Freelander 1 Completely stumped

Recently had a issues with the whole four wheel drive system on 51 plate td4. So to start off, about 4 month back on the way to Edinburgh it decide to spit the bearings and shaft out of the cup witch connects to the IRD out whilst doing 70 on the motor way. So took what was left of the prop shaft system off. I went and bought a brand new front prop and fitted the system back on then the other day the VCU failed, so bought a reconditioned unit and had the whole system balanced professionally. I fitted it two days ago and something just doesn’t seem right it feels almost as if I’m driving with the hand brake on and when reversing it makes a singular klinking noise. At this point I’m completely miffed as to what it is and to do. Anyone have any ideas to what it is or to do ?

If you've fitted a 'good' reconditioned VCU and it feels like the brakes are on, then you have mismatched tyres. All 4 tyres must be the same make/model - just having all (say) 195/80R15 is not good enough - they must be the same make and model. If they are of different wear, the least worn should be on the back axle - that is different to what tyre shops normally do, if you change 2 they will normally put the new ones on the front.

If you want to see what can happen, even using tyres from the same manufacturer, have a read of this...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/feels-like-driving-with-brakes-on.260939/

You shouldn't drive the car like this! It will be damaging your IRD and rear diff.

Which company did the VCU reconditioning? There have been some real cowboys reconditioning VCUs, if the recon isn't done properly, and you can't tell by looking at a freshly cleaned and painted VCU how it operates, you are asking for trouble.

Also, you say the "VCU failed" - it isn't normal that a VCU fails, as in 'breaks'. Normally it gets tighter over time and if not picked up on will chew up the IRD or rear diff - or maybe the CV on the front prop! I don't wish to be to negative, but I'd be surprised if your IRD hasn't been damaged during these events. I would be changing its oil and seeing what the old stuff is like - if its greyish/metalicy, then that's the bearings ground down and submersed in it. If it comes out looking good, then it will be healthy.

Some reading you might find useful...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-1-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

As I say, I imagine your 'brakes on' problems are due to mismatched tyres. I'd also check the IRD oil, and I'd also be doing the '1 Wheel Up Test' in that link above to make sure you've got a good VCU - I believe you should get a time between 15 and 30 seconds on a new recon using a 12m bar and 5kg weight.

Have you checked out your transfer box - IRD? Having a look at the oil when it's drained will give an indication on its condition. A fine 'fuzz' on the magnet and clear oil is good. A silvery sheen may well indicate that the bearings etc are shot. Chunks of metal in the oil = bad. Make sure you loosen the fill plug before you drain the IRD as these are notoriously hard to crack.

Hello lads thanks for the feed back but I’ve already had the IRD off, as she’s just had her clutch done and the oil was clear as hell. Would it make that much difference as I’ve put dual mass conversion in her about 2 weeks ago. I’ll have a look today on the ramp drop the rear diff oil as I’ve haven’t been into it yet then al do a VCU check, as for tyre she does have odd ones at the minute but two matching in the front and two matching at the back.

Ajwila said:

as for tyre she does have odd ones at the minute but two matching in the front and two matching at the back.

Click to expand...

That is almost certainly your problem.

If you don't fix it quick, you will be rather sad if you check your IRD oil again in a couple of hundred miles.

That resistance you feel is wind up caused by your tyres not matching and it being sufficient for the VCU to not want to let it slip. It will be putting your drive train under lots of continuous forces it not designed to work with and will be damaging everything - including your new VCU.

I hate to sound like I am in disagreement with those on here who are much more knowledgable than me but when I bought my fl1, the first thing I did was put brand new matching tyres all round and had a new vcu and bearings fitted by Turner engineering cos I was having the same brakes on feeling when reversing and cornering at the same time. Even after the new tyres and vcu was fitted I still get the same feeling when reversing, it also sometime feels like one of the rear tyres is skipping. It's been to the local Indy 4x4 who checked the IRD and have proclaimed it to be good. I've had it about two and a half years now with these symptoms and nothing has gone bang yet. The one wheel up test result was also good. Mine is a 1.8 k series so I expect the engine to blow up before the transmission. Old freelanders are so cheap, it's not worth worrying about.

Col

There will always be an amount of wind up (felt as drag) when reversing round a corner. The VCU will try to resist the slip, which it's being forced to do. This doesn't matter as the time period is short, and the loads relatively small. However driving with odd tyres will generate much higher loads on the IRD, for much longer times. This is what destroys the IRD thrust bearing, causing it to self destruct.