Defender rear diff play

Thought id change all my oils after going wading in deep water. Did all but rear diff seemed very black. On further investication i found play in rear prop but also slight play in rear flange. Up and down. Prop is bailey morris and only six months old so dont know whether something in diff has caused this. Ive got a kam locker and lsd in rear. Kam say they will cover parts if its there fault but need to take it to oxford where locker was fitted. Thats 60 miles away. wondering what can cause this movement and maybe knock a relatively new prop out.

I'm no expert when it comes to diffs but I'd say play in prop flange is caused by pinion head and tail bearings being worn.
Maybe the diff was setup incorrectly when the locker was fitted and has caused premature wear of the bearings?

as above there should be no play whatsoever in diff flange only rotational movement

Diff was fitted by frog island in oxford. Could it be prop had play first and caused problems. Prop was fitted after diff as old prop had play in rear uj. As i dont understand this to much im trying to understand whats caused what. Ive only just noticed an oil leak on rear diff.

Been told by kam today that angle of prop might of caused my problems and maybe a double cardon prop should be fitted. My rear prop sits at about a 14 degree angle with a 60mm lift. Does anyone know if this angle is to much for a standard prop.

Farrar said:

Been told by kam today that angle of prop might of caused my problems and maybe a double cardon prop should be fitted. My rear prop sits at about a 14 degree angle with a 60mm lift. Does anyone know if this angle is to much for a standard prop.

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if you rotate prop if angle is too severe it will feel knotty, even so it shouldnt effect diff pinion bearings

Feels smooth so guess thats not the problem. would you expect pinion bearings to last just a year on all new bearings. I tend to drive quite steady off roading. Diff and possibly rear prop were grounded while winching.

Farrar said:

Feels smooth so guess thats not the problem. would you expect pinion bearings to last just a year on all new bearings. I tend to drive quite steady off roading. Diff and possibly rear prop were grounded while winching.

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if genuine timken bearings are used and set correctly they should last lots of years, water or mud contamination or running dry will bugger then in days ,seized prop slider can cause premature failure

Thankyou james i will check all these and get someone to fit it correctly. Dont want this happening to regular.

Quick question regarding my issues on play in prop. Bailey morris say i might need a 40 degree prop. Im running a 30 degree. defender has a 60mm lift with extreme trailing arms and plus 4 shocks. Is the 30 degree one been pushed to its limit.??

if it is you will feel it ,shafts feel notchy when they are past working limits