Defender 90 TD5 clunking/ back lash

Hi there I have got a 2004 defender 90 td5 county station wagon that has done 64,000 miles.

Sometimes when you let the clutch out you can feel a big clunk. It doesnt do it all the time but if your a tad hasty with the clutch the clunk goes right through the entire car.

Its mainly noticeable when setting off in 1st gear or if you change to second on minimal revs.

If you really try hard you can drive it without noticing this clunk, i know you have a lot of slack to take up on a landy with the diffs but i just wondered whether this clunk should be as fierce as it can be at times or whether it should be a little less forgiving.

Im mainly concerned that i could be doing damage to the gearbox or diffs when this occasionally happens.

Given the mileage though i wouldnt of thought much should be wrong.

Ive had a quick look over all the bushes at the rear and the rear a frame bush ive swung on them with my hands but not tried putting a bar in and levering around yet.

Other things ive been considering are inspecting the rear half shafts?

Maybe i need to be heavier on the a frame bush to find play.

The Universal joints and prop shafts look solid but again ive not been brutal to them when checking yet.

Does anyone have any common solutions or pointers for a vehicle with this mileage

Thanks

Harry

Could be input gear and gearbox output shaft wear-though I thought td5 had cross drilled gear

Ive heard people mention those but surely with this low mileage its got to be something a bit less serious than those?

hmaden08 said:

Ive heard people mention those but surely with this low mileage its got to be something a bit less serious than those?

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More likely UJ after re reading op post- recheck

have you had a good check of the rear A frame ball joint

Mine used to do this a lot. It was a combination of things but the biggest difference was made by fitting new halfshafts and drive flanges at the rear. A tiny bit of movement in the splines can translate into quite a bit movement at the propshaft. In addition it got a lot quieter when I worked my way through the suspension and renewed bushes and joints wherever possible. Yes, it can be difficult to detect movement just trying to wobble things by hand. It helps if you lever them around. I find a long screwdriver or short crowbar useful for this.

What is the best way to check the half shafts? Unfortunately I only just replaced the axle oils haha!

Is there a good way to test the a frame other than just swinging on it?

Chock front wheels and jack up rear and feel for play

hmaden08 said:

What is the best way to check the half shafts? Unfortunately I only just replaced the axle oils haha!

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First of all, if it's parked on level ground the oil won't all run out if you remove a halfshaft, so that's alright for now. Some TD5s had a one piece driveshaft and drive flange, but assuming you've got separate ones you can see the slack if you take the plastic cap off the end (assuming you have this kind) and rotate the wheel - you can often see a tiny bit of movement between the drive flange and the shaft, which is the splined bit in the middle. The less movement you have the better.

As others have said, if it is the propshafts you can usually feel some movement at the universal joints if they're getting loose. This is easier to detect if the handbrake is off and the car is jacked up so it's not under any kind of rotational load, because that can make them feel tight when they're not really. There's often quite a bit of rotational slack in Land Rover gearboxes and diffs, which has been the subject of a lot of discussion on here. My view is that until the teeth start jumping it's not really worth buying recon units. But you can do a lot to obtain a smoother drive by checking and replacing the transmission and suspension components we've been talking about on this thread.

my 2004 td5 was halfshaft problem

I fitted one piece halfshafts from a 300tdi and wow what a difference! drives like new now and theres one less component to wear

I will inspect the UJ,s rear half shafts and rear a frame bush then.

I guess if i dont find any play then it may be alright. I suppose a quick drive in another td5 with 60,000 miles or so would confirm it too

They do vary a bit. Mine was a clunker, but my friend's was much smoother. You could make it clunk but only if you took your foot off the clutch very briskly. After all my repairs I've got it back to around about his level of clunk. Sadly his Land Rover became a pawn in a bitter divorce and his soon-to-be-ex-wife sold it. So we shall never know how its clunk progresses.

Yeah it is hard to describe aswell on here. I mean sometimes I wonder whether I is actually a clunk as such. It's more just like the landy rushes into gear too quick. There's no metallic or clanging sounds it just goes like "umph" as it engages drive if that makes sense. It must be play in something though making this harsh impact