Prop Shaft off and Transformed

[horse280372]

Hi all
I am brand new to the world of 4WD having bought my 1999 1.8 petrol Freebie last month. I did my research and bought one that has recently had new Head Gasket, clutch, tyres etc. Its great and love the car so far.
I have to admit I am a bit of a DIY repair junkie and find nothing more satisfying than fixing almost everything myself.
Wheel I certainly bought the right car for that it seems.:):biggrin::eek:
Anyway after experiencing lots of creaks and cracks from the O/S rear on full lock reverse, and a bit of banging on setting off, and brake like resistance at full lock, I found your brilliant forum and got to work.
Turns out after getting under her today that I have the following issues:-

Broken Rear sub frame O/S front fixing point, (common as seen n other threads. not too bad though at the moment
Front Rear Diff mounting bush is Sha**ed, one on order
Having raised one rear wheel, tried to turn it in neutral and no hand brake to test the VC, managed to turn it quarter turn but had to get on my back and push with my feet. Very very stiff but not lacked solidSo to avoid the potential damage to rear diff and IRD decided to remove the Prop and VC altogether. Now in the garage.
Car was transformed, no full lock resistance (obviously), no clinking or cracking and peace of mind for my IRD/Diff.
What should I do to check the VC on the bench? Is there anything to repair/recondition it?
Looking at options fro broken rear sub frame mount , Local unofficial LD garage quoted £400 although he did explain what he did and was a very proffessional and invisible repair (too rich for me though.
Any comments about running 2WD are welcome.
Thanks in advance great stuff so far from other threads.
Chris:rolleyes:

[Llanigraham]

VCU's cannot be tested on the bench, you need them on the car to test.

That seems a bit expensive for a small washer welded to the chassis leg.

You must inform your insurance company if you intend to drive in 2 wheel drive, as this is a material change to the specification of the vehicle. It will affect the handling, to a small degree, and makes taking off quickly in the wet difficult, plus with the winter approaching it seems totally illogical. Fuel consumption will be improved slightly.

[MrRob]

There is a place in Birmingham that can test your VCU. If you search Flebay for VCU's then you will see there auctions for VCU's.

[horse280372]

Thanks for the quick replies.
I would prefer to run with the prop shaft in place but am paranoid about shagging the rear diff and IRD because of the VCU.
I did try to test the VCU on the car and found I could turn it with humongous effort so not seized solid but extremely stiff. Does this sound normal to you (bearing in mind the braking effect at full lock) or is it time to buy a replacement. I see auctions for VCU dampers rather than the whole unit, is this likely to be my issue.
Great to get replies so soon, cheers guys
Chris

[Llanigraham]

How did you test it?
Method advised by members of the club:
Car in first, handbrake off
Jack up one rear wheel
Socket and 3' breaker bar on central hub nut.
If you can move the breaker bar in a forward direction using LOTS of effort and only slowly then the VCU is working. It is very slow, but you do notice it moving. If it doesn't move at all, get the cheque book out!

Some cars have to dampers, some don't. They are there to dynamically balance the VCU. Don't worry about it. Some have "removed" them when off roading but not noticed any particular difference.

[fergie2035]

Says in the Freelander owner's manual that it will feel as if the brakes are on at full lock so that is normal. Mine does it too and has been like that for all the time I've owned it.

Your VC might be getting stiffer than its supposed to but I've never heard any torque figures quoted for it. It would be interesting to know what its resistance to turning is supposed to be. If you are trying to turn it by turnign a wheel by hand with it jacked up, it will take a lot of effort to turn. It has to. You'd have no worthwhile drive to the rear if it turned easily. It sounds like it may be ok to me and I wouldn't go buying a new one just yet.

VC isn't like a viscous fan that locks when it gets hot. VC in the Freelander is just a permanently stiff joint that transmits the drive but allows some slippage to prevent overload or excess wear.

[horse280372]

Cheers fellas
I think my mind is slightly more at rest.
I tested VCU with o/s rear off the floor, H/B off, in neutral but front wheels chocked. I laid on my back and forced the wheel round with my size 10's. I marked lines on the input and output drive and managed to move the output abouut quarter turn reletive to the input. If I had a 3' bar on the centre hub socket I'm sure I would reletively easily turn it so sounds like I'm in good shape to put it back on.
Biggest issue I notd was the front diff bush which allowed the rear prop to raise and fall vertically by about 4-5" as I applied turn to the rear wheel. I have the replacement on the bench so may refit the prop and VCU at the same time.
Cheers again guys
Chris:rolleyes:

[Blippie]

Another way of testing the VCU (or more correctly, testing for s SEIZED VCU) is to dawb a blob of paint on the propshafts on eithe side of the VCU. After a test drive, examine the blobs to see if they are still lined up.

If they are, the VCU is seized.

The inmates over at www.landyzone.co.uk (http://www.landyzone.co.uk) call this the "Tippex Test".

THe front/centre rear diff mount is a commonly worn component. I've changed 'em on both our Freelanders and it's a quick job. The mainly road going TD4 had hers done at 60,000. Worth doing - on the Camel the mount and the rear diff is hidden by underbody protection so I didn;t notice that the mount was so worn it was allowing the prop to grind against the fuel tank!

Cheers

Blippie

Cheers

Blippie

[horse280372]

Hi again
I don't think the VCU is Siezed but was very stiff and my paranoid tendency made me whip it off.
Repaired the front diff mount at the weekend, a bit tight to get in and out but fairly straight forward job. Found a guy in Warmfield near Wakefield in yorkshire called 'Simon Services' who repaired my rear subframe mount point in chassis by welding a new plate underneath and welding the captive nut, excellent job and only charged me £41 :biggrin:. The other geezer tried to have me pants down and quoted me £400 for essentially the same job :eek:.
Anyway I'm just in the finantial debate whether to replace the VCU with a 2nd hand unit (bit risky), a recon unit (not sure of longevity) or a new part. Still not sure about the old one, might part refit it to the car and do some further testing of it now the other bits are fixed. The guy at Simon services told me I should be able to turn the jacked up back wheel by hand (slowly), we''l see.
Any thoughts on recon units are welcome.
Cheers
Chris

[Llanigraham]

According to LR the VCU cannot be reconditioned, as the silicon fluid isn't available, but you could try checking with Ashcroft's or Simmonites.