Advise on RRC VM2.4 torsional vibration damper pulley

lynall said:

Well it is open for debate, for example lots of modern diesels have dual mass flywheels DMF, they two jobs 1 smooth out the gearchanges/shock loads to the transmission, and 2 act as a damper for the engine, when the DMF fails lots of people fit solid flywheels in their place, years ago there were many predictions of impending doom/crank failure etc which do not seem to have come to fruition, now whether that would be the same for a crank damper I have no idea.
I think if you can get the part new I would replace it, bearing in mind how rare the 2.4 must be nowadays why risk it.

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Thanks for the input. At least some peace of mind i did not find one. Take a look at the youtube here and it seems the guy is confidence on the issue too.
Fix a broken Crankshaft Pulley Harmonic Balancer Repair | Honda Acura | Toyota Lexus | Bundys Garage - YouTube

Also, i have tried to reach VM Motori from Italy from their website contact but no reply,
VM Motori Realizzazione Motori Diesel - VM Motori

kempoman said:

I have asked George from VM Chesterfield and none available from his store. Also do you know how to spot the diferrence on the early and later VM model. I liek to find out on mine.

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1987-1989 was the 2.4 VM 492 which was the first ever diesel fitted to the Range Rover classic, it was a marine application that was adapted, IIRC Rover first used it in the the SD1.
It received rather unfair press for performance due to journos comparing it to the V8s of the time, it also had a reputation for boiling over thanks to a sub par cooling system

In late 1989 the VM 435 was introduced which was an improvement with a better cooling system and far more torque it carried the RRC quite well with pretty respectable performance for a diesel 4x4 of the day the turbo also comes in very low down so it is torquey motor.

The bottom end of them is near bulletproof however the top end is not, latter engines had the cylinder head faces improved which helped however headgaskets still go the 492 suffering the most

the 2.4/2.5 were designed as a part of a series of 3, 4,5 and 6 cylinder marine diesels. correct coolant and oil changes are imperative to keep it alive..

Also when the head gaskets are done it is imperative all are done in one go and it is also imperative you retorque them at 1k miles post replacement. This is a pain in the arse to do so it is rarely done!

It is a boat/pump engine in reality and designed to sit at 1200-2000 rpm for hours on end, not really ideal for use in a heavy 4x4 but it works if maintained..

I've worked on a few, however the maj were VM RRC that had 200tdis transplanted in which is the easy way of fixing a VM lol

Henry_b said:

1987-1989 was the 2.4 VM 492 which was the first ever diesel fitted to the Range Rover classic, it was a marine application that was adapted, IIRC Rover first used it in the the SD1.
It received rather unfair press for performance due to journos comparing it to the V8s of the time, it also had a reputation for boiling over thanks to a sub par cooling system

In late 1989 the VM 435 was introduced which was an improvement with a better cooling system and far more torque it carried the RRC quite well with pretty respectable performance for a diesel 4x4 of the day the turbo also comes in very low down so it is torquey motor.

The bottom end of them is near bulletproof however the top end is not, latter engines had the cylinder head faces improved which helped however headgaskets still go the 492 suffering the most

the 2.4/2.5 were designed as a part of a series of 3, 4,5 and 6 cylinder marine diesels. correct coolant and oil changes are imperative to keep it alive..

Also when the head gaskets are done it is imperative all are done in one go and it is also imperative you retorque them at 1k miles post replacement. This is a pain in the arse to do so it is rarely done!

It is a boat/pump engine in reality and designed to sit at 1200-2000 rpm for hours on end, not really ideal for use in a heavy 4x4 but it works if maintained..

I've worked on a few, however the maj were VM RRC that had 200tdis transplanted in which is the easy way of fixing a VM lol

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Thanks for the insightful info. I got it now the later VM2.4 is 2.5 VM. Mine is the original 2.4 1987 model. Also, thanks for reminding to retorque at 1k miles. I have thought of replacing with 300tdi engine. Oh well, i manage to find most parts from George VM specialist and the rest is history. So now, the quest to find the damper pulley.....

kempoman said:

Thanks for the insightful info. I got it now when you said the later VM2.4 is the 2.5 VM. Mine is the 2.4 1987 model. Also, thanks for reminding to retorque at 1k miles. I have thought of replacing with 300tdi engine. Oh well, i manage to find most parts from George VM specialist and the rest is history. So now, the quest to find the damper pulley.....

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For originality sake its best to beep the Vm

A well maintained example isn't bad

Seldom see them around now..

kempoman said:

Thanks for the input. At least some peace of mind i did not find one. Take a look at the youtube here and it seems the guy is confidence on the issue too.
Fix a broken Crankshaft Pulley Harmonic Balancer Repair | Honda Acura | Toyota Lexus | Bundys Garage - YouTube

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I did not mention it as i did not want you to tempt fate on my word, but a few years ago a bloke I worked with had his crank damper fall off, and as he was proper skint he shimmed it out so it was even all the way around, then welded it solid, the car (a vauxhal zafira with 200k on the clock) seemed to take it in its stride and kept on going until he sold it.

Also people repair their suspension bushes with Sikaflex, I am not sure if I would trust it on a crank damper, but the guy in the video does reply in the comments saying the bushes are still okay.
People also do this trick to stiffen up their race car suspension bushes.

The pulley does drop off, it happened on the chrysler we had.... .
It'll start to make a wittering noise then.. Flop... Off it goes...

Mark Piercy said:

The pulley does drop off, it happened on the chrysler we had.... .
It'll start to make a wittering noise then.. Flop... Off it goes...

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Sounds like me on the crapper!

lynall said:

Sounds like me on the crapper!

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Tooo much information the VM was aleo fitted in the Jeep,horrible Yank plastic crap, it had a single cylinder head instead of the normal 4. Going to wash my mouth out now

tomcat59alan said:

Tooo much information the VM was aleo fitted in the Jeep,horrible Yank plastic crap, it had a single cylinder head instead of the normal 4. Going to wash my mouth out now

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LDV vans had them as well, there were always some in the workshop, though to be fair it was the rest of the van that seemed to be the issue. I think later LDV had the transit lump, and they always had the engines in pieces, Iirc timing chains were he main issue.
Non of the vans seemed much cop, Nissan/LDV/Transit, Sprinters were a regular but mainly just for servicing.