Prolonging your IRD/VCU...

Northern Irelander said:

Are you for real JF.

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Northern Irelander said:

Maybe my sarcasm of the design was not realised. Engines produce heat by design, gearboxes should not.

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The Mad Hat Man said:

Crikey! Never thought I would hear that from you NI.

An i thought it only had dodgy winda mechanisms?:bolt: :behindsofa: :love: :love: :love:

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so is it better to drain the silcone oil out and replace it with what though

cremator said:

so is it better to drain the silcone oil out and replace it with what though

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dont even consider it - remove it and keep it a s a spare or chuck it. Many have tried - there are numerous posts on here going back years. I cant be arsed to find em.

The Mad Hat Man said:

dont even consider it - remove it and keep it a s a spare or chuck it. Many have tried - there are numerous posts on here going back years. I cant be arsed to find em.

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keep what as a spare or chuck what

Had a look at the fault tread and most IRD/VCU failures do seem to occur onthe earlier models. Anyone seen many reports beyond 02 for these?

What kind of mileage could we expect from these if looked after?

cremator said:

keep what as a spare or chuck what

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that depends - i cud be flippant and say the whole car but I was talking about the VCU.

Mileage on a VCU if looked after - not sure there is any "looking after" to do.

The link in my signature will show you the fun you can have with a hippo. Traction control works well. Thw wheels have to spin first, befor eit will activate. The auto box option will make up for no low box. Not completly, but it will do.

Have fun with your hippo and don't worry about failure. Keep it well serviced and sort out problems as they come along. Failuire is one of those things. You never known when your inexpectantly have a turbo blow, or a radiator chipped.

Thanks Hippo - nice to hear the occasional positive opinion! I'm a 'glass half full' kinda guy (i must be otherwise i wouldn't have touched a Freelander after trawling through this forum ), the car's been well looked after, and i'll do the same. Only time will tell now!

Mine was one of the Hippo's MHM mentioned playing on the Plain last Sat. I also have an autobox so didnt have to mess about changing gear. Running on roadtyres must have really exercised the IRC and VCU!

Sure ground clearance is a problem when off road, its a lower car after all. But judicious use of common sense is all that is required. Even the big boy RR, Disco, Defenders, couldnt follow a tank track without getting stuck! Pick your route and go for it

HIPPO the videos look good but can i ask any mods or what kind of tyres you were running only had my 2000 td4 for just over 6 months and played last week on n york moors on road tyres in the snow i was amamazed how well it performed and i have owned a modified disco. freelanders do deserve the landrover name and landrovers have allways broken down or am i remembering wrong

cwinossett said:

HIPPO the videos look good but can i ask any mods or what kind of tyres you were running only had my 2000 td4 for just over 6 months and played last week on n york moors on road tyres in the snow i was amamazed how well it performed and i have owned a modified disco. freelanders do deserve the landrover name and landrovers have allways broken down or am i remembering wrong

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I've got Michelin 4x4 215/65R16 XPC on my Freelander. These were standard fit by LR, for Japanese markets, where we got it from. Tread pic below. You may struggle to get these in the UK, but same tread shape on any other tyre will do the same.

My hippo is a standard 2001 v6 es auto, with these tyres fitted.

Freelanders are light, and well known for being good in snow. Even defender drivers have admitted this to me.

When having a 4 wheel alignment + steering geometry set-up done at the main dealers, I was advised this tread pattern was about the limit he would recommend, due to the stress on the transmission and the way the traction control works on Freelanders, for both on/off road use. You can buy tractor tyres, but these will reduce road grip massively. There are some I've seen using them. Each to their own.

My tyres work well off road. I don't go mad. I do it for fun. I could easily get it stuck, but messing around with a winch for hours isn't my way of having fun. With these tyres, and careful thinking, you'll be ok.

I have to admit I've got traction control and abs, but these were hardly using in these videos. Bit of careful thinking and your hippo will perform and make you happy. Plan your route, and let someone go through something before you do. Catch what route they take, water level and if they have grip problems. Always better to let someone else get stuck first!

fixx

I was with the other Hippo on Sailsbury on sat and went most places the others did. And got some respect and positive comments from the others. We did the LRO show course as well and the Hippo just dose it. JE engine tune helps a lot (load's more torque low down) General grabber at tyre seem OK as well. We just avoid deep muddy water as I kills alternators.

JT - how did yu find the AT2's? wot pressure woz yu running them? i dint find em have much side grip.

When I did my 2 laps of the LRO show course this year I felt a bit paranoid. Mine were on Saturday morning. People kept doing second takes and pointing at me. Only saw one other hippo there whilst I was there. Got talking to a 90 owner who was interested in wanting to know how I got on. He praised my hippo too. It was fun, and a good experience. That track is very well laid out, to give you every eventuality you’ll meet off road.

The Mad Hat Man said:

JT - how did yu find the AT2's? wot pressure woz yu running them? i dint find em have much side grip.

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30/28psi (bit high I think but had a long drive home) They coped well I think some side way's moment's but TC and driver kept it under control most of the time
:crazy_driver:

Hippo said:

When I did my 2 laps of the LRO show course this year I felt a bit paranoid. Mine were on Saturday morning. People kept doing second takes and pointing at me. Only saw one other hippo there whilst I was there. Got talking to a 90 owner who was interested in wanting to know how I got on. He praised my hippo too. It was fun, and a good experience. That track is very well laid out, to give you every eventuality you’ll meet off road.

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We did ours on the sat saw a few others out there, I think some people don't know what a Hippo's capable of. We had load's of double takes (in a good way I like to think) driving back to the show. Only thing we went in to the water at the end a bit deep and finished off the alternator (may have seen use at the side of the road on the way to M6) not such a good way

I went round a hole on the roadway, by a white defender on the course. The bloke stood there helping out said I wouldn't make it, which was fare. Next time round the digger had filled it in as all the others had problems too.

When waiting at the end at the top of the slope in front of the water the same bloke came running up behind. He asked I was stuck. Nope was the answer. I was waiting for the 110 at the bottom of the slope to shift out the way. He was watching for a disco who'd cut out in the water to be pulled out. Speed kills, as the advert says. All was ok in the end. We went through ok. Air con bearing needs changed now, but it was on it's way out before this anyway. The 110 went round the water.