remove prop-shaft

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
L

lloyd

New Member
Posts
7
hi to all at landyzone
reading all the threads,a lot of you have taken the prop shaft off ,for different reasons..my v reg,1999 freelander is starting to slow down more and more on sharp turning ,so i am going to take the vcu tobe tested in Birmingham where they supply new and recon v.c.u .so until i can afford one i wont to take the prop off ,DO I UNBOLT THE BACK PROP OFF THE REAR DRIVE UNIT AND THE OTHER END OFF BY THE V.C.U this would leave the front propshaft and v.c.u still going around IS THIS SAFE AND WILL NOT FALL OFF ..OR DO I TAKE ALL THE UNIT OFF ,BACK AND FRONT PROP AND VCU,but what about the front C.V does it pull off and leave the spline in the i.r.d box ..?thanks for any info
 
Just do the Willo method, aka Taipan method.

Paint a white line on front and back shafts, not the VCU or damper unit.

Take her for a spin on some wet grass, (Mings choice is golf courses), have some fun, lock the wheels get her to spin and power slide, then have a look underneath to see if your lines still match up.

If they still line up she has siezed and needs replaced, or Mondo mode until such times that it is fixed.

Front CV separates leaving a flange, no open splines ............. no problemo !
 
Wise words from NI. Beat it about on the slippery stuff, then see what the VCU has done.

The usual practise (if you're taking the VCU off is to drop the prop shafts at their remote ends and take them, and the VCU, off as a single unit.
 
Just a quick question:

If the whole assembly is removed and left in a garage for say 6 months, would this speed up the VCU seizure rate??

I'm back in 4x4 mode (as off to school camp twice in June) and all running well, but just occured that if I were to go 2WD and leave my VCU in my garage would it be more likely to seize as its not getting any use??

Regards,

Steve
 
G13SJC said:
If the whole assembly is removed and left in a garage for say 6 months, would this speed up the VCU seizure rate?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't have thought so. The VCU is a sealed unit, else the fluid would leak out. The only thing that might suffer from storage are the oil seals but would that be any worse in storage to when they're in use on the vehicle?
 
Northern Irelander said:
Just do the Willo method, aka Taipan method.

Paint a white line on front and back shafts, not the VCU or damper unit.

Take her for a spin on some wet grass, (Mings choice is golf courses), have some fun, lock the wheels get her to spin and power slide, then have a look underneath to see if your lines still match up.

If they still line up she has siezed and needs replaced, or Mondo mode until such times that it is fixed.

Front CV separates leaving a flange, no open splines ............. no problemo !
Click to expand...

Just because it isn't seized solid it doesn't mean its any good!! Its the amount it slips thats important.

Its also easier to jack up a rear wheel, leave car in gear and remove handbrake, put a breaker bar and a socket on one of the wheel nuts and stand on the bar, the wheel should slowly rotate. Again this doesn't mean its in good working order, it just means its not totally seized (which is very rare)
 
austen said:
Just because it isn't seized solid it doesn't mean its any good!! Its the amount it slips thats important.

Its also easier to jack up a rear wheel, leave car in gear and remove handbrake, put a breaker bar and a socket on one of the wheel nuts and stand on the bar, the wheel should slowly rotate. Again this doesn't mean its in good working order, it just means its not totally seized (which is very rare)
Click to expand...

The Ashcroft test is bollox, I used to put the link on the posts for their site, then having tried it, you'd need to be in Strongman competition just to lever it. Maybe they use it for training for the event:rolleyes:

So when is a working VCU not a working VCU and how do you decipher when a VCU is in good working order ?????????????????????????????????????

Microscopic burrs, silicone polymers its all been discussed on here before, never really found a means to DIY repair
 
I reckon the snopake method is best - as long as the vcu front and rear move in relation to each other, so it aint siezed, the rest is unimportant - at least it is unlikely to bugger up the rest of yo transmission:(.
 
Northern Irelander said:
The Ashcroft test is bollox, I used to put the link on the posts for their site, then having tried it, you'd need to be in Strongman competition just to lever it. Maybe they use it for training for the event:rolleyes:

So when is a working VCU not a working VCU and how do you decipher when a VCU is in good working order ?????????????????????????????????????

Microscopic burrs, silicone polymers its all been discussed on here before, never really found a means to DIY repair
Click to expand...

