How to recondition a VCU yourself.

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So far...
Learnt that you can't just high pressure pump in grease or new silicon for that matter. Having left it really pressurised and a hole in the bottom face, the pressure remains and most of the old silicon just sits there. When you remove the grease nipple after a couple of days, the back pressure is quite alarming!!

So, now filled with solvent from the oil gun and it is dripping again, will continue to do this and rotate until clean.
 
andyfreelandy said:
So far...
Learnt that you can't just high pressure pump in grease or new silicon for that matter. Having left it really pressurised and a hole in the bottom face, the pressure remains and most of the old silicon just sits there. When you remove the grease nipple after a couple of days, the back pressure is quite alarming!!

So, now filled with solvent from the oil gun and it is dripping again, will continue to do this and rotate until clean.
Click to expand...
LOL, hope you don't mind me saying so but.....
I TOLD YOU SO!!!!! :p
If you take another look at the photos in page one of this thread you'll see why. ;)
 
Yes Ali, you can claim that one it's true. Learning by doing works for me!!
I'm playing really and trying to think through a quick way. There probably isn't but as I do other jobs in the workshop I put 5 mins into it now and again.

Thanks for the exploded photos, helps when you know what you are fighting with!!
 
andyfreelandy said:
Yes Ali, you can claim that one it's true. Learning by doing works for me!!
I'm playing really and trying to think through a quick way. There probably isn't but as I do other jobs in the workshop I put 5 mins into it now and again.

Thanks for the exploded photos, helps when you know what you are fighting with!!
Click to expand...
I think I'm pretty safe in saying that the only "quick" DIY solution, is to fit a recon unit!
 
andyfreelandy said:
Yes Ali, you can claim that one it's true. Learning by doing works for me!!
I'm playing really and trying to think through a quick way. There probably isn't but as I do other jobs in the workshop I put 5 mins into it now and again.

Thanks for the exploded photos, helps when you know what you are fighting with!!
Click to expand...
The last one I did took over a week to clean out. You'll find it gets easier as it gradually cleans out and it's up to you how far you take it.
I got it to the stage where I could turn the VCU fairly easily by hand while it was on it's side. When upright gravity makes the disks tighter together and harder to turn.
At the end I blasted compressed air through it to clean out the white spirit.
 
Mk 2 refurb completed.
So, holes 180 apart in opposite ends helped with the cleaning.
Screw in grease nipples helped massively with putting new fluid in when VCU clean, but grease gun won't pump solvent.
So, reverted to fill, rotate, flush, drain, repeat many times but after about 5 times all was clean.
Pumped new fluid into bottom grease nipple having filled gun with required amount. Pumped gun until fart from top open hole, then one more pump and clean fluid appeared at top. Changed bottom grease nipple to sump plug and rotated several times slowly. Left overnight and fluid dropped level at the top so another sump plug and all good.
Will put this on the G4 as the time on that one is up to 55 seconds. (1.2m, 5 Kg).
So, a better process, but not easier until the fill stage.
 
andyfreelandy said:
Mk 2 refurb completed.
So, holes 180 apart in opposite ends helped with the cleaning.
Screw in grease nipples helped massively with putting new fluid in when VCU clean, but grease gun won't pump solvent.
So, reverted to fill, rotate, flush, drain, repeat many times but after about 5 times all was clean.
Pumped new fluid into bottom grease nipple having filled gun with required amount. Pumped gun until fart from top open hole, then one more pump and clean fluid appeared at top. Changed bottom grease nipple to sump plug and rotated several times slowly. Left overnight and fluid dropped level at the top so another sump plug and all good.
Will put this on the G4 as the time on that one is up to 55 seconds. (1.2m, 5 Kg).
So, a better process, but not easier until the fill stage.
Click to expand...
Remember to re do the one wheel up test after a few miles and add/remove fluid as required. The really nice thing about using the grease gun is adding fluid if required is a simple job. :)
BTW 55 secs is not anywhere near as bad as my last one which was nearer 3 minutes so maybe no panic on replacing it.
 
GrumpyGel said:
I think I'm pretty safe in saying that the only "quick" DIY solution, is to fit a recon unit!
Click to expand...

I took a look at this thread when debating what to do with my VCU, and thought to myself, no.
upload_2020-3-14_23-17-28.png
 
Nodge68 said:
You can get a Bell Engineering reconditioned VCU for much less than that, and it'll come with new bearings. ;)
Click to expand...
Although I’m broadly happy with Bell, I have had a few problems:

1. The rubber diaphragm on one of their bearings failed prematurely.
2. Another bearing went rough within a year.
3. A recon VCU I had locked up dead. Sent it back, it was a needle roller bearing (not changed at recon.).
4. Another recon VCU’s bearings are sounding rough after a year.

Each time, they’ve been very good at sorting things out, but it does give me pause for thought. I think their bearings might be crap ones. No branding on them.
 
I was doing my VCU as a preventative measure, to futureproof the cars reliability as we've had it for fourteen years of its 18 year life, and it was my father in law who bought it brand new, so I know that neither of us had put a viscous in it, and at 160k miles, I figured I was running on borrowed time with the original viscous. Given its was getting a new VCU at 18 years old, if we got another 18 years out of another new one, that would translate to less than two quid a month buying a genuine brand new unit. At £222 with the vat for a recon unit, plus two sets of postage for a heavy lumpin part, (bell unit coming up to me + my old unit going down to bell) from a teuchter postcode which frequently incurs postage surcharges, or brand new for £375, all in, there was insufficient saving in it for me to go with a recon unit.

Put it this way, if you were looking for a full set of four tyres, assuming like for like so yo aren't comparing remould muds versus new road tyres, in this example lets say its four all terrains you are after, and had two prices to choose from, one of £275 for a set of four all terrain remoulds, or the other being £375 for brand new permium brand all terrain tyres, what would you buy?
 
Fitted my recon VCU to the G4. All good, times at 12 seconds (1.2m, 5Kg).

Tip for all. Never try and save time by changing VCU with prop on car!!
Trying to feed shafts on, lift VCU, put bolts in with weight of 2 ends of prop.... Not easy. Then the lock washer got jammed in the uj and off it came again, then the 10mm VCU bolt got stuck cross thread and had to clean out with an 8mm tap.

So, much quicker to drop the prop off I say.
Car feels so much freeer.
 
andyfreelandy said:
Fitted my recon VCU to the G4. All good, times at 12 seconds (1.2m, 5Kg).

Tip for all. Never try and save time by changing VCU with prop on car!!
Trying to feed shafts on, lift VCU, put bolts in with weight of 2 ends of prop.... Not easy. Then the lock washer got jammed in the uj and off it came again, then the 10mm VCU bolt got stuck cross thread and had to clean out with an 8mm tap.

So, much quicker to drop the prop off I say.
Car feels so much freeer.
Click to expand...

The VCU is already off of our FL1 due to bearing mount failure. I am think that I will also change the fluid. Can you give me any links to where you bought your silicon from please?
 
Anyone have any tips on where to get new bearings and mounts from? good quality ones?
The old ones were knocking badly beyond 60 MPH and when I went underneath the whole thing moved about easily by hand so I guess that the rubber is shot.
 
If the rubber is shot then Bell Engineering sell for £30 each.

If just bearing, push out and replace for £12 a pair!
 
For solvent, I used paraffin for the first 3 or 4 rinses as it is cheap and not too nasty, then brake and clutch cleaner for the final rinse!!
Get a large syringe and fit to your couplers to push solvent in.
 
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