Rear hub cap fell off and stub axle protuding

As has been said the most likely part to have worn is the drive flange splines allowing the half shaft to move outwards. Before you drive anywhere jack up that corner [use chocks on other wheels as landy hand brake will not hold once one wheel is off the ground ] Grab the tire and try to waggle the wheel in all directions to check for wheel bearing problems.If no movement then good to go but drive gently.

TorsionBhudda said:

The half shaft has slid out because the drive flange and half


The stub axle can't move it's fixed. it's the half shaft thats slid out the way this is because the splines of the shaft and drive flange are worn. It's not dangerous but the shaft sliding in and out can damage the diff you will also be loosing diff oil as you drive.

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That makes sense now. I was mistaking the name for the half shafts and calling it a stub axle by mistake. I found a you tube video of a guy with the same issue once I knew to search for half shaft.

Rodeo Joe said:

If its the stub axle that is broken thats a different story and poss dangerous to drive, I've never seen one broken so that it moves like you say.......

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It's the half shaft that has moved. I was being ignorant and calling it a stub axle. Rookie mistake

All you need is a spanner and a pair of pliers.... go for it!

tiny6921 said:

It's the half shaft that has moved. I was being ignorant and calling it a stub axle. Rookie mistake

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We all were novices at one time. Your in the right place for getting help and advice I would recommend either buying or downloading a workshop manual and the parts manual for your Year Defender. To replace the halfshafts and drive flanges is very straight forward remove 5 bolts and draw the whole lot out then replace with new parts inc new gasket and threadlock on the bolts and torque to correct setting.

TorsionBhudda said:

We all were novices at one time

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Ditto, its a great first job to get yer hands oily

You say that there is a circlip sitting in there on the other side?
That circlip prevents the half shaftfrom coming out too far, so I think that I'd be inclined to push the shaft back in as far as you can and see if you still have a groove for the circlip.
If you haven't, then everything points to you having to spend about 40p to get a new one and fix it.

You are wrong there Oldseadog,the circlip only prevents the shaft moving in towards the diff.It is the shoulder at the end of the splines that prevents the shaft from moving out through the drive flange.

tottot said:

You are wrong there Oldseadog,the circlip only prevents the shaft moving in towards the diff.It is the shoulder at the end of the splines that prevents the shaft from moving out through the drive flange.

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My most humble apologeticals Tottot!
I need to take more water with me meds!

That should help mate.

Heavy duty drive plates and half shafts and now she drives like a charm - smooth and quiet - no more banging, clunking and noisy overrun!

tiny6921 said:

no more banging, clunking and noisy overrun

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Show off

Looking at your earlier photos, your bearing grease is very oxidised. Might be worth replacing the bearings whilst you're at it. It's another easy job which only costs pennies.

Also, and I really am very sorry for pointing this out, but...

Somebody said something in another thread which made a lot of sense to me. I can't remember who or which thread sorry but it was something like: heavy duty drive flanges probably aren't a good idea (unless everything else is heavy duty too). Owing to the fact that drive flanges are cheap and easy to replace, you probably want them to be the first thing to fail. By fitting heavy duty ones, all of the wear and tear will be transferred to somewhere which is more expensive and more difficult to replace.

Glyn D said:

Somebody said something in another thread which made a lot of sense to me. I can't remember who or which thread sorry but it was something like: heavy duty drive flanges probably aren't a good idea (unless everything else is heavy duty too). Owing to the fact that drive flanges are cheap and easy to replace, you probably want them to be the first thing to fail. By fitting heavy duty ones, all of the wear and tear will be transferred to somewhere which is more expensive and more difficult to replace.

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That is a fairly common opinion, and I quite agree. In the standard set up the drive flange is the weakest point which is why it is the first to wear and causes a lot of backlash. However the standard ones are very cheap, and very quick to swap. If you fit the heavy duty ones the weakest point then moves to either the diff or the half shaft, so this is what wears and breaks over time. Neither of these are cheap or as easy to fit as the drive flange. If however you are upgrading the whole systems, (drive members, halfshafts, diffs) then I believe, although may be wrong, that the drive flange is still the weakest part of the HD system.

Having to do mine this week for the same reason.