Hi guys,

Had my hippo a year now - love it..

The chap i had it off had it from nearly new.. and at the end of the winter each year (sometime around march), he always took the prop off and left it off til about the end of october, and then refitted it for winter..

We was really into his landy, and took photos of it each time he did it, and also entered it into the service history..

Now im thinking of doing it in a month or so, just to save the wear on the VCU.. He said it was an easy enough job to do, but ive never attemped it.

I have no garage or pit, just my driveway (stone chippings), a socket set, a torx bolts set and a trolley jack..

Is it feasable for me to do this job myself, or do i not have the tools, access or both?

Cheers

If you've got ramps and a socket set/spanners it can be done easily.

I keep mine on cos I don't like the way it drives in mondo

why bother keep taking it off

You'll need either axle stands, or wooden blocks to put under the back wheels, working on close to two tonnes of car with only a trolley jack holding it up can be unhealthy

With a gravevl drive, wood blocks are probably best.

Cheers guys,

Hoyt, was speaking to my mate with one thats got the prob removed, and he said he thinks it makes it drive a bit nicer if anything? but everyones different.. maybe ill like it maybe i wont, ill give it a bash and report back

Out or curiosity mate, how long should the job take me, and do you have a rough idea of what nuts/bolts i have to undo and where? I wonder if Hippo on here has a video on it maybe (like his VCU test with a bar and weight)????

And also, after prop is removed, do i need to blank anything off?

cremator

Im just thinking of doing it to save wear on the VCU through the spring and summer moths.. The book recommends it gets replaced after 90,000 miles.. My hippo had a brand new vcu and prop bearings at 106000, and is now on 138000.. Between now and the end of september, ill probably do 10-12k miles, so if i take the VCU off, thats 10000 miles of wear saved on the VCU.. Ill put it back on then for the winter months incase the weather turns to **** and ill need the 4WD

TRXnMe - top tip.. dont want two tons of hippo on me.. could be painful!! If anyone on here can point me toward a decent "how to" guide, i think ill give it a crack..

Good Morning, I had a problem with my VCU and the rear diff ate itself one morning going down the dual carriage way...oops.

I replaced the diff and removed the rear propshaft. I found i was able to lie under the car without jacking it up at all so it remained on all four wheels.

It's now in 2WD and you can certainly feel the difference with it, the handling seems so different and it does feel as it performs better on the fuel aswell.

She was fine in 2WD through the highlands in the snow too.

The job is easy enough. It is just about possible to do it without even jacking it up,but raising it will definitely make it easier. Use axle stands or wooden blocks for safety and raise one side. If you raise the drivers side, this is easiest as the exhaust is not in the way so much. At the front, where the prop joins the ouput from the VCU, it is held with six long bolts. The head of the bolts are Torx heads, and the nuts need a normal 13mm spanner. Undo them all and recover the wee curved washers. Leave the prop sitting in place for now. If the car is in neutral and both wheels on the right hand side are off the ground, you will be able to turn the transmission by hand to get at all the bolts easier.

Move to the back and it is bolted to the rear diff with 4 bots. The heads are a different size Torx to the fronts, and the nuts need a 17mm spanner. Undo all 4 and the rear prop will come free. Move to the middle, the VCU is held on with 4 bolts that need a 13mm socket and a long extension to reach them easily. Loosen them off but dont remove yet. Once the whole thing is slack, o back to the front and pull the end of the shaft of the IRD. It might need a dunt with a hammer to separate it. You are looking to pull the thing that is about the size of a medium tin of beans off the IRD flange which is slightly cup-shaped.
With this off, go back to the VCU and undo the bolts. Its a heavy mofo and there is little clearance to hold it one-handed as you work, so I put an old cushion on the floor and undo the bolts then just let it drop onto the cushion.

Pull the whole thing out from under, being careful not to wrench the front joint around too much - if it seperates they are a pig to re-assemble and the rubber boot is not available as a spare part.

Nothing needs blanked off.

Putting it back on is the reverse....loosely re-fit the VCU, lift the front joint into place and bolt it up, lift the rear up and bolt it, then tighten the VCU mounting bolts. Its important to make sure the bearing carriers are at 90degrees to the propshaft when you tighten them to avoid wearing them out prematurely.
Dont try to be a hero lifting the VCU up...its heavy and awkward. Get a second person to help or balance it on a trolley jack to lift it up till you get the bolts in a few turns.

I had mine in mondo last year in the snow, it didn't slip at all as the TC still works.

I didn't notice any difference with the mpg, but the steering felt really light and it dived into corners.
Like you say each to there own

newcyboots said:

... I wonder if Hippo on here has a video on it...

Click to expand...

No video but have this: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f69/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-guide-156068.html

TRXnMe said:

You'll need either axle stands, or wooden blocks to put under the back wheels, working on close to two tonnes of car with only a trolley jack holding it up can be unhealthy

With a gravevl drive, wood blocks are probably best.

Click to expand...

Two tonnes ?


Like **** its two tonnes, damn things all plastic and 3/4 the size of a real 4x4

1.4 tonnes ( thats wi out the fat bloke int drivers seat)

Knew he was talking ****


I can believe 1.4 but not nearly 2

Hi guys,

thanks for all the replys.

I was talking about this to a mate in work, who has a friend with a Y plate Td4 who takes the prop off every spring to save wear.. He has his own garage and pit, so said he would do mine for me for free

However, he has told my mate that i need a blanking plate? I presume this would be for the rear diff??? Would the VCU setup and diff be different on his 01 Td4 to my 99 L series?

The answers above suggest i need to do nothing?

Anyone advise?

The blanking plate goes on the front, on the ird.This requires removal of the crown wheel.
I really don't see the point of that even if it's gonna be a permanent arrangement.

And as far as I know they're the same set up.

cheers hoyt,

so as im going to put it back in around october time, i dont have to blank anything off then?

i used to break Freeland's and sell the parts on eBay i found it easier with all 4 wheels on the ground so i could roll it forward a little each time to bring the bolts to the bottom. much easier than trying to get at the top.

Dr_evil said:

Two tonnes ?


Like **** its two tonnes, damn things all plastic and 3/4 the size of a real 4x4

Click to expand...

Minimum kerb weight for the Td4 is 1,619 kilos, that's with a close to empty tank and no crap in the thing.

Fill it up, 59 litre tank so add another 40 litres, that's another few kilos, chuck the average amount of crap into the thing and you're up to 1,700 ish, that's close enough to two tonnes for me, certainly more than I'd like landing on me.

As to 1,400 kilos, what the is that weight from? or has someone removed the engine as well as the prop shafts and VCU?

If you choose to disbelieve the minimum kerb weight, check it on Parkers and the AutoTrader.

It's in the user manual and hereFreelander - Gross vehicle weight, kerb weight, towing capacity - Land Rover

Freelaner said:

It's in the user manual and hereFreelander - Gross vehicle weight, kerb weight, towing capacity - Land Rover

Click to expand...

According to the Haynes manual, and a couple of other resources I just checked (AutoTrader & Parkers again), the weights posted above are the maximum for pre 2001 model year, 2001 onwards the diesel is between 1,540 and 1,635, the petrol is 1,410 to 1,620.

Looking back I'm not sure why, but I had thought the OP had a diesel, the 1,619 is the kerb weight for a post 2001 Td4 GS...

Just like me..............post in haste.........look like a tw*t