Hi. New member going to look at a 2.5TDS....confused! HELP

Hi guys,

hope you are all well. I'm new here and I am going to be looking at the following car tomorrow morning. I am confused as to whether it is a A-Series or B-Series. More importantly am I able to engage 4WD on the fly with this model?

Does anyone have any knowledge on the history of the following car?

Sorry if I sound dumb, but i am still learning about the Frontera.

It has also had NINE owners!!! Is this normal for a 4x4????

It is an A series , you really need to be stationary to engage 4wd

Its a series A ... You can tell by the very rear side windows. They lap over onto the roof. The series B just covers the side. being a 2.5 I would think its a facelift version of the series A with the rounded dash and on coiled suspension. Nine owners isn't too bad ... you have to consider if it was sold to a dealer that would notch another owner. Though saying that My 20 year old trooper has three previous owners, The people who imported it from new, my stepdad, and my mum when he died and she took ownership,

Hi and welcome to fog.
This is an A series,B series have softer flares on the wings.I much prefer the look of the A series.
I have had a 2.3 and now a 2.5. the 2.5 is much quicker and has a really good and quick heater but will do 28 to 30 mpg on short runs the 2.3 does 35 mpg but is a different (slower) driving experience.
the 2.5 has no cambelt its all cogs inside the engine.The alternator is at the top out of the way of water.The oil filter is a bit awkward to change I did mine by taking off the plate under the engine and reached up and unscrewed it by hand while lying underneath.
It has a computer,but I dont know where this is.
Umm .. what else...mines been good,even my wife likes it as it does go.
You absolutely must stop before changing into 4wd there are instructions on the drivers sun shield.
The only worry with mine is that it dosent like driving on dry tarmac in 4wd and the small gearstick pops out of 4wd and apparently you are not supposed to go on dry tarmac in 4wd.
Not sure what to say about the number of owners but I think sometimes people have a 4x4 for a short while and realise they are not using it enough or sell the caravan.
I do 22 miles a day in mine and use it for work(blacksmith) its a bit rough around the edges which i like.
Its comfortable on longer journeys.
I hadn't had a 4x4 before my 2.3 frontera and I love having one now.
You could look through the 2.5 section on this site to find out more about them.
There is something called a no 1 injector which is prone to go but you need to ask someone more knowledgeable about this.
If its difficult to start the glowplugs will need changing which is easy to do you need a extra long 10mm socket I did mine last winter.
Check for a flashing light on the dash which mine has and if it flashes it wont start and I leave the door open turn the key off then have another go.
Look also for the oil gauge on the dash mine just goes right up to the top so there's something wrong with the switch not the engine.
Good luck

Dear hipo1024,
I am very grateful for this advice.
As I have hardly used the 4wd, I can only imagine that the damage has been done by previous owners. In fact it was my wife who rang to say that she was experiencing this problem when she was out in the snow with it collecting on of our children and she was driving on mixed surfaces.
It did post when it happened and had several replies but you are the first to offer an explaination as to what could be wrong.
I think that there should be a big notice on f.o.g. to tell all new owners the limitations of using 4x4 on dry roads.
In fact my wife was on mixed surfaces and I have to say that I am dissapointed to find that its not easy to use my frontera in the very conditions that I assumed it could be used in, that is to say icy patchy roads.
However, I also found out from f.o.g. for the first time recently that after stopping initially to activate the front hubs it is possible to change in and out of 4x4 to 2wd while on the move. So this is what we have been doing on patchy surfaces and it seems to be the answer. I also have been conciously driving with one wheel in the slippery bit as usually is the nearside which have the snow or ice. I didnt experience any of the jumping out in my old 2.3.
At the time it shook my belief in fronteras as I am under presure from landrover owners that I know and I didnt realise that Discoverys are in permanent four wheel drive and this is presumably why they can tow three tonnes on a dry road.As Discoverys do 30mpg the same as my 2.5 and they have 7 seats it has made me re consider what to have.
The thing is, I just like my series 1 lwb fronteras.
Is there anything I can do to repair my transfer box,could it be just one part worn out? or relpace the front axle with a rear diff ?(this would be mad ) .
Thanks again for posting I really appreciate it.

Thanks again for explaining things to me about the discovery shortcomings. I feel better about my frontera again as I really dont want to part with it.
I was much happier to find thats its possible to go in and out of 4wd while driving once the hubs are locked and as you have now pointed out thats its a combination of driver and vehicle I feel even more ok about things.
I will have to explain things to my wife.

if there is wind up, jack a wheel up at a time a see if it spins on its own, if it does let it, untill it stops

See here
http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/wiki/in ... _FAQ/Guide