VCU Life

[Freelaner]

I heard that if they were worked hard once in a while it was good for them! Can't remember where tho

Yep that's what I said

 

[Diesel Do]

Yep that's what I said

I know I was agreeing with you

 

[Freelaner]

I know I was agreeing with you

i know i was agreeing with you agreeing with me

 

[Diesel Do]

i know i was agreeing with you agreeing with me

God damn it! I agreed first

 

[Nodge68]

Where from and how much.
I have seen some on Ebay for about £25.
Any good.

Mine was from ebay. It was from China and cost under £15!!

 

[Freelaner]

God damn it! I agreed first

Ok

 

[Diesel Do]

Mine was from ebay. It was from China and cost under £15!!

£200 postage? Does it work?

 

[Nodge68]

£200 postage? Does it work?

It's exactly the same as one that is available here for 4 X the cost!! That price included the shipping and it works perfectly !! As does everything els i'v got from China!!
Try Ebay no: 200664753577
It's the same as mine only cheaper and from the UK

 

[Freelaner]

Non-Contact IR Infrared Digital Thermometer with Laser | eBay

Looks good

 

[Hippo]

I've an infra red thermometer which makes temp reading quick and easy. It's worth measuring the rear diff temp too as this will give a guide of the torque it's transferring

Only been measuring the vcu so far. I did measure the rear diff some time ago along with everything else. Didn't record anything though. vcu is my current interest.

I've got one of these: Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting : Enviroment Testers : Maplin Electronics

And one of these: Wide Range Probe Thermometer : Thermometers & Hygrometers : Maplin Electronics

Both from maplin sales. But NOT the B grade junk sales.

 

[Singvogel]

I use this:

 

[Hippo]

Nice.

Any temp measuring device will do to measure the vcu (Turnip Test) but the infrared ones are easier as you don't have to crawl underneath. You just need to make sure you use them at the correct distance and they don't pick up other none vcu hot bits under yer Freelander.

 

[seraphin]

how hot is too hot?? mine is cold after a short journey, but gets quite hot after a 30 mile motorway drive. i've read loads of the threads and advice on monitoring VCU heat, but it all seems to refer to VCU staying cool over a short journey. singvogel (or anyone else with a thermometer), how hot does your VCU get on a long, fast drive?

 

[Singvogel]

how hot is too hot?? mine is cold after a short journey, but gets quite hot after a 30 mile motorway drive. i've read loads of the threads and advice on monitoring VCU heat, but it all seems to refer to VCU staying cool over a short journey. singvogel (or anyone else with a thermometer), how hot does your VCU get on a long, fast drive?

But how hot is 'quite hot'?

Bell Engineering suggested that it should be 'warm - but not hot' - and when I asked for a better definition I was told that I should be able to keep my hand on it.

I am happy to keep my hand on a surface at 50degrees so I would take that as a maximum. Any other suggestions? They meant in the UK of course where the temperature is often in the 20s but rarely reaches 30.

I checked mine a few times over the summer and found it was usually about 10 to 15 degrees above ambient.

The highest figure I've seen was after a 200 mile motorway journey in Croatia in 36 degrees ambient the VCU was at 48 degrees C.

How about if we post actual temperatures over the next week or so? Anyone else feel that that might help?

Singvogel.

 

[seraphin]

great, thanks for the details. by "quite hot", i mean about 60 degrees. why don't we start a new thread specifically to record temperatures? correct me if there is already a turnip thread like this.....

don't you think location of VCU so close to the exhaust would also contribute to long-distance warming?

 

[The Mad Hat Man]

Looking at the temperature hysteresis curve for gaylander VCUs, I would suggest that anywhere between 10C and 85C should be fine and 10C above ambient shows that the VCU is actually working. The VCU locks up at about 100C. I would be concerned about a larger increase at Motorway speeds as the VCU should be working at its easiest, as there is the minimum difference between front and rear road speeds, compared to lots of roundabouts and bends....

If temp of VCU is either too hot to touch or at ambient, those are the times to be concerned.

 

[Singvogel]

great, thanks for the details. by "quite hot", i mean about 60 degrees. why don't we start a new thread specifically to record temperatures? correct me if there is already a turnip thread like this.....

don't you think location of VCU so close to the exhaust would also contribute to long-distance warming?

Go ahead and start one - I'll certainly contribute to it when I can, and I imagine Hippo will too - as I'm sure he likes to play with his infra-red thermometers.

I agree with TMHM that lots of corners and roundabouts in urban areas would heat it up much more than motorways. Tyre tread differences too.

That motorway in Croatia I mentioned is absolutely dead straight, and my tyres are within 1mm of each other, front to rear.

Singvogel.

 

[teddywood1]

teddywood1: is that in miles? What exactly did it do to your autobox?

it did the clutch in as well as the piston very lucky realy it did not do more damage

 

[jamesmartin]

it did the clutch in as well as the piston very lucky realy it did not do more damage

that seems more common fault with that box rather than an outside induced fault

 

[Kizzeh]

I took mine off because it was tight to turn into car park spaces when i brought my freelander with 132k.

I believe it was original as it was gkn but it also had a suspicious new IRD bung and a load of gasket goo around the IRD. Previous owners said they were fed up of spending money on it so i assume IRD went bang and they got it repaired but never accutally fixed the fault. (VCU)

Only my assumptions though. Thats the only way i can justify the bits of metal i found in the IRD oil when i drained it, thinking its left over from a previous episode. I am not in denial about my impending IRD failure atall