At the start of the year I bogged the Freelander literally right up to the floorpan in a freshly ploughed field. To my surprise I managed to drive it out (eventually) but the entire underside was thoroughly clagged with sticky mud. Everythign else escaped injury but the VCU bearings didnt appreciate being run while submerged in what is effectively grinding paste.
Since then it has had a drone when in motion akin to a 737 at cruise. Pretty tedious. This has worsened lately to include a bit of clanking - Tome to take action.
I am a bit of a fatty these days so some extra clearance was required....
The VCU. My harmonic damper ring came adrift many miles ago. An angle grinder solved that problem, leaving the inner part in place.
At the rear you need a female torx bit and a 17mm spanner to unbolt the prop from the rear diff. At the front a smaller torx and a 13mm spanner. 4 bolts at the rear, 6 at the front. Now, it would be easier if two wheels on one side were up in the air free to turn as you could rotate the prop to get at all the bolts, but its easily possible this way if you use a long extension on the torx socket to reach above the prop. Give each end a clout with a hammer to unstick from their mating flange.
There are then 4 13mm bolts holding the VCU to the floor. Dont drop it on your head and dont wibble the front joint around too much - it can rest on the rearmost crossmember of the front subframe while lowering.
To separate, you will need a fairly slim 17mm spanner. A chunky cheapo Argos job might not fit into the joint.
Unscrew the bolt about an inch, let the U-shaped washer fall out and then hammer a cold chisel into the gap between head of the bolt and the end of the joint. This will push the shaft off the splines on the VCU. You might need to unscrew the bolt a bit, re-hammer, unscrew the bolt, re-hammer etc till it comes right off.
Yes, I bent the chisel. Cheap ****e.
Same at the other end....
Mine came apart quite easily as the last time I had in bits to change the VCU I slathered the splines in anti-sieze compund. Rusted splines will take a fair bit of hitting.
The rubber in the bearing mounts isnt great, but the main problem is the bearings themsleves which are rough and sound hellish when turned by hand.
Use a drift to knock the bearings off. Hit it. Now hit it harder. Dont be shy here.
Pop....
Now the same on the other end. I unbolted the remains of the damper and binned it. Its not really needed IMO. Some VCUs are sold without it at all.
For you serial-number pervs.... This is a recon supplied by Bell Engineering.
GKN V 407810 9565 Its been re-welded around the right hand side and had a bearing knocked into a hole on the face of it for filling.
part two uploading now......
Since then it has had a drone when in motion akin to a 737 at cruise. Pretty tedious. This has worsened lately to include a bit of clanking - Tome to take action.
I am a bit of a fatty these days so some extra clearance was required....
The VCU. My harmonic damper ring came adrift many miles ago. An angle grinder solved that problem, leaving the inner part in place.
At the rear you need a female torx bit and a 17mm spanner to unbolt the prop from the rear diff. At the front a smaller torx and a 13mm spanner. 4 bolts at the rear, 6 at the front. Now, it would be easier if two wheels on one side were up in the air free to turn as you could rotate the prop to get at all the bolts, but its easily possible this way if you use a long extension on the torx socket to reach above the prop. Give each end a clout with a hammer to unstick from their mating flange.
There are then 4 13mm bolts holding the VCU to the floor. Dont drop it on your head and dont wibble the front joint around too much - it can rest on the rearmost crossmember of the front subframe while lowering.
To separate, you will need a fairly slim 17mm spanner. A chunky cheapo Argos job might not fit into the joint.
Unscrew the bolt about an inch, let the U-shaped washer fall out and then hammer a cold chisel into the gap between head of the bolt and the end of the joint. This will push the shaft off the splines on the VCU. You might need to unscrew the bolt a bit, re-hammer, unscrew the bolt, re-hammer etc till it comes right off.
Yes, I bent the chisel. Cheap ****e.
Same at the other end....
Mine came apart quite easily as the last time I had in bits to change the VCU I slathered the splines in anti-sieze compund. Rusted splines will take a fair bit of hitting.
The rubber in the bearing mounts isnt great, but the main problem is the bearings themsleves which are rough and sound hellish when turned by hand.
Use a drift to knock the bearings off. Hit it. Now hit it harder. Dont be shy here.
Pop....
Now the same on the other end. I unbolted the remains of the damper and binned it. Its not really needed IMO. Some VCUs are sold without it at all.
For you serial-number pervs.... This is a recon supplied by Bell Engineering.
GKN V 407810 9565 Its been re-welded around the right hand side and had a bearing knocked into a hole on the face of it for filling.
part two uploading now......
