Testing a Freelander VCU

[101RRS]

Today I backed out of my drive in my XEDI and on steering lock the transmission felt a lot tighter than normal - as if the handbrake was on a bit. While this is not a sign of a seized viscous coupling unit it is certainly an indicator that it should be looked at. I prefer the wheel off the ground method so I thought I would take a few pics of the procedure which only takes about 5 minutes and put them here.

First - take one Freelander


Chock the wheels, particularly if you are on a slope like I am


Put the car in first gear and release the handbrake - and be careful (the handbrake is on the rear wheels and the handbrake has to be released to do the wheel test)

Jack up the drivers rear wheel until it is clear of the ground


Remove the hub cap


Then put a 1 1/4" or 32mm socket with a breaker bar onto the hub nut. Note the position of the breaker bar against the side of the car - marked with white tape.


Turn the wheel clockwise to take up the slack in the drive train - see breaker bar has moved to second white tape position.


Then apply a steady clockwise pressure to the wheel via the breaker bar - the wheel should slowly turn - if it does not then the VC is seized




In this case the VC is OK.

See this clip also

[ame="http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/?action=view&current=VCUtest.flv"]VCUtest.flv video by gazzz21 - Photobucket[/ame]

If you want to do the mark on the tail shaft test - here is where the marks go. Red arrow is the VCU - yellow marks are your aligned marks

Hope all this helps

Garry

[hugh]

The best demonstraton I have seen yet,I am sure it will help a lot of people

[mjm295]

I managed to simply lean on the tyre and turn it - didn't use a breaker bar.

[Seahorse]

Great stuff....Thanks for taking the time to share your experience..

[Mac88]

Great demo, many thanks. Hope you might be able to shed a little light. I have followed your test and have been able to turn the wheel as demonstrated, however when on lock my Freelander still feels tight as if it is getting bound up a little. When performing a full lock turn slowly I can hear the inner wheels scrubbing.

Do you have any ideas what this might be.

Many thanks,

Mac.

[101RRS]

however when on lock my Freelander still feels tight as if it is getting bound up a little.

As long as it binds a little this is what is supposed to happen and shows how sensitive the VCU is. When turning the front wheels scribe a tighter arc than the rears so turn at a different speed to the rear - this speed difference is detected by the VCU and it begins to lock. HOWEVER it should bind just a little - not a lot - if it is making the engine labour or stall then you need to go look closer at the VCU.

When performing a full lock turn slowly I can hear the inner wheels scrubbing.

The obvious is simply the wheel touching the body - could be the tyre slipping on the road surface. Some strange sounds to come out of the tyres when turning slowly on a very smooth surface.

Garry

[Ausfree]

Being very new to Freelanders I am on a very steep learning curve. Thanks for the headsup Garrycol. All the information I am gleaning from the Forum is going straight into the memory banks.

Cheers mate

[rokdog74]

Hi Guys, Found this link to be an interesting read on the subject of VCU testing, I will be taking to my landy mechanic to find out how much truth is in the subject matter.
I Always challenge the reality I am presented with!!!!!

Symptoms - Bell Engineering

[camel_landy]

FWIW - The guys at Bell Engineering are pretty reliable.

M

[Jojo]

Is the procedure the same for an automatic transmission vehicle?