VCU and/or IRD Failure??

BigShuggs said:

I don't have the knowledge or tools needed to perform certain tests or even take the prop off.

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Well you've just been given the knowledge and to complete the loop - you can buy a socket set and jack at Halfords. It should take no longer than an hour to get the props off, but if you allow a couple then you'll be motivated when you've finished it more quickly. Most on the forum could probably do it in 30 mins - but at some point in their life it would have taken them an hour.

People will say "oh but they're torqs (?) bolts" but I got mine off and on with standard sockets.

If you have a medical condition that means you can't get under the car, that's fair enough reason to say you "can't", lack of knowledge or tools is not a reason. If you "don't want to do it, so won't" or choose you will do something else with your free time - then fair enough.

At the time I really didn't want do start ripping off props and fixing IRDs - but more so I didn't want to scrap a $6K car or spend $8K (£4K) for IRD & VCU with fitting on top - prices here in NZ. I'm no Ninja mechanic, and the thought was daunting. But given the options, I rolled up my sleves, got a **** load of help from people on here and got the job done. It turned from horror to one of the most rewarding things I've done in a long while! I almost surpassed in on Sunday with a 230 yard drive though

In the end I spent about $1K on the rebuild kit, getting someone to fit it and oil.

Having it 4WD was probably a lot more important to me as I use (or used) it on the beach and rivers here in NZ - but I took the lesser attractive option of rebuilding 2WD - only because of the costs - it would have been at least double to keep it 4WD.

You (like me) want a perfect running 4WD and not have to spend any money fixing it. The reality is compromise - the biggest compromises will be either scrapping it or giving it to a garage to deliver back to you working. Both of these will result in the biggest financial loss to you. The other compromises will be how much effort you want to put in, whether you need to keep 2WD and what level of 'perfectness' you want.

As I say, I ripped the props/VCU off, ripped the IRD out, got a rebuild kit, got a shop to install the kit and remove drive to the pinion, reinstalled the IRD & reinstalled the props. In all this I used only a socket set, a set of pliers to get the clips on the IRD hoses, a screwdriver to "assist" withdraw the pinion & IRD, jack and axel stand.

I would strongly suggest you at least get yourself a socket set and a jack, take the props off and give the bits the props bolt to a wiggle to see if they move. Then drive the car to make sure there's no serious noises. If there's not, unbolt the pinion (6 bolts) and replace it with a blanking plate. You'll then be back on the road and it will have cost you not much at all - £15 + some oil if you can borrow the tools.

Blanking plate...

IRD blanking plate kit for Land Rover Freelander 1 transfer box unit gearbox fix | eBay

That's an "expensive" one at £12 - but it comes with some sealant so you don't have to worry about getting that separately.

If you do go ahead there are HowTos on here with pics of the bits you've got to work on. There's help and people can answer questions and point you to those pics etc.

You might even find someone local who will come round and help you take the props off - might even bring some tools. If you foot the air fare, I'll even come round

If you're wondering why I didn't fit a blanking plate - over here if you remove the props the change to the car must be 'certified'. That costs a lot of $ - so I had to get the props back on even thought they're no longer driven. I also took the decision to replace all the bearings in the IRD. I've subsequently found a place that will recon the VCU for $500, so probably would have still been 4WD if I'd known that then.

GrumpyGel thank you for your reply. I suppose you're right and I've got nothing to lose so I'll tackle the props myself. With the help of you guys and youtube I should get it done. I'll make a start now

Hi guys, just a quick update, I've removed the front prop, the VCU and the rear prop and now the clonking/knocking noise has stopped and there are no issues while driving. BUT at low speeds I can slightly hear a quiet knocking noise similar to what was on the youtube video. I imagine this is the IRD making the noise. It's very quiet, hardly noticeable. Where do I go from here guys please? I imagine that a new VCU is required, but do I also need a new IRD, or is there something that can be fixed which mean I don't have to fork out the £450 to get a replacement IRD. Thanks for the help so far

BigShuggs said:

Hi guys, just a quick update, I've removed the front prop, the VCU and the rear prop and now the clonking/knocking noise has stopped and there are no issues while driving. BUT at low speeds I can slightly hear a quiet knocking noise similar to what was on the youtube video. I imagine this is the IRD making the noise. It's very quiet, hardly noticeable. Where do I go from here guys please? I imagine that a new VCU is required, but do I also need a new IRD, or is there something that can be fixed which mean I don't have to fork out the £450 to get a replacement IRD. Thanks for the help so far

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Well done for going that far.

