diff wows???

hi all, when driving my series 2a landy to work this morning, i was slowing down at a junction, big crunching sort of nasty noise, lost all drive, coasted off the road expecting to see my gearbox spread all over the floor, but no, no signs of problems from the outside but no drive, i took the middle seat up and the rear drive shaft was turning when trying to drive but no motion in the wheels, so this took my suspisions to the rear diff, so put her into 4high and there was drive, (only through the front wheels probably) only being a stone throw from home, i dragged my ass home,
what could it be? i thought if there was a problem in the diff that it might lock up??? but it didn't,
i really dont know, never been in the diff before, dont know what to expect,any help or suggestions welcome please.

Half shaft by the sound of it. Pop both shafts out and see if one's broken. They usually shear at the diff end so the diff has to come out to remove the broken stub - it'll have to come out anyway to clean all the swarf out. Do yourself a big favour and replace both shafts.

probably jut half shft,pull short one drivers side first

and dont be tempted to drive it in 4 wheel drive till you can get it done , will bur the ends over and jam the half shaft into the diff.
been there done that no fun at all

thanks all, sound advice as always, i'll keep you posted with the progress, but she'll be sat for a while, until i have the time

so would this also explain a slight, loose, rattleing sort of noise when reversing her then?
before the insident i mean!

probably not

lol, just my luck to be something else!!
any ideas on that?

newlad said:

lol, just my luck to be something else!!
any ideas on that?

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would'nt read too much into it , most series g/boxs sound noisy in reverse

Have a push and pull about of the diff flange Its most likley a halfshaft and usually the shorter one they seem to go first les twist/abuse before they break than the long shaft.

I'd be tempted to check that the diff pinion bearing hasn't broken up with lack of oil heat or whatever and pushed away from the crownwheel. Not that likley as you would be hearing a horrendus noise and might still have had some drive dependant on how bad it went or how many teeth are missing broken. But has been known to happen. If your really lucky its a drive flange but nobody is that lucky!

The light rattle might be UJs - any free play in the drivechain can put extra strain on the driveshafts as it allows a lot of mass to be in motion before the shafts take up the torque. The driveshafts seem to have a thinner, weaker section next to the inner splines - I presume this is supposed to break before anything more expensive does, like a mechanical "fuse".

so is this half shaft business a common problem? how? or can it be helped in any way? thanks

Gentle use of clutch, keep free play out of the drivechain and replace every 60 to 100 thou miles.

oxides said:

Gentle use of clutch, keep free play out of the drivechain and replace every 60 to 100 thou miles.

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dont want to sound like a complete novice but if you dont ask than you dont know, how do you keep free play out of the drivechain? what is the drivechain? where is it etc?
thanks

just to update, i've had the halfshafts out and diff off, it was the long passenger shaft that had been chewed! looks to me like the short drivers side has been replaced without the passenger before now, i'll take the advice given and replace them both, not exactly gonna break the bank, and if a jobs worth doing.... just glad it aint the diff, that looks nice inside.
any recomendations on where to buy new half shafts?

gearbox ,transter box ,props,diffs half shafts ,outer drive hub/flange,props fixed with ujs if slide isnt worn ,the gearbox and t/box brgs will wear over the years better with yearly oil changesame with axle/diff,the nut on rear mainshaft worth checking can be seen through rear most plate on passenger side top on t/box 4 x nut whitworth same size as battery clamp nut,rev gear which is through 3 gears ,idler and 1st 2nd synchro and layshaft all are straight cut teeth and so weaker than other gears ,ive stripped hundreds and never found many with good teeth unless it had recently been rebuilt ,considering they havent been built for 27 years not too bad really , but not to bad and parts are cheap for rebuilding

just replace broken one if other undamaged,it did well to last 30 years ,a new one might not be as good as the one already fitted ,they wont be made here anymore

I twisted the rear shaft's in a Series 2 one day, I had a swine of a job to remove them.

Mr-Tomcat said:

I twisted the rear shaft's in a Series 2 one day, I had a swine of a job to remove them.

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only the one of mine was bust but, slid out ok, even the stub that was left in the diff came out relatively easy.
where did you get your new ones from?
any good?

hello all, was just wondering, do the diff nuts or hub bolts need to be set at a talk setting? if so what?
thanks