Funny diffs

Hello all,

Since buying my SIII a few months back I've slowly been replacing every bit of the speedo set up to try and get it to work. Now I've replaced the clock and cable. Taken the speedo housing off the transfer box and nipped up the loose castle nut on the flange...everything I could think of. I have normal 205/85r16s on.

Today I tried spinning the back wheels and counting the diff turns and it turns roughly 3.5 turns of the prop for two turns of one wheel....not 4.11 as the books says, so looks like a previous owner has swapped the diffs. I've noticed that the gearing seems a bit steep, its not revving that high at 66 but won't got much quicker and my arms dropping off from changing between 3rd and 4th on hills.

So, what to do? I've no idea how to work out what diffs I've got nor how to swap them. I mainly use the thing on the road so would like stock diffs as I want it to accellerate a bit better and not too fussed about getting better economy...otherwise I'd have got a diesel!

Any advice, anyone want to swap diffs?

Dom

OK I think you have Rangerover diffs fitted 3.54:1 you are getting twice that speed as you are going through the diff gears if you jack up the whole axle both wheels off the ground you will find that you get 3.54:1 turn of the wheels.

I would agree that gearing is tall with 3.54 somthing I would never do or advise because as you have experienced it reduces revs alot. i believe too much. Also Low range is horrendus IMO but thats just me.

Std series diffs are 4.7:1. however Ashcroft do supply 4.11 which I think is a more inbetween compromise which I probably would fit if I couldn't get hold of a decent overdrive unit.

Hi
swapping the diffs isn't that bad the rear is easy you undo the hub nuts(the smaller nuts on the outer most part of the axle-near the metal cap) pull out both drive shafts and then you can undo the diff,after removing 4 prop bolts and swap the diffs<its heavy and is full of smelly ep90 oil so drain 1st leave the rear wheels on.
the front is more involved i would say you want to be a bit mechanically minded,remove front wheels and put on axle stands.
there is a cheat but its hard and heavy,disconect brake lines,unbolt the swivel ball seals,remove railko bush from top and bush from bottom of swivel housing,pull out each side including brake drums and all with bits and drive shafts all together then do the diff. this is hard and may be better with 2 the 1st time took me all weekend but with practise few hours with tea breaks.
rear diff easy but front not so nice:doh:.
on rebuild use new gaskets for the diffs and rear hubs and the front use friends,you can obviously strip the front down into smaller components remove drums and pads,remove brake plate with lines still connected and strap out of the way then bushes like above,also check your swivel bushes for wear may as well put new in really.
use the haynes for reference of course
hope this helps
I had range rover diffs in a v8 series years ago,was great but puts extra strain on the drive shafts..

Thanks for the tips, I'll probably strip down when I'm doing it, could do with new swivel balls and bushes probably and certainly new brake shoes. Sounds like I'll have to get my other motor going first, more than a single evening job. I guess I can do the rear on its own first though and just not use 4wd or low box while I get round to doing front...

Any idea how to do this cheaply, £500+ from Ashcroft - is way out of my budget at the moment, does anybody know of anyone who'd like to swap the other way?

Edit: I've now ordered a pair off ebay...no doubt I'll be back with questions when I get stuck fitting them.

Dom

seems hard work with fronts just undo 6 x ball to axle bolts and pull apart a couple of inches ,reseal with rtv silicone sealant

yea thats true although i did the fronts alone with 2 it would save time heavy though .
the rear is a breeze get your gaskets for the diff and hubs and your ep90 pop some grease on the diff gasket.
It will take an hour,if you have a break and a cuppa between diffs 1.5 hours
ep90 in the swivels also

I,ll have the old ones off you......pm me with details, as long as you aint a million miles away. Ive done the swap before, a good few years ago.....undoing the bolts behind the balls, makes the front as easy as the back.

Thanks lads for the tips, I might be swapping the balls at the same time anyway, though then again I might just leave them as they're full of one-shot anyway. They pitted like anything an slowly leaking grease but it seems like a bit of a pricey job to do.

I've seen some people recommend aralditing the pits and then painting over...anyone else tried that?

I'll see how I get on with the job but it certainly sounds a lot easier to just crack a few nuts...I've not found any instrictions on how to dismantle my freewheeling hubs yet either...

Dom

if you can make it smooth, however panit isnt needed

Which freewheelers you got?

one shot in series swivels not best,railko bush etc will wear quicker,if you replace the swivel balls and seals and new bushes go back to oil.
dont forget to shim the king pin etc,put the same shims if any on the bottom and make adjustments with the top king pin shims,think it was 15lb to pull the swivel without steering arms to get correct tension--others may want to correct me on that.

epdends where you are but......
I've just taken off a series axle with exceptionally good swivels will be junking the axle case and sellihg the ends off. Dependant of where you are might be able to deliver

mkght also have some freewheelin hubs beastie if you need then i think theyre late series III 24 spline thoi

Hi,

the hubs say ORA on them, see attached photo. I've no idea what to expect to find inside them. I'm not even sure how to take them apart or should I just take out the six main nuts? I need to take these off anyway as a few of the bolts are loose/missing due to previous owners inability to gauge how hard to swing on their breaker bar - I've already helicoiled a couple in the back.

