Solid shaft =£700 for a new ird
im not sure if this question has been asked before but why cant you just replace the knackered vcu with an engineered solid shaft ? in my head this would make it permanent 4wd right never owned a freelander before now always had disco's i know a guy who could make such a contraption but would it work ? never seen any threads mentioning this ?
it allows the front and rear propshafts to rotate at slightly different speeds to take into account the different front /rear gearing, different tyre diameters and different distances the the front and rear wheels take when cornering. If the propshaft was solid front to back the rear diff and IRD would last a very few miles!! It would be no better off road and hopeless on it for the short time it lasted 
Tell us yer problems and we'll laugh, shorry tell yer how we fixed ours.
..! He is contageous!
have yu looked into the Nissan Juke auto 4x4 drive system - that is awesome
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The VCU 4x4 system is simple, there are just a few fundamental principles you need to be aware of.
Number 1: When ewe is on full lock all four wheels is turning at different speeds. This is why full time 4x4's have massive turning cicles as else them's transmission would melt.
Number 2: The Freelander's rear diff ratio and the IRD ratio (similar to yer tratter's transfer box) is different. This is to take up the lag when your front wheels start to slip so that the VCU engages quicker and you get power to the back wheels when you needs it.
Number 3: Because of this system the Hippo is much more "car like" in the way it handles, which is why many of us like it. As a daily driver it feels very civilised.
Number 4: On the Hippo 2's ewe have them new fangled Haldex units wot likes to break alot. They allows you to select 2wd, 4x4 auto or full time 4x4. The Hippo 1 is basically in the second mode at all times, which for the most part works just fine.
If you want an in depth article on how VCU's work and why they is actually quite clever there is a link in my signature
Stick with it, it will grow on you
Will.
Edit: Jesus I really slipped into Hippo speak there
where did you get info for no 2 ?The VCU 4x4 system is simple, there are just a few fundamental principles you need to be aware of.
Number 1: When ewe is on full lock all four wheels is turning at different speeds. This is why full time 4x4's have massive turning cicles as else them's transmission would melt.
Number 2: The Freelander's rear diff ratio and the IRD ratio (similar to yer tratter's transfer box) is different. This is to take up the lag when your front wheels start to slip so that the VCU engages quicker and you get power to the back wheels when you needs it.
Number 3: Because of this system the Hippo is much more "car like" in the way it handles, which is why many of us like it. As a daily driver it feels very civilised.
Number 4: On the Hippo 2's ewe have them new fangled Haldex units wot likes to break alot. They allows you to select 2wd, 4x4 auto or full time 4x4. The Hippo 1 is basically in the second mode at all times, which for the most part works just fine.
If you want an in depth article on how VCU's work and why they is actually quite clever there is a link in my signature
Stick with it, it will grow on you
Will.
Edit: Jesus I really slipped into Hippo speak there
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