My trip to Bell Engineering

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helijohn

helijohn

Active Member
Posts
195
Location
UK
Took my VCU with front prop still attached to Bell engineering the other day. Worcester is not too far away but really it is not Worcester as such.
It was a 3 hour round trip and all was fine (apart from a stupid roadworks diversion close to them which caused tremendous queues) until I got to Leafy Lane which is basically a one track lane. Halfway along it was a car coming the other way so being a gent I reversed almost all the way back and pulled into a drive and it turned out to be the drive of the house of the woman for whom I was reversing so I had to back out of that for her to pull in.
Then an agricultural appeared (tractor with trailer) so I went back to the drive to let it pass. I finally arrived at the Bell gate and again had to reverse to let a car out.:D It was pretty funny really.
After endless failed attempts to get the prop off the VCU I thought I'd have to return home disappointed but fortunately they had a prop I could have. This was only the fourth one they had ever had that they could not shift apparently.
 
helijohn said:
Took my VCU with front prop still attached to Bell engineering the other day. Worcester is not too far away but really it is not Worcester as such.
It was a 3 hour round trip and all was fine (apart from a stupid roadworks diversion close to them which caused tremendous queues) until I got to Leafy Lane which is basically a one track lane. Halfway along it was a car coming the other way so being a gent I reversed almost all the way back and pulled into a drive and it turned out to be the drive of the house of the woman for whom I was reversing so I had to back out of that for her to pull in.
Then an agricultural appeared (tractor with trailer) so I went back to the drive to let it pass. I finally arrived at the Bell gate and again had to reverse to let a car out.:D It was pretty funny really.
After endless failed attempts to get the prop off the VCU I thought I'd have to return home disappointed but fortunately they had a prop I could have. This was only the fourth one they had ever had that they could not shift apparently.
Click to expand...
I had to use heat and a sledge hammer to get one apart.
Because I used so much heat I replaced the universal joint just in case.
I had to be very careful not to heat up the VCU too much.
 
Joe_H said:
And the result ;) ???
Click to expand...
Thought you'd never ask.:D:D
I came away with a recon VCU, two fitted support bearings and a recon propshaft. A great and productive day's outing. Just finished fitting the lot this morning.:cool: Not test driven it yet though.
 
Alibro said:
Yes and is the weld obvious?
Click to expand...
Recon VCU and front prop (2).JPG
 
Alibro said:
I had to use heat and a sledge hammer to get one apart.
Click to expand...
Had I had to do it myself I expect that is what I would have done but after whacking it with a cold chisel and club hammer forever I decided to take up their offer of letting them separate the prop and VCU.;)
 
Alibro will link you to his stick the stick in and pray weld that works ...... :) - it is a treasure to behold and only took an few hours of grinding ...:D

But, be Jasus ... it works... and works bloody well !;)
 
Joe_H said:
Alibro will link you to his stick the stick in and pray weld that works ...... :) - it is a treasure to behold and only took an few hours of grinding ...:D

But, be Jasus ... it works... and works bloody well !;)
Click to expand...
I knew thon useless hairy bugger was referring to me. Take your pick of my rebuild threads the welding is pigeon poo in all of them. The good thing is, I'm an expert with a grinder now.
 
Yes I see...........I don't have good enough weld skills though I do weld I admit I am not ever gonna get offered jobs on oil rigs. If I were going down the DIY route I'd try adding bleed nipples etc.
I just wanted a quick over and done with job and I am so far pleased with what I got.
 
Alibro said:
I knew thon useless hairy bugger was referring to me. Take your pick of my rebuild threads the welding is pigeon poo in all of them. The good thing is, I'm an expert with a grinder now.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Are you inferring that I am BOLD - as I think you MUST be ?????:D - or BALD - as in ' as a coot':oops: '- or as in me chin - ? which is like a real head upside down ??
hard to tell one one spends their life with the head down lifting spuds or bits of freelander tailgates - probably a similar thing/////:(

I am not follicaly challenged... I - I am deliberately removing the offending article for 'sexual' prowess ///////
o_O:rolleyes::cool::D
 
You did fit the bearings so they are exactly 90° to the VCU shaft didn't you John. Bearings appear to fail quickly unless they are supporting the VCU correctly.
 
Nodge68 said:
You did fit the bearings so they are exactly 90° to the VCU shaft didn't you John. Bearings appear to fail quickly unless they are supporting the VCU correctly.
Click to expand...

"Exactly" well that is a difficult one John- I tried to ensure that the mounts were parallel and in line with the chassis/underframe and at 90° to the VCU centre line but I was doing it by eye. The mounting slots for the bolts allow a fore and aft adjustment but not a lateral adjustment and I could tell the bearings could be mounted on the skew somewhat so I worked on the principle that if the mounts aligned with the underframe (and I used the earlier Tippex marks as a bit of a guide) Ie. not twisted out of line that would be as good as I'd get it.
I was defo concerned to have the mounts parallel to each other and parallel to the car's lateral lines. Does that make sense?
Getting a fix on it was a concern but I did not use any apparatus to ensure it, just eyed it up. If you have any ideas I can double check on Monday.
 
bang a photo up so we can take a look maybe, I had to adjust mine a little after I renewed my VCU and front a rear drive shafts
 
I still don't see how I can get it more true 90° without some sort of tech equipment. If I had used the old bearing mounts the tippex marks would have possibly done the trick.
 
I normally just ensure the mounts are not touching anything and push them up to the car. That way I know the rubbers aren't being strained one way or another, then bolt them up being careful to ensure they don't move as the bolts tighten. It sometimes takes a couple of goes as they move very easily as you tighten the bolts.
 
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