I have a droning sound, sound like it is front rather than rear. Dealer says it's the tyres which are 'stepped' after they changed the transfer box and rear near side wheel bearing made no difference to the noise

I have had tyre noise before and are used to running AT tyres, but this noise I feel is just a bit too loud especially at lower road speeds 30mph ish.

The GG's have covered about 35K miles, the fronts are on 5mm and the rears 4mm. I have rotated the tyres and can not now see any visible 'stepping' in the tread. When moving the tyres around I have not noticed any change in the road noise.

My gut feel is that it could be a front wheel bearing or gearbox issue?? I will try and get the dealer to swap the wheels with one of their stock cars and take it for a test drive, this will define if it is tyres or not.

Anyone else had experience of excessively noisy General Grabber AT's? 1998 Feelander XDI Hardback - Gone
2002 Freelander TD4 GS Hardback - Gone
2004 Freelander TD4 HSE Stationwaggon - Gone
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 XS manual - Gone
2010 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto - Gone
2013 SD4 GS arrived April 2013

It could be your tyres. AT tyres IME tend to get noticeably noisier as they wear. More so than 'normal' road tyres. ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

Had the same problem and it turned out to be tracking. Go to somebody who has the latest "Hunter" laser tracking system http://www.hunter.com/alignment-systems/hawkeye-elite and almost certain this will solve your problem.

Bill  Life Honorary Member of Wallasey Motor Club.
Licenced MSA Radio Operator for 35+ years.
Rallying is the only sport.

I have a set of grabber ATs, which I use when needed... The worn pair which are at about 5mm have become incredibly noisy, to the point that I'm considering changing them, the other pair are not as worn and are still quiet - having the benefit of a set of wranglers too, it's easy to find the source!!! 2000 Xei 1.8 gone
2004 HSE Td4 Auto, MT's, sump guard, sliderz - gone
2014 GS Man - AT's, Mantec Sump guard and tank guard, split charger in boot, towbar, work in progress...

My brother had the same thing when he bought his D3 which had Gg a/t tyres fitted,he got the dealer to replace them and the noise went away.

pretty much the same here, I had the tyres for a while, great in the mud, terrible on road, and a little noisy 

This is the down side of having chunky tyres, the rumble noise they give out. MY13 HSE LUX Aintree Green
MY57 SE Stornoway Grey. Gone
Nissan X Trail
Discovery V8 LPG
Series II Land Rover

completely agree, they look the part, and do the business off road, but due to the nature of the tread pattern they will always be noisy, and perform badly on damp tarmac.

Now I use winter tyres (7mm + tred) when I am off road, not as good as the AT's - but its close, and they perform well on tarmac 

Thanks for the info guys I need the AT's for grip as I do quite a bit of field work through work.
The complication is the car is 3 years old in April and will be on circa 58K. It is on a 4 year LR PCP.

I need to make up my mind what to do with it.

1. Run it for another 12 months and buy extended warranty? And new tyres!
2. Trade in for a very late model FL2
3. Trade in for a new DS 1998 Feelander XDI Hardback - Gone
2002 Freelander TD4 GS Hardback - Gone
2004 Freelander TD4 HSE Stationwaggon - Gone
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 XS manual - Gone
2010 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto - Gone
2013 SD4 GS arrived April 2013

Grabbers are great in the fields


Get a DS if funds permit, I am very happy with mine

I am VERY sure there will be many nah Sayers, who recommend getting a newer FL2.

Each to their own, I had 3 FL2's and was generally very happy - just hated the auto box 

agroman wrote:

Thanks for the info guys :thumbsup: I need the AT's for grip as I do quite a bit of field work through work.
The complication is the car is 3 years old in April and will be on circa 58K. It is on a 4 year LR PCP.

I need to make up my mind what to do with it.

1. Run it for another 12 months and buy extended warranty? And new tyres!
2. Trade in for a very late model FL2
3. Trade in for a new DS

Interesting about the tracking. I was about to get a 4 wheel alignment done, but then the dealer decided to replace rear wheel bearing so I put it off. Perhaps I will get it booked in again this week. 1998 Feelander XDI Hardback - Gone
2002 Freelander TD4 GS Hardback - Gone
2004 Freelander TD4 HSE Stationwaggon - Gone
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 XS manual - Gone
2010 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto - Gone
2013 SD4 GS arrived April 2013

Update - Checked tracking - both rear wheels were toeing out 2.5 and 3.5degrees also front offside was toeing in 1.5. So this has probably caused the tyres to step.

So bit the bullet and replaced all 4 with new GG AT's. Now nice and quiet again and going around corners better. This is the second time that I have found the rear wheels to be well out of alignment (different Freelanders). Putting it right makes a big difference to the handling.

So my advice - well worth getting 4 wheel alignment checked. At most places, if it doesn't need adjusting they wont charge you and if it does it will be £80ish well spent!  1998 Feelander XDI Hardback - Gone
2002 Freelander TD4 GS Hardback - Gone
2004 Freelander TD4 HSE Stationwaggon - Gone
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 XS manual - Gone
2010 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto - Gone
2013 SD4 GS arrived April 2013