Freelander 1 HCU - Hippo Coupling Unit (TM)

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The dog clutch would simply engage the front prop with the VCU. The VCU would still perform it's honourable duties :)
 
thaty means you then have two items - better to replace the VCU with something better - an X-Trail rear subframe, diff & drive train? Oh - and the electronics :eek:.

Pity the Diffs are different ratios :eek:.
 
alin75 said:
Hello! What do you think of this version? JTEKT CORPORATION - 4WD Couplings
I tried to get a price, but did not get answer .....

All the best,
Alin
Click to expand...
That’s the ideal thing. Got some fancy electronics which seems to be able to sense rotational difference which auto locks it. If this could be adjusted to suit the Freelander 1’s differing ratio’s of prop speed then it would be highly suitable. It seems have it’s own ability to do this.

Do we know the price?

edited.
 
Hippo said:
That’s the ideal thing. Got some fancy electronics which seems to be able to sense rotational difference which auto locks it. If this could be adjusted to suit the Freelander 1’s differing ratio’s of prop speed then it would be highly suitable. It seems have it’s own ability to do this.

Do we know the price?

edited.
Click to expand...

The Rotary Blade Coupling seems to be aimed at the VCU way of doing things. Maybe it'd 'just' work?
 
same principle as haldex coupling, the worry is where it says it receives impulse instructions from up to 27 different sensors in the rest of the drive system, very easy to fix diy, i think not!
 
the Nissan system uses accelerometers, G sensors, throttle & brake sensors, ABS and steering position sensors to control it. Not that it has to, of course.
 
WLJayne said:
Others cars have VCU's, why is the hippo's so ****e? The rear diff ratio?
Click to expand...
It's not ****e, it's just perceived to be ****e. The VCU dates back to a time when e-diffs were a thing of the future. Many cars have used vcu’s ok. The problem with Freelanders may be down to a wider limit of variations when in use, which causes the vcu more stress than it should (effectively looks up sooner than it should), as opposed to the ideal variation of limits during normal use which shouldn’t stress the vcu so much (activate it as much). Like dodgy tyre size and tread patterns causing issues. Differing prop speed ration is thought to be a problem also. The fact the vcu automatically “activate/locks” when needed to operate is quite good. The theory works ok. It’s also good how it can pass a certain amount of torque across it during normal conditions. The big problem we have with it is we don’t actually know the true facts of what a new vcu is like, as a comparison to an old one. So we don’t know the effects over time other than they tend to seize (can also go open circuit especially if it’s a BSVCU as they’re open circuit to begin with). We can’t confirm if a reconditioned vcu is the same as a new one as we don’t have a new one and know ones bought one new from GKN direct. More often than not we don’t know the state of a failed vcu as it never gets tested. Hence why peeps say they’re ****e as we don’t have all the facts and struggle to obtain them. We have collectively managed to pull together loads of info but the proof is in the pu… shorry, testing. If we were to prove tyres were the direct cause of early vcu failure then the vcu would be seen in a betterer light. Well thats what I think anyway.
 
Hippo said:
It's not ****e, it's just perceived to be ****e. The VCU dates back to a time when e-diffs were a thing of the future. Many cars have used vcu’s ok. The problem with Freelanders may be down to a wider limit of variations when in use, which causes the vcu more stress than it should (effectively looks up sooner than it should), as opposed to the ideal variation of limits during normal use which shouldn’t stress the vcu so much (activate it as much). Like dodgy tyre size and tread patterns causing issues. Differing prop speed ration is thought to be a problem also. The fact the vcu automatically “activate/locks” when needed to operate is quite good. The theory works ok. It’s also good how it can pass a certain amount of torque across it during normal conditions. The big problem we have with it is we don’t actually know the true facts of what a new vcu is like, as a comparison to an old one. So we don’t know the effects over time other than they tend to seize (can also go open circuit especially if it’s a BSVCU as they’re open circuit to begin with). We can’t confirm if a reconditioned vcu is the same as a new one as we don’t have a new one and know ones bought one new from GKN direct. More often than not we don’t know the state of a failed vcu as it never gets tested. Hence why peeps say they’re ****e as we don’t have all the facts and struggle to obtain them. We have collectively managed to pull together loads of info but the proof is in the pu… shorry, testing. If we were to prove tyres were the direct cause of early vcu failure then the vcu would be seen in a betterer light. Well thats what I think anyway.
Click to expand...

True they aren't ****e, they work very well at what they're supposed to do. It's just odd that Freelander's seem to go through them so much, I haven't heard of it being such a huge problem on other VCU 4x4's but maybe I haven't read enough :).
 
WLJayne said:
True they aren't ****e, they work very well at what they're supposed to do. It's just odd that Freelander's seem to go through them so much, I haven't heard of it being such a huge problem on other VCU 4x4's but maybe I haven't read enough :).
Click to expand...
I'm convinced the issue we have is down to the gradient of "activation" setup which is why our vcu's suffer the others. Differing speed of props asking the vcu to effectively "lock up" or start trying to reduce the differing speeds of the prop (by partially locking more than it currently is) sooner than perhaps other cars vcu's do. this could be down to the famous "car like" driving experience to reduce the vague steering on more traditional 4x4's or linked in with the response time required for the tc to become most effective. I don't have proof of this but playing with my vcu makes me think this. It could be down to the rest of the transmission not being able to take the additional stress when things go wrong.
 
Disagree with you there. The VCU is a poor design because it isn't fail-safe. I.e. it can fail and destroy the complete drive train.
Shirley it ain't too difficult to arrange a small PCB that compares pulses derived from input and output shafts and compares the resultant. If there is no difference then the unit is siezed, and displays some form of error light?

Even LR could do that?
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
Disagree with you there. The VCU is a poor design because it isn't fail-safe. I.e. it can fail and destroy the complete drive train.
Shirley it ain't too difficult to arrange a small PCB that compares pulses derived from input and output shafts and compares the resultant. If there is no difference then the unit is siezed, and displays some form of error light?

Even LR could do that?
Click to expand...

When was it designed? 95 96? Land rover barely had one touch windows back then. The freelander was very advanced as 4x4s of the time went. It is a shame they never updated it as technology improved tho:(
 
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