[roshe25]

Hi All
I know this has been covered a lot and I have read hippo's marvellous thread ,just checking as I am not a mechanic.
I have been running mondo mode as I was informed by the garage who fitted my tyres I would be better off and save on fuel so I tried it,This is a load of rubbish as it works out the same.
I do not go off road,As I have back problems I have the car because it is so comfortable to drive.
I managed with some help to get complete propshaft onto bench and did a test of the vcu all I had was a bar about 28ins long and a weight of 5.2kg I timed it from 45% to 90% and it took 21secs please can you tell me if this is ok to get put back onto the car.
I am sorry if I am a bit long winded.
Thank you

 

[DTO]

For peace of mind as you have VCU off the car already why not send to bell engineering for testing & replacement sent back if needed ?

 

[bruno1926]

For peace of mind as you have VCU off the car already why not send to bell engineering for testing & replacement sent back if needed ?

I would second this better to have it checked or changed just for peace of mind. Bell engineering are probably the best people to test and report on your VCU though there doesn't seem much point in having a 4x4 in two wheel mode only

 

[roshe25]

I would second this better to have it checked or changed just for peace of mind. Bell engineering are probably the best people to test and report on your VCU though there doesn't seem much point in having a 4x4 in two wheel mode only

Hi
I would do that but at the moment money is a bit tight as I have house insurance,car insurance and teeth to pay for and I am only on a pension that is why are asked if it would be ok to replace now and save a bit on car insurance as I want it 4x4.

 

[Nodge68]

By your test results, I reckon your VCU is tight at around 27 ftlb of torque.
I think 18ftlb of torque would be a good figure a direct test. Much more than that and you risk damage to the IRD or diff.

 

[essexpestcontrol]

reading on the bell website, the reckon all these "test's" are old wives tales, and don't show if its ok or not, so I'd say you have a 50/50 chance

 

[GrumpyGel]

You do not need to listen to people who say you should keep it as a 4WD because that was how it was built. There are plenty of cars (including LRs) that can be purchased today as 4WD or 2WD. It depends on what you want it for, and if that means you want it for comfort and offroad ability is of no importance, then 2WD is perfectly acceptable. You will lose some practicality - eg you'll need to think twice about parking on that wet/muddy field at a carboot sale. It won't be quite so safe on ice/snow, but with traction control, you'll be safer than most FWD cars. You will though reduce (not eliminate!) the risks of expensive repair bills.

There is ongoing debate about whether its acceptable for the MOT, but at the moment, in England I believe you are OK. I've had to put the props/VCU back on the Hippo, but have removed a gear from the IRD to drive the rear wheels, or else mine would be failed by the equivalent testing here.

I've put a good few thousand miles on since my rebuild and on road there are no differences in its driving characteristics. I still take it down the (gravel) riverbed when fishing, but do use more speed and get wheel spin and the TC cuts in - its a bit of a risk to be honest. I do not though take it down the beach any more which is a real pain this time of year when the Salmon are running

I would like to put mine back to 4WD, but with 2 kids uni fees to find and other expenses, it probably won't happen because once I have the money to do it, my SIII will be on the road

 

[GrumpyGel]

reading on the bell website, the reckon all these "test's" are old wives tales, and don't show if its ok or not, so I'd say you have a 50/50 chance

I think we need to get the Myth Busters team in !

 

[The Mad Hat Man]

A couple of points......

2wd may invalidate your insurance, so it would be advisable to check.
yu may or may not take any note of the VCU tests on this site, but which is cheaper? Check it regularly and then get Bell to check if it gets tight, or not do it and, prospectively, destroy your transmission?

At the end of the day, it is your money. You choose.

 

[Nodge68]

A couple of points......

2wd may invalidate your insurance, so it would be advisable to check.
yu may or may not take any note of the VCU tests on this site, but which is cheaper? Check it regularly and then get Bell to check if it gets tight, or not do it and, prospectively, destroy your transmission?

At the end of the day, it is your money. You choose.

I don't often agree with the MHM but on this I do!!
Get it checked out before you have to shell out

 

[The Mad Hat Man]

yu cant be wrong all the time, Nodge

 

[roshe25]

Hi All
I have just done the vcu test again on the bench after watching Bell Engineering video on u-tube and I timed his with 7kg on a bar.
After checking mine again with the same bar + weight I will not be fitting it back on.
When I renew insurance I will inform them of the modification until I can afford to renew vcu + bearings.
Thank you all for all your help.

 

[Nodge68]

yu cant be wrong all the time, Nodge

I guess not

 

[Nodge68]

Hi All
I have just done the vcu test again on the bench after watching Bell Engineering video on u-tube and I timed his with 7kg on a bar.
After checking mine again with the same bar + weight I will not be fitting it back on.
When I renew insurance I will inform them of the modification until I can afford to renew vcu + bearings.
Thank you all for all your help.

That's good.
Out of interest, what length of bar did you use?

Looking at Bell's video, there is just under 40 ftlb of torque applied in there test.

 

[bruno1926]

Hi All
I have just done the vcu test again on the bench after watching Bell Engineering video on u-tube and I timed his with 7kg on a bar.
After checking mine again with the same bar + weight I will not be fitting it back on.
When I renew insurance I will inform them of the modification until I can afford to renew vcu + bearings.
Thank you all for all your help.

Its always better to be on the side of caution and avoid a big bill .

 

[Hippo]

Interesting fred. The tests are bollocks but the reconditioners use the same tests... they advertise the same test on their own websites... but they're still bollocks...

 

[roshe25]

Hi
The only bar I had was 28ins long,even though on the video the bar was slightly longer my readings were higher so not taking a chance.
When I get a few pennies together later in the year I will be getting a complete unit off Bell Engineering.

 

[Datatek]

Hi
The only bar I had was 28ins long,even though on the video the bar was slightly longer my readings were higher so not taking a chance.
When I get a few pennies together later in the year I will be getting a complete unit off Bell Engineering.

Surely a shorter bar would make the readings higher?

 

[Hippo]

Surely a shorter bar would make the readings higher?

Yes that's correct. The longer the bar (distance from pivot point to where the weight is hanging) and the heavier the weight, the greater the force applied. the greater the force applied, then faster the time.

Torque = weight x gravitational acceleration x (length of weight to pivot x cos Angle)

For a 1.2m bar and 8kg weight:

Torque = 8 x 9.8 x (1.2 x cos Angle) = torque in Nm = 94Nm when the bar is horizontal.

 

[roshe25]

Yes that's correct. The longer the bar (distance from pivot point to where the weight is hanging) and the heavier the weight, the greater the force applied. the greater the force applied, then faster the time.

Torque = weight x gravitational acceleration x (length of weight to pivot x cos Angle)

For a 1.2m bar and 8kg weight:

Torque = 8 x 9.8 x (1.2 x cos Angle) = torque in Nm = 94Nm when the bar is horizontal.

Hippo are you a mathematician or just a clever sod,(meant in a nice way)It would take me a month to work all that out.
By the way I did the test with the bar at 90% and let it fall to horizontal the time it took was about 30secs which I think is far to long.