rocklazio Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Hey, i'm finding an increasing loud road noise on my 98 Freelander 1.8. First of all I was convinced it was an exhaust problem, and my girlfriend took it into a mechanics and he told here that it needed a new Exhaust gasket on the 2nd rear flange, so I got to it and replaced both of those smaller exhaust gaskets, check the whole system for blowing and found 1 hole which i slapped a lot of exhaust concrete on.It occurred to me today when driving it (i usually drive our other car) that it actually can't be the exhaust as its road noise as its related to speed and not engine noise. So after some reading around the topic and doing a bit of research I managed to rule out the VCU by doing the usual checks of reversing around corners and checking for abnormal tire wear. So whats the next thing I can check? It kicks in around 40 kph and get louder and louder the faster you go and defiantly sounds as if its coming from the rear of the car.Any suggestiong? I'm thinking rear diff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8CAMEL Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Wheel Bearing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 Considered that but with wheel Bearings you get a throbbing sound don't you? This is very much a constant sound that changes pitch/volume depending on speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 VCU Bearings would be my guess. They are generally low cost and easy to replace - but nobody ever bothers unless changing the VCU. When they go, you initially get a rumbling noise which, because they are bolted to the body, can be quite loud. Then when they get a bit more play in the bearings, you can get knocking on each revolution. If the rubber mounting (damper) has gone, the knocking gets worse while the shaft is wound up (cornering). The rubber is integral to the bearing (or vice versa). Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 is there any check i can do/tell tail signs to be sure its the VCU bearings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Well I've found the part on ebay for £30 and a guide on what to do so think i'll just dive in in the next weekend or two. I'll let you know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EggNChips Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Well I've found the part on ebay for £30 and a guide on what to do so think i'll just dive in in the next weekend or two. I'll let you know how it goes! Only ever buy gemuine ones, I have found this to my cost a couple of times already. Only lasted a matter of weeks before they were noisey again. Replaced them now with genuine ones and they.ve been quiet for months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 The test is easy - remove the propshaft & VCU & drive round for a bit. I'll second the advice to only buy genuine bearings too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defv890 Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Defo agree with above sounds like prop bearings And again been done over with britpart bearings and others only lasted a couple of 100 mls Please buy genuine only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Only ever buy gemuine ones. I'll second the advice to only buy genuine bearings too. Please buy genuine only Cheers for the advice, i'll get onto the local dealership. They really sting you for genuine LR parts out here in Australia, so i often end up short cutting to the UK 3rd party option. Landrover Australia charges $320 + GST (£200 + VAT). From a bit of investigation it turns out the genuine VCU bearings were supplied by GNK so think i'll cut out the 500% LR mark up and track down some GNK ones directly. For about 15 mins I had the guy on the parts desk at the LR dealer here trying to tell me I had to buy the whole VCU for several thousands of dollars as the bearings don't come separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Well, you won't get much change from £200 - but I'd be surprised if GKN are that much cheaper directly as it's a slightly more complex assembly not just a bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 While you might think GKN ones will be just as good - and that LR make a huge mark-up, if you buy the same quality ones from GKN, the cost is barely different! GKN, like most manufacturers, make parts with the same part number in a variety of qualities & tolerances. They are probably all made together then sorted by tolerance etc. When you find a part from the right manufacturer with the right part number - but half the cost, I would be suspicious about the actual tolerance of it! I bought some apparently genuine ('bargain') Timken 6008 bearings - where the ID & OD were 0.05mm under size. Doesn't sound a lot, but it's enough that they did not fit and went in the bin instead! I chastised myself for not following my own advice! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_roberts Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I think that provided the rubber mountings aren't shot then you can press out the old bearings and press in new ones. The sensible first step would be to remove the whole propshaft assembly and see if the noise goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I think that provided the rubber mountings aren't shot then you can press out the old bearings and press in new ones. I've never heard that one, I was under the impression they're bonded in and shouldn't be able to be removed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_roberts Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 According to this guy here, you can press the bearing out of the housing: http://www.thesysadmin.co.uk/hippo/fixes/index.html#vcu I've not done it myself, because when I did mine the rubber was splitting so I put complete new units in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8CAMEL Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 are we talking about this bearing carrier?# http://www.paddockspares.com/toq000040g-bearing-for-intermediate-shaft-all-4cyl-engines-hardy-spicer.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 I think that provided the rubber mountings aren't shot then you can press out the old bearings and press in new ones.The sensible first step would be to remove the whole propshaft assembly and see if the noise goes away. Cheers, i'll try that first. Didn't realise that was doable but it makes sense when you think about it. Its cheaper buying parts from the UK because business import tax in Australia is overly expensive as they try to force people to buy Australian branded products (or cars in this case). Personal imports of less than $1k are tax free hence I can buy them in the UK and get them shipped. This is the GNK one I was looking at buying. Would GNK really want to sell ones that are of a poor quality. I'll find out if there is any warranty on it, that might be a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_roberts Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 That looks a good price to me. If it says they're genuine then there must be warranty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 For anyone that reads this thread and find it useful i'm planning on using this guide to do it http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f69/freelander-1-vcu-bearing-replacement-how-guide-156068.html (i know its another forum but there isn't a guide on here for doing the bearings). Gonna take the prop off first and drive it to find out if its the problem. Also found this video on it .Have any of you found the 'balancing' that the guy talks about in the video an issue when doing this job? He claims its really important because if you don't it causes vibration through the lower gears but the written guide doesn't mention it at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 I think that provided the rubber mountings aren't shot then you can press out the old bearings and press in new ones.The sensible first step would be to remove the whole propshaft assembly and see if the noise goes away. Yea so removed the prop shaft and the noise didn't go away. Good call Tim. So rotated the back tyres whilst I had it up and found the noise. Its the back left wheel. So this weekend i'll pull the wheel off and have a good poke around. Guessing its either a bearing or something funny going on with the hand break. At least I learned something new about prop shafts this week. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_roberts Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 That may have saved you some money then! If you can hear a noise rotating the wheel by hand, then I would guess it's more likely a loose brake-shoe or something like that - hopefully an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklazio Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 OK So I removed the wheel and had a poke around and found that the sound it coming form one side of the rear differential, which can never be good.Are the freelander differentials easy to change parts inside? Or is it specialist LR tools and i'll have to buy a whole new diff? Or is there a chance its somthing where the prop meets the diff that is easier to replace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_roberts Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 You can buy bearing kits very cheaply on eBay, but I've no idea what's involved in fitting them. The diff doesn't look too complicated though. Have you checked the oil level? If it's low, a top-up might help, at least for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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