Freelander 1 Vicious coupling age

Just a quick one, TD4 auto 55 plate has hit 70k , wheel up n turn test shows Viscous coupling seems OK. I've owned it for 4 months and It has a sketchy service record so was wondering if the VC could have been replaced already and does the VC have a date stamp on it.
Thanks in advance

RE date stamp on VCU - others have tried to work that out on here using the numbers stamped on it. Do a careful search and you may find useful info'. Re one wheel up test, I fitted a new VCU in August last year. My old VCU took just short of two mins to move from 45º to 180º. The new one took just over 20 seconds! Both test done after identical runs of 19km.

Thanks for your reply htr, I think I'll give it another test and time it, it didn't seem to take long to do 45° but didn't time it.
I'll probably just replace it anyway for peace of mind.
Thanks again

htr said:

RE date stamp on VCU - others have tried to work that out on here using the numbers stamped on it. Do a careful search and you may find useful info'. Re one wheel up test, I fitted a new VCU in August last year. My old VCU took just short of two mins to move from 45º to 180º. The new one took just over 20 seconds! Both test done after identical runs of 19km.

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Shouldn't that be 45 to 90 - or 1:30 to 3 o'clock?

Well, okay yes. 180º meaning horizontal!

Cheers lad's it makes sense, I'll give it a retry when I have time. If it gets hot after a journey It wasn't at all warm after a 2 mile twisty journey this morning, I'll give it a longer run and give it a feel soon.

My original VCU was stamped with a series of numbers, then a gap then 04 which is the age of my freelander, my replacement one now has no lettering but the tell tail ball bearing embedded in the end plate.

Papabear said:

Just a quick one, TD4 auto 55 plate has hit 70k , wheel up n turn test shows Viscous coupling seems OK. I've owned it for 4 months and It has a sketchy service record so was wondering if the VC could have been replaced already and does the VC have a date stamp on it.
Thanks in advance

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At 70k it's 99.9% likely to be original (probably). My 04 car had 104k and the VCU was locked solid, my 02 car with 120k was tight but still moving (took about 2 mins for OWUT) so it seems how it has been treated is more important than actual mileage.

I 100% with Alibro. VCU is definitely affected by its treatment during the vehicle life. Have an odd mix of tyres and bad tyre pressure maintenance will shorten the life of the VCU.
Re dates : The last 2 numbers on the VCU refer to the year of manufacture. So 99 is 1999 an 03 would be 2003 and so on.
Get the VCU tested, for the sake of your sanity

If my VCU had tested anywhere under a minute I probably would have left it on. As far as I can see it needs to be in a very bad way (more than two minutes) before it starts to cause harm.
Of course that is so long as the tyres are all the same size and pressure. I guess greater harm can happen much more quickly with a soft tyre when the VCU is past it's best.

I check my tyre pressures weekly and am pleased my Essee came with 4 nearly new Grabber MT's. I thought it would be a prudent habit to get into after hearing about VCU hassles.
It looks like I need to get out and get under and get a close look at my VCU and get it tested.
Again thanks folks for the info it all helps this newbie keep things rolling along.

Just a thought, how much pressure is applied on the bar during the test?

how much pressure is applied on the bar during the test?

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https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/vcu-torque-test-results.109486/page-13#post-2141449

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Thanks hd3 for the link, I couldn't find anything during my feeble search's.
Slowly getting to know my way around here.

Papabear said:

Thanks hd3 for the link, I couldn't find anything during my feeble search's.
Slowly getting to know my way around here.

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Don't worry, we are quite friendly, certainly not as vicious as some of the groups on here!
Search can be a bit odd sometimes - give it a while and you'll be able to remember all the Freelander trivia but won't be able to remember where you left the car keys....

I've just spotted the thread title!! The viscose coupling can be a bit vicious to the IRD!!

Vicious Coupling sounds like a specialist interest adult movie.

In that link it suggests 1.2m and a variety of weights, with time measured to fall from 45 degrees from vertical to 90 degrees (i.e. horizontal) . If I am just going to do one weight what is the one that most people use?

What weights have you got that you can attach safely?

I have a 5 litre container so up to 5kg

I used a 5 litre container to test mine and a bungey cord to hold the stick to the socket. On my 2nd homebrew repaired VCU I got around 6 seconds but I think that might be because it is leaky and will need rewelded.
My previous attempt was better sealed and took around 11 - 13 seconds.