VCU General opinions at 70k

I'm picking up a 2003 freelander td4 tonight against my better judgement having read around the forum

However, its a genuine car with full history and the missis is dead set on one.

The question is, is the VCU considered a service item? in light of all the problems that can arise if/when it fails.

Bell Engineering suggest a life span of up to 70k which incidentally is where mine is, hence the question. ie do i change it as a precautionary/service measure to prevent further damage/costs as the vehicle currently drives fantastic and i want it to stay that way if possible.

I changed mine @ 75,000 miles with a bells recon one , I had the old one tested when returned to bell's and it was starting to get stiffer ( but not that bad as in breaking transmission parts )
The steering is much lighter now on turns .

BTW - @ 75,000 miles my prop bearings where getting dry , rumbling & rubber mounting was starting to sag/split , This is the main reason I changed the VCU / bearings !

my thoughts exactly, when i consider cambelts etc i'm inclined to consider it a service item and change it for peace of mind

My '06 was on 113,000 miles and no sign if it having been replaced by LR who serviced it from new.

I knew there was a problem when my TD4 auto stalled 3 times whilst reversing on full lock.

I had Bell Eng. replace mine and it has been fine ever since.

my old was on 170,000 or there about before I had to have a new one go to bells for one

I also was unsure on the history of my vcu when i bought my td4 so recently dropped it and the props. Unbelivable how much easier the car drives now it in two wheel mode. Going to fit a bell one in Autumn ready for the winter.

Replaced my original VCU at 105k with a brand new GKN one and bearings.
Felt like a new car

Made a h6ge difference to the feel of mine when changed at 110K. I though before that it drove well but as DTO says, it was the condition of my VCU support bearings that worried me more so decided just to get it all done.

I had my original one on until 130k and there was a noticeable difference when I changed it for a Bell recon job. When I did the wheel up tests it was "borderline" but I'm glad I changed it now. Spend the extra £30 and do the bearings too.

There are plenty of posts on how to test the VCU, but if you plan to keep the vehicle for a while then a recon job at £200 or so is wise investment - you could be looking at ten times that for transmission/drivetrain work.

Another thing you must check - does your new FL have four matching tyres - and by matching we mean all same make/model/size ?

VCU reconditioners have a vested interest in telling people to change their vcu. They'll quote themselves to be an expert and know all about them, but don't know the exact chemical set-up of the fluid inside or the amount. It's a trade secrete of GKN and possibly LR too. So the best they can do is guess with trial and error. Most reconditionners make vcu's with less resistance which is a trick to make the car feel looser, and therefore betterer. Some reconditionners go to the extent of knocking forums who invent methods of testing vcu's to compare results, only to perform the same test themselves. I don't know of a reconditioner who owns/runs their own Freelander. My vcu failed at 34.5k miles. I watched it slowly fail while testing it regular, then removed it. Rant over.

My VCU was showing signs of stiffening at just over 30K miles. A V6 issue maybe?
There are cases where owners report high milage on the original VCU but there are many more cases of destroyed IRDs at much lower miles. Be safe and change it sooner rather than later.

And given what Hippo's just said, you're dammed if you do change it - and its too stiff from the supplire, fails early or fails to help you when you need it! And you're dammed if you don't - and it fails!. You could go for a OEM new GKN unit (ie the actual units LR fitted) - but I wonder when the last time they built any were, how long they've been sitting around and whether they deteriorate with age/extended non-use!

I'm sure you've come across the horror stories on here re replacement VCUs. If there was poll, I'm sure 99% on here would say don't get any recon other than Bell.

What ever you choose just keep an eye out for how the car feels, particularly on lock if it feels like it wants to brake. The 1 Wheel Up test must be a good thing to do every now and then! Plus keep the tyres all the same and check pressures regularly. But you know this cos you've done you're homework!

Mine's coming up to 90K miles and still carrying the original VCU - literally 'carrying' cos I've rebuilt my IRD and removed drive to the rear. I had all matching tyres, but 1 went low on pressure and f***d the transmission. Wish I'd rebuilt it fully now - but hey you make your choices at the time!

GKN still make new vcu's for Freelanders. They flow through the supply chain but that won't take years. Many Freelanders when first built will be sat around for some time until sold.

There are many recon suppliers. It is wrong to tar them all with the problems of only a few. Especially on the say so of many 1 post wonders, or those connected to the trade with a vested interest. Look at the ebay listings for those who supply recon vcu's (proof in their history). They have sold loads and no complaints. There's also knowone referencing them on the web for bad vcu's or complaining about them.

Nodge68 said:

My VCU was showing signs of stiffening at just over 30K miles. A V6 issue maybe?
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Click to expand...

I've been given results of far more T4d's with simular low miles when they failed so taking into account the ratio of Td4 to v6, I'm not too concerned the v6 has higher failure rates.

Wow thanks for all the information guys, I'd done some research prior but bell is only down the road from us. And in response to an earlier post, no the tyres don't match at the moment but I'll get onto that too. The decision is bell or genuine but as stated damned if I do or don't lol

I am with Hippo on this.
My own TD4 has done 147,000 miles on the original VCU.
Now and again it feels a bit tight when reversing,but unless I can get to test drive half a dozen similar Freelanders I won`t Know how tight is tight.
I have a feel underneath now and then to see how warm it is(like you do) and am meticulous about tire pressures.

I have also cut down on J turns.

Saying that I will maybe change it this year as you lot make me paranoid.

VCU freds are popular on ere and we only ever agree to disagree. ound:

There's a test which peeps can do themselves to see what the condition of their vcu is like. It's called the "one wheel up test". It measures the time it takes for gravity to pull a weight down while it turns the rear wheel. I think somebody put a video up about it somewhere. No mess. No fuss. Try it and compare your results.
Crash to the ground = something is missing or the vcu is open circuit.
Doesn't turn = something is seized. You int jacked up the wheel. Could be brakes/handbrake stuck on or duff vcu.
Turning nicely = happy vcu.
Turning fast = loose vcu.

There's also the "turnip test" named after vagrant (come back digga driver you is missed) which is betterer described on ere by someone somewhere. This is simply a measure of how warm yer vcu gets compared to start temp when it's not been driven for many hours. The comparison only needs 3 to 5 miles and not the miss-reported 10+ or driving round in a cycle 50 time which will probably overheat it anyway.
Cold = The vcu isn't slipping much, something is missing in the transmission, vcu is seized or the unlikely event the tyres are perfectly matched (very low chance of that). VCU is suspect if you can't see another fault.
Warm = vcu is doing something which is a good sign.
Hot to touch = vcu is over working which could be a sign of mismatched tyres or a vcu problem.
Compare yer temps to others to see how you compare.

Unfortunately we don't have the many thousands of results we could have had. But we have some.

It's your vehicle you have the choice to buy a new or recon vcu if you want. Call it peace of mind if you wish.

If you really want to solve yer vcu problems buy a Freelander 2 or keep yer Freelander 1 and remove yer vcu and don't fit another (you have to tell yer insurance).

Happy Freelandering.

dont believe anything he sez ^^^^^^^^^^^^. he dont know nuffink.


yu go learn it all again, coz it is too difficult to read all the pages of info available.

err there are one or two to say the least anyhows, i think ive got the general gist. its a bit tight on lock but not scrubbing badly. i'll do some of the tests to see what results i get (hopefully help other folks too) and get it changed along with tyres shortly as they don't match.

Your VCU might be giving problems, mismatched tyres definitely cause problems. I'd take the props off till you sort the tyres out - although if you're going to have a go at the 1WU test (sorry Mr Hats) do that before!