IRD or not IRD? Oil leak and noise.

kahuna · 25th June 2009, 11:24 PM

Thanks Garry.

I have a Freelander XEI 1.8 petrol 2000yr. Bought almost 2 years ago for $11k from dealer (overpaid?). First thing was clutch hydraulic system - dealer replaced it. Second - HGF. Graeme Cooprs refused to change gasket only ($2K) they wanted bores mashined as well (+$4k). Understood that they wanted all done properly to give a warranty, but they did not even seen the liners, did they dropped or are still OK... Had no choice but to DIY (never did it before, only spark plugs

)

According VCU, I think VCU is OK too, but still would like it to be confirmed is the damper rotates against VC or they rotate together.

I washed engine, tightened oil pump bolts, leak near oil filter seems to be gone. For main leak, I also tightened sump bolts (one of them sits deep) will know tomorrow.

Noise is more heard at ~20km/h with clutch depressed, when slowing down. Kind of whoomwhoom. Sounds like gears, bearings or the like. BTW, changed gearbox oil, it came out dark... used Castrol VMX 80 for refill.

Question. I jacked one front wheel, there is a slack of about 15 degrees when I rotate the wheel, is it OK or there should be no slack in front diff?

You wrote here Gearbox Mainshaft Wear:
The drive train is starting to get a bit slack which I am assuming is the early stages of the above problem - just noticeable but not a major problem yet. Clearly I can simply get the Transfer Case Input gear drilled as described and that will stabilise the drivetrain slack.
In particular I have followed the thread at http://www.aulro.com/modules.php?nam...ewtopic&t=1281

The link is not working, so what is that drilling about?

**101RRS** · 26th June 2009, 10:40 AM

I must admit that once I thought the damper did move separate to the VCU but I now do not know and no one seems to know. But it doesn't matter, as aligned marks on the front shaft and rear shafts will do - remember opinions are given on these forums - take everything with caution. The rear wheel test is the best test to do - yes there is slack in the drive train that has to be taken up first before the pressure of the VC is felt - as said it is hard to turn the VC - heavy steady pressure with a breaker bar on the socket is required. If the wheel slowly turns the VC is OK.

That link to an earlier post of mine concerns the gears that join the gearbox to the transfer case in a V8 Discovery not a Freelander - at the time I was driving one - again a design problem in a Land Rover product. Oil does not get to the splines and drilling the cog allows oil to get to the splines.

Garry

kahuna · 26th June 2009, 10:57 AM

Yes, but the question was not about VCU and propshafts. I'm talking now about front diff inside IRD and gearbox. The slack i see is on the front wheels. Question is what slack is normal. I have is around 15 degrees of rotation...

**101RRS** · 26th June 2009, 03:53 PM

This may be of interest http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/8...ml#post1008838

As far as the amount of slack on the front wheels - I have no idea but 15 degrees does not sound too bad.

Garry

kahuna · 26th June 2009, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by garrycol

This may be of interest http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/8...ml#post1008838

As far as the amount of slack on the front wheels - I have no idea but 15 degrees does not sound too bad.

Garry

Cool

You do things seriously I see

Having done that, did you checked if damper rotates against VC or they rotate together?

And I think it is not so simple as OK / Not OK. Silicon liquid inside can loose its specs gradually, increasing resistance over time, so it is hart to tell at which point it becomes Not OK...

**101RRS** · 26th June 2009, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by kahuna

And I think it is not so simple as OK / Not OK. Silicon liquid inside can loose its specs gradually, increasing resistance over time, so it is hart to tell at which point it becomes Not OK...

Spot on, that is why I test mine every 5000km and constantly look at the indicators of weird tyre wear on the rear tyres and binding in the transmission when reversing - I had this today so did a quick test to make sure all is OK.

I haven't bothered chasing the issue of the damper as it is not relevant to testing.

Garry

**hugh** · 4th July 2009, 03:27 PM

It would appear to me that the basic fault of the freelanders
transmisson is the silicone fluid which is in the vcu?

kahuna · 5th July 2009, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by hugh

It would appear to me that the basic fault of the freelanders
transmisson is the silicone fluid which is in the vcu?

No, it is the transmission design, where rear diff has lower ratio then front, so VCU is always under load. Good idea but wrong ratio difference. As a result VCU goes dead in ~100k. As there are no signs of it happening, in a short time it kills IRD.

There is a rumours that this applies to IRDs up to 2000, and ones after 2000 have lower ratio to prevent this. Could not confirm this so far.

**hugh** · 5th July 2009, 03:24 PM

I see your point kahuna,the ratios are over working the vcu causing
the vcu to lock up and the fluid inside breaks down.So the life span
of the vcu is greatly reduced. It would be great if a more affordable
fix could be found.
thanks

**Junosi** · 8th July 2009, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by kahuna

There is a rumours that this applies to IRDs up to 2000, and ones after 2000 have lower ratio to prevent this. Could not confirm this so far.

The original IRDs drove the rear wheels ~0.9% slower whereas the newer IRDs drive them ~0.3% slower. Doesn't sound like much difference but it makes all the world of difference on VCU stress and failure. They changed IRDs sometime during 2000, but sadly there's no easy way to tell which one you've got simply by looking at it. From different things I've been reading it sounds like Land Rover decided on the original 0.9% difference to make the Freelander a more capable offroader, they should of opted for the more general appeal of the 0.3% difference as it turns out.

Clark

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