Alibro
Well-Known Member
My freelander had 108k on it and the VCU was locked solid. How do I know? I tested it by doing the "ridiculous" one wheel up test.
Then I opened it and found the fluid had turned to glue. I cleaned it up, welded it up, refilled with new fluid and redid the one wheel up test and it passed with flying colours.
BTW it didn't feel significantly different reversing in a tight circle before and after so unless you know exactly how it is supposed to feel and you do the test on dry tarmac the reversing test is at best inconclusive and at worst misleading.
I really don't understand why supposed experts mock the one wheel up test. It is just a simple repeatable way of applying a known force to the VCU and observing the time taken for it to rotate an known amount. If you stick your head under the car as the test is happening you will see the VCU turning. It isn't perfect but it doesn't need to be. It's just a quick way of checking how tight your VCU is so you can make an informed decision as to whether it is time to replace it.
Of course you have two other choices.
Stick your head in the sand, ignore it and hope it will be fine as the vast majority of Freelander owners do. Although to be fair 99% of Freelander owners are completely ignorant of the whole thing.
Throw money at it whether it needs it or not as Freelandroig suggests.
It's your car, your money and your choice.
Then I opened it and found the fluid had turned to glue. I cleaned it up, welded it up, refilled with new fluid and redid the one wheel up test and it passed with flying colours.
BTW it didn't feel significantly different reversing in a tight circle before and after so unless you know exactly how it is supposed to feel and you do the test on dry tarmac the reversing test is at best inconclusive and at worst misleading.
I really don't understand why supposed experts mock the one wheel up test. It is just a simple repeatable way of applying a known force to the VCU and observing the time taken for it to rotate an known amount. If you stick your head under the car as the test is happening you will see the VCU turning. It isn't perfect but it doesn't need to be. It's just a quick way of checking how tight your VCU is so you can make an informed decision as to whether it is time to replace it.
Of course you have two other choices.
Stick your head in the sand, ignore it and hope it will be fine as the vast majority of Freelander owners do. Although to be fair 99% of Freelander owners are completely ignorant of the whole thing.
Throw money at it whether it needs it or not as Freelandroig suggests.
It's your car, your money and your choice.
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jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
that only shows vcu is tighter than it should be as does bench testing a vcu or jacking up one rear wheel,it is a serviceable part thats life will be dependant on the amount of slip vcu has had to deal with ,checking its not too tight regularly seems prudent to me,especialy since it requires only jacking one rear wheel up and a bar and socket
Alibro
Well-Known Member
It just dawned on me you said your car has only done 47k!
If it has only done 47k then why have the bearings gone? Are you certain the prop shaft and VCU are original? Are you sure they didn't come of some knackered scrapper?
If it were my car I'd be worried about the potential damage caused by a duff VCU and would be checking it because those bearings should last well over 100k miles.
If it has only done 47k then why have the bearings gone? Are you certain the prop shaft and VCU are original? Are you sure they didn't come of some knackered scrapper?
If it were my car I'd be worried about the potential damage caused by a duff VCU and would be checking it because those bearings should last well over 100k miles.
Not knock this test as very new to all this just saying about the bearings are shot so these should be replaced ? I can do the one wheel up test before I change the bearings and if needed can grab a vcu if mines gone as know lr spares place has them in as enquirered Thursday. Just saying the bearings could be the source of my shaking problem ???
GrumpyGel
Well-Known Member
The external appearance of the VCU doesn't give any indication of what's going on inside.
Nobody (on here and probably anywhere!) really knows why some VCUs last a lot longer than others - it may be perfect tyres and long open drives stress it little - or it may be that it needs a bit of mud and a good work out every now and then. What we do know though is that some last a very long time (eg 170K miles) and others fail very rapidly - well below the 70K miles 'service interval'. So you are right to check it and replace it if there's signs it is not operating as it should.
That is not to say there is or isn't anything wrong with yours.
One of the reasons that some people do not trust the 1WUT is that they say there are to many "variables" - eg stiffness of bearings and the diff and their lubricants can result in the timings being pushed outside of a reliability factor that means a meaningful result is not possible to achieve. Your situation where you have a VCU support bearing that is in a known poor condition - is exactly what angle they are coming from. What I mean is that the 1WUT with a 5KG weight on a 1.2M bar might give about 45 seconds for an 'OK' VCU - but that same VCU might return 60 seconds turning it through your poor bearing. In actual fact, I think its pretty obvious that a bearing that is still functioning on the car (all-be-it noisily) is not going to hold up that weight (even after a 3 x torque difference because of the diff) for anywhere near 15 seconds. So I'd say, yes do a 1WUT and you can use it as an indicator as to whether the VCU is knackered. If the car isn't used much, try it cold, then take it for a drive and try again to see if there's much difference - the timings will be a bit shorted with a warm VCU as the fluid will be less viscous.
