Freelander 1 Yet another VCU thread

[Pete_TD4]

Hi guys,

Six months after I bought this car, a work colleague (jtq4u on here) told me about the famous VCU issue, and we did a test:



The time then, 38 seconds, was deemed very good, so I thought nothing of it for a few years.

Today, two and a half years later, I decided it was about time I checked up on the state of the VCU. So I did another test:



I make this one about a minute and 20 seconds, if we take the corner of the driver's window as the 45º starting point. That's about double what it was when first measured

Three questions:

1. Last test was in June, this one in January with ice on the ground. The car hadn't been driven since the previous day. How much difference does ambient temperature make to the stiffness of the VCU?
2. If a new VCU is indicated, where's the best place to buy one - and genuine new versus pattern or reconditioned? Price is important, but there's no point wasting the time and the effort or cost of the replacement work by buying **** parts, and I do plan to keep the car for as long as I can.
3. How hard is DIY replacement for someone with axle stands and a socket set, but no garage and little experience of car work (I'm a boat guy) ? The Haynes book says you have to take the whole propshaft off, and it's full of warnings about not pulling the CV joints apart and keeping things lined up properly. If I decided to get it done by a local garage, anyone care to stick a finger in the air as to cost?

Thanks a lot for your help

Pete

 

[Nodge68]

It's best to take it for a drive to get the VCU above ambient temperature before testing. However with a time of 1:20 I'd be looking at a replacement soon. Bell Engineering can supply a good quality reconditioned unit for a reasonable cost of around £215 I think.

 

[GrumpyGel]

If it was particularly cold then drive the car for a bit to warm it up. Did you do it a few times - if so were they all about the same result?

 

[Pete_TD4]

Thanks guys - I took three goes and they were all about the same speed. Unfortunately the idea of the temperature didn't occur to me till afterwards when I'd packed everything away, but I'll test it again after a drive soon.

Sounds like Bell are the answer for a supplier, I've seen them mentioned a few times since posting this thread.

Any comments on DIY replacement vs pro?

Pete

 

[Nodge68]

DIY vs Pro depends on your skills. Alibro did a DIY guide, so you can get a feel for what is involved. Alternatively get a reconditioned VCU from Bell and forget about it for the next few years.

 

[Pete_TD4]

DIY vs Pro depends on your skills. Alibro did a DIY guide, so you can get a feel for what is involved. Alternatively get a reconditioned VCU from Bell and forget about it for the next few years.

I meant the replacement, not refilling the unit itself. I'll almost certainly buy from Bell, but somebody still has to put the thing on the car.

Pete

 

[Nodge68]

I meant the replacement, not refilling the unit itself. I'll almost certainly buy from Bell, but somebody still has to put the thing on the car.

Pete

It's not a difficult task to swap the VCU, especially if the new one has been fitted with new bearings. Providing the props come off the plines easily. It takes me about an hour or so. Any decent garage should be able to do the job ok. Things to remember are: Don't pull on the front prop or the joint CV gator will split. I undo the props in sections, as long as the splines are free. This makes the assembly much easier to control. The manual suggest removing the VCU and props as one unit though.
I just ignore that, as I prefer my split it method of removal.

 

[rob_bell]

Good thread Pete. Just wondering why you choose now to do a re-test? Hunch, or was there something that was causing some concern?

If silicone becomes more viscous with heat, then what happens when it cools? A "U"-shaped viscosity curve?

 

[Nodge68]

Good thread Pete. Just wondering why you choose now to do a re-test? Hunch, or was there something that was causing some concern?

If silicone becomes more viscous with heat, then what happens when it cools? A "U"-shaped viscosity curve?

I believe a pressure rise in the VCU that makes the fluid more viscose, when it's taking torque. I'm sure that's the theory anyway.
The VCU fluid does seem to thicken when cold, but not much.

 

[rob_bell]

That'd make sense

 

[Pete_TD4]

Good thread Pete. Just wondering why you choose now to do a re-test? Hunch, or was there something that was causing some concern?

No unusual behaviour, and I wouldn't call it a hunch either - to be honest I was expecting another good result, the extended time was a bit of a disappointment.
When James and I did the original test in 2014, I always intended to re-test regularly. This is just the first time I've got round to actually doing it - not quite as regular as I meant to!

Pete

 

[rob_bell]

Looks like a good catch then! Will do the same for mine (something I've been thinking/talking about since I bought it in August! )

 

[andyfreelandy]

Just for info, bought another TD4 last year which had been little used, 40k miles. VCU was about right at 35 secs (1m 5kg). Checked it again as felt that it felt a bit tight and having had a 20k mile year (now 60k) it is 1 min 50 secs for same force !!!

