Transfer Box ??

Hi guys. . .

Well that time has come around / and it seems that maybe my transfer box is gone.

The symptoms are screeching noises comming from somewehere under the car while in or out of gear. The screeching and grinding noises appear to be relative to the speed of the car.

I thought maybe this was a bearing on the wheel, but there is also a rattling noise. The engine is running smooth as a baby.

Does this sound like the correct diagnosis ? The car is able to change gear and run as per usual . . .I would have thought that with the transfer box out, that the car would not go at all and this is the only thing that I don't understand.

Cheers guys. I'm sad now. But half expected it at some point.

Just on that /

The problem first appeared when I went into reverse.

Mine just went bang I was doing 80mph on the motorway by Sheffield sounded like a monkey going mad with a hammer!!

I had no prior warning it went at about 130,000 miles not sure if this is reasonable amount of use of time but the replacement cost £1,100 fitted ouch!!

Heya sage !

Interesting / did you find that you could still operate the gears and get from A to B ?? Because I can / and this is the part I don't understand / I expected with the transfer box gone I wouldn't have been able to do that.

Is it possible to fit the transfer box myself ?

I am not convinced, IRD whines, plus knocking of the cogs if you jolt the power on and off at low speeds.
Separate the prop, jack up all four wheels, spin them and get it checked, more like the needle roller bearings have gone in the CV/propshaft, VCU bearing?

have got what sounds very similar prob to your good self, am waitin to clear my drive so I can atempt to fix myself

i have read and asked lots of questions and the same answer keeps commin back " clutch release bearing" £450 at local landrover freindly dealer sounds to be the norm but the new clutch set can be bought for under £50 so i reckon i can do it meself an learn a thing or two at the same time. bearin in mind i'm more used to rwo who wheeled ve hicles

So maybe not the transfer case afterall . . . interesting. Well i hope not / because the only TC's available are refurbed ones ahipped from the UK at AU$3000. . .

Hi NI. . .

Is the CV/propshaft, VCU bearing - in the front of the car or the back ? The knocking is definately comming from the front. From what appears to be the transfer case. The problem seems to be enhanced when atempting a reverse while turning.

Northern Irelander said:

I am not convinced, IRD whines, plus knocking of the cogs if you jolt the power on and off at low speeds.
Separate the prop, jack up all four wheels, spin them and get it checked, more like the needle roller bearings have gone in the CV/propshaft, VCU bearing?

Click to expand...

I was thinking about removing the rear drive shaft. . .Will this convert it to a simple 2wd ? without the clunking grinding etc ?

On further questioning, i've found that the transfer case usually buggers up as a result of the VCU unit failing , either rubber seals or etc breaking (which makes the screeching noise). . .Apparently this will cause the transfer case to eventually fail. . .I imagine if your going fast enough / a cluster F@%$ will occur; resulting in both the Viscous Coupling Unit and the Transfer Case failing instantly.

So for those who havn't had their VCU's recently checked or refitted / this might save further problems on your transfer case. So maybe the freelander transfer case is fine, but this VCU is the real cause of continued failings on transfer cases. Again, this VCU is another expensive part to replace.

But maybe re-furbishing of this part can be done by replacing the rubber seals.

OK fellas . . .

After much questioning on cost etc / i've found that this **** is going to cost approx $6000 to do properly / which is just too much.

So ! I'm going to keep to this thread and pull my machine appart myself attempting to re-furbish as I go. I will try and keep photo's etc of parts so that for future readers with similar problems can work this into a step-by-step process.

Its worth a shot right ? Any help along the way will be greatly appreciated !

I had excatly the same symptoms as yourself and it was definately the transfer box. After replacement I stripped the old box and found broken gear teeth, completerly collapsed bearings (roller pins no longer in existence) and about two inches of play in the (i think) crown wheel and shaft. I actually drove the car north to south and back again (750 mile round trip) twice. The box didn't go but driving was getting increasingly noisy. There was no loss of power/drive but a rattling noise that was getting worse. I think that if your constant driving (ie motorway) the wear/failures are slightly masked due to the drive train being held tight under drive. This does not mean that it will be ok to drive, i am under no misconceptions that my box would have failed in a big, and very spectacular, way if I had carried on driving (by the way, the only reason I carried on driving was due to the delivery time for a new box).

In relation to the above mentioned Question .. . Transfer Box ??

The answer is NO ! The answer exists somewhere in the rear wheel drive shaft. The final result being a problem with the Viscosity Coupling Unit.

Viscous coupling unit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have removed the drive shaft and the car is now running perfectly (as a 2wd) ! No noises or grinding/ changing gears is a pleasure, and the cabin is FAR far quieter. The transfer box must be working, because the car is moving !

How to know whether your VCU is playing up is simple. You will be hearing what sounds like a wheel bearing problem from inside your cabin. . .a dull soft scraping sound . . .except it is not a wheel bearing it might be coming somehere instead from your VCU. You might also hear a crunching sound as you descend a pavement full lock in reverse.

Here are the photo's of the rear wheel drive shaft removed from the vehicle.

image 1. Is the remaining exposed transfer case drive socket. . .

image 2. Is the remaining exposed rear diff. . .

image 3. Is a close up of the VCU you will see the damage where the rubber has worn / torn away with use. This is likely the cause of the screeching and grinding sounds.

image 4. Is what your VCU looks like sitting on your garage floor.

The moral of the story. . .and perhaps a theory on the whole Transfer Box mystery.

There is nothing innately terrible about the Landrover Freelander Transfer Case. . . If this VCU destroyed itself in a savage manner/ it may well have taken the transfer box along with it resulting in Cluster F%^$ of the whole diff/drive/transfer system.

Being aware of the symptoms in time / may well save you money . . .

So ! Be on the look out for drones or hums, which sound like bad wheel bearings, but aren't. Those noises may well suddenly become (as they did in mine) screeching and grinding - (pitch varying with car speed).

Whats My VCU doing on your garage floor?

You Barstard ! Your the bugger that swapped em round ! hehehehe. . .

In any case, I'm now driving a Frontlander. . .hahahaha !!!!! And i've also just been informed that a Frontlander is actually quite a bit better on fuel than a Freelander so neh neh neh , !!

aussielander said:

Whats My VCU doing on your garage floor?

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Yanick said:

The transfer box must be working, because the car is moving !

Click to expand...

Nope, because the IRD ("transfer box") transfers the drive to the propshaft.

How to know whether your VCU is playing up is simple. You will be hearing what sounds like a wheel bearing problem from inside your cabin. . .a dull soft scraping sound . . .except it is not a wheel bearing it might be coming somehere instead from your VCU. You might also hear a crunching sound as you descend a pavement full lock in reverse.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. These can be problems with VCU mounts, centre rear diff mount or the rear diff itself.

image 3. Is a close up of the VCU you will see the damage where the rubber has worn / torn away with use. This is likely the cause of the screeching and grinding sounds.

Click to expand...

The rubber is the damper that stablises the VCU - if you remove it or replace it you may remove the vibration, etc.

Glad you are happier with your vehicle.

Cheers

Blippie