EDIT : If the cold timing is long - say 2 mins - then think carefully before driving it on the road in case your IRD choses then to go bang! I wouldn't mind some guidance/confirmation from others as well on whether that's a safe thing to say!
You may choose to hang out to 70K miles to replace it at its "service interval", but I think everybody on here, bar 1 or 2 people, would suggest that it is prudent to do what you can to check it before then.
Nobody (on here and probably anywhere!) really knows why some VCUs last a lot longer than others - it may be perfect tyres and long open drives stress it little - or it may be that it needs a bit of mud and a good work out every now and then. What we do know though is that some last a very long time (eg 170K miles) and others fail very rapidly - well below the 70K miles 'service interval'. So you are right to check it and replace it if there's signs it is not operating as it should.
That is not to say there is or isn't anything wrong with yours.
One of the reasons that some people do not trust the 1WUT is that they say there are to many "variables" - eg stiffness of bearings and the diff and their lubricants can result in the timings being pushed outside of a reliability factor that means a meaningful result is not possible to achieve. Your situation where you have a VCU support bearing that is in a known poor condition - is exactly what angle they are coming from. What I mean is that the 1WUT with a 5KG weight on a 1.2M bar might give about 45 seconds for an 'OK' VCU - but that same VCU might return 60 seconds turning it through your poor bearing. In actual fact, I think its pretty obvious that a bearing that is still functioning on the car (all-be-it noisily) is not going to hold up that weight (even after a 3 x torque difference because of the diff) for anywhere near 15 seconds. So I'd say, yes do a 1WUT and you can use it as an indicator as to whether the VCU is knackered. If the car isn't used much, try it cold, then take it for a drive and try again to see if there's much difference - the timings will be a bit shorted with a warm VCU as the fluid will be less viscous.
EDIT : If the cold timing is long - say 2 mins - then think carefully before driving it on the road in case your IRD choses then to go bang! I wouldn't mind some guidance/confirmation from others as well on whether that's a safe thing to say!
You may choose to hang out to 70K miles to replace it at its "service interval", but I think everybody on here, bar 1 or 2 people, would suggest that it is prudent to do what you can to check it before then.
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Nodge68
Well-Known Member
Sorry but I disagree. The VCU works by transferring torque. The official test involves applying a high torque at 75Rpm and measurements taken to gauge torque throughput. This is not possible to do at home, but the OWUT is. It uses the exact same principle as the official test, only scaled down for the average owner to do at home.
Any test is better than blind faith.Sorry but I disagree. The VCU works by transferring torque. The official test involves applying a high torque at 75Rpm and measurements taken to gauge torque throughput. This is not possible to do at home, but the OWUT is. It uses the exact same principle as the official test, only scaled down for the average owner to do at home.
The Wut is not perfect , but it gives a good comparative test. Do it regularly.
blue beasty
Leaks an prone to bits dropping off
This is what annoys me about people going off on one about the OWU test. It's been done loads, the vast majority conclude its a valuable indicator........and the OPs original question is sidelined.
@Mitax-184, you know the bearings need changing so go ahead and get that sorted. The chances are they are the cause of the banging.
If that solves the problem I'd do the OWU test anyway for piece of mind and future reference.
@Mitax-184, you know the bearings need changing so go ahead and get that sorted. The chances are they are the cause of the banging.
If that solves the problem I'd do the OWU test anyway for piece of mind and future reference.
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
it was also a very good indicator for range rovers,every recon borgwarner was tested by torque over time
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
the amount of work it does plus manufacturing tolerances
blue beasty
Leaks an prone to bits dropping off
To my thinking treating it purely as a 70k service replacement item doesn't make sense. It doesn't take into any consideration whether it's been driven with mismatched tyres round country lanes or perfectly set up motorway miles.
I suspect it's just a figure that LR came up with as an average where MOST won't have caused damage elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm doing what annoys me so I'll stop
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
id agree with thatTo my thinking treating it purely as a 70k service replacement item doesn't make sense. It doesn't take into any consideration whether it's been driven with mismatched tyres round country lanes or perfectly set up motorway miles.
I suspect it's just a figure that LR came up with as an average where MOST won't have caused damage elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm doing what annoys me so I'll stop
Well I've goproed the shaft while driving to see if this is the main issue and seems to be so getting bearings tomorrow and will do the OWT on it when they are on
thebluemax
Active Member
buy only genuine GKN bearings around £45 each , just had mine changed with them after bearings fitted only 2 years ago by previous owner, cheap ones no doubt.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
And make sure when bolting them to the car they are dead straight with the VCU, not the propshaft.
freelanderoig
Active Member
My point is...if cars done over 70k..replace vcu...its prob a once in the owners lifetime expense...about 400 quid with bearings...or do inconclusive tests with bars tied to wood and sockets and water bottles for wieghts...really technical stuff..kid ya self alls well ..thats best scenario...and pay out a grand when it screws up ...or more...its pennies in comparrison....thats why freelanders get bad names ...poor servicing by penny pinchers
