camojohn Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I have a Freelander 1 with a BMW engine. (Yes I know from another report that freelanders are cr*p) Anyway I got home from shooting to fine I had a puncture in the wall of my tyre. I have booked it in to have 2 new Kumho KL78 tyres on the front and leave the old Toyo 785’s on the back. I’ve just read an article that recommends changing all 4 tyres at the same time or risk “catastrophic damage to your drive train in just a few miles”. See link below. I just wondered if anyone out there drives a Freelander 1 with unmatched front and rear tyres, and if they have had problems with there cars viscous coupling unit (VCU) http://www.freelanderspecialist.com/freelander-problems/freelander-problems-from-replacing-your-tyres-and-how-a-viscous-coupling-vcu-unit-fails?shared=email&msg=fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88b Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I didn't read the full article but the first few lines explains how it works. Jeep had a lot of rear doffs fail through owners not rotating tyres to keep wear even. Having worn tyres on one axle and new ones on the other means the worn ones with have a smaller circumference so will turn faster . Viscous couplings work by the silicone gel like fluid inside getting thicker as they heat up, this is fine in corners or on slippery surfaces but the constant in balance on the road will cause failure pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungolee Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I was also told this by my local mechanic, unfortunately i found out the hard way. new ird unit ,new Vcu and now a new rear diff. ive done 195k miles now and it runs very well for the miles. ml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twistedsanity Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 If you are driving all four wheels of a vehicle at the same rate then you must maintain an equal circumference on all tyres or you risk winding up the transmission so changing two tyres at a time is a big no no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 mate got a freelander...and that happened to him..........agree with all above .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camojohn Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Is this common to all 4x4 or just Landrover Freelander 1? I just want to know before I get my next 4x4 shooters wagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 i have only heard it is a freelander prob........i dont think i have heard of a defender having the same issues...there is a lot more play in the transmission which proberly evens out the faults...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camojohn Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I’d like to thank everyone for their intput, On the strength of your comments I have just updated my order from 2 to 4 new tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Is this common to all 4x4 or just Landrover Freelander 1? I just want to know before I get my next 4x4 shooters wagon. It is common to 4x4 that run in 4wd all the time. My Cherokee for instance runs in 2WD most of the time (which is actually 1WD) so it doesn't matter. It only becomes an issue if you lock all 4 wheels together (as in when I put it in 4 low lock) and the wheels are not able to slip independently (like on a slippery mud track). If you lock all 4 together then the drivetrain needs to be able to spin all of the drive axles at the same rotational speed. If the wheels are all different sizes and able to spin independently (such as if the car were on a mechanics lift) then each one will have a different rotational speed. If you then put the wheels on the ground they are not able to spin at different speeds independently and the weak point becomes the drive train (the VCU in the freelander, the differential in other cars). It is called drive train binding if you want to read up on it some more. thanks, rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRYAN3 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 The VCU thickens as it ages and can damage the tyres. It works both ways. Mine has propshaft removed and front wheel drive only because expense of replacing vcu and bearings and uj's cannot be justified on such an old motor 2001. Only done done 88K though. Bryan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Never changed all four tyres on the Landcruiser, generally just one or two on any given axle. No advice given from tyre fitters or Toyota and it's full time 4x4. The Volvo XC70 was also known for this as well so i think it's the "soft roaders" that suffer from this. The only time we ever got wind up in the box was when the mrs accidentally hit the diff lock button in a car park. Didn't like that at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davie_M Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 You should fit the new ones to the back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil82 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 chances are it will be your fronts that need changing first, stick 4 tyres on, ask for the two best back (make sure they don`t charge for 4 casing disposals), next time you fit tyres if you do the same you will end up with 4 part worns near enough the same tread depth so have them fitted, apart from that, go old school and rotate them at least at every service so even tho you will still need to replace them as a set at least you will get full wear out of them, after all the time I`ve spent on spanners I`m convinced that service intervals are too long so I do a minor service every 5k miles (drop oil, rotate tyres) big service every 10k, get good mileage out of engines that way, both of my last cars had well over 170k when they went to the scrapyard due to rust, thrashed hell out of them and loved every minute(Nissan almera gti`s) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Agreed, if it's a diesel then dropping the oil is vital, it's the biggest moving part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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