VCU Torque test results

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jjtech56 said:
I would think had it been replaced and being an expensive part there would be a reciept even if only for the parts, it would be a big selling point to show a buyer.
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Possibly but your assuming a hell of a lot. Most people, buyers and sellers have never heard of a VCU and have no clue why Freelander drive trains break. I suspect most people don't even know they are a common problem. That is why we need a way of testing the VCU for ourselves and guess what? We have one. And it works. And it doesn't rely on the correct tyres being fitted, or the road being dry.
 
It seems the biggest fault and talking point on the freelander 1 td4 is the vcu, the bmw engine and gertrec gearbox seem ok..long as you do the erg and pvc valve, but overall it seems a decent vehicle...we all know its not a true off roader, thats the disco that takes that...but overall mine takes me and 2 mates fishing to lakes my previouse car could not ..in fact the wifes 2014 meganne has been back under warranty 7 times for crappy electrics , tows a caravan ok..not tried it in snow yet...in all if the only major complaint is the vcu and that costs a mere 400quid..why not replace it be done and enjoy the rest of the car...it has been stated allready...the vcu is a consumable item...end of
 
Alibro said:
Possibly but your assuming a hell of a lot. Most people, buyers and sellers have never heard of a VCU and have no clue why Freelander drive trains break. I suspect most people don't even know they are a common problem. That is why we need a way of testing the VCU for ourselves and guess what? We have one. And it works. And it doesn't rely on the correct tyres being fitted, or the road being dry.
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To be honest i was oneoff those people, realised i needed a 4x4 spent ages researching the pros cons , what to look for, chatted to couple at work and pub so when i came to buy i was savvy,,hence i talked the dealer into replacing the vcu..i said in an earlier post too many folk see a car...oooh that looks nice and buy it...then find a dual mass flywheel clutch cost 1200 quid ..vcu 400...and moan like hell...do a parts check first...and if you cant carry the cost ..dont buy...
 
jjtech56 said:
is it not the job of the ird to reduce any any such torque to the rear dif to minimise power to dif..bit out of my depth with ird gear reduction but commonsense would say thats its job ...your view ...
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no one said it was,ird job is to split drive to front and rear ,rear been driven slightly slower
 
wammers said:
No, there is no point in trying to explain things to people who in no way understand what you are talking about. As i have said, in my view the four wheel drive system on the Freelander is an after thought engineering abortion. If people cannot absorb the reason why IRD units with different input ratios and output ratios have different gear sizes in them or why there has to be a speed differential front to back of the VCU, it is pointless talking to them. Designed as it is the VCU is a consumable unit simple as that. Thread after thread and post after post trying to find out why they wear out are totally pointless. Aside from owners playing with TPs and tyre sizes which may contribute to earlier fail, how the transmission is engineered and set up as standard makes them a consumable. They cannot really be regarded as anything else.
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according to the engineers at landrover we dealt with at the time,it was to give 4wd with fwd feel,as customers were expected to be mondeo drivers,it was an obvious question to ask,vcu thus works harder than the range rover vcu with equal drive
 
jamesmartin said:
according to the engineers at landrover we dealt with at the time,it was to give 4wd with fwd feel,as customers were expected to be mondeo drivers,it was an obvious question to ask,vcu thus works harder than the range rover vcu with equal drive
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Yes i will live with that. But it's workload given where it is located on the transmission makes it a consumable item. Given what it has to do and the way the transmission is set up it could never be anything else. The Range Rover set up makes for a far more efficient and less stressful use of the VCU.
 
wammers said:
Yes i will live with that. But it's workload given where it is located on the transmission makes it a consumable item. Given what it has to do and the way the transmission is set up it could never be anything else. The Range Rover set up makes for a far more efficient and less stressful use of the VCU.
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very true
 
Maybe that's why LR put the VCU where it is - to make replacing it easy. I believe the one of RR is embedded within the transfer box and although I've never even seen 1, probably more of a job to change.

There is no 'servicing' of the VCU, it is as described a sealed consumable. Unlike such things as the cambelt or oils which usually reach their service limit, there is a much higher risk of the VCU not reaching its one. With the cambelt & oils there is no reliable method of testing them - other than a visual inspection (maybe in a lab there are tests) so you must go by the service interval. With the VCU though it can be tested in the same way other consumables, like tyres and brakes, can be. Therefore it may be best to change it at the 70K service interval but it can also be tested prior to that to ensure it will reach it.

I haven't seen any evidence through this forum that how 'hard' the car has been worked, or whether it has a good full service history, is any indication as to whether a VCU will reach its 70K limit. I have personal experience that tells me that not all GKN units have the exact same characteristics from factory which will affect it. How the car's tyres have been during its life will probably affect it greatly, but there's also probably no documented history of this.