The offer of some nice shiny balls would be good. I've checked for play in the swivels and they seem solid, but not tried taking off the track rods and checking for resistance but can tell it will be less than 15lb per wheel, probably not even that with all the steering linked up! Is that bad - it drives alright but tends to be a bit lively...

I'm up in Yorkshire, near halifax. Is that too far?

I've not even checked that I've got the right half-shafts yet - I'm pretty sure they're ten spline ones - I hope they match the diffs I've bought! Knowing this bloody motor the ones on the back will be different to the ones on the front.

The paint idea was to use something like por-15 which should stop them corroding. I'm guessing the ones that are on are either very old or are cheapo replacements.

While I'm at it should I be swapping the UJs on the half shaft? looks like its easy case of just pop the circlips or is that more complicated, are they the same as the prop shaft ones?

So before I start on what looks like it might be an epic here's my ideas for a shopping list:

Swivel balls
Shims [are these easy to obtain - are top and bottom the same?]
Swivel ball seals
hub gaskets 4 wheels
hub oil seal
UJs for front half shafts [are these the same as on the props - I've got a pair of them]
lots of EP90
lots of grease [special or normal?]
diff gaskets

Anything else? are there likely to be knackered bearings to worry about too...begining to wonder if I'll ever get this thing sorted...

Dom

if you just want to replace diff undo the 6 nuts and bolts holding them to case ,half shaft ujs are different to prop ones but are changed in the same way but only if have play

hi
your shopping list looks good,you prob don't need any shims there should be enough to re-use. you will want 2 railko bushes(go in top of the top of the swivel balls,for king pin to sit in.
you will want some new tab things to stop the 8 nuts from undoing.
front half shaft are normally very robust,because of the fact you only use them temp..i found they are normally good or broken,
I have never replaced the uj's on front halfshafts, i think they are more close fitting than prop-i recon new shafts if they are bad,i would just stick to your old ones if they have no/or little play unless you intend to use your series for lots of offroad/constant 4x4 work.

if you have no problems at the moment your bearings should be ok,you will tell when you take it all appart,if there is lots of water contamination in the swivels the bearings may be rusty and shot.check them for flat spots or damage and make sure they move nice,
the wheel bearing is kind of adjustable(tightening the large hub nut then the lock ring.

if you get the wheel on and you have up and down play you prob need to remove shims from under king pin.side to side the hub nut is not tight enough on the bearing/or your wheel bearing is bad.

There all big bits nothing complicated,if you have to take photo's on the way for reference-do so.lay the bits out in order you remove them.

a haynes is usefull for pictures and order of components/ but they go around the houses and you will end up removing the axle and engine
Good Luck

Thanks for the advice lads.

I found some cheap-ish swivel ball kits so should have all i need. In case they prove to be as poor as they are cheap I'll tart up the originals to put back in if the need arises.

I know what you mean about the haynes manual being a bit long-winded, I've found that the official land rover workshop manual is actually quite a bit better and choose between the two depending on which seems easier!

Glad I don't have to take the free-wheelers apart. They actually seem to work fine - not sure if I'm meant to periodically grease them or whether the oil gets to them!

I've now managed to rope in a mate who was an engineer in the army so should I get stuck he should be able to laugh at me!

Dom

Still not found anything on the freewheelers...there's what looks like a single allen bolt on the outside rim, I'm going to take that out and see what happens...eeek

I finally got the rear diff back together today...found that the propshaft flange bolts were loose (about 1mm gap between diff flange and prop flange). And the castle nuts on the ends of the halfshafts were rattling around, held roughly in place with knackered split pins.

Drove it up and down the yard a few times and the whole thing seems a lot nicer, no judder when setting off now.

Whoever had it last should be locked up every single nut or bolt that has been touched is not even finger tight...of course the ones that haven't been touched are so tight that they shear off!

Tomorrow should be a long day...brakes, swivel balls, diff, bearings, prop ujs for the front. Better not have too much beer tonight...

Dom

Sound like you are doin well!!.

I'll be honest the free wheel hubs are normally quite basic and should be greased,normally have a large screw or grub screw in to regrease.
I found no improvement in effeciency on fuel with free wheel hubs in the past-lets face it series are part time 4x4 anyway
I found them annoying when i was out on a greenlaning day jumping out to twist them etc(did i do the right way because the marks are worn off:doh:.
the day i really needed 4x4 i lost drive at the front because one broke!!! put standard hubs on,real cheap and back to basics-how they should be.