Still juddering from the rear....oh darn it!

Hello guys and gals!

I've got a good one for you! As far as I am aware the common rear wheel judder when turning is caused by either diff mounts, crack on the mount etc or the VCU.

However, I believed that the rear diff mounts were shot so I have just finished changing them and after a test drive it still does it though not as much. It doesnt seem to judder when turning left but when i turn right its still at the same severity. The centre mount looks like its been replaced recently but I changed both the rears. I can't see any abnormalities with the mounts or any cracks on the subframe and I've also had the VCU checked twice by a Land Rover Specialist! So i'm really clutching at straws now and starting to get f**cking ****ed off with it as everything else on it is great! I just want to sell the damn thing and get a disco!!

If anyones got some wise words i'd appreciate it because I couldnt find anything on the forum apart from the usual answers.

Can you clarify juddering?

Vcu checked by land rover specialist? Really a specialist when it comes to freelanders? Or defenders and discos?

Have you done a wheel up test?

well when i turn a tight corner, mainly right, in second gear (so under some torque) the rear starts to make a thumping sound....and i mean a thumping sound :L. it doesnt do it so much if at all when turning left. Its not that the wheel is jumping, skipping etc but it sounds like the driveshaft is hopping. it couldnt be the cv joint could it? but it doesnt do it under acceleration or braking or when theres any weight in the rear.

Well they only work on land rovers mainly discos and defenders but they do work on freelanders quite a bit. the technician knows his stuff even about the freelander. Hes worked and seen the car more than anyone i know but he said it was fine and did the tipex test on the vcu and the prop. He said it was moving about as it should.

I havent done the wheel test as ive been told its not a conclusive or an accurate enough test :/

charleyb123 said:

well when i turn a tight corner, mainly right, in second gear (so under some torque) the rear starts to make a thumping sound....and i mean a thumping sound :L. it doesnt do it so much if at all when turning left. Its not that the wheel is jumping, skipping etc but it sounds like the driveshaft is hopping. it couldnt be the cv joint could it? but it doesnt do it under acceleration or braking or when theres any weight in the rear.

Well they only work on land rovers mainly discos and defenders but they do work on freelanders quite a bit. the technician knows his stuff even about the freelander. Hes worked and seen the car more than anyone i know but he said it was fine and did the tipex test on the vcu and the prop. He said it was moving about as it should.

I havent done the wheel test as ive been told its not a conclusive or an accurate enough test :/

Click to expand...

And a tippex test is?
Is the thumping speed related or how you move the suspension?

Easiest test would be to remove the whole prop and vcu .....then take it for a test to see if it makes any difference.

This sounds like the same problem as i had with mine. And i complained about it on this forum,

came to the conclusion i needed another vcu. changed it and all became clear.

Virtually stopped the juddering from the rear left (rns) it only does it now taking tight right hand corners at speed (which i shouldn't do anyhow)



Remove the prop shaft and if it stops my money is on the vcu.



The juddering stops when there is weight in the car because it has more strain on the drivetrain in order to force the vcu to move.

I would be looking at vcu too mate. As far as Im aware, the tippex test means quite literally putting a line of tippex across the vcu and prop shafts, to prove that when driving, the vcu actually slips and is not seized. To be honest I cant see this test as conclusive. If your vehicle has done more than 70k since your last vcu change then get it replaced. ( but for sake of fault finding, as others have already suggested, take the prop off and see if symptoms persist).
Try a basic check on rear diff, with front wheels chocked, jack the rear up and turn one rear wheel by hand. The oppsite wheel should turn smoothly and freely. Try turning the wheel back and forth at different points of rotation to ensure theres no obvious damage to diff.
Hope you get sorted....its worth it in the end.

your brakes are not seized are they ,just a thought but as said take the prop off and this will tell you if it is the VCU

I get a thumping sound from the back of mine sometimes - starting to think its the exhaust banging against the chassis but haven't got round to confirming that yet

hiya

to save ur sanity i totally agree with the other guys

remove the entire prop and vcu then take it for a test drive as u can then at least eliminate the props and vcu, and will give u a good starting point

hope that helps

gary

Yes another one here who agrees first step is to remove the props & VCU - you can read up on how to do it in the forum (a quick search should do it, or on YouTube, but its pretty straight forward - disconnect the props at the rear diff & IRD, then lower the VCU - just be careful not to drop anything as its (obviously) all heavy, and don't over bend the UJs.

There's a lot of things this could be, removing the stress from the front & rear axles will go a long way to eliminating a lot of them.

Your comment of "Its not that the wheel is jumping, skipping etc but it sounds like the driveshaft is hopping" makes it sound like a mechanical thing, eg cogs slipping (eg due to worn bearings) in the rear diff or IRD, or maybe even a noisey VCU - but none of these would be affected by weight in the rear. It could be the exhaust, which might be affected by weight. It could be bushes in the suspension.

Although it may not sound like it, it is most likely to be the wheels scuffing - which releases pressure in the drive train and thus the drive train somewhere may be making noises as this pressure is released. As stated this would be affected by weight in the car. The noise is probably coming from something that is being worn out by the continual build up of this pressure.

My money though is on drop links - it seams like all wierd noises in Freelanders turn out to be drop links!

Experts get it wrong sometimes - my overheating Disco was sent to a LR "specialist" garage to be fixed, they changed all sorts, including cylinder heads that cost me $$$ 1,000s - nothing fixed it and it was only when I sent it to a non LR-specialist the problem was identified as the expansion tank lid! Sounds incredible, but it happened. I do virtually all the work on our cars since, with a lora help from the Landyzone community!

thanks for the positive input guys I think you're right and just sack the prop off and see whats what. i cannot begin to tell you how f**cked off i will be if it has gone im trying to sell the bleeding thing not spend moreeeeee money on it! as for the brakes there all good to be frank, and the exhaust makes clinking noise more than a thumping one :L (coming from experience!)

thought id update the situation for anyone whos read or commented (ive been on holiday hence the delay) but i got round to removing the prop which was awkward but nothing too challenging thankfully, and sure enough the vcu was shagged! Ive converted witht eh plate to 2wd for the time being but will eventually get another prop as my dad mistook it for scrap and...well, scrapped it haha thanks for the input everyone!

I too had this noise when turning on full lock but only after I had the VCU, bearings and centre diff bush changed. I took it back to the garage but they were totally lost for what was causing the noise. Anyway I removed the prop and ran it mondo mode for a couple if weeks and the noise went. I believe the reconditioned VCU is good as the garage that supplied and fitted it come highly recommended so I can only think that it's some other part of the rear suspension linkages. What does everyone think?