motorway.

Doesn't change around corners.

But does seem to increase under revs at about 40 mph but as you shut off it gets a lot quieter quickly.

To me I was absolutely convinced it was a wheel bearing.

I mean the absolute best case scenario would be he does the other wheel bearing and bobs your uncle its fixed but I have a feeling he may be right its this diff issue as since I researched it its absolutely all over google.

But nowehere on the internet can I find out a way of telling if its diff or haldex bearing, I just read the other day about the haldex having a sensor so if that was the issue would this show up on a fault code before we start ripping it to bits?

Having just been through this, my story is that the rear rumble/whine started and I took it into my dealer as it was under warranty and they changed the transfer box and also the rear diff bearing. This fixed it for about 500 miles and then the rumble came back , so back to the dealer and this time it was a wheel bearing so they fixed that and its been OK since.
The moral of this story is that you might have more than one fault. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Thanks guys.

Plan is ramp today and wheelbearing first then if it doesn't go away.

Diff tomorow.

Best get my card out for another tanning lol

What tyres are you running and what's the rear tread depth? Don't rule out 'singing' tyres. Td4 XS manual, Orkney Grey, MY2014