Bluest wrote:

Dry splined shaft couplings are used in all manner of applications without problem which leads me to think the lack of lubrication might not be the root cause. Greasing/oiling the splines may just be a sticking plaster. I'd guess either the alignment is off or more likely there is axial movement. I have never seen the Puma shafts, so maybe someone else can comment whether either is possible.

Rust is the issue because the rust inside grinds down the spline. The rust is harder than the steel.
Physical and chemical parameters in the crevice accelerate the corrosion process (=crevice corrosion).

Wear resistance and corrosion protection are therefore interdependent.

"However, in the presence of a corrosive environment, the fatigue limit of the materials is greatly reduced, and thus determining the fatigue limit becomes more difficult. That is why it is very common to enhance the corrosion resistance of materials while also improving wear or fatigue resistance." (https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/1513/prevention/surface-modification/nitriding-for-corrosion-and-wear-fatigue-resistance)

My spline (and any other spline I heard about) has been covered with rust while steel disappeared in the spline.

Spline failure may therefore depend on corrosion speed ... some cars rust faster than others

nosnibod wrote:

...Ashcroft shaft, leaking and vibration were the two issues I've been told about by IRB,...

blackwolf wrote:

...The output adaptor shaft on the Puma is a floating shaft, it has a loose-fitting spring ring arrangement to locate it which allows a small amount of axial movement on the splines...

Fifth Horseman wrote:

The outer part of the Ashcroft kit virtually locks the adaptor shaft in place so should reduce the potential for wear due to unwanted movement.

Fifth Horseman wrote:

It would be interesting to see an Ashcroft kit after say 50K miles on a vehicle that previously had suffered shaft failure at low miles.

doublea wrote:

Bit of corrosion here! Inside the dust cover there is a significant quantity of rust and shiny particles. There is discernible movement between shaft and hub, which I expect is causing the clunk on taking up drive. 39 month old, 30k miles 2.2 110. Unlubricated splined shafts eh!

MartinK wrote:

Click on the picture below to enlarge...


Click image to enlarge

Fist service is 12 months or 12000 miles, so yes, yours is due (unless it's already been done)

nosnibod wrote:

I did some searching and couldn’t find any examples of long-term usage of the Ashcroft shaft.

Yap. I had an Ashcroft kit fitted and did a three week's research prior to the decision.
I did not find anything about a broken Ashcroft kit.
Only the Genuine Land Rover "dry splines" / "greased splines" may brake multiple times.

I suppose the kit has been shipped from 2014 onwards. We'll have to wait about 2...3 years if we want to know for sure


I'm still wondering why there is no shaft failure on the early Pumas - MY 2007...2010.
It seems like everything began in 2011. Ashcroft developed their fix a few years later.

The key question is : Why don't the early Pumas fail?

doublea wrote:

which I expect is causing the clunk on taking up drive. 39 month old, 30k miles 2.2 110. Unlubricated splined shafts eh!

Land Rover Genuine Quality
This causes the clunk between moving forwards and backwards:

doublea wrote:

Bit of corrosion here! Inside the dust cover there is a significant quantity of rust and shiny particles. There is discernible movement between shaft and hub, which I expect is causing the clunk on taking up drive. 39 month old, 30k miles 2.2 110. Unlubricated splined shafts eh!

Hi doublea, I'd have a short visit at the retailer.
The spigot bore is part of the service schedule.
The retailer has to check for corrosion, too.

I bet the service schedule item referring to spigot bore relates to applying copper slip to the mating area between the alloy wheel and the outer area of the drive flange. Not to the half shaft ends.
I suspect most dealers won't even remove the road wheels and they will check for disk/pad wear by looking at the caliper with the wheel in place.

The corrosion check will also be limited to bodywork and chassis.

I'll eat my hat if any any corrosion inspection has ever involved removing the drive shaft plastic caps to check for red powder within. Or a check on the output shaft.

benh78 wrote:

Would it be possible to raise this as group complaint in the uk via something like watchdog? I’ve not had this issue yet but thanks to forums I know it’s in my future. Turbo hoses blowing off/ splitting seem to have been kind of fixed but at least Land Rover have tried to do things to address although silicone hoses and a bigger better intercooler are prob better fixes then JLR.

I would also be interested in how to escalate this.

Any lawyers on the forum who could provide an insight into the chances of a successful class act or equivalent?

Sadly, I fear only significant negative media reports, or worse still, a major accident caused by the output shaft failure, will force JLR into a recall/rework.

I may be paranoid, but every time I drive the Defender, I am wondering if the shaft will let go .