So far as fishing goes, I agree, Freelander is an ideal 'truck'. Having driven Discovery to my fishing destinations along beaches and river beds for a number of years, switching to Freelander was a noticable improvement improvement. I'm sure a contributing factor to this is because the VCU allows far less slippage than people conceptualise if they read to much into the 'front wheel drive' characteristics of Freelander together with 4WD only if the fronts slip. That implies a very 'loose' back end. The reality is actually very far from that.
 
jjtech56 said:
To be honest i was oneoff those people, realised i needed a 4x4 spent ages researching the pros cons , what to look for, chatted to couple at work and pub so when i came to buy i was savvy,,hence i talked the dealer into replacing the vcu..i said in an earlier post too many folk see a car...oooh that looks nice and buy it...then find a dual mass flywheel clutch cost 1200 quid ..vcu 400...and moan like hell...do a parts check first...and if you cant carry the cost ..dont buy...
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Maybe you're happy to throw 400 quid at a car you've just bought without first checking if you need to but
most of us are not. That's why we use the one wheel up test. It works every time, it's simple and quick to do and could even be done prior to purchase and used to push the price down.
Until someone can show me a good reason for not doing it I will continue to use this test to confirm my vcu is still good. As I refurbished my own vcu keeping an eye on it is important for me.
 
Alibro said:
Maybe you're happy to throw 400 quid at a car you've just bought without first checking if you need to but
most of us are not. That's why we use the one wheel up test. It works every time, it's simple and quick to do and could even be done prior to purchase and used to push the price down.
Until someone can show me a good reason for not doing it I will continue to use this test to confirm my vcu is still good. As I refurbished my own vcu keeping an eye on it is important for me.
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But i didnt ..i worked the replacement into the car deal, i used the argument do you want to replace it now..or have me come back within the 3 month warranty for a new vcu..ird, and rear diff...1500 quid...i know he got the vcu..bearing carriers trade for 300 quid
 
You were lucky he believed you. I bought mine from a dealer and he had never heard of a VCU so he hadn't a clue what I was talking about. Having said that I still got £450 knocked off the asking price but had to agree to treating the sale as trade. ie no returns.
 
Well he did ring a specialist who happens to be a mate and with phone on speaker phone it was confirmed that at 70k it would be a good idea to sort it, now the dealer knows the guy who traded it well..reg customer and this landy never been over a field, log book shows 2 owners and it seems first owner was his brother, again never seen a field, but they live up an out in the sticks where you need 4x4...so its had very easy life ....even so with a vcu its also about age of the viscouse fliud in the joint...so it def needed changing
 
GrumpyGel said:
Maybe that's why LR put the VCU where it is - to make replacing it easy. I believe the one of RR is embedded within the transfer box and although I've never even seen 1, probably more of a job to change.

There is no 'servicing' of the VCU, it is as described a sealed consumable. Unlike such things as the cambelt or oils which usually reach their service limit, there is a much higher risk of the VCU not reaching its one. With the cambelt & oils there is no reliable method of testing them - other than a visual inspection (maybe in a lab there are tests) so you must go by the service interval. With the VCU though it can be tested in the same way other consumables, like tyres and brakes, can be. Therefore it may be best to change it at the 70K service interval but it can also be tested prior to that to ensure it will reach it.

I haven't seen any evidence through this forum that how 'hard' the car has been worked, or whether it has a good full service history, is any indication as to whether a VCU will reach its 70K limit. I have personal experience that tells me that not all GKN units have the exact same characteristics from factory which will affect it. How the car's tyres have been during its life will probably affect it greatly, but there's also probably no documented history of this.

So far as fishing goes, I agree, Freelander is an ideal 'truck'. Having driven Discovery to my fishing destinations along beaches and river beds for a number of years, switching to Freelander was a noticable improvement improvement. I'm sure a contributing factor to this is because the VCU allows far less slippage than people conceptualise if they read to much into the 'front wheel drive' characteristics of Freelander together with 4WD only if the fronts slip. That implies a very 'loose' back end. The reality is actually very far from that.
Click to expand...

Cheap way of converting a front wheel drive unit into a four wheel drive unit.
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
So you arent saying......

then? But that it is a drive transmission device :p.

I agree that it is a poor system, but you were incorrect in your first statement.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Think of the difficulty building an IRD unit incorporating a front to rear diff with a VCU in it, which it would need to absorb front to rear rotational differences. It was the cheapest way of doing it driven off a transverse gearbox.
 
wammers said:
I don't think so. Think of the difficulty building an IRD unit incorporating a front to rear diff with a VCU in it, which it would need to absorb front to rear rotational differences. It was the cheapest way of doing it driven off a transverse gearbox.
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I don't need to
My point was merely that your statement was incorrect. End of
 
wammers said:
Not as far as i am concerned it wasn't. From an engineering point of view the Freelander is a cockup. End of.
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It definitely has its warts, but I prefer having a VCU under the car to a Haldex... in the same way, I'd rather have a D1's locking diff to the D2's reliance on traction control. Having said that, it would be great if it had a warning system for mismatched tyres in the same way various Haldex implementations do.
 
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