This method does work if the VCU isn't bolloxed, but you have to stand on the bar, its needs a constant force. But like i said just because it moves, doesn't mean its any good. Without taking it off and knowing what to compare it against its impossible to say how good the VCU is. If the cars done over 70k i'd change it to be on the safe side, its a damn sight cheaper than replacing the rest of the transmission line!! I've had cars come in with 48k on the clock with bad viscous's, it just seems to depend on how the car has been used over the years. At the end of the day it was a **** design, and the VCU needs to be considered a consumable like a cambelt (just as expensive to sort out if neglected but probably cheaper to replace before it goes)

DIY repairs are impossible as you cannot buy the silicone fluid, and you need specially set up tools to dismantle and reassemble which are not financially viable for just repairing one.
 
austen said:
This method does work if the VCU isn't bolloxed, but you have to stand on the bar, its needs a constant force. But like i said just because it moves, doesn't mean its any good. Without taking it off and knowing what to compare it against its impossible to say how good the VCU is. If the cars done over 70k i'd change it to be on the safe side, its a damn sight cheaper than replacing the rest of the transmission line!! I've had cars come in with 48k on the clock with bad viscous's, it just seems to depend on how the car has been used over the years. At the end of the day it was a **** design, and the VCU needs to be considered a consumable like a cambelt (just as expensive to sort out if neglected but probably cheaper to replace before it goes)

DIY repairs are impossible as you cannot buy the silicone fluid, and you need specially set up tools to dismantle and reassemble which are not financially viable for just repairing one.
Click to expand...

Well I beg to differ, its only simple friction at the end of the day. Dismantling a VCU wont be an easy job but.................... if man made it, then man can take it apart.

The technology has been there for decades, old school Range Rovers use a VCU.

Patents only last for twenty years, the silicone technology may well have been copied into other manufacturers by now (Renault Scenic RX4 VCU)

You wont get a litre of silicone stuff from your local motor factor but
someone will be selling the stuff, if not, it could be copied quite easily, patent search would reveal all technology involved.
 
Bollix
I suggest yu speak to LR1796 - we had this discussion a year or so ago. The viscosity and components of the viscous liquid is not generally available. The fill %age is also critical to allow for thermal expansion. No-one seems to want to sell the stuff.

I forgot to mention that the little "burrs" on the sliding plates also wear, so by the time yu have had those made as well, its cheaper to buy a noo one.:(

Yup - all things are possible - but the data aint out there, and it aint worth it fur the odd one off - just flog the Hippo and buy an X-trail - much better 4x4 drive system :p.
 
Northern Irelander said:
Well I beg to differ, its only simple friction at the end of the day. Dismantling a VCU wont be an easy job but.................... if man made it, then man can take it apart.

The technology has been there for decades, old school Range Rovers use a VCU.

Patents only last for twenty years, the silicone technology may well have been copied into other manufacturers by now (Renault Scenic RX4 VCU)

You wont get a litre of silicone stuff from your local motor factor but
someone will be selling the stuff, if not, it could be copied quite easily, patent search would reveal all technology involved.
Click to expand...

I can catorgorically tell you that you CANNOT buy this stuff off the shelf ( i wouldn't have spent over £5k getting the stuff made if that was the case). And i can assure you that taking them apart isn't a matter of of a few nuts and bolts, and putting them backtogether again is requires precise measurments and techniques. For the sake of a 1 off its far cheaper to spend £200 buying a replacement ready to bolt in place..
 
austen said:
The transmission It works in a totally different way
Click to expand...

Thats the prob - it fookin dont work very well, any system that can fail, fook up yo complete drive train, and the first you know of it is expensive bills is blurry useless - sooner the VCU is dumped, the better.:mad:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Zorro587
Freelander 2 (LR2) New prop shaft noise - alignment?
Replies
3
Views
443
Zorro587
Zorro587
S
Prop shaft
Replies
3
Views
522
Chris_68
C
Zorro587
Noise gone but prop shaft queries abound
Replies
14
Views
1K
Chris_68
C
Lej
Land rover discovery 2 front prop shaft - can't find correct size
Replies
5
Views
1K
tilly2
tilly2
Andy Warren
Freelander 1 Rear prop uj's
Replies
5
Views
645
andyfreelandy
andyfreelandy
Back
Top