A comparison with the one wheel up test would be good. If you suspect your vcu is open circuit or very loose then chock the front wheel, lift 1 rear wheel, release the handbrake and you may be able to spin the lifted rear wheel with 1 finger. If not then put a weight on a bar and time it through 45 degrees. Betterer still film it for you tube. You need facts to be able to complain.
Yeah Cheers for that Bullwinkle!!
The reason for doing the test is to find out what your vcu is doing. Spinning or non spinning wheels doesn't give us a datum to work to for comparison. It does suggest a problem but there's more than one possible fault. Some quote a loose vcu as being a good or bad thing. It reduces stress in the transmission but also has an effect on power to the rear wheels. But how loose is loose? What one person may consider loose could be tight to another owner. Even without a vcu fitted Freelander's are tight when reversing on full lock. But how does loose and tight compare? Should we ask someone who doesn't own a Freelander for advice? Perhaps ask some random person walking past? Should we buy a reconditioned vcu knowing that others say they feel betterer, regardless of the fact recon units are often looser than the originals because they've been made like this and test results prove it? How often do I get told vcu suppliers state our test is crap and not worth the hassle? Should we approach this in a more scientific way?
We have in the past had suppliers of vcu's provide faulty units. Some owners have even come on ere and complained. The freds often turn sour or get deleted for legal reasons. We've also had suppliers come on ere and complain about other suppliers but they fail to put the same warning on their own website. Name and shame is all to easy on the web but not so easy on yur own web site. We've even had people remove their vcu because they're so worried about the trouble they cause they want to go 2 wheel drive to avoid disaster. Not once have we found out the truth behind the loose vcu issue. It may have been a faulty batch supplied a few years ago and the supplier is now selling betterer vcu's, but tainted by the vested interests of the web. We simply don't know. It could be the supplier recon vcu's in differing forms (looserer and tighterer) depending on what the owner or garage/fitter request. The facts are there somewhere...
The one wheel up test tells you how your vcu performs under test conditions. It's not perfect but it's the best we have. I get numerous pm's about this and they all get answered with help. People seem to want to go with the flow and convince themselves of the facts via other people's problems. The theory of crowd mentality applies ere. One recent pm requested help with his loose vcu. He can't be named as I'm under threat of having ma hippo burnt if I was to name him as having a wife who owns/drives a Freelander 1. After sending off his, shorry her vcu for replacement with a recon unit imagine his surprise only to find his replacement vcu was just as loose as the one he sent oft. It came as no surprise the seller tests all vcu's received and only sold a replacement as the original was faulty. If he had of bothered to do the one wheel up test he would have realised something in his rear diff is missing. Hence he will never have drive to his, shorry her rear wheels. Your Freelander may or may not suffer with the same problem. It could be your recon vcu is open circuit and the test shows the bar drop like a dead weight. It could be the test completes ok, but much quicker than others in comparison. It could be your vcu is no good and you've got a problem. The one fact we do have is:
I've just eaten a packet of quavers
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