Freelander Pulls Side to Side after Propshaft installed

Hi, I recently got myself a project freelander for cheap, £340 to be exact, It has some issues but nothing that can't be fixed, When i got it the previous owner had converted it to FWD by removing the propshaft to the rear because they said there was a "juddering" sound, Rear driveshafts and differential is still here but diff is leaking fluids, I got a good cheap propshaft and mounting hardware for 50 quid and fitted it to see how it dives in 4WD incase it was just a bad VCU on the original propshaft and now i wouldnt really say it is "Juddering" but when i accelerate hard it pulls randomly from one side to another, Feels very unsafe.... Could the diff be gone inside and cause these symptoms or is it more likely to be something in the front end made more obvious now its in 4wd....?? I drove the thing nearly 100 miles home and it was smooth going all the way.

Some may have ideas as to why it might be pulling sideways, but have you tested the new VCU you've got or did you just take the word of someone selling 2nd hand car parts?

Check the balance on the rear wheels, the noise and vibration on mine was horrendous due to one badly balanced wheel. It actually felt unsafe.

Could also be worn ball joint(s), bad tyres, tracking out or a number of suspension or steering related issues. I don't know if a duff vcu would cause pulling from one side to another but one of the more learned members on here my advise better than I can.

kernowsvenski said:

Could also be worn ball joint(s), bad tyres, tracking out or a number of suspension or steering related issues. I don't know if a duff vcu would cause pulling from one side to another but one of the more learned members on here my advise better than I can.

Click to expand...

This^^^^
Add odd tyres to the list to.

2006FreeLander1TD4 said:

When i got it the previous owner had converted it to FWD by removing the propshaft to the rear because they said there was a "juddering" sound, Rear driveshafts and differential is still here but diff is leaking fluids, I got a good cheap propshaft and mounting hardware for 50 quid and fitted it to see how it dives in 4WD incase it was just a bad VCU on the original propshaft and now i wouldnt really say it is "Juddering" but when i accelerate hard it pulls randomly from one side to another, Feels very unsafe.... Could the diff be gone inside and cause these symptoms or is it more likely to be something in the front end made more obvious now its in 4wd....?? I drove the thing nearly 100 miles home and it was smooth going all the way.

Click to expand...

kernowsvenski said:

Could also be worn ball joint(s), bad tyres, tracking out or a number of suspension or steering related issues. I don't know if a duff vcu would cause pulling from one side to another but one of the more learned members on here my advise better than I can.

Click to expand...

Suspension wear, tracking problems and issues with tyres are generally the commonest cause of a car being pulled to one side or the other, but the way I read this is that the problem only occurred once the removed propshaft had been replaced. This makes the inference that this is a driveline problem more likely, although I agree that it would be very sensible to make sure all the simple issues are addressed.

Out of curiosity, have you removed the prop again to see whether the car drives straight?

It has also been suggested that you do the "one wheel up test" to check on whether the VCU has indeed seized. This seems like a good idea.

Not really sure what the problem here is. Often it is a question of working through the problem logically. Given you've identified a leak from the rear diff, I'd probably start by checking that, along with the mounting bushes - if the diff is moving about, it is possible that this could lead to unintended rear geometry changes.

Do keep us posted as to what you find!