Hello all

I'm new to this forum, although I've been reading it for a few years. I'm from Romania, I have a manual Freelander 2 MY 2010, 289k km. 6 months ago I started to have loud clunking noises when cornering and when parking, with the wheels turned left and right.
Also here on the forum I read that I can remove the FB6 fuse from the haldex, which I did, and the noises disappeared, but I had that Trasmission Fault error and DSC, HDC and Terrain Response deactivated (I could live with that ). After a few months it was found that the gearbox, the transfer case and the sleeve between them had to be replaced (all had worn splines, worst case scenario ). I put in a used gearbox, a new sleeve and bought a reconditioned and upgraded transfer case from the UK. After installation everything works well, there are no noises (although I didn't tested offroad yet). I noticed that as long as the Haldex was deactivated, the car seemed to move more agilely, it started from a standstill faster. After I installed the above and activated the Haldex, the car seemed to be heavier and I think I also had a slight feeling of resistance when turning the steering wheel when cornering. I have a few technical questions:

1. is it normal for the car to spin the rear wheels when on the ramp and the haldex is disconnected by fuse? (although the rear wheels could be stopped by hand)
2. is it normal for me to have that slight resistance in the steering wheel when making tight turns and at low speeds (30 km/h)
3. is the haldex engaged when the car starts moving?
4. at what speed does the haldex automatically disengage?
5. could something mechanically fail in the haldex because I drove with it disconnected for a few months - like if the pump doesn't provide oil pressure, are the clutch discs inside the haldex still lubricated? I mention that I have no errors on the dashboard after I activated it again from the fuse
6. is it a good idea to make a switch on the dashboard with a circuit together with the FB6 fuse so that I can activate/deactivate the haldex when I want, assuming it doesn't damage it mechanically, I was thinking
to keep it deactivated around town, on dry asphalt, in order to prolong life of the transfer case and gearbox?

I’d appreciate your advice!

Have a look at the videos on this thread found by entering the term Haldex operation into the search box.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic40806.ht...+operation

Im no expert but

1. is it normal for the car to spin the rear wheels when on the ramp and the haldex is disconnected by fuse? (although the rear wheels could be stopped by hand)
Probably just drag within the haldex - its full of oil and has multiple clutch plates closely aligned.
2. is it normal for me to have that slight resistance in the steering wheel when making tight turns and at low speeds (30 km/h) Not in my experience
3. is the haldex engaged when the car starts moving? On the road, in normal mode and above a certain speeed NO
4. at what speed does the haldex automatically disengage? Not sure but its quite low - have a look in the JLR manual (free to download)
5. could something mechanically fail in the haldex because I drove with it disconnected for a few months - like if the pump doesn't provide oil pressure, are the clutch discs inside the haldex still lubricated? I mention that I have no errors on the dashboard after I activated it again from the fuse Unlikely
6. is it a good idea to make a switch on the dashboard with a circuit together with the FB6 fuse so that I can activate/deactivate the haldex when I want, assuming it doesn't damage it mechanically, I was thinking
to keep it deactivated around town, on dry asphalt, in order to prolong life of the transfer case and gearbox? No - get the haldex serviced - drain all the oil, replace the external filter, remove the pump and clean its filter and refill with claen special haldex oil  Jules

In my expierience using the Haldex is the best way to improve its life. Lots of people have fallen foul of LR "it doesn't need servicing" rubbish - this was the original advice. I used mine a lot, driving off road, towing, foot down hard from junctions and it never game me a minutes trouble, I suspect that not using it allows moisture to emulsify the oil clogging the filter and causing damage.
But that is just my theory.

The rear differential on the other hand has no drain plug from the factory, fit one, there is a flat spot where it should be. Drill and tap 12mm, fit a magnetic drain plug, and change the oil every other service. Speaking as someone who had the original differential and Haldex still fitted at 185,000 miles.

The modern idea of sucking out the oil rather than draining it is a recipe for disaster, the whole point of replacing the oil is to remove the debris of wear, because its heavy it sits on the bottom, so drain it. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

@BossBob

Thanks for the link, I found some interesting stuff, I also searched for "haldex" on the forum and read some opinions. I knew about Scott and Alana, I follow them on youtube, but I missed that clip

@Jules

Thanks for the answers

The Haldex was serviced 2 months before those noises due to transfer case worn splines appeared, although I'm not sure if the Haldex pump was cleaned. There aren't many mechanics around here who would do that. Just change the oil and filter.
But I understand from what you said that the Haldex clutch discs are lubricated with oil even if the Haldex pump is not working (fuse disconnected) and there is no danger of it spinning without oil and burning up?

This was my input to the wonderful world of Haldex.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic33791.html?highlight=haldex

Dont forget that in the FL2 the Haldex Control is heavily influenced by other sensors and systems feeding the excellent Terrain Control System.

The Gen 3 and 4 used on the FL2 each has slightly different physical operating systems and preloaded clutch torque settings, but both engage from 0 to about 19mph.
The Haldex is more than an on/off engagement of the rear axle.

My car and it's transmission has only received Dealer LR Maintenance in its 83k mile life.
My only failure (touch wood) so far has been the Rear Axle Differential (Nose Bearing?).

To get the best out of your Fl2 you need to have all of it's many systems running perfectly. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 82k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Thanks for following us on YouTube Rocinante . You might have already seen this video of ours on Youtube, but this video shows the result of what happens if the mesh in front of the pump is never cleaned...



(Yes this is on our Yeti but the principle will very much be the same for the Freelander 2) . https://www.youtube.com/@scottandalana4x4

I’d also not worry about going to a Land Rover dealer for work on a Haldex. They don’t know as much about them as they didn’t even recommend servicing for them. Audi, Volvo and Skoda all recommend servicing the Haldex. Their dealers are more knowledgeable.

I would expect that JLR had a slightly different set of parameters when they worked out the best (and cheapest?) way of providing a serviceable life of transmission components to some of the other Car Makers.

On the forum, many are taking the cost of manpower as zero, as you know that is not the case if you user a garage.

For JLR it may have been cheaper to provide new replacement units than service them, during the expected warranty period.

Now that the FL2 is in it's 'Classic' period of life, and it's values have changed, the cost of providing replacements may make those original JLR sums irrelevant, especially if you do it yourself.

Long Live the Freelander 2 CLASSIC FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 82k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)