Rear diff broken..

Hi again,

So we are in Montevideo 4 days away from packing our landy in a container to ship to Europe after 3.5 years on the road and I think the rear diff just went tits up.. was turning a corner heard and felt a popping sound from the rear and lost all forward drive, upon attempting to drive there was a grinding noise coming from the rear or the vehicle. At first I thought it was an axle half shaft so engaged the difflock so we could move from the middle of the intersection...

I pulled both axles and they are fine.. what I did notice is the the left hand axle free wheeled with the difflock engaged but the right did not.. not that it matters much at this point I guess...

So to my questions...

1) can I damage anything more than it is by driving with the difflock engaged if the rear diff is broken?
2) will i need to pull the entire axle assembly to replace the diff?
3) where can I get a new or refurbished rear diff for a 1995 110.. or how difficult is it to rebuild DIY (special tool requirements etc) - just checked the workshop manual - I think the job is beyond me at my current skill level...

Anyone going to be in spain in mid November who wants to help a guy out?

Cheers and thanks!
Gary

1) can I damage anything more than it is by driving with the difflock engaged if the rear diff is broken?
Yes, possibly quite a lot more. Bearings, other currently un-damaged gears.

2) will i need to pull the entire axle assembly to replace the diff?
What axle / diff do you have? Salisbury or Rover? I'm not sure when they switch the rears on 110s for Rover types so can't tell byt he year. But a very basic test if you don't know what each is. Do the front and rear diffs look the same?

3) where can I get a new or refurbished rear diff for a 1995 110.. or how difficult is it to rebuild DIY (special tool requirements etc) - just checked the workshop manual - I think the job is beyond me at my current skill level...
Depends what type it is. But Ashcroft is where I got my rover type, or you ca find used units on eBay.

Gary Gilbert said:

1) can I damage anything more than it is by driving with the difflock engaged if the rear diff is broken?

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Where as I cannot answer accurately my gut feeling would be potentially. However it should be very easy to "disconnect" the rear diff. Remove the rear prop-shaft (make sure the nuts go back onto the transfer box end to hold the handbrake in place!) and remove the rear half-shafts. This would then mean that although the wheels are turning and the gearbox is driving in diff lock the rear diff is stationary and should not be damaged further. I would then take things fairly easy until you can sort the problem as you will only be front wheel drive.

Gary Gilbert said:

will i need to pull the entire axle assembly to replace the diff?

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For a rover axle it is possible to change the diff without removing the axle, you just remove the half shafts and prop, and undo the ring of nuts on the inside holding the diff to the axle casing. However at that age it should still have a Salisbury rear axle on it. I have never changed the diff in one of those so unfortunately cannot help with that.

as above if its the diff ,but have you checked drive member and shaft splines salisburys are prone to that

You do not want to drive with a broken diff.bits inside can jam up and wreck / burst the diff pan.
To safely drive you need to remove the rear prop shaft and also the half shafts. If half shafts are the two part type just remove shaft and put the flanges back on. If of the one piece type choices are for a short way drive without and expect some oil loss,if longer distance find/fit flanges or perhaps make up some ply covers for the axle ends. This for rover axle,not sure about salisbury

dag019 said:

you will only be front wheel drive.

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And remember you will not have a handbrake.

Thanks for all the replies!

I think it must be a salisbury (will head to the garage and take a photo )
Half shafts are single piece and in good order (I removed both and they looked fine)

-> The problem with removing the rear prop is that I won't have a handbrake (it still seems work atm) right?
-> If I remove the half shafts I won't have and handbrake either right?

-> The other problem is that we have to leave the landy at the port authority and "someone" will load it into a container. . We have a meeting with our agent and will see if it can be loaded without having to drive it. But I still need to get from the parking to the port.. and I have already driven it 60kms though not over 50km/h..

Once in spain... what then.. anyone know any garages...

Thanks again!

If its Salisbury,a d it is your diff that's gone, it may be easier / cheaper to get a new axle, than swap out the diff. Changing the diff is possible but there's a lot of special tools, and measuring that needs to be done. You'd need a specialist garage.