My next suggestion is to examine the oil from the IRD. This has been mentioned earlier. Very important, use an ordinary six sided hex socket to loosen the fill plug BEFORE draining the oil - it is commonly very tight. If possible examine the oil in a white container - it makes checking the oil's colour easier. Examine what's stuck to the drain plug magnet. What you find will give clues to what's damaged inside.

Well done - hope you felt satisfied with yourself after putting in the effort

As you say - sounds exactly like the condition of my motor. TBH I never tried to find out where that quiet knocking/ticking sound was coming from. I just bit the bullet and decided the IRD needed a recon. I suspect it was the damage teeth on the crown/pinion gears - but might have been all sorts of things from nothing to worry about to something more further inside the IRD that might have packed up at some time.

You're talking replacement VCU, so I'm assuming you're repairing as 4WD. To replace the IRD means both cost and effort (or more cost if you give it to a garage). You could try removing the rear pinion and examining the teeth on the crown and pinion gears. If they're in good condition - you could try just getting the bearings in the pinion replaced - cheaper and the IRD doesn't have to come out. Or even you could take the pinion off and temporarily fit a blanking plate to see if that stops the noise. If it does that might give an indication that just sorting the pinion will work (assuming good teeth on gears).

Lots of 'try's and 'might's there I'm afraid. You'll have to decide how much money and effort you want to spend seeing if the low cost options are goers in the knowledge that a recon IRD might be the only option anyway.

Be nice if anyone else has some thoughts/input?

You should be OK driving the car as-is until you get bits sorted - the only thing I'd say is that there is a possibility that the combination of loose pinion bearings and damaged teeth on the gears might cause them to jam. If this happens it could possibly do damage outside of the IRD or fracture the IRD case and then a recon unit will cost more as there will be no old unit return refund. If you're going to be driving it like this for a while, it may be advisable to temporarily fit a blanking plate - will also cost you in oil. Others may think this is paranoia?

I didn't test my VCU after my melt down. It was going back on as 2WD - so didn't matter. Its been continually dragging the front prop around since and I tested it a little while back and it didn't slip at all. I don't know if that has occurred since melt down or during. For the price, I think you're better off for peace of mind swapping the VCU anyway, but you could test it using 1 wheel up test or on a bench if its off the car.

So you're looking at VCU, pinion bearings and fitting the pinion bearings as a minimum or VCU & recon IRD as a maximum - and your choice of whether you yank the IRD out and refit.

I should think that's somewhere between £300 and £1,000 - even if the gear teeth look OK, the £300 will be a bit of a punt hoping that the rest of the IRD is OK.

Above you mentioned you liked the idea of swapping to a TD4. You might like to put that into the equation. Having spent £1K on the car - will it be worth more than that as a 4WD over 2WD? If its not and you're going to swap over to a TD4, then you'd be better off just knocking it out as-is. With the effort you've put in you can now sell it as a runner. Maybe put a blanking plate on to hopefully stop that ticking and ensure its not going to sieze up.

Thanks for the replies guys. Appreciate the time and effort you're taking to explain things to me which are probably simple things. With the prop off and VCU I decided it's not worth the £££ to spend on fixing the issues, and I'd rather swap for a TD4 and just get the VCU swapped on the TD4 straight away as they only last about 70k miles anyway, so I've been told. Well that was the plan but now, after approx 15miles of driving the noise has become louder again but sounds weird. The only way I can describe the noise is like when you hear a train go past, the noise of the wheels on the tracks...weird sounding I know, and it's pretty noticeable. Anyone know what this could be or how to stop this noise? How much roughly would it cost to fit a blanking plate? Ideally I'd like to sell the car as a working FWD, plus put the extra cash towards buying a TD4 but this current noise will make it difficult to sell. Thanks for your help guys