Hi Guys,

Hoping for some advice on which parts to buy for replacement. I live in a small tropical country (Palau). I recently shipped in a 2008 Freelander 2 from Japan since I needed something for a dirt road. Just over 50k Miles. Obviously it's a gamble buying only from pictures, but the price was right and I have a budget for repairs.

Picked it up from the port last week and it seemed mostly good except for an audible irregular mild clunk from the rear and a stiff feel to the rear suspension. The previous owner obviously took pretty good care of it.

My wife took it to the mechanics today to get the full workup, and they recommended three repairs:

1. Right rear shock absorber

2. Right rear brake backplate

3. Right handbrake cable.

I can't really effectively communicate directly with the mechanics due to a language barrier.

The good news (aside from the powertrain being in great shape) is that the labor is relatively inexpensive. The bad news is the labor has no real familiarity with this vehicle. I'll need to order any parts myself.

I've seen posts on here suggesting doing rear shocks at the same time. It also looks, to my inexpert eyes, like there might be other parts in need of replacement. Based on the pictures and videos ...

https://streamable.com/zq2fgb

https://streamable.com/xt31r6

are there any parts I should order or consider ordering other than the three specified?

Thanks in advance! Any other advice, questions, or comments are appreciated.

Those repairs are basic, but others are more qualified to comment further than me. I just get my mechanic to fix the car for most things. Having said that nothing has needed replacing other than the control arms for the steering. But even that was borderline. My car has done about 4000 km on corrugated roads so it's had a hammering, but we also give the car a break regularly & also let the tyres down. So in a way it's well looked after.

It's best to do both shocks.

On a sort of a similar topic, how are the boot & bonnet gas struts. My boot struts needed replacing about 2 years ago. The bonnet struts now need doing, which I will also do myself. It's a 2013 model. The boot struts were a few mm long so had to pull them in a few mm with a tie down ratchet, which worked really well. Had to replace them on our previous car as well.


Also get some trim panel clips as some will break taking off the trim panels in the boot. To get access to the other side of the shocks.

Photos behind the trim panels in the link & also a list of trim panel clips (red text). https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic33026-53.html


I looked at the map of your country. Probably your biggest expense is freight! So probably best to think ahead & get a few things. Also make sure you get the correct parts for the year model. The earlier cars are a bit different to the later ones.

P.S. In your profile, put in which model you have. Most Freelanders are diesel. But I have a petrol engine, but mine is 4 cylinder turbo & the earlier model is 6 cylinder. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Last edited by Lightwater on 14th Jun 2025 12:58 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Trunk and hood struts seem really good. It's funny actually, the first day we got it my wife came and asked me to help close the trunk, so I was groaning for a second, but she was actually just too short to reach the door.

Whoever the previous owner was, I get the sense he took very good care of it but drove it only rarely. Given that I doubt I'll be averaging even 50 miles a week, I'm hoping it lasts a long time. The other conundrum is the tires: it has a pristine set of brand new snow tires. It never gets below 70 Farenheit here, but new tires are pricy, so I'm tempted to just run them til they go bad.

Anything else you think is worth doing at the same time as the shocks?

My car has all terrain tyres, & they are snow tyres at well. Australia has an alpine area bigger than Switzerland, but I have only ever had the Freelander there in summer. A long time ago I skied every year from 7 years old. The car has spent more time in +40°C in the outback, up to 47°C.

Your snow tyres will have a courser tread so they will be good for dirt roads. Don't over inflate the tyres.

P.S. The car was designed by Ford who owned Land Rover at the time. Half the things in the car have Ford stamped on the back. A few things have Volvo! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Last edited by Lightwater on 14th Jun 2025 1:14 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Lightwater wrote:

I looked at the map of your country. Probably your biggest expense is freight! So probably best to think ahead & get a few things. Also make sure you get the correct parts for the year model. The earlier cars are a bit different to the later ones.

P.S. In your profile, put in which model you have. Most Freelanders are diesel. But I have a petrol engine, but mine is 4 cylinder turbo & the earlier model is 6 cylinder.

It's not the sort of car that you get to take off at the lights. Even though it is capable. Just drive it gently.

Your biggest issue is probably low quality fuel rather than octane. My 4 cylinder petrol engine has the fuel filter with the pump in the tank & it gets replaced every 10 years. It's probably the same with the 6 cylinder, but I am not 100% sure.

Having said that. My mechanic said it doesn't need replacing so quickly as I have always stuck 98 in the car (also gives higher mileage which is great for the Australian outback). Previous cars I used 91 & had a few issues.

Wait until you get plenty of suggestions. Also use the search feature in the website, in general it works really well. Sometimes you may need to think of alternative key words. There is also the workshop manual you can download which is actually for the earlier model Freelander.


P.S. I was in Japan in 1982, in general the Japanese do tend to look after things properly. Also I was told back then. They can't even buy a car unless they actually have off street parking. It's pretty tough over there. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

yes pull of those rubber strips on the wheel arches they are just a trap for water and dirt give it a good clean with hose after removal to get rid of all the dirt

A bit ironic this, as on the RR L322 forum a number are fitting these arch strips as the motor
never had them in the first place, in fact it's the fl2 strips they are buying.  DAVE.

I've taken mine off a few years back and hose under the arches regularly, no sign of corrosion so far. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)