Ird exploded

I haven't had much luck with this car , the dealer i bought it from.said it comes with three months warranty , I've been waiting on it for a month , today the ird exploded on me on a high speed road .
And he still continues to fob me off .
The car is also stuck in gear .
my question is , is it an expensive job ?
If I did it at home would ot be just a simple replacement of the ird or will I have to take the gear box off too ?
The circle on the image is to show where it looks like it has broken

That has broke eh!

Not a usual place to break I don't think, normally its the other RH end that shatters. Normally the casing survives pinion gear/bearing wear.

It depends how skilled and/or motivated you are as the the difficulty of replacingit at home. If you have lots of space under the car, eg an inspection pit, its a lot easier, is a right PITA without lots of space.

Lots of bolts to undo and do back up, lots in awkward locations to get to... you need lots of extensions on socket set.

The IRD itsekf is heavy to, awkward to move around and line up.

Having said that, I've managed it reasonably easy enough and I'm no ninja mechanic. I do havr aninspection pit.


Will cost you quite a bit as you won't get refund for exchange as the case is broke.

As to the question, is it expensive?
Yes, but how expensive depends on whether you can DIY or have to use a garage. DIY using second hand parts would be the cheapest route to take, if you have the skills. Garage will be expensive, probably more than the value of the car.
You need to take into consideration what caused it to fail in the first place, as they don't just explode for no reason.
It'll either be the VCU has gone stiff, effectively locking it in permanent 4WD, which overloads the bearings in the IRD and rear diff. Or the vehicle has odd tyres, or new tyres on the front, possibly combined with a stiffening VCU.
The cause needs to be identified and rectified at the same time as a replacement IRD fitted. Not rectifying the cause will or simply create a repeat failure.

If it's still under the 3 months warranty then back the car to the dealer, stating if he does not sort it out you will get trading standards involved, did you buy the car with a credit card, if so back the car and take it up with the credit card company they should help.

Nodge68 said:

As to the question, is it expensive?
Yes, but how expensive depends on whether you can DIY or have to use a garage. DIY using second hand parts would be the cheapest route to take, if you have the skills. Garage will be expensive, probably more than the value of the car.
You need to take into consideration what caused it to fail in the first place, as they don't just explode for no reason.
It'll either be the VCU has gone stiff, effectively locking it in permanent 4WD, which overloads the bearings in the IRD and rear diff. Or the vehicle has odd tyres, or new tyres on the front, possibly combined with a stiffening VCU.
The cause needs to be identified and rectified at the same time as a replacement IRD fitted. Not rectifying the cause will or simply create a repeat failure.

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Since I got the car I've been smelling gearbox oil , I was going to the garage to get it checked .
The previous owner has removed the prop shaft so it is essentially a 2wd at the moment .

Arctic2 said:

If it's still under the 3 months warranty then back the car to the dealer, stating if he does not sort it out you will get trading standards involved, did you buy the car with a credit card, if so back the car and take it up with the credit card company they should help.

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I've rang him a few times and he seems to lose my details everytime and say , "give me your details and I will sort the warranty "
I dont think he's going to honor it to be honest , I'm at a loss on what to do next

cjason331 said:

Since I got the car I've been smelling gearbox oil , I was going to the garage to get it checked .
The previous owner has removed the prop shaft so it is essentially a 2wd at the moment .

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The prop was probably removed after the bearings in the IRD were worn to a state where gears to the rear pinion were slipping - it makes a horrible sound. I know through my own experience.

I removed the props and could still hear noises that should not be coming from the IRD. They were faint and if you knew no better would not necessarily be alarmed by them.

I was though, and even though mine went back 2WD, I had all the bearings in the IRD replaced.

Its been fine for 10 years since. I'm sure though, if I hadn't it would only be a matter of time before gears jammed which would cause the case to explode as you have experienced.

cjason331 said:

I've rang him a few times and he seems to lose my details everytime and say , "give me your details and I will sort the warranty "
I dont think he's going to honor it to be honest , I'm at a loss on what to do next

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Ok so don't ring him go there and confront him and hand him a copy of the letter you intend to send to the trading standards, saying i am giving you your chance to do the right thing under the warranty, and then let him deal with it , but state a time you think he should do it by maybe a week or 10 days.

Make sure you are writing down and recording any dates and times you ring this guy where is he anyways, what's his company name etc.

I've wrote a letter to him giving him a set time , the bank have said they will dispute it if I can try and return it , how am I meant to do that if it doesn't drive ? .
He is a director of 136 companies the company I bought the car from is called tcgl , trade centre group limited .
He recently sent me an invoice which I have not signed as it states my rights are excluded

I think you should get in touch with citizens advice.
Was it bought off a forecourt? Did you expect it to have an MOT? Cars should be in roadworthy condition. Any fault seen within 3 months is deemed to be pre existing.

Been in touch with them , they say to wait for a response to my letter, the car has mot , it's just the ird has exploded and gearbox has separated drom the ird

cjason331 said:

I've wrote a letter to him giving him a set time , the bank have said they will dispute it if I can try and return it , how am I meant to do that if it doesn't drive ? .
He is a director of 136 companies the company I bought the car from is called tcgl , trade centre group limited .
He recently sent me an invoice which I have not signed as it states my rights are excluded

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Hi Jason.
Get it lifted to his premises or forecourt you purchased it from, get a receipt from the courier to say they have dropped the car there or even go with them or meet them there if you can, you will most likely be able to claim the cost back, you might have to go to the small claims court but your best bet is to get the bank involved he will not want to deal with them.

cjason331 said:

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Were you aware of the gist of those points when buying the car?

Was it sold to you as an "end of life" spares or repair type car or as a road going car that would imply some sort of fit-for-purpose warranty?

Is the £1,250 what you paid for it? Were you given this invoice prior to payment?

cjason331 said:

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Where/how did you get that information? How was the vehicle sold. Through an advert and do you still have a copy? If not then find the advert and save a copy. Save a copy of all communications you have had with him. Like text and emails. And call times and duration and date/time.

The description it was sold under determines what rights you have options to use. Ranges from sold as scrap to 'runs beautfully'. From the above I suspect this person has sold many vehicles and had some kick back over failures. Hence acting to dismiss blame.

Initially you need to inform them of the fault and prove you have told them. Recorded delivery letter or email is ok. Give a set time for responce. Include date and mileage when the fault occurred.

Depending on the sale description and method of paying, you have several options. Credit card would be section 75 charge back. Debit card has a simular method but only covers first 120 days. Back transfer is very limited. Other option is a small claim in court for the vehicle or repair cost.

Don't go dumping the vehicle back at his place. How long after collecting the vehicle did the failure occur?