Removing the shafts and prop will prevent any further damage to the diff, as it will be static. You'd need to leave centre diff lock on, and by doing this you will have a hand brake.

Only way you lose hand brake is diff lock wasn't engaged, or one of the front wheel lifted.

Wimblowdriver said:

And remember you will not have a handbrake.

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Gary Gilbert said:

The problem with removing the rear prop is that I won't have a handbrake (it still seems work atm) right?
-> If I remove the half shafts I won't have and handbrake either right?

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You should still have a hand brake as long as the diff is locked. Locking the diff means both front and rear output shafts are connected and will run at the same speeds. Therefore by holding one of them still you will hold the other still. As soon as diff-lock is disengaged you are correct and there will be no handbrake.

So the photos below are my diff...(Salisbury?)

I checked it again just to be sure. With difflock off the rear prop just spun with a slight whirring noise as if two gears were not quite meshing, no other grinding noises or anything like that.. I thought for a moment it could be something in the transfer case.. but the noise is definitely coming from the rear diff (unless of course its traveling from the transfer case along the prop and fooling me, but I don't think so)




As for a new axle.. can I simply swap out the old axle for a new/used one and Rover differential - are they so easily interchangeable or will I also need a new prop/half-shafts as well?

Thanks again for the advice - we aren't going to move it today - will ask our agent if the chassis absolutely has to be washed of dirt before shipping to Europe and then see about removing prop and shafts and somehow capping the ends to prevent oil leakage or water ingress as it will sit outside for a month before being loaded into a container.

Cheers!
Gary

I would remove the prop to eliminate either the Tx box or diff. Tx box might be trickier to sort out!

Gary Gilbert said:

So the photos below are my diff...(Salisbury?)

I checked it again just to be sure. With difflock off the rear prop just spun with a slight whirring noise as if two gears were not quite meshing, no other grinding noises or anything like that.. I thought for a moment it could be something in the transfer case.. but the noise is definitely coming from the rear diff (unless of course its traveling from the transfer case along the prop and fooling me, but I don't think so)


View attachment 158970 View attachment 158971

As for a new axle.. can I simply swap out the old axle for a new/used one and Rover differential - are they so easily interchangeable or will I also need a new prop/half-shafts as well?

Thanks again for the advice - we aren't going to move it today - will ask our agent if the chassis absolutely has to be washed of dirt before shipping to Europe and then see about removing prop and shafts and somehow capping the ends to prevent oil leakage or water ingress as it will sit outside for a month before being loaded into a container.

Cheers!
Gary

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thats a salisbury and are you sure half shafts and drive members are one as they arent as std

jamesmartin said:

thats a salisbury and are you sure half shafts and drive members are one as they arent as std

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You are right, I misread/misunderstood --> The half shafts and drive members are not one unit... I had both half shafts out and both ends are fine - also both half shafts and drive members only have about 30,000kms on them - I had first suspected that one of the half shafts or drive members were faulty as I had bought them in Colombia/Ecuador at two different shops (one drive member is OEM the other is Indian aftermarket).

I had first thought (bout 40.000 kms ago) the clunk when changing gears or coasting and then giving gas was worn drive members or even universal joints, but I checked the UJs and replaced the drive members and it was still there, ended up thinking it was simply the gap between the gears in the diff or transfer box and is normal.. apparently not.. or it is and this is something else...

Thanks again!

UPDATE:

there is checking the half shafts and checking the half shafts apparently.. when taking them out today I noticed that on one side the teeth are worn... under the drive member.. when I had first checked them I didn't take the drive member off and it must have shifted slightly where the teeth are not worn when I checked for play...

SO.. I will see if I can get a half shaft and put the prop back on... doh! What a beginner mistake!

But not a new one.Get a new drive flange as well.

At least that should be easier to remedy and source parts for than rebuilding the diff.

Yeah, I manged to find a supplier, got a new half shaft and as @tottot suggested a new drive member as well. Probably cost double than what it does in Europe but at least I now have piece of mind after replacing it and seeing that it's not the diff..

Thanks again for all the advice you all are a great resource!

Good you are sorted.