Fact or Fiction?

I have been hearing alot of "old wives tales" about the rear diff "exploding" and snapping back axles....It has got me thinking all the time im off-roading that my diff will break up.

Many of you on this site use your Landys for off-roading, Whats you views please?

Thanks, Jackual.

if your going mad with it, then pegged diffs are the way forward

I wouldnt say i was going mad...certainly eased off quite a bit with the Go pedal on some sections.

Really what im asking is; Is it really THAT easy to bust diffs and snap axles?

yes.......

I've known of a lot of people who've managed to mash thier diffs, but never heard of one going so hard its punched a hole in the axle casing and made it break!
what axle have you got, and what's truning it?

It's the escaping crown wheel teeth that make the holes in the casing.

Most diff failures are due to the pinion gear stripping the teeth off the crown wheel when under power. This is because the crown wheel flexs and the resultant lack of meshing of the gears makes it easier to loose teeth. As has been mention diff pegging reduces/removes this likeihood.

Large tyres and a heavy load are going to be the most likely factors relateing to diff failure in an 'over land' vehicle.

Fact - Front Diff mind you.

hi all, when i was younger and dumb, i try'd to pull wheel spins in my 2.1/4 diesel with 750'16s in a carpark, result was a nasty bang, and every time i turned a corner the landy would judder. one of the teeth from the diff had blown a hole in the axle case.

a mate of mine had his disco front diff poop its guts out while he was driving across europe, a planet gear came of and was forced through the axle case made a big mess lol

With the standard engine and sensible driving you'll be unlucky to destroy an axle.
Most likely is half shafts, followed by diffs, but I've never known a 2 1/4 blow a diff to the extent of popping teeth through the casing.

Diesels seem more prone to the harshness of the power applied although anything driven hard could destroy a normal diff. I havent done one yet, not for trying but I'm not one for jerking the drivetrain or keep trying a bad position, bouncing wheels as they grip and slip or spinning the a wheel up excessivly. Jai

Spyderman said:

Fact - Front Diff mind you.

Click to expand...

Is that human BLOOD we see on top of the crown wheel?

Does a blood sacrifice make it any easier to fix?

CharlesY

! Thanks for all the replies folks...even if they wernt what i wanted to hear!!.

Im running the 2.25 petrol unit, And when the diff/axle goes kah-put, ill fettle up a salisbury, like in the "rear axle" thread.

Thanks again!.

if you need a salisbury axle i have one that just needs bearings (pinion bearing gone) i swapped it for a disco axle to get disk brakes (its off a series 3 109")

Oh aye!, just drop it around next time yer passing

where are the fookin raf when you need them to do an air drop

This can happen too, not a landy this time a beemer:

Well, my diff didnt explode this weekend...and i really gave it some work!. I have however had a problem with the transfer lever popping out and going into neutral, but only on a descent or deceleration...Dentent spring or another problem? Anyone had this problem? Cheers.

i work for vauxhall and there front wheel drive diffs can explode and when i say explode they do go with some force the sun gears tend to fly out at speed seen a few boxses with there casses with large holes in them .......i also rember when i work for daewoo bloke from the factory asked me todo a stall test on a faulty musso auto gear box we had in ....i **** myself when the diff went pop and broke both half shafts the left hand shaft broke and jamed in the case .....it also blew the transfer box wich was chain driven and the chain broke .....boy did i do some damage to that motor cost a fortune to put right .......then after all that the parts bloke ordered a km transfercase and not a miles one so the speedo didnt read right for months till we found the fault and swopped the transferbox .....