What have you done to your Freelander today

Finally got around to those whirring VCU Bearings.... Oh Boy I hope I never have to do that again...

The Middle to rear shaft popped off without issue... The Front to Mid? What a story.

I started off by just me and a friend pulling. No Luck, so we decided to heat up the splines area to hope they'd be easier to separate.



Would that work? no of course not. So after almost 2 hours of heat, hammering, WD40, more hammering, more heat more hammering and it hadn't moved I went to the next best option. Mechanical Advantage Now it's quite hard to see what is going on but I think you can work it out...

News Flash that did not work and I am glad the rear window was down already... How did I finally remove it?



This video is the most useful video I have ever seen on the VCU bearing replacement Worked a charm, 15 minutes later and a now wonky prybar, it was separated.

Hoped you liked my short story

xDParis64 said:

Finally got around to those whirring VCU Bearings.... Oh Boy I hope I never have to do that again...
View attachment 334894
The Middle to rear shaft popped off without issue... The Front to Mid? What a story.

I started off by just me and a friend pulling. No Luck, so we decided to heat up the splines area to hope they'd be easier to separate.

View attachment 334895

Would that work? no of course not. So after almost 2 hours of heat, hammering, WD40, more hammering, more heat more hammering and it hadn't moved I went to the next best option. Mechanical Advantage Now it's quite hard to see what is going on but I think you can work it out...
View attachment 334896
News Flash that did not work and I am glad the rear window was down already... How did I finally remove it?



This video is the most useful video I have ever seen on the VCU bearing replacement Worked a charm, 15 minutes later and a now wonky prybar, it was separated.

Hoped you liked my short story

Click to expand...

Top marks for perseverance

Ineffective rear shoes replaced this evening. I think the new handbrake cables must have some stretch in them.

xDParis64 said:

Finally got around to those whirring VCU Bearings.... Oh Boy I hope I never have to do that again...
View attachment 334894
The Middle to rear shaft popped off without issue... The Front to Mid? What a story.

I started off by just me and a friend pulling. No Luck, so we decided to heat up the splines area to hope they'd be easier to separate.

View attachment 334895

Would that work? no of course not. So after almost 2 hours of heat, hammering, WD40, more hammering, more heat more hammering and it hadn't moved I went to the next best option. Mechanical Advantage Now it's quite hard to see what is going on but I think you can work it out...
View attachment 334896
News Flash that did not work and I am glad the rear window was down already... How did I finally remove it?



This video is the most useful video I have ever seen on the VCU bearing replacement Worked a charm, 15 minutes later and a now wonky prybar, it was separated.

Hoped you liked my short story

Click to expand...

When I first got my old F1, I took it to the guys in the video to have a new VCU fitted, along with new bearings. It's a long trip to their base in Suffolk from Kent, but worth it. They did the job while I waited in their office (with lots of coffee!)

Sue and Nobert are a top team for F1 and F2 repairs, and have lots of spares in stock on the shelf. Would thoroughly recommend them.

xDParis64 said:

Finally got around to those whirring VCU Bearings.... Oh Boy I hope I never have to do that again...
View attachment 334894
The Middle to rear shaft popped off without issue... The Front to Mid? What a story.

I started off by just me and a friend pulling. No Luck, so we decided to heat up the splines area to hope they'd be easier to separate.

View attachment 334895

Would that work? no of course not. So after almost 2 hours of heat, hammering, WD40, more hammering, more heat more hammering and it hadn't moved I went to the next best option. Mechanical Advantage Now it's quite hard to see what is going on but I think you can work it out...
View attachment 334896
News Flash that did not work and I am glad the rear window was down already... How did I finally remove it?



This video is the most useful video I have ever seen on the VCU bearing replacement Worked a charm, 15 minutes later and a now wonky prybar, it was separated.

Hoped you liked my short story

Click to expand...

Well done for getting them apart.

I think that must be the most linked to video by a long way in the Freelander section of LZ.

Separating the props really is a case of absolute maximum aggression with a chisel and heavy hammer - and hope the chisel doesn't fly off and get you in the gonads!