Thread: VC replacement is nigh!

Bit of an updtae for those interested, after a few emails back and forth with Ashcroft transmissions in the UK to order the VC, front bearing, oil seal and silicone, I ordered and paid on Friday night and it was at my door this morning (Monday)...hows that for fast delivery from the UK!
Now I have to find some time to do the job.

Peter,

That is awesome service!

An Ashcroft ATB is on my list so it's good to know that their service is as good as their products

Steve

Originally Posted by PeterH

Bit of an updtae for those interested, after a few emails back and forth with Ashcroft transmissions in the UK to order the VC, front bearing, oil seal and silicone, I ordered and paid on Friday night and it was at my door this morning (Monday)...hows that for fast delivery from the UK!
Now I have to find some time to do the job.

Hi,

Sorry to jump in.

I'm looking at an Ashcroft transfer case complete, but don't really need the chain.

Please tell me if the list of the bits you bought from them is:

Front bearing (I'm pretty sure mine's going bad)
Oil seal
VC itself

Anything else?

Then I'll copy you!

Cheers.

As the viscous coupling on mine had locked solid I didn't need to brace it. If it failed open you'd have too.
There's enough viscosity in a new one to get it back up to tension.
Worst case scenario, use a bit of flat and bolt it to the flange.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using AULRO mobile app

Spiggy Topes, I ordered the VC unit, front output bearing, oil seal and the correct silicone from Ashcrofts.
All up including postage was about AUD $700, much cheaper than the Land Rover list price of 3k, the cheapest my guy could go was $1150 just for the VC unit.
With delivery that fast and saving that much it made good sense to go that way.
I had a few emails back and forth because I was ordering the extra bits along with the VC, but as soon as I got a final price, I paid via paypal and it was on the way straight away.

Originally Posted by PeterH

Spiggy Topes, I ordered the VC unit, front output bearing, oil seal and the correct silicone from Ashcrofts.
All up including postage was about AUD $700, much cheaper than the Land Rover list price of 3k, the cheapest my guy could go was $1150 just for the VC unit.
With delivery that fast and saving that much it made good sense to go that way.
I had a few emails back and forth because I was ordering the extra bits along with the VC, but as soon as I got a final price, I paid via paypal and it was on the way straight away.

Peter
I had the same experience with Ashcroft. Dave was super quick with knowledgeable replies and once I had paid for the bearing and silicone it arrived within 5 days! I was impressed and would certainly recommend them to anyone looking for parts.

Gary

I'm hoping to get onto this job over the weekend, I got under there today to check it out.
To those that have done this job, did you need to remove the cross member?
It looks a bit tight with the cross member in, but I've heard the crossmember can be a bugger to get out too, so if I don't have to remove it I'd prefer not to.

Originally Posted by PeterH

I'm hoping to get onto this job over the weekend, I got under there today to check it out.
To those that have done this job, did you need to remove the cross member?
It looks a bit tight with the cross member in, but I've heard the crossmember can be a bugger to get out too, so if I don't have to remove it I'd prefer not to.

Yep...I removed the cross member. Made the job a fair bit easier in the long run. Came away reasonably easily. I supported the rear of the transmission on a jack stand and wooden shim.

Replacing the cross member was a little bit tricky.. The chassis had closed somewhat... so I used a section of 100mm x100mm post (pine) which I trimmed lengthwise and cut a rebate in one end to accommodate the head of the screw scissor jack from SWMBO's Astra.

I cut out an L-shape 70mm deep and 10mm in from the other end of the post so as to locate with the chassis rail. I supported this end on a floor jack and pushed it against the chassis rail. The bottom of the chassis rail sat on the protruding 10mm "ledge". I engaged the other end of the post with the screw jack and wound the screw jack finger tight against the chassis to jam the timber and jack in place and it became self supporting. I checked it was virtually horizontal and then expanded the jack with a ratchet lever a few mm at a time to edge the chassis rails apart. It only needed to shift about 5mm or so and the cross member fitted like a glove

The ratchet drive was very firm and I'm guessing the expansion required a couple of hundred kg at least ... With my arthritic shoulder there was no way in a confined space I could have "levered" the thing into position ...