Used rear differential - will it fit?

Hi everyone,

Fresh owner of a Freelander 2.0 Diesel TD4 (2005) here! My first project with this car was to replace the rear differential since it was making some noise and when i took it apart a mix of silvery oil and chunks of metal fell out, so yeah...

Now im in the market for a used unit to replace it with but it does'nt seem to be an abundance of these where I live. Found one close by with the stated OEM numer "TVK100380" (the first three pictures, on the red wagon) but the scrapyard in question told me that from what they could see it would'nt fit my car.


To me they look identical (see the last pictures of mine, on the rug) except for the breather hose which is plugged on my unit. Also i found the number 51441 174 MCL1 engraved on mine. See pictures below:



So, what I want to hear with the experts; is this part gonna fit my car or not?

I found this site that in fact states that at unit with the same OEM number will fit a 2.0 Diesel TD4, but I want to make sure before I spend 200£ on a replacement unit!

All rear diffs are the same. The breather shouldn't be plugged, or oil will be forced out of the seals.

Ah, thank you for the swift reply! I see, a question out of curiosity - how come I see a couple of different OEM/engraved-numbers floating about if they are the same?

About the ventilation - at closer inspection it does'nt appears to be plugged, just packed with dirt! Maybe a clue as to why it failed in the first place.

£200 is expensive. They are heavy to post but I have several good ones for less than half that !! North Devon.

victorimba said:

Ah, thank you for the swift reply! I see, a question out of curiosity - how come I see a couple of different OEM/engraved-numbers floating about if they are the same?

About the ventilation - at closer inspection it does'nt appears to be plugged, just packed with dirt! Maybe a clue as to why it failed in the first place.

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Different numbers is more likely due to them being made by different manufacturers. As far as I know all ratios and dimensions are identical, meaning they're all interchangeable.

Didn't the very early ones have weaker bearings ??

andyfreelandy said:

Didn't the very early ones have weaker bearings ??

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I can't remember. I'm at the stage where I have to forget old information, if I want to make room for new information.
You could well be correct.

The old 'peas on a fork' syndrome !! It was really early ones I believe.

A reputable bearing supplier shows a change at pre and post 2002.

andyfreelandy said:

A reputable bearing supplier shows a change at pre and post 2002.

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Thank you for the insight! But, weaker bearings or not, it should still fit and work with my car, right? The car with the used diff was from 2001 while mine is from 2005.

I'd go for the later type and the stronger bearings. A 2001 will have done many miles too! PM me with your location. I have a low mileage 2003 Diff.

Also, regardless of what you fit I would replace the 2 x oil seals for the driveshafts. About £15 and much easier to do when off the car. The old ones will be perished and hard and would be ok for the old driveshafys but when you remove and replace they may not seal properly.

andyfreelandy said:

I'd go for the later type and the stronger bearings. A 2001 will have done many miles too! PM me with your location. I have a low mileage 2003 Diff.

Also, regardless of what you fit I would replace the 2 x oil seals for the driveshafts. About £15 and much easier to do when off the car. The old ones will be perished and hard and would be ok for the old driveshafys but when you remove and replace they may not seal properly.

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Thank you for the offer but my location is in Sweden so I guess the shipping cost would be a bit steep. The one i found is the only one feasible both distance and price-wise. The other ones are priced around £300 (!!). So, I will take my chances with this one provided it fits my car.

Check for free play in the pinion. Check any oil remaining for particles.
Spin and listen.

Replace seals as above.

It will fit and work no problem.

victorimba said:

Thank you for the offer but my location is in Sweden so I guess the shipping cost would be a bit steep. The one i found is the only one feasible both distance and price-wise. The other ones are priced around £300 (!!). So, I will take my chances with this one provided it fits my car.

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If it lasted 23 years in the original car, the bearings can't be that bad!

I've heard of early F2 diffs being weaker than later ones, but not F1. But every day is a school day.

However, do you know what is causing the noise in your diff? Is it just the bearings or have the gears worn? If the gears are OK, you could get a repair bearing set and rebuild your diff. That is what I did with my IRD. The kits was quite cheap shipped from the UK (I'm a lot further away that you are!). The most expensive bit was getting a workshop to push and pull all the bearings in the IRD.

I got the kit from these people

GrumpyGel said:

If it lasted 23 years in the original car, the bearings can't be that bad!

I've heard of early F2 diffs being weaker than later ones, but not F1. But every day is a school day.

However, do you know what is causing the noise in your diff? Is it just the bearings or have the gears worn? If the gears are OK, you could get a repair bearing set and rebuild your diff. That is what I did with my IRD. The kits was quite cheap shipped from the UK (I'm a lot further away that you are!). The most expensive bit was getting a workshop to push and pull all the bearings in the IRD.

I got the kit from these people

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I bought the car cheap-ish at an auction with knowledge of it having some sort of noise, I was being told it was because of a shot wheel bearing. I'm guessing the noise actually was from the pinion bearing since it was hard to turn it by hand when the diff was out. The pinion gear was complete trash, totally bald. Chunks was laying all around and the rest of it was a silvery mush inside the oil, so a rebuild was a far cry away.

Bought the used diff a couple of days ago and installed it (what a pig to do though...) Went for a short test run today and it was nice and silent, thanks for all the help guys! Really appreciate it.