So - this VCU has reacted badly to coming out of a quiet life. Will be removing it and servicing it myself this time to see if I can do it !!

Ordered a couple of 17mm flush sump plugs with hex key in centre and a matching metric tap. Will report back !!

Incidentally, I still have a 'rule of thumb' that with a torque wrench on the hub nut, adjust until it just doesn't 'click' when turning and anything over 50 lbft needs a better look. This still holds true for this VCU. It was about 40 lbft last year and is now 75lbft.

Looking forward to flushing my VCU - not

 

[Alibro]

Just for info, bought another TD4 last year which had been little used, 40k miles. VCU was about right at 35 secs (1m 5kg). Checked it again as felt that it felt a bit tight and having had a 20k mile year (now 60k) it is 1 min 50 secs for same force !!!

So - this VCU has reacted badly to coming out of a quiet life. Will be removing it and servicing it myself this time to see if I can do it !!

Ordered a couple of 17mm flush sump plugs with hex key in centre and a matching metric tap. Will report back !!

Incidentally, I still have a 'rule of thumb' that with a torque wrench on the hub nut, adjust until it just doesn't 'click' when turning and anything over 50 lbft needs a better look. This still holds true for this VCU. It was about 40 lbft last year and is now 75lbft.

Looking forward to flushing my VCU - not

Nice one Andy, Look forward to the writeup.
BTW I'm a bit surprised it deteriorated so badly in 20k miles, are all the tyres were all the same make, size and pressure? My last car had well over 100k miles and took around 2 minutes.

 

[andyfreelandy]

Did anyone compare the time for a 45 deg turn with VCU on the car to the time for a 45 degree with VCU off the car?

If rear axle ratio is about 3:1 then would it be about 1/3 of the time - or is it not that simple??
Just thought that if we knew the conversion factor for on or off the car we can test when refurbed before fitting !

 

[andyfreelandy]

Thanks Ali - you were posting as I was writing !

So - it doesn't self-destruct at 2 mins then - do we know the 'drop dead' time after which damage is inevitable?

 

[andyfreelandy]

Tyres were all replaced together and are about 20 k miles old now. Run at 32psi all round. Except when they have punctures and then they are not all round !

 

[Alibro]

Thanks Ali - you were posting as I was writing !

So - it doesn't self-destruct at 2 mins then - do we know the 'drop dead' time after which damage is inevitable?

Don't think we ever found that out. Worst car I had was close to 3 minutes with no obvious damage but having said that a soft tyre might have killed it in very few miles.

 

[Hippo]

Just for info, bought another TD4 last year which had been little used, 40k miles. VCU was about right at 35 secs (1m 5kg). Checked it again as felt that it felt a bit tight and having had a 20k mile year (now 60k) it is 1 min 50 secs for same force !!!

So - this VCU has reacted badly to coming out of a quiet life. Will be removing it and servicing it myself this time to see if I can do it !!

Ordered a couple of 17mm flush sump plugs with hex key in centre and a matching metric tap. Will report back !!

Incidentally, I still have a 'rule of thumb' that with a torque wrench on the hub nut, adjust until it just doesn't 'click' when turning and anything over 50 lbft needs a better look. This still holds true for this VCU. It was about 40 lbft last year and is now 75lbft.

Looking forward to flushing my VCU - not

It's not that the vcu has reacted bad. It's more a case the +20k miles you put on it took it from it's working ok period of life, to a point beyond this where it starts to fail. This would have been the same if you had of only done 5k miles per year for 4 years. It's often quoted that vcu's last 70k miles. Also that LR themselves quote this and list it as a 70k mile serive item. None of this is true. The life miles of a vcu varies quite a bit. The variation of miles depends on a number of factors like speed of the vehicle and tyres. Mine went at about 35k miles. Others have gone past 100k miles. I have comparison results for stand alone testing of my vcu's from some years ago. I will search for them and put them up.

 

[Alibro]

It's not that the vcu has reacted bad. It's more a case the +20k miles you put on it took it from it's working ok period of life, to a point beyond this where it starts to fail. This would have been the same if you had of only done 5k miles per year for 4 years. It's often quoted that vcu's last 70k miles. Also that LR themselves quote this and list it as a 70k mile serive item. None of this is true. The life miles of a vcu varies quite a bit. The variation of miles depends on a number of factors like speed of the vehicle and tyres. Mine went at about 35k miles. Others have gone past 100k miles. I have compassion results for stand alone testing of my vcu's from some years ago. I will search for them and put them up.

I have no compassion for VCU's.


Bloody b*****ds!