Vibration After re fitting propshaft

Hello this is my first post but have a felling it will not be my last , i purchased my first Freelander in September A - 2004 td4 Sport about 110k 3dr , I wanted one as it can be a little tricky getting up the hill to me house in Ice snow also handy boot for the dog and carrying logs ,
When In bought the Freelander the prop had been removed by the previous owner for better mpg , but he assured me that there was no problems with the 4x4 system he is the brother of a friend and i trust this to be true or at least it was when before he removed it ,
Winter is fast upon us so i decided it was time to re fit it , i'm very busy with work at the moment so i got the local garage to do the job for me , and all is not well it is vibrating quite badly even at 30mph , it is going back in tomorrow to have it removed , any suggestions on what is wrong with it would be much appreciated

lol - another "better MPG" seller

If it was OK - then have the tyres changed? All 4 need to be the same make & model and all must be pumped to the same pressure. If 2 are newer than the others, then make sure the newer ones are on the back.

It could also be the VCU support bearings are knackered and it is a simple vibration and nothing "more serious" - they are the 2 brackets in the middle of the props.

Other than that, I think you may be in the same position as this thread that started this week...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/full-lock-lurches.307968/

Is it worse on tight bends? Does the car feel like its braking when turning on fully lock?

Before you take the props off, do the One Wheel Up Test - it will tell you if the VCU is serviceable or needs replacement. Use a 1.2m bar and 5kg of weight - you should hopefully get a timing of below 1 minute, over 2 minutes and definitely whip the props back off immediately. There's a video/link to the test on that thread. You'll need a 32mm socket to fit the hub nut (assuming its running original drive shafts which it probably is).

Good luck.

GrumpyGel said:

lol - another "better MPG" seller

If it was OK - then have the tyres changed? All 4 need to be the same make & model and all must be pumped to the same pressure. If 2 are newer than the others, then make sure the newer ones are on the back.

It could also be the VCU support bearings are knackered and it is a simple vibration and nothing "more serious" - they are the 2 brackets in the middle of the props.

Other than that, I think you may be in the same position as this thread that started this week...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/full-lock-lurches.307968/

Is it worse on tight bends? Does the car feel like its braking when turning on fully lock?

Before you take the props off, do the One Wheel Up Test - it will tell you if the VCU is serviceable or needs replacement. Use a 1.2m bar and 5kg of weight - you should hopefully get a timing of below 1 minute, over 2 minutes and definitely whip the props back off immediately. There's a video/link to the test on that thread. You'll need a 32mm socket to fit the hub nut (assuming its running original drive shafts which it probably is).

Good luck.

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plus one what GG says

does amaze me why they remove them and say its mpg saving idea , lol

could the front y shaped front bearing be shot as well , had that in mine , dead on 50 mph , found an engineering company who replaced tpjust the bearing and didnt have to buy a complete prop

know when i bought mine i quickly put it into reverse and let it on tick over go back on full lock , know it's not as accurate as the one wheel up test but gave a form of a rough idea if the vcus condition

Removing the props on a Freelander in decent working condition will not improve economy - well it might by a ridiculously small 0.05% or something).

The only way it will improve economy is if there is something wrong with the transmission. This may be because the tryes are mismatched or because the viscous coupling (VCU) is overly tight. Both these cause wind-up in the transmission which will affect MPG - but also damage other parts of the transmission - ie the rear diff and (more so) the IRD (front diff).

If you can't do the One Wheel Up Test before the props are removed - you don't know what condition the VCU is in. It might be worth asking your garage to do it before the props are removed - point them to the video give them the 1.2m & 5kg spec - see how much they will charge you and make a decision.

It may also be worth asking them to do an oil change on the rear diff and IRD. An IRD oil change is probably the easiest change to do if the car's in a garage and lifted up, no longer than 30 mins (probably 15), the rear diff should also be easy for them. Make sure they use the right spec oils and ask for them to keep the old oil for you (in separate containers) so that you can examine it. The colour will give you a good indication as to whether there has been much damage to them.

gstuart said:

could the front y shaped front bearing be shot as well , had that in mine , dead on 50 mph , found an engineering company who replaced tpjust the bearing and didnt have to buy a complete prop

Click to expand...

Do you mean the CV joint on the prop where it mates up to the IRD?

