Series 3 And now the front axle....

Blackburn said:

Are they the automatic version as no means of selecting on or off?
Have heard of them but never seen any.

Click to expand...

Thats what I thought but they do look similar.

And no, I don't know how!

Found this, looks like a sprag clutch but its not easy to see.

Interesting. But does it mean you'll never get 4WD in reverse? Maybe not a significant problem...

This is what my hub looks like, by the way. Much 'flatter' than the conventional hubs.

I read somewhere that torque would engage them and they would then partly lock so you got a firm drive but could let go unexpectedly if you backed off going down hill.

Ah Ha......https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...tem1cddf0881a:g:4XQAAOSw509d1Ydg&LH_Auction=1

Yes, that's them. Confirms they are lightweight, I guess... Cheers.

I had a set of automatic hubs that came on my 69 2a. With no drive to the front they would freewheel. In 4wd rollers in the centre would move outwards when driven by the half shafts to engage with the outer fixed to the hub giving drive. In reverse the rollers turned the other way but engaged in the same way.
For normal off road they worked ok, however on a very slippery surface [ ice / packed snow ] they were awful, jumping in and out sending drive back and fore across the axle with a horrible clunking and scary steering. They were removed, still have them somewhere.
Once when getting home after busting a rear half shaft it was right odd As soon as you took the power off it would freewheel with no engine braking, then throttle up and you could not be sure which wheel would take up drive first giving unpredictable steering.

That confirms what I've read; that they could not be relied upon when you went from up hill to down hill and could spring some nasty suprises.

Drat, I've only just seen the thread. I could have helped, but you've sorted yourself out - and I have to thank you! I rebuilt a Lightweight early this year, and on being told that those O rings were no longer available I just used the old ones, and meant to get some larger nitrile and make some - and promptly forgot about it... I'll get some from eBay.

boguing said:

Drat, I've only just seen the thread. I could have helped, but you've sorted yourself out - and I have to thank you! I rebuilt a Lightweight early this year, and on being told that those O rings were no longer available I just used the old ones, and meant to get some larger nitrile and make some - and promptly forgot about it... I'll get some from eBay.

Click to expand...

No problem.

As a matter of interest, do your 'caps' still have the bolts/studs that screw into the drive shafts? Both mine have sheared off, and the ones @Rodeo Joe found appear to the same. Are they just there to stop the driveshaft from flopping about in the axle?

Yes still there. And yes, to avoid float. I'm struggling to remember how far they could move, or indeed how much of a problem it could cause. Probably worse in the front where the uj might be affected I'd think.

boguing said:

Yes still there. And yes, to avoid float. I'm struggling to remember how far they could move, or indeed how much of a problem it could cause. Probably worse in the front where the uj might be affected I'd think.

Click to expand...

I only have these at the front (regular sticking-out hubs on the rear), and yes if the UJ isn't in line with the centre of the swivel, then there's a chance it'll wear more, I guess. I think there was only around 3-4mm of float in the driveshaft, and the felt washer under the hubcap of mine will be pushing the shaft back into the diff, rather than pulling it out. I'm hoping that as it's soft pressure, the drive shaft can still move a little when turning, if it has to.

It's basically how it was before I pulled mine apart, and the UJs were in pretty good condition, so I don't think I'm stressing anything too much....hopefully!

Got to say that I'd order up a new one and get it rigid. Peace of mind, there's enough else about to go wrong without worrying about the bits you know aren't quite there...

Oh, and yes, of course, mine's all Lightweight, you've got a light front and heavy back?!

I take your point, but I couldn't find anyone selling these hub caps until @Rodeo Joe found some, and those are worse condition than mine. So I don't really have much of a choice. I could drill out the old sheared bolt heads, but then I can imagine I'd not be able to prevent any leaks from around a bolt screwed into the hole. Plus, I couldn't (easily) remove the rest of the bolt from the driveshaft hole.

Maybe a job to fix at a later date when it's back on the road again, but I'm happy I'm fixing enough other problems that were there while it was still running, that it'll still be a lot better than it was!

boguing said:

Oh, and yes, of course, mine's all Lightweight, you've got a light front and heavy back?!

Click to expand...

Yup!

I think my FWH allow the drive shaft to float a bit so not having the bolt may not be a big problem.