Thread: The mystery of the viscous coupling

hi guys i am in the same situation at the moment .turning on full lock you can feel it grabbing especially on tar with loose stone .I actually removed front shaft irarely offroad,although car seemed to roll ok in drive and not coming to ahalt on slight down hill grade ,when you say lock-up to me that means as if brakes on ,am i understanding correctly .normal h/way driving seems fine even with shaft in,am i being overly concerned and refit shaft as minimal offroad is done , looking for replacement vc in good condition but to yet no avail

The VC in my daily driver & 'off roader' actually slips more than I would like. I was caught out climbing a rock face earlier this year with the front left wheel spinning.

From RRC experience I think this is quite normal and related to the open front diff more than the VC.
However having said that , the feedback I have had over many years is that it is sitting at a rock with a front wheel spinning is the most damaging to the VC, as it has to "hump" ie rise in internal temperature until it locks.

My VC was fine at 240Kk when I sold the car, ( and stupidly gave away a 80KK VC and another transfer with stripped splines with the car). I could have been RICH!

I think the best help you can give a VC is to fit an Ashcroft , Quaife or other torque biasing diff to the front axle to minimize wheelspin and therefore front to rear speed difference.
Regards Philip A

Thanks all for the info, feeling more comfortable now. I do like Quaife LSDs, however I don't think I'll be working it sufficiently hard to justify such an enhancement in the immediate future.

I'm sure I'll be posting more questions as I get it back on the road and reliable.
All the boots on the ball joints and tie-rods are torn, so they all need replacing.
Any tips for getting the ball joints off or fitting them, my reading implies they are a press fit I've got good hammering skills, but sounds likes they won't help me here.

Thanks

Best guide that I found was Michael Murphy's YouTube series:
Swearing and Skinned Knuckles Episode #3: Land Rover Discovery Ball Joint Replacement Part 1 - YouTube
Practically no difference between D2 and P38 for this task.
You will have a hard time finding just the boots, although MR Automotive in Redcliffe, Qld may have them.

Cheers,
Steve