GrumpyGel said:

Do you mean the CV joint on the prop where it mates up to the IRD?

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yes , is like a y shaped bearing ,

here u go , one of these, one failed and gave a vibration through the prop

Hedd said:

Hello this is my first post but have a felling it will not be my last , i purchased my first Freelander in September A - 2004 td4 Sport about 110k 3dr , I wanted one as it can be a little tricky getting up the hill to me house in Ice snow also handy boot for the dog and carrying logs ,
When In bought the Freelander the prop had been removed by the previous owner for better mpg , but he assured me that there was no problems with the 4x4 system he is the brother of a friend and i trust this to be true or at least it was when before he removed it ,
Winter is fast upon us so i decided it was time to re fit it , i'm very busy with work at the moment so i got the local garage to do the job for me , and all is not well it is vibrating quite badly even at 30mph , it is going back in tomorrow to have it removed , any suggestions on what is wrong with it would be much appreciated

Click to expand...

Hmm, it depends what you mean by 'vibrating' ?
Does it feel as if it is in too high a gear - type of vibration - as if you need to change down - ?
Is there a noticeable tightness when driving in reverse / forward on full lock ?
If not, then the issue may well be the clutch - either the DMF or oil contamination. However I would though - expect this to be noticeable to a certain degree in 2WD - with prop off.
By all means do which ever test you prefer on the VCU - but it doesn't - at first reading - sound to be IRD / VCU issues. (fingers crossed)
As Gary says, it is well worth checking all shaft joints, also check the rear diff mountings.
Hopefully the issue is not too serious.... but the removal of props / vcu is always a red flag when purchasing a freelander.

Thanks for all of your reply's did not get the chance to go online this morning so could not ask the garage to do the test with vcu , i did drive the freelander a bit more on way in this morning and it drove ok it handled ok and was no worse on bends or even tight bends, the sound did get progressivle worse after driving for a bit
The mechanic who runs the garage had another bloke in today for a second opinion as he has more experience with freelanders , he is saying that he thinks its transfer box

What you are describing is not a common symptom of an IRD issue. Someone calling it a 'transfer box' may not be that well up on freelanders either.
Of course, anything is possible - but I would be looking at other areas first. Drop the oil in the IRD as the first step and look for a. IS THERE ANY IN IT ???? and b. Is it clean and reasonably free of metallic particles.
With the props off - check the play on the pinion shaft from the IRD., also the Right Hand (Drivers side in UK) drive shaft where it enters the IRD housing.
Go for the oil first before you do anything else.
Joe

Hedd said:

Thanks for all of your reply's did not get the chance to go online this morning so could not ask the garage to do the test with vcu , i did drive the freelander a bit more on way in this morning and it drove ok it handled ok and was no worse on bends or even tight bends, the sound did get progressivle worse after driving for a bit
The mechanic who runs the garage had another bloke in today for a second opinion as he has more experience with freelanders , he is saying that he thinks its transfer box

Click to expand...

Have a look at the hippo photo on his thread about VCU bearings
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-to-guide.156068/
And find the prop photo, It should be off set not in a straight line. They may have put it on wrong. The garage I got to do mine the first time did. I have since learned how to do it myself thanks to Hippo.

Madmustang said:

Have a look at the hippo photo on his thread about VCU bearings
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-to-guide.156068/
And find the prop photo, It should be off set not in a straight line. They may have put it on wrong. The garage I got to do mine the first time did. I have since learned how to do it myself thanks to Hippo.

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Did you drive it with the prop incorrectly fitted ? if so what was it like ?

Hedd said:

Did you drive it with the prop incorrectly fitted ? if so what was it like ?

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Yes for a few weeks it was noisy with all the other things wrong with it could not tell where the problem was. I took it off myself and sent the VCU to Bell and did the UJs myself. A lot better but had wheel bearing problems and shock problems which I am working my way through.

Think i'm going to have to gather my thoughts on this one in 2wd its faultless super clean vehicle , but it would just not seem right for to drive it about like that , I still have a little faith that the person who sold it to me was honest and the garage may have just put the prop back on wrong but im ever the optimist my prop is still in the garage so i'm going to go pick it up and iv got a friend who is in the process of fitting a ramp and we can have a proper play (iv served my time rolling about under cars on cold wet floors i'm looking for a bit of luxury now ) if it snows in that time ill probably sit at home with curtains closed