Welded prop to vcu. Will it work

My front prop and front splines on my vcu are both stripped. Suspect loose bolt then it eventually snapped. So tonight I removed the joint from the shaft. Cleaned what was left of the splines with a pencil grinder and the end of the vcu and welded them. Welder was at full power and it looks a good weld. As its only the end of the vcu that got welded will this be enough to take the torque ?

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You'll soon find out but be a good idea to replace the bolts if you can to give it extra strenth.

All the bolts ? I'll re use the old ones to try it out first

If you can drill a hole through both parts and weld a pin in. This will take the torque transfer stress off the weld and it will stand a chance of taking some abuse.

Even a 6mm pin through both parts will increase your chance of success

That is actually a genius idea. I will do that before I fit it. Between the weld and a pin I'd hope it will be solid. Would a bolt be no use ? I guess it might be out of balance then

Obviously the bigger the pin the better the chance of it working but I wouldn't go bigger than 1/2 diameter of the splined shaft.

You could use a bolt in there, just cut the head off and after you've welded it all up do the best job you can to dress it all evenly. TBH the mass you'll be adding will make little difference to the balance but it won't hurt to try and make sure it is even.

Good luck!

the important thing is to get the pin/bolt as tight a fit in the hole as you can so it creates drive instantly, you might have been better to have created a keyway on the shaft and in the yoke before you welded them.

I did. I flattened the edge of the vcu to create a v shape to weld to. I think I'll drill a hole. Fit a tight fitting bolt. Cut the head of and weld up both sides and grind down. Fingers crossed the splines didn't strip due to a failed vcu.

freelance said:

the important thing is to get the pin/bolt as tight a fit in the hole as you can so it creates drive instantly, you might have been better to have created a keyway on the shaft and in the yoke before you welded them.

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Yes, If it was me I would use a dowel pin and a H7 reamer then warm the parts before assembly to get a nice tight fit.

Keyway is a good idea but if there is wear in the spline locations it might send the shafts out of alignment. With the wear it would probably be a good idea to wedge some shims in there anyway to hold it all in line before welding.

I did think about that also. They yoke was sitting flat on the bearing and there was no side to side play. I will see if I have any dowels lying about and I'll report back tomorro

I now have 4x4. No vibrations up to 60. Just a slight noise from my wheel bearing. The rear diff centre mount needs changed as there is a bit of movement but all seems good

Crombie said:

I now have 4x4. No vibrations up to 60. Just a slight noise from my wheel bearing. The rear diff centre mount needs changed as there is a bit of movement but all seems good

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Well done mate - it's good to hear from folks who fix things the way you have.

Fingers crossed the welds are good uns.

Get the diff mount changed soon to keep any shock loads as low as poss.

Singvogel.

Cheers. The welds looked pretty good. My dad did it and he use to be a welder. I am getting the odd bang from the rear diff. The mount is totally shot and needs changed now. Tested it in the snow and it pulled easy

Check these guys for a decent quality centre diff mount - £10.38 inc VAT.

Parts & Accessories for Landrover & all 4x4: Freelander, Bushes and Mountings

I had a offer for it today so it sold. Aberdeen bound tomorro for a Mitsubishi piñin

Crombie said:

I had a offer for it today so it sold. Aberdeen bound tomorro for a Mitsubishi piñin

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Nice?!

See tomorro